Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District’s Board of Education took a look into the district’s co-teaching collaborations during its March 7 meeting, receiving a presentation from a host of co-teaching contributors about their routines and the successes of the program.
In the district, co-teaching takes place when two teachers, a general education teacher and a specialized academic instruction teacher, collaborate to implement instruction in an inclusive general education class for students who are placed per their individualized education plans. The presentation from gen-ed and special education partners dispelled the myth that co-teaching classes are special education-only, as the program encompasses gen-ed classes on the elementary, middle and high school levels.
Currently, co-teaching is a part of campus life at McKinley Elementary School, Franklin Elementary School, Will Rogers Learning Community, Webster Elementary School, Lincoln Child Development Center, John Adams Middle School, Lincoln Middle School and Samohi.
"[The two teachers] do their planning together … they deliver the curriculum together, they do their grading and assessment, they communicate with parents and they work with all the students in the classroom, [both] special education [students] and gen-ed," said Samohi Special Education Coordinator Hilda Solis.
Collaborations take on a variety of co-teaching arrangements, including "One Teach, One Assist" where one teacher acts as a primary speaker while the other teacher assists and supports students by monitoring work, addressing behaviors and answering questions. One example of this arrangement is seen with Franklin Elementary School’s recently-implemented Transitional Kindergarten classes, run by gen-ed teacher Danielle Eden and special education instructor Nell Canon.
"You get to use each other’s strengths and build off of that, so I don’t have to be really strong at everything … we kind of play off of what we’re good at, and then we can kind of go from there, and you also learn a lot from the other person," Canon said.
Other types of co-teaching include "One Teach, One Observe," where one teacher is the primary instructor and the other assists by gathering observational data on student learning, as well as "Station Teaching" that divides classes into smaller groups and "Parallel Teaching" which divides a class in half to instruct on the same material. Co-teachers grade students on a 4-point scale which was noted as a "strong assessment of growth."
"When you think about that there are two teachers in the classroom, what a wonderful opportunity for one of the two teachers to be able to take some time with that child and [talk about the lesson] … the teacher might end up with more information than they want, but maybe some pretty necessary information," Solis said of "One Teach, One Observe."
For early learning classrooms like the Transitional Kindergarten and preschool programs, a day in the life of a co-teacher often includes support beyond curriculum, such as social-emotional and behavioral learning support.
"I think the general expectation of preschool and early childhood is that we teach them ABC and 1-2-3 and all these basic skills, but in the collaborative, we also really focus on learning how to learn," said McKinley Elementary teacher Rachel Land. "It’s hard to learn letters if you don’t know how to sit on the rug, so we learn how to sit, how to transition, how to be a student in general."
At Samohi, the pair of gen-ed instructor Roshni Mejia and special education teacher Jason Daglis alternate between co-teaching methods depending on the day, the lesson and the "vibe" of the students. A unique part of the puzzle for Samohi classes is what’s called "executive functioning lessons," setting up students on how to compose emails and different workforce-related skills.
"What’s great about [co-teaching] is that if someone is presenting information and not everyone understands what’s being discussed, it’s always helpful to have another perspective in class," Daglis said.
Moving forward, co-teaching units will be looking to tackle challenges like finding ample planning time, finding the perfect teaching partners, and solving the inequity of co-teaching classes at different school sites.
In response, the board was thankful for the presentation, expressing their desire to take a field trip and observe future co-teaching sessions on campuses.
"It really means a lot for you to come into this space and just share that journey, because it’s important for people to see the hard work that you’re doing," District Superintendent Dr. Antonio Shelton said.
