Document 1: Observation Report of a Co-Teaching Classroom

Co-Teaching Observation Report

Teacher 1: Corrine Hester

Teacher 2: Elliot Harden

Grade Level: Preschool

Observer: Joann Glover

Date and Time: 9:00am –10:00am on February 13th

Co-Teaching Strategies (Select All Observed):

|_|One Teach, One Observe |_|Station Teaching |_|Parallel Teaching

|_|Alternative Teaching |_|Team Teaching |X|One Teach, One Assist

NOTES or COMMENTS:

Ms. Hester was not present in the classroom when I arrived; she came in around 9:15am.

Mr. Harden instructed, while Ms. Hester assisted. They remained in these roles for the entirety of the class; it would have been beneficial to see them switch roles.

The students were working on identifying letters of the alphabet. They directed their questions to Mr. Harden.

Ms. Hester worked with individual students, but did not engage with the entire class at any point. Mr. Harden did not circulate among the students, but remained at the front of the class.

I would have liked to see both teachers engaged more equally with the students and to have shared more of the instruction.

When I followed up with each teacher individually, I learned that Ms. Hester had not been involved in the lesson planning for this particular class, citing a scheduling conflict. Mr. Harden mentioned that he felt that Ms. Hester was not interested in instructing the entire class; she had never outright expressed a desire to lead the class.

Ms. Hester expressed frustration about Mr. Harden’s availability for co-planning, which was limited as a result of his family obligations in the afternoons. When they are able meet and plan lessons together, she feels that she is unable to contribute at an equal level.

I would suggest that both Mr. Harden and Ms. Hester attend a training session on co-teaching and collaboration, as neither is familiar with co-teaching and different co-teaching strategies.

Document 2: Preschool Staff Meeting Minutes

North Falls Early Childhood Center Weekly Preschool Staff Meeting

Meeting Agenda/Minutes

Date: October 5th Time: 3:00pm –5:00pm

Facilitator: Mel Dennell Minutes Prepared by: Denise Garnett

ATTENDANCE

Key: Bold = in attendance; Italics = absent

In an effort to improve student achievement, North Falls Elementary School implemented a Professional Learning Community (PLC) last summer, before the beginning of this past academic year. For those not in the academic community, a PLC is an education model in which a group of educators meet regularly to discuss educational practices, reflect on their effectiveness, and work collaboratively to enhance student learning. Research has shown that, when implemented correctly, PLCs can increase collaboration and boost both learning and morale for both students and teachers.

North Falls Elementary, however, appears to be a case where the PLC model has failed. Student achievement has remained stagnant and staff morale has decreased rather than increased. Teachers at the school feel that the regular group meetings and discussions that are part of a PLC are an added burden to their already large workload.

“They wanted us to have these meetings every week to talk about teaching methods and student performance, but there’s never any time for it,” says Jaiden Page, a third grade teacher at the school. “Are we supposed to take time out of teaching or individual lesson planning to meet in these groups? It just doesn’t make sense.”

A related issue that has left many teachers and staff members frustrated is the lack of physical space to conduct these meetings.

“We meet in whatever room is available at the time,” says a first grade teacher who spoke on conditions of anonymity. “Sometimes the rooms are too small or there aren’t enough seats. It’s difficult enough finding time; it’s worse wasting it trying to find a space to do the work.”

Albert Mirza, a fifth grade teacher who supports the PLC model, has been disappointed by the implementation. “There’s no progress because they haven’t done it right. They think that just putting all of us in a room together is enough. It’s basically another weekly staff meeting; the only difference is that now we spend our time talking about how great we each think our way of doing teaching is.”

Principal Paula Sokoloff, who spearheaded the development and implementation of the PLC, however, believes that some progress has been made. “There have been extremely engaging lessons plans that have come out of these meetings which, I think, would not have happened if our teachers weren’t asked to collaborate and discuss their practices. Those who use student achievement scores to suggest that this PLC has failed are ignoring the improvements we’ve made in professional development.”

She concedes that frustrations about time and space for the weekly meetings are valid, but is quick to point out that there are plans in place, for the next academic year, to set aside dedicated space for teachers to collaborate.

That might resolve the issue of meeting space, but the real question is whether it will boost student achievement the way that proponents claim it will. Or is it just another interesting educational model that works better in theory than in practice?

While Principal Sokoloff is certain that it will simply be a matter of time, teachers at North Falls Elementary are skeptical.

Page puts it bluntly, “We’ve given this PLC idea an entire school year, and it has done nothing but take teachers’ attentions away from what’s most important—educating our students. It’s time for the administration to give this up and let us get back to teaching.”

Part 1

Using Document #1: Observation Report of a Co-Teaching Classroom, answer the following questions (two to three pages):

1. What is at least one benefit of using co-teaching strategies in the early childhood classroom?

2. What two co-teaching strategies would be useful for the teachers in the observation report to use? Why did you choose the strategies, and how can the teachers use them to make their co-teaching relationship more effective?

3. What is one piece of feedback you would provide for each of the two teachers in the observation report regarding communicating and collaborating more effectively?

4. Describe a specific strategy for building communication and collaboration skills in the co-teaching setting. Include a rationale for choosing this strategy.

Part 111: PLC PLAN

Submit a description of the PLC plan you will create to improve school readiness at the center. Base your PLC plan on Document #2: Preschool Staff Meeting Minutes, Document #3: Editorial on the Implementation of a PLC, and the information provided in “ What is a Professional Learning Community? ” by Richard DuFour. Your response should be three to four pages in length. Your description should include:

1. The visions and three measurable goals of the PLC.

2. Clearly defined roles and responsibilities of administrators and teachers.

3. How PLC teams will be structured, a protocol for meetings, and an explanation of how evidence-based decision making will guide the PLC.

4. The benefits of the PLC you have planned. In your explanation of the benefits of the PLC, address the concerns from the newspaper article in Document #3: Editorial on the Implementation of a PLC.

References

Barrera, I., & Kramer, L. (2012). Using skilled dialogue to transform challenging interactions. Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/2012NAEYC_Ebook3.pdf

DuFour, R. (2004). What is a professional learning community? Educational Leadership. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/may04/vol61/num08/What-Is-a-Professional-Learning-Community%C2%A2.aspx