Collaboration and Co-Teaching - Chapter 8
1. How do we know how we are doing in the day-to-day
business of collaboration?
2. How do we connect our collaborative practices with student
progress?
3. Why is reflection a worthwhile process to gather valuable data?
4. Please review Table 8.1 - Key Reflective Questions. Feel free to share questions that have been
helpful in getting you started as you seek answers.
1. In the day-to-day business of collaboration, one way to understand how we are doing with our collaboration is with our students' daily reactions to our lessons and our informal and formal assessments. And everyday when I walk into my counterpart's classroom and feel prepared is a sign that we have collaborated and are both well-informed of that day's objective for our lesson.
ReplyDelete2. We can connect our collaborative practices with student progress by reviewing student data (i.e., MAP scores, ACCESS scores, etc.) closely and focusing/guiding our instruction on specific skills many lack or need to improve on. Depending on what content/subject you are co-teaching and collaborating on, this may be possible.
3. Reflection is a worthwhile process to gather valuable data because it fosters growth and improvement for your collaboration relationship. It allows for a dialogue to occur that helps make positive changes.
4. After reviewing Table 8.1, the Key Reflective Questions, my co-teaching counterparts and I have discussed "What do we do well?" and "What can we improve?" during our quarterly planning days. I think they have been helpful in evaluating our instruction. I think using some of the other questions, like "What are my strengths?" or "What is my role in this collaborative situation?" or "How do we impact our students' language acquisition?" will help lead to even more effective dialogue. Being the first year in this ESL role and having these new collaborative relationships, I feel that it has been a great start and I am looking forward to continue growing and improving them.
Anel, would you share your reflection for table 8.1 when we meet tomorrow please?
DeleteI think your response to question 1 about walking in and feeling prepared is powerful. There is a confidence and productivity that comes along with that preparation. Thank you for sharing!
Collaboration and Co-Teaching - Chapter 8
ReplyDelete1. How do we know how we are doing in the day-to-day business of collaboration?
Reflecting with our co-teacher, whether we met the outcomes of our lessons, accomplished the learning tasks, or planned for the rest of our unit helps us know how we are doing in the day to day business of collaboration. Additionally, we can be self-reflective and constantly monitoring our own teacher practices and whether or now we are creating or eliminating obstacles to co-teaching. Are we solving problems in a constructive manner or creating more? We learn by doing - but reflecting on what we did helps us learn from the past and make better decisions in the future.
2. How do we connect our collaborative practices with student progress?
We connect our collaborative practices with student progress by asking ourselves what happened, why, so what does it mean, and what can we do next time a situation like this presents itself? We can use checklists, rubrics, scoring guides, and other measurement tools to gather more systematic data. We also can use self-assessment tools to discuss with our co-teachers we can better our practice.
3. Why is reflection a worthwhile process to gather valuable data?
Reflection is a worthwhile process to gather valuable data, because it encourages professional conversations, helps us monitor student performance, and encourages us to collaborate more with the teachers we coteach.
4. Please review Table 8.1 - Key Reflective Questions. Feel free to share questions that have been helpful in getting you started as you seek answers.
What is my role in this collaborative situation?
What works in our collaborative practice?
What can we improve?
Please share with us how you and your co-teachers evaluate if you have met lesson outcomes and accomplished learning tasks. When do you get to have these discussions? How do you begin these discussions?
Delete1. I agree with Anel that a huge sign of the effectiveness of our collaboration is whether or not we come into the class with both teachers feeling prepared and "in sync" about the day's lesson. I also feel that student progress is a good indicator of whether our collaborative efforts are working.
ReplyDelete2. Effective collaboration should correlate to an increase in student progress. Right now, we rely heavily on teacher observation, student work as well as district assessments to see that progress, but I would love to see us create/use some assessments that are designed specifically for ELs to measure their English language acquisition, because so many of the assessments our students take are not designed specifically for ELs.
3. Reflection is imperative for us to continually improve and we can use reflective practices and questions to gather data about what is working well and what still needs to improve.
Let's talk tomorrow about developing assessments designed specifically for ELs. This is something we need to explore in depth as a team. Thank you for mentioning it.
Delete1. How do we know how we are doing in the day-to-day business of collaboration? We can meet with our co-teachers regularly and make time to ask what we each feel is going well and what we can improve on. Having regular contact with our co-teachers outside of the co-teaching time is crucial. Also, having rapport and ease in talking with the teachers we co-teach with allows for honest feedback. We can also look at student progress to see if co-teaching is effective.
ReplyDelete2. How do we connect our collaborative practices with student progress?
I agree with Danielle that it would be great to have some district assessments that are normed for ELs to monitor their progress. It would be ideal if these assessments were in place of other assessments that are not normed for ELs so that the developing bilingual students do not have more testing time in place of instruction.
3. Why is reflection a worthwhile process to gather valuable data? Reflection is the key to growth. Reflection allows us to see where we are strong and areas we need to improve in. Reflecting with the teachers we work with allows us to grow as a collaborative team.
4. Please review Table 8.1 - Key Reflective Questions. Feel free to share questions that have been helpful in getting you started as you seek answers.
The question that I keep in the forefront of my mind is "How do I support my colleagues?" Our co-teachers need to feel that we are pulling our weight and that they feel we lessen their load and support the developing bilinguals in their rooms.
Let's talk about district assessments for ELs to monitor their progress. Please share your view on how these assessments could be developed across the district. Thank you!
Delete1. How do we know how we are doing in the day-to-day business of collaboration?
ReplyDeleteAs a TLC, I can gauge how well my collaboration with another teacher(s) is going before, during, and after the lesson. Both the teacher and I should feel great going into the lesson and understand the learning objectives. During the lesson, we both know our roles and responsibilities and are engaged during the lesson. The students understand their expectations both academically and behaviorally. After the lesson we can gauge how well it went based on student learning outcomes.
2. How do we connect our collaborative practices with student progress?
During a coaching cycle we are expected to reflect on the lesson based on student learning. We can take anecdotal, summative, and formative assessments to evaluate student progress. These assessments will indicate if what we planned was successful, if we need to change something, and/or take a different approach.
3. Why is reflection a worthwhile process to gather valuable data?
I believe reflecting on our teaching and collaboration is important if we want to improve. We are able to have professional conversations about the process and the outcomes. If we do not reflect and change we will continue to repeat the same mistakes while expecting a different outcome.
4. Please review Table 8.1 - Key Reflective Questions. Feel free to share questions that have been helpful in getting you started as you seek answers.
The questions that have been the most helpful are, “What is my role in this collaborative situation? How do I support my colleagues? -and- “How do my colleagues support me?” I think understanding that my role is to FIRST collaborate with a teacher is extremely important, as well as for the teacher to see me a co-teacher. Establishing this in the beginning is a game changer for me.
Dana, could you share specifics on in depth reflection experiences that you have had with your co-teachers this year? It would be great for us to hear about your positive experiences.
Delete1. I think we can evaluate our day-to-day collaboration by the daily conversations and communications with our colleagues. Because teaching is so fluid and we need to reflect and adjust lessons as they are taught, it is helpful to have colleagues to share and get ideas from as needed. This open communication helps teachers effectively instruct students with best strategies and lesson. Together we can geo to be better educators.
ReplyDelete2.We can connect our collaborative practices with student progress by collecting information from multiple data sources. We can then interpret the data to gain a better understanding of students' needs and work together to develop a plan for effective lessons and strategies to meet the needs of our students.
3.Reflection provides an opportunity to think deeply about what is working well in the classroom and consider what changes need to be made. Reflecting about data helps us monitor student progress while considering if what we are doing is working. Reflection provides a base for discussions with colleagues to determine next steps for helping students be successful. These important discussions provide opportunities for colleagues to share their own strengths and also gather suggestions from one another to best meet student needs.
Pat, would you share some examples of truly open communication in having conversations with your co-teachers? The way we use language and the nuances we may bring to the conversation can generate positive/negative outcomes. Thank you for sharing!
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