Entry #1: Co-Teaching
I think the co-teaching model is an excellent way to address different students’ needs. When I was a 5th grade math teacher, I used two of the co-teaching models. The first one I had an extra support resource teacher who came into my room and pull a small group that needed extra help to master the math objective for the day. She walked around the classroom and observed students while I taught the main lesson. Then based on student “check” work, she would re-teach a small group as needed daily. I really enjoyed having this assistance when I was a teacher because it gave students an extra opportunity to master the objective and allowed me to help other students at their desk. The downfall was that she often got pulled from my classroom to assist in other duties based on school need. She would be pulled to assist with testing or help a substitute. I could not rely on her to be there daily. As a supervisor, I would address this by not viewing resource teachers as an extra body in school but if they are assigned daily duties, then they are just as important as another person in the building and can not just be pulled on a moments notice. Teachers and students rely on routine and if something changes that routine then it throws the whole classroom off.
The second model I have utilized is having two teachers plan together and then teach the same lesson together at the same time. I like this model because having another teacher in the room allows for more students to get help during a lesson and reduces the student to teacher ratio. However, the challenge I saw to this model was that fear of “stepping on each other toes” while teaching. I think the only way to avoid this is to just to keep planning and teaching together then the two teachers will hopefully learn to compliment each other’s styles. I think a school leader can assist with this by knowing the teachers in the building and matching personalities and teaching styles together when co-teaching.
Using a co-teaching model demonstrates to students the 21st century skill of collaboration. When students see teachers working together in a collaborative way, then they have a better understand to what collaboration should look like.
Entry #2: Individualizing the Curriculum
I always liked the idea of having electives for students to choose from in order to individualize the program for students. I especially agree with the idea now after being in college. I remember dreading the basic requirement classes in college but loving the courses I choose based on interested or for my major. I also love the idea, that now in my education I take courses and gain certifications based on my own desires. For me, having a choice makes learning more engaging and I am choosing courses based on what I want for my future.
I think offering young students the same choices will give them the same feelings about their education. Allowing students more choices in what they want to learn will allow them to plan an education for themselves in order to be successful as an adult. I know that Baltimore County Public Schools allows students in high school to choose some of their classes and there are technical programs in some high schools that do the same. I think education in general would have to make some changes not just BCPS because national curriculum requires so much that there is not a lot of room left for students to make choices.
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