Blog Post #6 "Rethinking Coteaching"
The three readings this week resonated with me in different ways. Being a student, in addition to teaching a team of students, I look at all opportunities to add to my existing tool box. Each of the readings enabled me to add to my resources and/or challenge me to reflect on my own practices.
Initially, I was excited to learn about infographics and the prospect of creating one for my critical essay. After better understanding the purpose of an infographic, I decided that it may not be the best medium to use for this assignment. Turner and Hicks state, "Effective infographics rely on a tightly focused message, they rarely present an alternative perspective, let alone a fully formed counterargument." As we discussed in class, and especially with Ms. Richer, standards are a part of our teaching. Educators need to understand the standards and then create lessons that balance high expectations along with scaffolding and differentiation to enable all students to achieve success.
Linda Christensen hits the nail on the head with the following quote, "The stories are heart-pounding personal stories, and I don't want to pick apart that heartbeat when it's still aching." She talks about read-arounds, revision, and craft lessons. This is an area that I struggle with, how to take a student's hard work and heart-felt stories and help them to "revise" to meet grade-level standards. I appreciated how Christensen offers her students the opportunity to select a piece of writing to publish recognizing that all writing does not need to reach the final stage of publishing.
Finally, Emdin's chapter about coteaching challenged me to reflect on my on practices. My classroom model is definitely general education classes partner with special education teachers. The special education teacher and I create fluid groups on a daily basis. Students are grouped according to needs for that assignment; at times he will pull a struggling group and other times, he will pull an enrichment group. Despite our planning, it is painfully obvious who works with Mr. Souza. I'm not sure how students know, but they do. I'm also not sure how to remedy this situation when IEP goals based on time and services need to be met. There is a quote that I am grappling with because I do not feel that it is always the case. Emdin states, "The students are well aware which teacher occupies which role and because of hierarchies that privilege the content expert over the other teacher, inherit a respect for one teacher and a disrespect for the other." I have been a proponent of inclusion and have been part of inclusion classrooms. I have yet to experience this scenario which may be good fortune and not the norm. I am curious to hear how my peers feel about this situation. On a positive note, my school has had a mantra that we have tried to follow as we plan future instruction. About 2 years ago, our former principal asked us all to move from a "Sage on the Stage" to a "Guide on the Side." This was a way of reinforcing student voice and choice from a different perspective. It has been discussed in class how many passionate teachers may be intimidated by technology initiatives, differentiated instruction, and student-led lessons. This phrase was used as a challenge for some teachers to move from well-intended, traditional lessons, to more student-driven instruction. Although small steps, I'm confident that we as a faculty are heading in the right direction.
Initially, I was excited to learn about infographics and the prospect of creating one for my critical essay. After better understanding the purpose of an infographic, I decided that it may not be the best medium to use for this assignment. Turner and Hicks state, "Effective infographics rely on a tightly focused message, they rarely present an alternative perspective, let alone a fully formed counterargument." As we discussed in class, and especially with Ms. Richer, standards are a part of our teaching. Educators need to understand the standards and then create lessons that balance high expectations along with scaffolding and differentiation to enable all students to achieve success.
Linda Christensen hits the nail on the head with the following quote, "The stories are heart-pounding personal stories, and I don't want to pick apart that heartbeat when it's still aching." She talks about read-arounds, revision, and craft lessons. This is an area that I struggle with, how to take a student's hard work and heart-felt stories and help them to "revise" to meet grade-level standards. I appreciated how Christensen offers her students the opportunity to select a piece of writing to publish recognizing that all writing does not need to reach the final stage of publishing.
Finally, Emdin's chapter about coteaching challenged me to reflect on my on practices. My classroom model is definitely general education classes partner with special education teachers. The special education teacher and I create fluid groups on a daily basis. Students are grouped according to needs for that assignment; at times he will pull a struggling group and other times, he will pull an enrichment group. Despite our planning, it is painfully obvious who works with Mr. Souza. I'm not sure how students know, but they do. I'm also not sure how to remedy this situation when IEP goals based on time and services need to be met. There is a quote that I am grappling with because I do not feel that it is always the case. Emdin states, "The students are well aware which teacher occupies which role and because of hierarchies that privilege the content expert over the other teacher, inherit a respect for one teacher and a disrespect for the other." I have been a proponent of inclusion and have been part of inclusion classrooms. I have yet to experience this scenario which may be good fortune and not the norm. I am curious to hear how my peers feel about this situation. On a positive note, my school has had a mantra that we have tried to follow as we plan future instruction. About 2 years ago, our former principal asked us all to move from a "Sage on the Stage" to a "Guide on the Side." This was a way of reinforcing student voice and choice from a different perspective. It has been discussed in class how many passionate teachers may be intimidated by technology initiatives, differentiated instruction, and student-led lessons. This phrase was used as a challenge for some teachers to move from well-intended, traditional lessons, to more student-driven instruction. Although small steps, I'm confident that we as a faculty are heading in the right direction.
Comments
Post a Comment