Collaborative Teaching in Elementary Schools: Making the Co-Teaching Marriage Work!

"A comprehensive resource for co-teaching teams and their administrators! It is full of ready-to-use, teacher-friendly forms, checklists, and charts. The co-teaching lesson plan forms are phenomenal! The number of practical ideas included is astounding." —Michele S. Dalton, School Psychologist Poudre School District, Ft. Collins, CO "While the analogy of a marriage is cute, it also works as a metaphor for co-teaching at all levels. The process of getting to know each other, deciding to co-teach, making it work, and possibly having to end the co-teaching relationship all become easier to understand using the metaphors of dating, engagement, and counseling." —Claire E. Hughes, Associate Professor of Special Education College of Coastal Georgia Say "I do!" to greater learning success for students at all levels! Using the metaphor of marriage, this lighthearted, highly practical, and teacher-friendly resource from the author of Collaborative Teaching in Secondary Schools provides readers with the tools to successfully set up, conduct, and successfully maintain co-teaching partnerships in any learning environment. Based on the author′s extensive experience, this book blends solid educational research and literature with lighthearted humor to help readers nurture co-teaching partnerships through the stages of co-planning, co-instructing, and co-assessing. Divided into four relationship stages, each section offers: Case studies and scenarios of co-teachers in action Field-tested instructional and behavioral strategies with authentic examples Self-assessments to determine teachers′ readiness to proceed to the next step in the co-teaching relationship Information on the role of the administrator and how to communicate with parents Numerous reproducibles, helpful Web sites, and a list of teacher resources Collaborative Teaching in Elementary Schools is an easy-to-access, one-stop guide for schools getting started with co-teaching or looking to refine their existing programs.

Table of Contents:
About the Author Introduction: Why This Book? Part I. The Dating Scene 1. Understanding What It Means to Be in a Relationship Defining the Terms Changing the Mids of the Commitment-Phobic 2. Dating, Living Together, and Marriage Recognizing the Continuum of Options Going in With Eyes Wide Open Do′s and Don′ts of Co-Teaching 3. General Educators Are From Jupiter, Special Educators Are From Saturn Recognizing Different Frames of Reference The Second Time Around: Getting Over Bad Experiences Self-Assessment 1: Are We Ready to Date? 4. Matchmaker, Matchmaker: The Role of the Administrator To Marry Them or Not to Marry Them: Determining Whether to Use Co-Teaching Part II. The Engagement 5. Getting to Know Your Partner Drinking Out of the Carton (and Other Pet Peeves) Ensuring Parity Who′ll Do the Laundry? Setting Roles and Responsibilities 6. Registering for the Wedding Identifying Our Needs Communicating With Stakeholders 7. Discussing the Future Establishing Schoolwide Improvement Goals Establishing Individual Team Improvement Goals Self-Assessment 2: Are We Ready to Get Engaged? 8. Matchmaker, Matchmaker: The Role of the Administrator Avoiding Arranged Marriages: The Search for Soul Mates Part III. The Wedding 9. For Better or Worse: Establishing Norms for Behavior and Academics Physical Issues Classroom Management Issues Instructional and Assessment Issues 10. For Richer or Poorer: Sharing Space and Materials Sharing Space Sharing Materials 11. Planning Quality Time Together: Why, When, and How to Plan Why Should We Co-Plan? When Shuold We Co-Plan? How Should We Co-Plan? Self-Assessment 3: Are We Ready to Marry? 12. Matchmaker, Matchmaker: The Role of the Administrator Avoiding Polygamy: Too Many Is SImply Too Many (When Scheduling) Part IV. The Marriage 13. Working Together to Wrangle the Li′l Rascals Five Practical Approaches for Co-Instruction Approach 1: One Teach, One Support Approach 2: Parallel Teaching Approach 3: Station Teaching Approach 4: Alternative Teaching Approach 5: Team Teaching 14. Teaching the Seven Dwarves Understanding Differentiation Practical Strategies for Differentiation 15. Are We Successful Yet? Co-Assessing Us and Them 16. Playing Nicely With the Other Parents Co-Teaching′s Role With Other School-Improvement Initiatives Reading First Cooperative Learning Twenty-First-Century Technology Universal Design for Learning Response to Intervention Self-Assessment 4: Will We Be Able to Celebrate Our Anniversary? 17. Matchmaker, Matchmaker: The Role of the Administrator Is It Time for a Divorce? Building an Effective Program: Making More Matches Appendix: Keeping the Honeymoon Going References Index

About the Author :
Wendy W. Murawski, Ph.D., MBA, MEd, EdS, is the Executive Director and Eisner Endowed Chair for the Center for Teaching and Learning at California State University, Northridge (CSUN), where she is also a Full Professor in the Department of Special Education and the Director of SIMPACT Immersive Learning. Dr. Murawski is the national Past President of the Teacher Education Division (TED) of CEC and an internationally known speaker and author, presenting in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America. Her research focuses on co-teaching and inclusive practices nationally and internationally. She has published extensively around inclusive education, co-teaching, collaboration, and Universal Design for Learning, to include 18 books and numerous chapters, blogs, and peer-reviewed articles. She is the CEO of 2TeachÒ Global (www.2TeachLLC.com), an educational consulting company dedicated to promoting inclusive education around the world. In her personal life, Wendy enjoys traveling with her husband, learning languages, reading, drinking merlot, seeing movies, going to Book Club, visiting her college-bound son Kiernan, and pretending she is going to work out.

Review :
"Based on both up-to-date research and a wealth of practical experience, Murawski's easy-to-use text is a tremendous contribution to the field, as more and more elementary school teachers are entering into a collaborative partnership that demands careful and playful approaches. This text is for anyone who is thinking about being in, or who is already in, the challenging yet potentially rewarding co-teaching relationship. Murawski's keen insights about the day-to-day realities of teachers working together in classrooms are invaluable." -- Mimi Rosenberg, Graduate Faculty "A comprehensive resource for co-teaching teams and their administrators! It is full of ready-to-use, teacher-friendly forms, checklists, and charts. The co-teaching lesson plan forms are phenomenal! The EZ Reference pages provide detailed information in an organized and meaningful way. The number of practical ideas included is astounding." -- Michele S. Dalton, School Psychologist "I particularly love the analogy of a marriage and relationship that is woven throughout the book. While it is cute, it also works as a metaphor for co-teaching at all levels. The possibly unfamiliar process of getting to know each other, deciding to co-teach, making it work, and possibly having to end the co-teaching relationship all become easier to understand using the metaphors of dating, engagement, and counseling." -- Claire E. Hughes, Associate Professor of Special Education