{"id":21797,"date":"2024-02-01T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-01T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/?p=21797"},"modified":"2024-08-26T13:52:44","modified_gmt":"2024-08-26T20:52:44","slug":"3-ways-to-bring-effective-co-teaching-strategies-to-life-in-your-classroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/2024\/3-ways-to-bring-effective-co-teaching-strategies-to-life-in-your-classroom\/","title":{"rendered":"3 ways to bring effective co-teaching strategies to life in your classroom"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When I was a classroom teacher (and later a school principal), there wasn\u2019t a day that went by when I didn\u2019t wonder if the instructional practices I chose to implement (or encouraged others to use) were likely to have any impact on learning for my students. I sure loved teaching Hatchet<\/em>, using the latest digital apps to capture students\u2019 focus, and leaning into my favorite co-teaching strategies. But the concern was ever-present: What if it was all a waste of time?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, as I support educators in one of the largest school districts in the nation as they face the consequences of staggering interruptions to student learning following COVID-19 school closures, I see the same look of uncertainty on the faces of teachers almost every day. They are working as hard as ever, tying themselves in metaphorical knots to meet the needs of each and every learner in their classroom, all while teaching grade-level standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To support teachers during this challenging time, our High Growth for All research project<\/a> studied what instructional strategies are most effective. The Transformative Ten<\/a>, as we\u2019re calling these proven strategies, offer a fast track for addressing the perpetual question, \u201cWhat works?\u201d In this post, I\u2019d like to zero in on strategy #4: Share students and strategies within a grade level<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does it mean to share students and strategies?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll take a guess that you have heard the term \u201cco-teaching\u201d plenty. My first experience with this concept was as a push-in special education teacher, but neither the math teacher I was working alongside nor I had ever been trained to co-teach. This led to me spending an awful lot of time watching great math instruction instead of teaching alongside my colleague, and I also found myself struggling to find one-on-one time with my students, both for conferences and to check their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Was that time impactful? It for sure helped me sharpen my skills for reducing fractions in the kitchen, but my students would have benefitted from a more collaborative approach. They needed\u2014and deserved\u2014more meaningful instruction from me, and they didn\u2019t get it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Proven to work<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Our High Growth for All research shows that when sharing students and strategies within a grade level, we need a far more sophisticated set of co-teaching strategies than the ones I relied on early in my career. Research related to an initiative by Public Impact called Opportunity Culture<\/a> presents similar results<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The co-teaching strategies should be characterized by strategic student grouping<\/a>, with equally strategic instruction provided by different teachers of the same grade level or content area. Think \u201cno limits\u201d when it comes to this concept: sharing spaces, flexibly shifting student groups in the moment<\/a>, collaborative planning times that surface new ideas for leveraging each teacher\u2019s strengths, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When thinking about all of this, I am also reminded of the phrase \u201ccollective teacher efficacy.\u201d Does it ring a bell? If you haven\u2019t explored the concept, be sure to visit John Hattie\u2019s site on Visible Learning<\/a>, where he defines \u201ccollective teacher efficacy\u201d as \u201cthe collective belief of the school\/faculty in their ability to positively affect students\u201d and goes on to explain that it \u201chas been found to be strongly, positively correlated with student achievement.\u201d Hattie\u2019s work is rooted in the research of Rachel Eells<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of these experts studied how the shared belief of teachers that they can influence student outcomes and increase achievement can exponentially increase the likelihood that they will. <\/em>Consider the operative word here: \u201cshared.\u201d When collaborating with colleagues on co-teaching strategies (and when implementing any of the Transformative Ten<\/a> strategies), you will likely multiply your effectiveness with students because you are sharing expertise, passion, and belief in their capacity with your colleagues and throughout your school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, how does all this impact happen? Let\u2019s explore three key practices that can help you bring all of this to life:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Set the stage for collaboration<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Plan and deliver aligned instruction and assessment<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Include collaborative reflection<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    1. Set the stage for collaboration<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Collaborating with your fellow teachers is paramount to successful coteaching. Rather than jumping right to instructional planning, I encourage you to set the stage with some discussions around how you will collaborate. In Habits of Resilient Educators: Strategies for Thriving During Times of Anxiety, Doubt, and Constant Change<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>my colleague Piper Lee and I highlight the fundamental principle that \u201call educators possess strengths, and when they come together and collaborate with a common vision, they can accomplish what seems impossible.\u201d To play to your strengths and find your shared vision, consider beginning by having an introductory meeting where you establish the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n