The Journey of a Promoting an Inclusive Classroom

At Hillcrest, we are continuing to explore different ways to build an authentic, inclusive learning environment for our students. One particular way that is generating excitement at Hillcrest are co-taught classrooms. This model is quickly becoming a preferred method of instruction as it directly aligns with our Theory of Action objectives and building goals, specifically collaboration. 

Our 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade teachers that specialize in numeracy and literacy are beginning this journey with a special education teacher that also has a focus in these areas. A strong co-teaching partnership has proven to provide seamless and differentiated instruction for students while allowing teachers to problem-solve together. This may be the greatest part...you’re never in it alone. Having two educators facilitate a learning community not only helps encourage a safe and productive classroom environment, but it also allows for more opportunities with small group instruction, modeling during whole group lessons, and raising the level of rigor.

Even though the pros far outweigh the cons, co-teaching does not come without its challenges. One non-negotiable of this model is having a shared vision, which can take time to develop. Both educators involved need to work at making the partnership successful on behalf of their learners. This would include one of the most important aspects of co-teaching; co-planning. This can sometimes be difficult to accomplish when taking common planning times into consideration. However, with this piece at the forefront, the co-planning process encourages teachers to share ideas in order to deliver the strongest, most engaging lessons. It greatly helps nurture the shared vision.

I have had the wonderful opportunity to join teams during their co-planning sessions. Our focus has been student-centered discussions around mathematical practices that promote engagement and deep levels of thinking. I have witnessed teams 'sharing the load' by coming together to facilitate numeracy routines, mini lessons, and parallel teaching during small guided groups. The collaboration that happens during these sessions is so valuable and vital to creating a successful co-teaching environment. 

As we continue on our co-teaching journey, may we be reminded of Edutopia’s Marisa Kaplan’s Five Tips to Becoming a Strong Co-Teacher:

1.     Say this mantra: "All students are our students."

2.     Come to planning meetings prepared (with an agenda) to maximize co-planning time.

3.     If you feel something, say something! Open communication is the key to a successful partnership.

4.     Realize that the success of your class depends on the strength of your co-teaching relationship.

5.     Use a variety of co-teaching models to help maintain equality.

The picture below shows two teachers co-facilitating a whole group discussion.

The pictures below show parallel small guided groups happening at the same time in the same classroom. The intentional planning for these groups was done during a co-planning session.

"Inclusion is not a place, but instead a process." - Anonymous