Why focus on teacher collaboration? Why inclusion? Beginning with a strengths-based class review process, create a plan of action wherein the classroom teacher and the specialist are working together. Consider models of co-teaching.

1. New Directions: collaboration
and co-teaching in inclusive
literacy settings
Portage Resource Teachers and Literacy Leaders
June 1, 2017
Faye Brownlie
www.slideshare.net/fayebrownlie/
portage.rtll.June2017

2. Learning Intentions
• I have an improved understanding of the class
review process and how to use this process to
collaboraFvely plan for all students
• I can make a plan to co-teach and recognize
the different roles co-teaching can have
• I have grown my understanding of research-
based literacy pracFces

3. McKinsey Report, 2007
• The top-performing school systems recognize
that the only way to improve outcomes is to
improve instrucFon: learning occurs when
students and teachers interact, and thus to
improve learning implies improving the quality
of that interacFon.

4. How the world’s most improved
school systems keep getting better
–McKinsey, 2010
Three changes collaboraFve pracFce brought about:
1. Teachers moved from being private emperors to
making their pracFce public and the enFre teaching
populaFon sharing responsibility for student learning.
2. Focus shiMed from what teachers teach to what
students learn.
3. Systems developed a model of ‘good instrucFon’ and
teachers became custodians of the model. (p. 79-81)

5. Inclusion

7. Goal
to support students in working
effecFvely in the classroom
environment

8. Goal
to work together to beVer meet
the needs of all students

9. Rationale
By sharing our collecFve
knowledge about our classes of
students and developing a plan of
acFon based on this, we can
beVer meet the needs of all
students.

10. A Key Belief
IntervenFon is focused on classroom support.
Classroom-based intervenFon does NOT mean
that all specialists have to be in the classroom
all the Fme. Instead, the RESULTS of their
work have to show up in the classroom.

11. “You can see what the
teachers, teams, and
schools value by what
actually goes on in the
classrooms.”
(Brownlie, Fullerton, Schnellert,
2011, p25)
“Pedagogy trumps curriculum.”
(Dylan Wiliam)

12. No plan, No point

13. The Class Review Process

14. Class Review
• Strengths-based approach
• CollaboraFve
• The classroom teacher is the heart of the
process
• Goal: support a community of learners
• Goal: create a plan

15. • Meet as a school-based team, with the
administrator
• Each classroom teacher (CT) joins the team
for 45 minutes to speak of her class
• TOC’s provide coverage for CTs
• Follow the order of strengths, needs, goals,
individuals
• The CT does not do the recording or the
chairing

16. The Class Review
What are the strengths
of the class?
What are your concerns
about the class as a whole?
What are your main goals
for the class this year?
What are the individual
needs in your class?

17. Class Review
Learning in Safe Schools, 2nd ed
(Brownlie & King, 2011)
Teacher:
Class:
Classroom Strengths Classroom Needs
Other
Socio-EmotionalLearningLanguageMedical
Goals Decisions
Individual Concerns
Class Review Recording Form

18. Co-Teaching

19. Questions to Guide Co-Teaching
• What are the strengths of your class?
• What areas are you wanFng to strengthen?
• What is the curriculum/topic/skill/strategy
goal for this lesson?
• What students will need to be specifically
considered for inclusion in this lesson?
• What roles shall we each play?

20. Co-teachers:
When two teachers are in the room,
they can…
• Work from a plan based on students’ strengths and areas to
strengthen
• DifferenFate instrucFon
• Use AFL strategies to assess understanding
• Increase parFcipaFon of all students
• Decrease behavioral challenges
• Focus aVenFon
• Increase student independence
• Teach self-regulaFon
• Model posiFve, strengths-based language
• Conference and provide 1:1 feedback
• Talk to each other about what they are learning about their
students

21. Co-Teaching Models
(Teaching in Tandem – Effective Co-Teaching in the Inclusive Classroom – Wilson
& Blednick, 2011, ASCD)
• 1 teach, 1 support
• Parallel groups
• StaFon teaching
• 1 large group; 1 small group
• Teaming

22. 1 Teach, 1 Support
• most frequently done, least planning
• Advantage: focus, 1:1 feedback, if alternate
roles, no one has the advantage or looks like
the ‘real’ teacher, can capitalize one 1’s
strengths and build professional capacity
• Possible pi@all: easiest to go off the rails and
have one teacher feel as an ‘extra pair of
hands’, no specific task (buzzing radiator)

23. 1 Teach, 1 Support: Examples
• demonstraFng a new strategy so BOTH
teachers can use it the next day – e.g., think
aloud, quesFoning from pictures, listen-
sketch-draO
• Students independently working on a task,
one teacher working with a small group on
this task, other teacher supporFng children
working independently

24. The Richmond Experience
Lisa Schultz, ERA, District
Helping Teacher - Literacy
Lisa Schwartz

25. First Steps
• CollecFng baseline data (formaFve assessment using
EPRA)
• What do they know? What are their strengths?
• What areas need further development?
• How will we support this development?

26. • Looked at the results as coded on the
performance standard
• Developed an inquiry quesFon
• Made a plan
• Spent a term in each classroom. Two blocks
each week.

27. Inquiry QuesFons
• How does the implementaFon of literacy
centres, that focus on reading rather than
isolated skills, change the engagement and
moFvaFon of the students and will they
become more skilled readers?
• How does implemenFng guided reading or
small group reading instrucFon, with my
support teacher, further our students’
reading development?

28. Literacy Centres
Jaclyn Cruz & Lisa Schwartz,
Gr. 1/2• Begin with whole group lesson
– Focus on sight words and applying strategies
• 6 groups – explain their sequence (3 staFons)
• StaFons
– Read with a teacher (Lisa reads with same two groups each
Thursday – extra support)
– Read like an ant
– Read like a comedian
– Listen like a reader
– iPad
– Word work
– Read with a partner
• Reflect together

35. Parallel Groups
• both teachers take about half the class and
teach the same thing.
• Advantage: half class size - more personal
contact, more individual aQenFon
• Possible pi@alls: more Fme to co-plan,
requires trust in each other, each must know
the content and the strategies.

36. Parallel Groups: Examples
• Focus teaching from class assessment. Westwood
Elementary: Came about as a result of an acFon
research quesFon: How do we beQer meet the needs
of our students?:
– primary team used Standard Reading Assessment,
highlight on short form of Performance Standards,
Resource, ESL, principal involved, cross-graded groups 2X
a week, for 6 to 8 weeks driven by informaFon from the
performance standards (Text features, Oral
Comprehension, Risk taking, CriFcal thinking with words,
Ge^ng the big picture,… , repeat process
– NOT paper and pencil pracFce groups…teaching/thinking
groups

37. Parallel group: Examples
• Word Work. At Woodward Elem, the primary
worked together 3 X/week, with each
teacher, the principal and the RT each taking
a group for word work. Some schools have
used this with math acFviFes.
• Fishbowl: inside/outside circle

38. Inquiry Circles on Mesopotamia
• Fishbowl of inquiry circles
– Read to find what’s important and/or interesFng
and defend with 2 pieces of evidence - “because”
• With Sue Jackson, Minnekhada

39. • Co-create criteria for effecFve group
• Assign students to topic groups
• Students read to choose ‘the best invenFon’
• In groups, each talks by supporFng his/her
opinion with evidence

40. Inside/Outside Circle

41. Station Teaching
• mostly small groups
• can be heterogeneous staFons or more homogeneous
reading groups
• each teacher has 2 groups, 1 working independently
at a staFon or wriFng, 1 working directly with the
teacher.
• Advantage: more individual aQenFon and personal
feedback, increased focus on self regulaFon
• Possible pi@all: self regulaFon (needs to be taught),
Fme to plan for meaningful engagement.

42. Choice Novels &
Literature Circles
Entry points for
digging deeper
and developing
empathy.
Dave Giesbrecht, Richmond
Nancy Sharkey, Librarian

43. Learning Outcomes
• KNOW
– I can analyze ficFon for common elements and explain how they
help to develop the story and message of the novel.
• DO
– I can prepare for and parFcipate in small group discussions to
develop
• My understanding of the novel
• My ability to communicate my thinking
• UNDERSTAND
– I can demonstrate and deepen my understanding of
• The novel I read its context
• The issues facing children in other parts of the world
• Empathy – what it is and how it is developed

44. Guiding Questions
• How is the world where the story is set
different from your world?
• How do human development issues affect the
characters and society in your novel and how
does this relate to the world?
• How do discussion circles help you develop
your thinking?

45. “The danger of a single story”

46. The Plan: starting
• Introduced and selected books.
• Modeled the types of thinking to use while
reading with a shared text, “Thank You
Ma’am” by Langston Hughes. Created group
placemats:
– ConnecFons
– QuesFons
– Conclusions
– Judgments

47. Poetry/Narrative
ConnecFons QuesFons
Conclusions Judgments
Thank You, Ma’am –
Langston Hughes

48. 1 large group, 1 small group
• Advantage: either teacher can work with
either group, can provide tutorial, intensive,
individual
• Possible pi@all: don’t want same kids always
in the ‘get help’ group

49. 1 large group, 1 small group:
Examples
• WriFng: 1 teacher works with whole class
prewriFng and draOing, small groups of 3-4
students meet with 1 teacher to conference
• Math: large group using manipulaFves to
represent shapes, small groups, rotaFng with
other teacher, using iPads to take pictures of
shapes in the environment

50. Large group, small group: Examples
• One runs the wriFng workshop, while the
second holds small group ediFng conferences.
• AOer the introducFon of the math lesson, one
monitors and supports the larger group, while
the other conFnues to teach a smaller group
who need addiFonal support.
• One group in informaFon circles needs more
support so aOer the whole group intro, one
teacher stays with this group while the other
monitors and supports the remaining 4-5 groups

51. Teaming
• most seamless.
• co-planned
• teachers take alternate roles and lead-taking as the
lesson proceeds
• Most oOen in whole class instrucFon and could be
followed up with any of the other four co-teaching
models
• Advantages: capitalizes on both teachers’ strengths,
models collaboraFon teaching/learning to students,
can adjust instrucFon readily based on student need,
flexible
• Possible pi@alls: trust and skill

52. Teaming: Examples
• Brainstorm-categorize lesson – 1 teacher begins,
other teacher noFces aspects the first teacher has
missed or sees confusion in children, adds in and
assumes lead role.
• Modeling reading strategies: two teachers model and
talk about the strategies they use to read, noFng
things they do differently.
• Graphic organizer: Teachers model how to use a
semanFc map as a post reading vocabulary building
acFvity, teacher most knowledgeable about semanFc
mapping creates it as other teacher debriefs with
students; both flow back and forth

53. K/Grade 1 WriFng
Commons & Jakovac
Samples from June 7th, 2012

63. Language Counts!
…our language choices have serious
consequences for children’s learning and for
who they become as individuals and as a
community.
…the language we choose in our teaching
changes the worlds children inhabit now and
those they will build in the future.
-Peter H. Johnston, 2012

64. • My class is a 3-4 reading level to a 32.
• This is my low group.
• I have 14 IEPs in my class.
• I have a behavior class.
• How many special needs do you have?
• I’ve a split class.

65. Language Counts!
• Thank you
• What are you reading that is interesFng to
you?
• I think we have come off course. What can we
do to get back on course?
• We only get to write for 4 minutes!
• I don’t think I was clear enough with my
instrucFons. Can we stop for a moment and
have you help me be clearer?

66. Resources
• Student Diversity, 3rd ed. – Brownlie, Feniak & Schnellert,
2016
• Learning in Safe Schools, 2nd ed – Brownlie & King, Oct., 2011
• It’s All about Thinking – collabora@ng to support all learners
(in Math and Science) - Brownlie, Fullerton & Schnellert, 2011
• It’s All about Thinking – collabora@ng to support all learners
(in English, Social Studies and Humani@es) – Brownlie &
Schnellert, 2009
• Grand Conversa@ons, ThoughJul Responses – a unique
approach to literature circles – Brownlie, 2005
• Assessment & Instruc@on of ESL Learners – Brownlie, Feniak,
& McCarthy, 2004
• Reading and Responding, gr. 4,5,&6 – Brownlie & Jeroski,
2006

67. What’s Next?
• What is your plan to conduct a class review?
• Who will be involved?
• Who will work with you to build a plan for
your class?
• What is something that you are adding on to
your pracFce as a result of today?
• What is something you are leung go of?