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Alternative Seating: Alternative seating can benefit students who have an excessive need for movement or other body sensation. The goal of an alternative seating option is to give students the opportunity to generate more sensation. Examples of generating more sensation include: shifting weight, bouncing gently, engaging postural muscles for balance, or snuggling into a support or cushion.

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Flexible Seating Elevates Student Engagement

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Breaking up rows of desks fosters collaboration and empowers kids to think about how they work best.

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"A choice board is a graphic organizer that allows students to choose how they will learn a concept. The choice board below has nine squares. (There is no minimum or maximum, however nine seems to be a good number.) Inside each square is an activity. Students can choose one or several activities to complete. Choice boards can be organized so students need to finish one square before moving to the next, they can be random, or can be organized in a specific way. The level of difficulty of the activities can vary or stay consistent."

Tic-Tac-Toe Boards and Menus are two different types of choice boards.

"A menu offers students a way to make decisions about what they will do in order to meet class requirements. A menu could be for a single lesson, a week-long lesson, or even a month-long period of study. Once the teacher has decided on what the essential understandings and/or skills are, she/he can begin to create a menu."

"Tic-Tac-Toe choice boards give students the opportunity to participate in multiple tasks that allow them to practice skills they've learned in class or to demonstrate and extend their understanding of concepts. From the board, students either choose or are assigned three adjacent or diagonal tasks to complete.

Choice boards address student readiness, interest, or learning preferences. They are easily adapted to a subject area."

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Choice Boards, Menus, & Tic-Tac-Toe by Sarah Dillard

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Differentiate with Learning Menus and Choice Boards

"...at its core, differentiated instruction means addressing ways in which students vary as learners." - Carol Ann Tomlinson

[Tweet "Interactive Learning Menus with @GoogleforEdu #edtech#gsuiteedu"]

What Are Learning Menus?

IT'S ALL ABOUT CHOICE! Learning menus (aka choice boards) are a form of differentiated learning that gives students a menu or choice of learning activities. Learning menus and choice boards can be created in a variety of styles and mediums. They've been around for a long time and originated in a static, paper format. But with digital tools, we can bring the menus to life with interactivity and creation. Menus can be a simple list, a tic-tac-toe or bingo-style game, or get as creative and intricate as you like. Check out my Pinterest board for ideas.

Learning Menus Can Be Used with Any Age Group

I have found that menus and choice boards tend to be more popular among elementary teachers, but I used them in my middle school classroom, and now I use them in professional learning workshops with adults. Any grade level can use learning menus!

Learning Menus Can Be Used in Any Subject Area

Since learning menus are so flexible, they can easily be created and adapted for just about any subject area. So no excuses! Any teacher who is willing to try can make use of this student-centered strategy.

[Tweet "Any teacher who is willing to try can make use of this student-centered strategy. #edtech"]

Are Learning Menus Hyperdocs the Same Thing?

No, but they could be part of a Hyperdoc assignment. I love Hyperdocs! But these two are not one in the same. Keep in mind the definition of learning menus stated above. It is simply a menu of choices from which students can choose. Student choice is the big idea behind learning menus and choice boards.

A Hyperdoc is a complete packaged assignment that also meets some additional criteria. A Hyperdoc doesn't have to include choice, but it could. To learn more about Hyperdocs, visit their site or read the AMAZING book by Lisa Highfill, Sarah Landis, and Kelly Hilton.

Creating a Tic-Tac-Toe Learning Menu in Google Docs

One easy way to dip your toes into the learning menu water is a Tic-Tac-Toe menu. A Tic-Tac-Toe can be used for anything from short activities to more long-term projects, both assessment FOR learning (formative) and assessment OF learning (summative).

Below is an example of a Novel Unit Tic-Tac-Toe menu that I created as a summative project. It was created in Google Docs, nothing fancy, just a table and some color. Depending on how you want to use, you can add links, rubrics, images, video and more. (Click here to use my blank tic-tac-toe template.)
CLICK HERE to use the Novel Study Tic-Tac-Toe template. On mobile? CLICK HERE to make a copy.
Learning Menu Design

Remember when you are creating a learning menu to align it with your learning goals! First, I use the middle square as my non-negotiable, the one activity that I want every student to complete. This could be reading an article, watching a video, or in this case; every student will write a summary and add it to a collaborative Google Slide deck where they will also add links to their other projects. Everything in one place!

Some teachers also make the middle square a free space where students can propose their own ideas to demonstrate their learning. LOVE THIS IDEA!

I had some students who would try to find the easiest or fastest way to complete the tasks. But if you pay attention to the learning design, you can design it so that it gives choice and flexible learning paths, not just an easy completion grade.

I use the color to guide the learning design. Because I use the middle square as a non-negotiable, I control how they make the tic-tac-toe just a little bit more. Every student will do the middle square and one from the blue and one from the yellow. In this summative example, students are mostly creating, but in the example below, you will see how it can also work for activities that guide the learning.

Below is a professional learning example that I designed for teaching Google Chrome. As a trainer, I typically have very mixed groups in my training sessions (multiple grade levels, subject areas, and tech savviness). I usually address general skills, and apps and extensions that are applicable across all grade levels and subject areas as a whole group.

Then I move into an activity like the Chrome PD Tic-Tac-Toe learning menu to allow teachers to dig deeper into their own subject areas and grade levels AND move at a pace that is comfortable for their level and learning style.
CLICK HERE to use my Chrome PD Tic-Tac-Toe template. On mobile? CLICK HERE to make a copy of the template.
Other Types of Learning Menus

As I said, a tic-tac-toe is just one type of menu. It happens to be a favorite of mine because they are easy to design and are not too overwhelming. But I have used many other types of menus, and I have been curating ideas on this Learning Menu Pinterest Board.

Digital Menu for Student Creation with Google Slides by Tommy Spall

Below is a Google Slide example of a learning menu that takes on the look of a restaurant menu from my friend, Tommy Spall. Follow him @TommySpall. (You can thank me later!) Click here to make a copy of Tommy's template that includes linked slides to lots of Googley projects and room for you to make it your own. (If you are on mobile and having trouble with the template link, try this make a copy link.)

Professional Development BINGO Board by Amber Teamann and Melinda Miller

Another option is to make it a full out BINGO board, like in this example from my friend Amber Teamann and her collaborator Melinda Miller. (Follow them at @8Amber8 and @MMiller7571, and yes, you will thank me for this one, too!)

Amber and Melinda are both elementary school principals. They issued this BINGO PD Challenge to her teachers over the summer, and I thought it might inspire you with some other options for choice and challenges in your classroom or professional learning. You can learn more details about PD Bingo in Amber's blog post.

Using G Suite to Create Learning Menus

The possibilities are truly endless! Consider all the ways you could use G Suite to create learning menus and the extended activities and links. Try thinking of the ways you could create menus using these G Suite tools:

Google Docs

Google Slides

Google Drawings

Google Sheets

Google My Maps

Google Sites

How to Use Google Templates and Assign in Google Classroom

If you enjoyed this post, you will love the more in-depth look at the power of choice boards and more examples in this post and podcast episode.

© Shake Up Learning 2023. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kasey Bell and Shake Up Learning with appropriate and specific direction to the original content on ShakeUpLearning.com. See: Copyright Policy.

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Interactive Learning Menus (Choice Boards) Using Google Docs

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I love learning menus, and it is one of my favorite ways to incorporate student choice and to differentiate learning. And with digital tools like G Suite for Education, it's super easy to make menus interactive, digital, and more dynamic! Digital Differentiation offers teachers and students many ways to reach all learners.

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Faculty Focus | Higher Ed Teaching & Learning

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Giving students some choice about which assignments they will complete or letting them decide how much the assignments will count in a grading scheme are learner-centered strategies that help develop student responsibility for learning. The ideas are simple: rather than a teacher mandated sequence of assignments, students are presented with assignment options and they decide which ones they will complete. Or, students do all the teacher selected assignments but determined what percentage of the grade each assignment is worth. Lots of variations are possible. In my graduate course on college teaching, students completed all five assignments, with each being worth 10 percent of their grade. I gave students the other 50% of their grade and let them divvy up that amount between the assignments.

Several elements are key to the success of this approach. First, letting students select which assignments they will complete means the teacher must be sure that any combination of assignments will accomplish the course goals and objectives.

Most teachers who give students assignment choices use an absolute grading standard. The number of points needed for each grade level is determined upfront. Every assignment has a designated point value. Most teachers grade student selected assignments with the same rigor as teacher selected assignments. In other words, it's not a matter of doing the assignment at some marginally acceptable level and getting all the points. Here too there are options, including contract grading systems and credible mastery approaches.

The biggest challenge involves getting students to examine the criteria they use to select assignments. Most tend to select those assignments that look easy, although in my experience students never agreed as to which assignments those were. If students select their assignments at the beginning of the course, I recommend having them write responses to a series of prompts like these:

Look at the collection of assignments you've decided to complete and explain what those choices say about how you prefer to learn.

Look at one assignment you did not choose and explain why you did not choose that assignment.

Does being able to select assignments impact your motivation to learn? Explain if it does or doesn't.

Do you think students learn more and do better when they select assignments or is it preferable to have teacher just make the assignments?

Why would a teacher let students select assignments and/or give them a role in determining how much those assignments will count?

Having students reflect on their choices or their weighting of assignments midway through the course can encourage more thinking about their decisions. Here prompts could include: Comment on your selection of assignments (or weighting of assignments) at this point in the course. Or, are there any assignments you didn't select that you would choose now?

I know one teacher who at this point lets students complete an assignment they didn't select as bonus option. She adjusts the amount of work point value of assignments. Reflection at the end of the course might include a set of recommendations offered future students taking this course.

Some teachers are motivated to give students this kind of role in assessment because students are less likely to complain if they do poorly. They can't blame the teacher for making them do assignments they never do well on or having those assignment count too much in the grading scheme. Most of us who've used this approach have found that it does decrease students complaints, but that's not the most important reason for using it.

If students are encouraged to examine their choices and to reflect on their performance, there's a good chance they will make some important discoveries about themselves as learners. They may discover being able to make choices increases their motivation and willingness to work on assignments. They may be able to identify those learning skills they have that enable them to do well on certain kinds of assignments. And they may just realize those skills they don't have can be developed thereby increasing the chance they will learn and do well on other kinds of assignments.
I'm interested in hearing what you think. Please take our poll, or share your experiences with allowing students to have a say in what assignments they complete in the comment box below.

Do you give students choices about their assignments and how they will be assessed? Teaching Professor Blog poll

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A Role for Student Choice in Assessment? - Faculty Focus | Higher Ed Teaching & Learning

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Giving students some choice about which assignments they will complete or letting them decide how much the assignments will count in a grading scheme are learner-centered strategies that help develop student responsibility for learning. The ideas are simple: rather than a teacher mandated sequence of assignments, students are presented with assignment options and they decide which ones they will complete.

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Instead of drawing a Stop Box on their note taking paper, students write their Jots on sticky notes. Students then take their sticky note Jots and post them on posters around the room. Posters may be made for individual questions or topics based on the content being covered.

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Inquiry teams are a great way to improve lessons and teaching practice. Watch an inquiry in action as they go over a lesson where students had issues, and how they discussed ways to teach the lesson in a way so students understand the concepts better.

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Discussion and Supporting Materials

Thought starters

1. How does Ms. McPhillips decide what hints to use?

2. What are the effects of using hint cards?

3. How does Ms. McPhillips use hint cards to scaffold understanding?

School Details

John F. Deering Middle School
2 Webster Knight Drive
West Warwick RI 02893

Data Provided By:

Teachers

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Middle school math teacher Audra McPhillips explains how she uses hint cards to support her students and encourage independence. Audra explains how she writes probing questions on the hint cards to help scaffold her students' understanding. Audra shares how she has noticed her students benefiting from the extra support of the hint cards.

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Background

SQ3R is a comprehension strategy that helps students think about the text they are reading while they're reading. Often categorized as a study strategy, SQ3R helps students "get it" the first time they read a text by teaching students how to read and think like an effective reader.

This strategy includes the following five steps (Robinson, 1946):

Survey: Students review the text to gain initial meaning from the headings, bolded text, and charts.

Question: Students begin to generate questions about their reading from previewing it.

Read: As students read, they need to look for answers to the questions they formulated during their preview of the text. These questions, based on the structure of the text, help focus students' reading.

Recite: As students move through the text they should recite or rehearse the answers to their questions and make notes about their answer for later studying.

Review: After reading, students should review the text to answer lingering questions and recite the questions they previously answered.

Benefits

Do you have students who get to the end of reading their textbook selection and have no idea what they've read? These students can benefit from using the SQ3R because it requires them to activate their thinking and review their understanding throughout their reading.

It also dissuades students from waiting and then cramming for tests since the five steps requires them to review information and create notes during their initial reading. Their notes from the initial reading become their study guides.

Create and use the strategy

As with its sister strategy Question-Answer Relationship (QAR), SQ3R requires the teacher to model.

1. Explain to students that effective readers do many things while reading, including surveying, questioning, reading, reciting and reviewing.

2. Choose a content area passage to read and model the five SQ3R steps.

3. During each step, make sure to explain what you're doing and why you're doing it.

4. After your modeling session, invite students to independently read a selection and practice applying the SQ3R steps. This could be completed as an in-class or take-home assignment.

5. Afterwards ask students to review their notes and reflect on the process. Were they surprised by how much they remember by using the SQ3R method?

6. Students may not be "sold" on this strategy the first time they try it. Not all readings will be worth the time it takes to complete the SQ3R steps, so help students to understand not just how to apply it, but when to apply it.

What it looks like...

Download the SQ3R Guide

References

Fisher, D., and Frey, N, (2004). Improving Adolescent Literacy: Strategies at Work. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Robinson, F.P. (1946). Effective Study. New York: Harper & Row.

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SQ3R is a comprehension strategy that helps students think about the text they are reading while they're reading. Often categorized as a study strategy, SQ3R helps students "get it" the first time they read a text by teaching students how to read and think like an effective reader.

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Background

Reciprocal Teaching is a strategy that asks students and teachers to share the role of teacher by allowing both to lead the discussion about a given reading. Reciprocal Teaching involves four strategies that guide the discussion: predicting, question generating, summarizing and clarifying.

Benefits

Reciprocal Teaching is a great way to teach students how to determine important ideas from a reading while discussing vocabulary, developing ideas and questions, and summarizing information. It can be used across several content areas; it works particularly well with textbooks and non-fiction text.

Create and use the strategy

Break the classroom into mixed-ability small groups. Designate one student as the "teacher" within each small group. This student will help keep their small group on task and ensure they move through each of the four steps as they read material that has already been divided it into smaller chunks by you. Next, you will read the first chunk to all the small groups, modeling the following four steps of reciprocal teaching.

1. Prediction
Ask students to predict what they think the reading may be about. Get them to think about what is going to happen by asking questions like a detective might do.

2. Question as you go
Remind students to generate questions as they listen and read. Remind them of the three levels of questions:

1. Right-There questions (answer in the text)

2. Between-the-lines questions (inference needed)

3. Critical Thought questions (require their opinion)

3. Clarify
As students listen and read remind them to ask themselves what words and phrases are unclear to them. These clarifications may take the form of the following questions.

1. How do you pronounce that?

2. What does the word mean?

3. I think the author is saying...

4. I'm guessing 'pie-in-the-sky' means...

4. Summarize

1. Students summarize verbally, within pairs, and then share with their assigned small group or record their summary and read it aloud to their small group.

2. Each small group could create a semantic map with major points of significance shared by each group member.

After you have modeled the previous steps, students may continue working in their small groups by silently or orally reading the next sections of the reading while conducting the four-step process.

What it looks like...
Download a Reciprocal Teaching handout
To see examples of reciprocal teaching within specific content areas see:

Fisher, D., and Frey, N, (2004). Improving Adolescent Literacy: Strategies at Work. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Palincsar, A. S. & Brown, A. (1984). Reciprocal Teaching of Comprehension-Fostering and Comprehension Monitoring Activities. Cognition and Instruction, 1(2), pp. 117-175.

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Reciprocal Teaching is a strategy that asks students and teachers to share the role of teacher by allowing both to lead the discussion about a given reading. Reciprocal Teaching involves four strategies that guide the discussion: predicting, question generating, summarizing and clarifying.

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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A few years into my teaching career, a colleague attended training at Phillips Exeter Academy on the Harkness method, in which classroom learning takes place as students and teacher sit in a circle or oval for discussions and all students must contribute. Afterward, she enthusiastically shared what she had learned about facilitating effective student-led discussions.

Until then I had been running discussions in the familiar way: pitch a question to the class, ask students to raise their hands, and try to be equitable when selecting volunteers to answer. The idea of giving students more ownership over what we discussed-from the questions themselves to possible answers-seemed like an exciting opportunity for us to learn together.

With practice, my students and I found success with the Harkness method. I also tried Socratic seminar and other approaches that emphasize student inquiry and collaboration. After years of experimentation with student-led discussions, I've honed three approaches that have made almost all conversations in my classroom both complex and enlightening. They start with students arriving to class having read a shared text.

3 Keys to Effective Student-Led Discussions

1. Make a case: At the beginning of class, share a single, open-ended question about the text. It should be an essential question-one that will elicit varied or even polarized responses. Have multiple copies of documents related to that question (literary criticism, encyclopedia entries, op-eds, news articles, etc.) and multiple dictionaries on a table for students to use-I recommend saying nothing about these and seeing what happens.

Instruct your students to work together to consider the question from multiple angles before ultimately voting to come up with an answer the majority feels good about.

This is a timed discussion, with the length determined by you. It may need to extend beyond a 50-minute class period, and could last up to 100 minutes. Remind students that they need to self-regulate-they should participate as close to equally as possible.

Don't participate, but after the discussion you should facilitate a short (10 minutes or less) reflection. Ask your students: What worked and what didn't? What could be done to make the discussion better next time?

2. Use genuine questions: Ask students to take 10 minutes to silently type or write at least one genuine question-a real, honest question about the text, as opposed to a discussion question that sounds like one a teacher would ask-about what they read the night before. With genuine questions you get a sense of what students want to know more about, what they're struggling with, and whether or not they're comprehending the text.

Once students finish writing, ask them to read the questions aloud, one at a time. Write the questions on the board for all to see. Then ask the class to thoroughly discuss as many of the questions as possible; transition from one question to another when the class agrees it's time to move on. You should participate but not lead. Multiple class periods might be needed to address all the questions.

3. Share a question, passage, or pattern: This technique, used for online discussions, was inspired by the "One Question One Comment" activity in Kelly Gallagher's Deeper Reading. After students finish reading an assigned text, they post one of the following on the class website: a genuine question about what they read and a short attempt to answer it, a passage that resonated with them and a short explanation of why, or a pattern they identified with a short explanation of what that pattern implies about the whole text.

If students choose to share a passage, have them point to a specific quotation they find interesting. By articulating why they like it, they notice exactly what it is about the language that moves them. Choosing a pattern enables students to find meaning in repetition-I have them search for repeated words, images, descriptions, or ideas. When they explain the pattern's implications, they usually begin to identify themes in the text. It's a concrete path to the abstract.

After posting a question, passage, or pattern, students should thoughtfully respond to the posts of two other students. At the beginning of class the next day, give your class 5-10 minutes to review what was posted online, and then have each student share either one lingering question or a new idea that came from a classmate. In my class, these comments serve as the basis for our discussion that day.

These approaches have helped my students see how questions are more interesting and often more important than answers. They begin to think more critically about every aspect of what they're reading, from writing style to authorial intent. They feel more ownership over ideas learned in class because they arrived at them, and in turn they become even more curious.

Student-led discussions take time and a teacher who's willing to step back a little. The results are worth it-when my students are empowered, my classroom transforms into an intellectual playground.

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A few years into my teaching career, a colleague attended training at Phillips Exeter Academy on the Harkness method, in which classroom learning takes place as students and teacher sit in a circle or oval for discussions and all students must contribute. Afterward, she enthusiastically shared what she had learned about facilitating effective student-led discussions.

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Accountable discussion empowers students to draw up arguments based on evidence. Students learn how to respect the views of their peers while strengthening their communication skills. They get practice in being good conversationalists, participating in conversations in a polite manner.

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Accountable Talk Strategy

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Better Collaborative Conversations: On Teaching with Dr. Doug Fisher

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Sample Accountable Talk Sentence Stems and Starters.pdf

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Sample Accountable Talk Sentence Stems and Starters.pdf Sample Accountable Talk Sentence Stems and Starters * What did you mean when you said... * I also noticed... * Could you explain

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Text Structure | Classroom Strategies | AdLit.org

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AdLit.org offers resources (articles, research, teaching strategies, book recommendations) for parents and educators of struggling adolescent readers and writers.

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A Second Set Of Partners: A Turn & Talk Strategy

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A Second Set Of Partners: A Turn & Talk Strategy

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Lectures are usually planned placing great importance on the information that is to be conveyed and the means by which we communicate it. We prepare our presentations; choose appropriate strategies and interactive activities all with the utmost of care. But how often do we "Pause" to allow the information to sink in and register in the minds of our students?

Often, teachers are trying to present maximum information within the allotted time due to which, students have a lot to digest at the end of class. This leaves them with little time to comprehend and analyze the material with most retaining a very small percent of the original content taught in class. Thus "Pausing" in between the lecture should also be planned ahead to ensure that learning occurs within the classroom.

What is the Pause Procedure?
Pause procedure is a technique in which the teacher makes use of strategic pauses to provide students with time during which they can review their notes, discuss among their pairs or undertake any similar activity that allows them to clarify, assimilate and retain the material.

When to pause?
Pausing following presentation of key information is most appropriate. Rowe (1983) suggested the use of at least three two minute pauses in the lecture at 8-12 minute intervals to enhance learning. During the initial phase, to ensure adherence to the strategy use a minute timer set for every 10 minutes to force you to take a pause. This serves as a reminder for teachers as they may forget to use this strategy when caught up in their presentations.

Sometimes students may request for more time to review and discuss the material. In such a situation the timer proves handy, as it signals the end of the pause period and the lecture is continued. Thus students are taught to work within the time period of the pause.

What to do after you pause?
The pauses are effective only when the activity that follows stimulates and facilitates students to comprehend, reflect and learn the material. Here are some activities that you can follow with after you pause:

Note taking: Students can use this time to summarize the information presented in written format, listing down key points or main ideas, creating a graphical representation (mindscaping), filling an exit slip etc that allows them to reflect on the material heard.
Pair review: A quick discussion among the pairs will help students in recalling facts, clarifying any misconceptions and filling in facts left out.
Framing questions: Students can be instructed to frame two questions based on the material that was presented. For example "how long was the first World war?"
Crossword: Students are presented with a quick crossword puzzle that they should solve. When called for, these puzzles can also be designed such as to connect previous learning with the present, in turn strengthening the learning.

Discuss here: Can a break or a pause in the middle of a lesson, enhance learning?
Learn more: Take a course
About PLB

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Pause procedure is a technique in which the teacher makes use of strategic pauses to provide students with time during which they can review their notes, discuss among their pairs or undertake any similar activity that allows them to clarify, assimilate and retain the material.

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Facts, Questions, Responses | eduTOOLBOX

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As students read the passage, they should make note of the facts, questions, and responses that arise as they read the material. Paste these in appropriate places in the reading. They should draw an arrow on the sticky notes to point to the specific place in the passage, jotting down a note or two.

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Collaborative Team Teaching: Challenges and Rewards

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Veteran special ed teacher Marisa Kaplan shares the challenges and rewards of co-teaching, including the fun of having another adult in the classroom.

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Today I'm so pleased to welcome a special guest to the blog: instructional coach Elizabeth Stein, who is the creator of #coteachat and co-creator of #udlchat on Twitter. Elizabeth stops by today to bring you a different kind of co-teaching success story-one that's completely honest about the challenges you might encounter when a co-teacher puts up "invisible cement walls" between you. Her story is a testament to the power of persistence and optimism, and I think you'll enjoy her candor and the practical tips she shares from her personal experience.

Over to you, Elizabeth!

***

I could easily share an all-around happy-go-lucky successful co-teaching experience with you-but I won't. We all know what the traditional success story looks like. Two teachers who just make it work together, no matter what. It's the kind of success where two teachers have the respect, the ongoing communication, and the shared compassion to sustain positive learning experiences throughout the year. Those lucky students see what learning looks like and they know what successful learning feels like by participating in class every day.

When I reflect through my experiences to select one co-teaching success story, my mind naturally sifts through all recent and past inspirational and uplifting experiences. Of course many specific stories come to mind, and yet I keep returning to the experiences that were completely challenging and daunting. I keep returning to the stories that may not seem like a success at first glance. The process of sifting through to identify just one success story brought me to the awareness that each co-teaching experience has been a success. No kidding! How is that even possible, you ask?

It has become second nature for me to apply a more real-world, reframed definition of what success actually means. Typically, we think of a successful co-teaching experience as the one where students achieve and teachers co-plan, work together with parity, and collaborate in a respectful, consistent manner. I just keep thinking, Where does that leave all of the other realistic experiences? I just cannot think about all those memories as unsuccessful. My most challenging co-teaching experiences were, in fact, some of the most successful co-teaching experiences I encountered. Seriously! I learned so much about myself, all students, and my colleagues, and most important, I tapped into the ultra-innovative side of myself-the side that pushed through challenges to make sure students could have the opportunity to achieve to the best of their abilities. Through these challenging co-teaching successes, I learned how tenacious I am-and how, when I keep what is right for students as my guiding light, I can make any co-teaching experience a success.

I recall four students in this inclusive setting who were reading between three and four years below grade level. Yet, they were expected to come to class and engage in the learning. One of the students had a significant decoding weakness. The others read with strong decoding and fluency that far outpaced their ability to comprehend. They became anxious and withdrawn anytime comprehension was needed. And as you know, comprehension was needed most of the time!

My co-teacher and I had co-planning time (what a gift!). But don't get too excited, because here's what that looked like. This co-teacher would say, "Here are my plans" as the plan book was pushed across the table to me. I was then expected to either Xerox the pages or jot down what I needed. What a glorious choice! As for the instructional process, classtime consisted of us either taking turns or my co-teacher creating the territorial ground that left an invisible triple-layered cement wall between us. Any ideas I shared for incorporating strategies to guide each learner in the room, was met with the usual "This is the way I've always done it" or "We don't really have time for that." I felt like an uninvited, unwelcomed guest.

So how is this possibly a success story, you wonder? Because here's how I addressed it:

I planted seeds of Universal Design for Learning.

I continued to share ideas for strategies to include in the process of learning-like modeling .

I provided extra help to students before school, after school, and during their lunch period. The one student who had a significant decoding weakness came to me before school for explicit instruction with decoding and fluency.

I connected with students and parents through email to provide additional homework help as needed.

I did not wallow in frustration (at least never for too long!). I rechanneled all energy into doing what I could do for my students-and creating a relationship to whatever extent possible with my co-teacher.

I balanced my contributions with my co-teacher's unwillingness to collaborate. I shared ideas and then stepped back to see where the ideas would go. And in time, the co-teacher came around. Not in a perfect-world kind of way, but in a "let's do all we can-together-for our students" kind of way.

Okay, I won't lie. It was exhausting to have to spend time and energy knocking down invisible cement walls that were rebuilt by my co-teacher on a regular basis. But I pushed through this challenge. I focused on the positive aspects of my co-teacher and the situation. My bottom-line question each morning was, What can I do for and with my students today? And at the end of the day, What did our students accomplish today? What worked well? What did not-and what can I do to follow up?

I was always aware that I was an advocate for students. My voice and actions needed to guide students to strengthen their voice and actions. For example, they learned to embrace their personal gains. They stopped putting a strong emphasis on comparing their grades to those of their peers. They began to focus clearly on their personal commitments to learning-and this led to the start of closing personal achievement gaps.

Here are three tips on how to make any co-teaching experience a positive one:

1. Practice Resilience

Develop a relationship with your co-teacher. Practicing resilience is easy when co-teachers share a philosophy and are open-minded educators who enjoy sharing teaching space. If your co-teacher isn't the true collaborative type, that's fine, because you will always model collaborative, respectful, ongoing, problem-solving, solution-seeking views. This approach will either be contagious or assuage any nay-saying co-teaching partner. Resilience will empower you to stay on the track of positive learning and teaching-and giving the all students in your class all you've got!

2. Model the power of positivity

For resilience to take root, we need to experience positive emotions. And we are in charge of that! When we are mindful to exercise positive thoughts, we engage in the world with a positive outlook. Research supports that when we fill our thoughts with positive emotions, we see more possibilities and opportunities. Just think about how this can translate into any co-teaching situation.

3. Strive for collaboration and collective resilience

There's something to be said for never giving up. Embrace whatever the co-teaching situation is and always strive for shared solution-seeking conversations. Regardless of the personality or philosophical differences, you must come together for the students. If the relationship is seemingly beyond hope, return to how you view the situation. Focus on the positive aspects. Work directly with the students if a co-teaching partner is standoffish. You will be amazed at the success that unfolds!

***

Thanks to Elizabeth for being here today and sharing her tips for co-teaching success. She leaves us with these questions: How do you define success? And how do you make it a part of all of your co-teaching stories? Add your thoughts in the comments below!

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A Deeper Look into Co-Teaching Success: Guest Post by Elizabeth Stein

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Today I'm so pleased to welcome a special guest to the blog: instructional coach Elizabeth Stein , who is the creator of #coteachat and co-creator of #udlchat on Twitter. Elizabeth stops by today to bring you a different kind of co-teaching success story-one that's completely honest about the challenges you might encounter when a co-teacher puts up "invisible cement walls" between you.

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Co-teaching" How To Make It Work

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Impossible. That was my first thought when I saw the class roster. In one of my ninth grade English classes, 13 of my 27 students had IEPs. Additionally, about one-third of the students had failed the class the previous year. I dreaded the first day of school. But then something wonderful happened: The principal assigned me a co-teacher, a special education expert to serve as another set of hands (and eyes and ears!) during this class every day. I was thrilled.

My co-teacher Sandie was a joy to collaborate with, but our relationship was by no means perfect, especially at the beginning. We often struggled to find planning time. Sometimes we disagreed about how to best help a particular student. However, we nurtured the co-teaching relationship and, in time, found a rhythm that worked for us-and for the students we served.

In the years since I co-taught with Sandie and other teachers, I've coached and consulted with dozens of successful and not-so-successful teams. Co-teaching, when done well, offers benefits for both students and teachers. When not done well, it can be confusing or downright frustrating for all involved. If you are or will be part of a co-teaching partnership, this post will show you some ways to make your partnership work beautifully.

What is Co-Teaching?

In a co-teaching relationship, also known as a "push-in" arrangement, a general education teacher partners with a specialist who may be certified in teaching English Language Learners (ELLs), students with learning disabilities, or some other special population. A co-teaching team works in the general ed classroom; for the majority of the time, students with special needs are not pulled out to receive services in another location.

For instance, a middle school social studies teacher may have an ELL teacher co-teaching with him during one class period because five students in that class are newcomers to the United States and speak only Arabic fluently. A high school teacher may have one or two sections of biology to which many students with IEPs for reading are channeled; a co-teacher who specializes in reading disabilities co-teaches in these classes. A 4th grade teacher may have two students with 504 plans and another three who have specific learning disabilities in her class; she works alongside a special education teacher daily during lessons in the four core academic subject areas.

For more background, download this Brief History of Co-Teaching.

Co-Teaching Structures

General education teachers working with specialists in a "push-in" model often work in one of the following structures described by Friend and Cook (1996):

One teach, one observe: One teacher delivers instruction while the other observes student learning. Usually the observer collects data on student understanding so that the co-teaching team can better plan future instruction. Sometimes, specific students are watched closely so that the teachers can determine new strategies to use with them.

One teach, one assist: One teacher takes the lead in providing instruction while the other moves around the classroom, assisting struggling students. This help is not limited to students with special needs; the assisting professional is there to serve whomever needs support.

Parallel teaching: The class is divided in two groups and the same material is presented simultaneously by both teachers. The teachers plan the two groups deliberately to maximize the success of all students; this is not simply a "pull-out" or intervention group sitting in the same room.

Station teaching: Both teachers are actively involved in instruction as students are divided into groups and rotate from one station to the next. There may be stations where students work independently or with a paraprofessional in addition to the two stations the co-teachers facilitate.

Alternative teaching: One teacher takes a small group of students and provides them more intensive or specialized instruction that is different than what the large group receives from the other teacher.

Team teaching: Both teachers teach the content at the same time in tandem or "tag team" fashion.

It is important to note that both teachers have equal status and equal responsibility in all six of these arrangements. In the co-teaching relationships that work best, at no time is one teacher seen as subordinate to the other. Both professionals are credentialed professionals, although each may have his or her specific areas of expertise.

How to Make the Most of a Co-Teaching Partnership

Researchers and practitioners have tons of advice about how to co-teach effectively, and as a person who has been "in the trenches" with several different co-teachers, so do I. The advice below sums up the most common recommendations.

1. Respect each other.

Not surprisingly, mutual respect is critical to the co-teaching relationship. You'll have to share ideas openly and do much of your work facing students together, so respecting each other is paramount. Sometimes you'll disagree, and that's to be expected. As co-teacher and ELL specialist Melissa Eddington says, it's fine to disagree with someone's ideas, but don't make the disagreement about the person.

Teachers in co-teaching situations that don't work well often report feeling disrespected. Amy* is an ELL specialist paired with a middle school social studies teacher. When they collaborate, Amy feels her suggestions for tweaking whole-class lessons are not taken seriously by her partner. "She respects me as a professional," Amy says of her co-teacher, "but I think because I'm not experienced in her content, she doesn't see my input as valuable."

Susan*, who is licensed in both secondary science and learning disabilities, works with two physical science teachers and one biology teacher. The physical science teachers welcome her ideas and eagerly adjust their lessons based on her suggestions. They are seeing a steady increase of students mastering the required standards in the classes Susan supports. The biology teacher, however, dismisses many of Susan's ideas and accuses her of "dumbing down" his content. Susan feels disrespected and finds it hard to even be in the room with the biology teacher because he constantly positions himself as "the expert" and places her in a subordinate role.

Words and gestures speak volumes. Take care to show respect for your partner in all you do.

2. Clearly define roles and responsibilities.

Co-teaching works better when the partners agree on who does what, when. Clearly defined roles and responsibilities prevent either partner from feeling the other has overstepped a boundary or shirked responsibilities.

Natalie Marston (2002-2015), an elementary special ed teacher, recommends co-teachers reach agreement on scheduling, classroom procedures and behaviors, classwork and homework policies, grading, and school/home communication together so they present a united front at all times.

Obviously this type of planning requires a great deal of time, ideally before school starts. If extended time is not available prior to the beginning of the school year, then the co-teaching team should expect to put in extra hours before and after school in the first few weeks so things get off to a good start.

My co-teacher Sandie and I did not have advance warning of our assignment. We found out about it on the first teacher workday, leaving us only a few days before the students arrived. For weeks, we both felt like we were playing "catch up and keep up," but found that having lunch together (and some happy hours together) helped us stay in sync.

3. Be flexible.

Innovation is difficult. That's why so many teachers find themselves falling back on comfortable (and even tired) activities and strategies. Co-teaching allows you to gain another person's perspective on how instruction might be improved, how students might be best assessed, what resources to use, and so much more. Sometimes this means one person has to put aside his or her favorite tried-and-true strategy and try something different.

When Susan suggested a tactile, quiz-like method for reviewing the periodic table to her physical science co-teaching partners, they were skeptical about the time and materials it might require. They initially felt it would be more efficient to simply give additional notes to their students and then pair students to quiz each other. However, they agreed to try the review Susan's way. The students loved the activity, and almost every student with special needs passed the chapter test two days later. All three teachers were thrilled and committed to using the activity in future years.

4. Plan together.

The co-teaching relationship brings together two people with wonderfully rich expertise and experiences. Special educators are typically skilled in individualizing curriculum and instruction based on children's needs (Dettmer et al., 2005; Volonino & Zigmond, 2007). General educators, on the other hand, tend to have broad knowledge of the curriculum, standards, and desired outcomes for the larger group. Therefore, when general educators plan lessons, they tend to aim for the masses (Dettmer et al., 2005). Both perspectives are important, and co-teaching teams need ample planning time to work through how to best utilize each one.

Lack of planning time can lead to territorialism. Without time to plan for a good balance of content and individualization, a general ed teacher may become protective of his subject matter, or a specialist may become protective of his students. Emma*, a high school special ed teacher partnered with two geometry teachers, has experienced this. One teacher often asks Emma to pull aside the five or six students with specific disabilities within his class and work only with them. He sometimes says to her, "You worry about your kids. I'll worry about geometry." The principal is now providing an additional hour of planning time for Emma and this teacher. An assistant principal who oversees the math department facilitates the meetings so Emma feels supported and the geometry teacher has another content-area expert to hash things out with.

Keep in mind that planning must include both instruction and assessment. Considering many students with special needs have legal accommodations for assessment (like being provided translation, extended time, or oral reading), it's best to include both partners fully in designing quizzes, tests, papers, and other high-stakes assessment tasks.

How much time is ideal? One study found that co-teachers desired, on average, 15 minutes to an hour each day for planning (Dieker & Murawski, 2003). This figure corresponds to what worked for my co-teacher and me, and it also confirms what I hear from many co-teachers in the field. Strive to find that time any way you can.

5. Don't take yourself too seriously.

Innovation requires failure. Many times, teachers feel they've failed somehow during instruction, and in reality, the students haven't even noticed. We are often our own worst critics. Revisiting or correcting something later in the day (or the next day) doesn't mean you failed earlier. It means you've learned something since. This is the kind of ongoing learning we want to model for our students.

And, as in most situations in life, a little bit of humor goes a long way. Laugh with your co-teacher. Allow students to see both of you laughing with each other and with them when something is surprising, silly, or just doesn't go the way you planned. In the words of Jennifer Wolf who co-teaches with Melissa Eddington, "Take the work seriously, but don't take yourself too seriously."

Eddington adds, "You gotta laugh at each other! Our job is hard, and if you're not laughing and making light of some things, then it's just not going to be a good place to be."

6. Communicate, communicate, communicate.

Planning time is one thing; constant communication is another. Not only should co-teachers frequently plan for what standards will be covered, how material will be taught, and how students will be assessed, they should also regularly communicate in less formal ways.

Co-teaching teams have different methods to create and sustain that communication:

Eddington and Wolf use the Voxer app throughout the school day and on their drives home to send messages back and forth. Voxer works like a walkie-talkie and allows back-and-forth conversation in real time when two people are not physically close to each other. Melissa says, "We're constantly communicating. We're talking about specific students. We're looking at assessments to see what areas are lacking...different things we want to bring to the classroom, things we don't want to do..."

Some other teams I've worked with use texting and emails throughout each day to share updates. Voxer, texts, and emails can all work well, especially if one teacher has urgent information or an urgent question about a particular student.

Teams can use Google Docs or other shared documents to keep track of lesson planning and to share feedback with each other on how lessons went. Collaborative documents can also be used to provide each other with information about targeted students.

In addition to ongoing communication, Ariel Sacks (2014) reminds us to periodically check in with our co-teacher about how we are doing in general. She recommends asking your partner the following:

Are there management items we should clarify, such as when are students allowed to go to the bathroom?

Are we sharing airtime well?

Are we dividing grading in an equitable way?

Would different teaching formats better utilize the two of us in the classroom?

Finally, co-teachers need to present a united front when dealing with parents. Some partners go as far as to create a shared email address from which all communication flows. This may or may not be practical in your situation. At the very least, important parent communication about a student's progress should be drafted by both parties.

For more in-depth information about communicating and collaborating with your co-teacher, see Communicating and Collaborating in Co-Taught Classrooms (Conderman et al., 2009).

7. Seek administrative support.

Sometimes, teachers have been scheduled to co-teach by administrators but didn't have much advance notice. This is what happened with Sandie and me. We were able to find snippets of time during the school day to use for planning and checking in with each other, but we had no common planning period. If you and your partner don't have a common planning time when you can frequently collaborate, ask for it. Go to your principal with a couple of proposals about how this can work without too much disruption to the rest of the schedule.

Sometimes co-teachers may not understand fully why they are being asked to team. If this is the case, ask for a meeting with the principal and any others responsible for the assignment. Ask them why they thought the two of you would be a good fit and what they hope you will accomplish with students.

If you're already in a co-teaching partnership that's not working well, and you've tried to address this with your partner, turn to a trusted administrator next for advice. If you and your co-teacher have not recently been observed, ask the administrator to come sit in on part of a lesson. Tell him or her what you'd like feedback on or what feels like it's not working well. Debrief with the administrator, ideally with your co-teaching partner. When an observer offers data and feedback to both of you, it may feel different for your partner than when you share things from your perspective. (This co-teaching observation form can help.)

It's important not to go to other teachers with your concerns. Respect the collegial relationship you have with your co-teacher and don't do anything that might undermine it. And it should go without saying that you don't want students to perceive any problems within the co-teaching relationship. Be cognizant of your demeanor, tone, and body language. Students are quite perceptive and can easily spot trouble. They are also experts at "good cop/bad cop." Don't let students play you and your partner against each other. If your colleagues or students give you any evidence that they know the co-teaching arrangement is ineffective, head straight for that trusted administrator to support you. ♦

*These names have been changed.
References:
Conderman, G., Johnston-Rodriguez, S., & Hartman, P. (2009). Communicating and collaborating in co-taught classrooms. Teaching Exceptional Children Plus,5(5). Retrieved January 26, 2017, from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ967751.pdf

Dettmer, P., Thurston, L., Knackendoffel, A., & Dyck, N. (2009). Collaboration, consultation, and teamwork (6th ed.). Columbus, OH: Pearson.

Dieker, Lisa A., Murawski, W. M. (2003). "Co-teaching at the Secondary Level: Unique Issues, Current Trends, and Suggestions for Success." The High School Journal, 86(4). Retrieved January 26, 2017, from http://search.proquest.com/docview/220220652/13494E2D48D1DB506F0/8

Friend, M. & Cook, L. (1996). Interactions: Collaboration skills for school professionals. White Plains, NY: Longman.

Marston, N. (2002-2015). Six steps to successful co-teaching: Helping special and regular education teachers work together. National Education Association. Retrieved January 26, 2017 from http://www.nea.org/tools/6-steps-to-successful-co-teaching.html

Sacks, A. (2014, October 15). Blog post. Eight tips for making the most of co-teaching. Retrieved January 26, 2017, from http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2014/10/15/ctq_sacks_coteaching.html

Volonino, V. & Zigmond, N. (2007). Promoting research-based practices through inclusion. Theory into Practice, 46(4), 291-300.

Learn More

Angela Peery is the author of The Co-Teacher's Playbook, which will be available in September 2019.

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When done well, co-teaching offers benefits for both students and teachers. When not done well, it can be confusing or downright frustrating for all involved.

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Planning for the Inclusive Classroom: The Planning Pyramid

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Planning for the Inclusive Classroom: The Planning Pyramid

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