Co-Teaching Strategic Visit Conversation Guide

Co-Teachers / Grade / Content Area
Date / Length of Visit / Recorder
Look For: / Evidence: (Seen, Heard, and/or Reviewed) / Initiating / Developing / Sustaining
  1. A heterogeneous classroom with flexible grouping
Teachers: Use appropriate grouping relative to the lesson and displays fluid movement among groups
Students: Are engaged in groups based upon strengths, needs, and instructional level
  1. Students with disabilities seated among their classmates in a way that integrates them naturally within the classroom
Teachers: Provide opportunities for students to participate in groups with non-disabled peers
Students: Actively participate in a variety of groups within the classroom that includes non-disabled peers
  1. IEP accommodations, modifications, and specialized instruction are provided
Teachers: Use technology or a variety of materials to ensure student access to instruction/learning
Students: Make use of available resources to actively engage in the instructional process
  1. Collaborative planning by general and special education teachers focused on SC grade level content standards
Teachers: Provide lesson outcomes in student friendly language that all students can achieve through the use of a variety of instructional materials/methods
Students:Are able to express expectations regarding their performance of the class’s instructional activities
  1. General and special educators sharing instructional responsibilities equitably and teaching collaboratively
Teachers: Both teachers are actively engaged in the instructional process that is accessible by all students and monitor/evaluate student understanding
Students: All students are actively engaged in instruction and can demonstrate understanding/mastery of content taught
  1. Educational professionals sharing roles and responsibilities for working with students in such a way that the distinction between generalist and specialist is not obvious
Teachers: Both teachers are actively engaged with all students throughout the lesson through rigorous content delivery, on time support, and classroom behavior management
Lesson plans state an active rolefor both teachersin differentiated instructional delivery, assessment and data collection
Students: Students address questions and comments about the lesson to both teachers.
When asked, students describe both teachers as their teacher
  1. Strategic use of co-teaching approaches
Teachers: Teachers use a variety of co-teaching approaches appropriate to the content and needs for differentiation.
Students: All students receive rigorous instruction and support from both teachers through whole, small, and/or individual groupings
1 teach, one assist_____
Evidence:
1 Teach 1 Assist—one teacher is responsible for teaching. One teacher circulates throughout the classroom monitoring progress and providing assistance to students as needed. Both teachers share roles and responsibilities for working with students over time in such a way that the distinction between generalist and specialist is not obvious.
Look for assisting teacher to be providing ongoing monitoring of student performance (through IEP goals, asking clarifying questions, benchmarks or chapter tests, informal assessment) throughout the lesson. This approach should be used routinely in conjunction with other approaches. / Station Teaching____
Evidence:
Station Teaching—teachers divide content and students. Each teacher then teaches the content to one group and subsequently repeats the instruction for the other group. If appropriate, a third “station” could give students an opportunity to work independently in a small group, but all students receive instruction from both teachers.
Look for a heterogeneous
classroom with flexible grouping. Lessons should incorporate student participation through discussion and activities. This approach may be used frequently if each station’s content can be taught independently from the other and the sequence of the instruction presented is inconsequential. / Alternative Approach____
Evidence:
Parallel Teaching—the teachers are both teaching the same information, but they divide the class group and do so simultaneously. This approach allows for increased supervision as well as increasing the opportunities for students to respond to teacher led instruction. This approach can be used frequently if noise level is not distracting and both teachers pace instruction accordingly.
Look for the same content with IEP accommodations, modifications, and specialized instruction varied according to the needs of the group. Teachers should offer equivalent instruction to students and ensure participation of all. / Parallel Teaching____
Evidence:
Alternative Teaching—one teacher takes responsibility for the large group while the other works with a smaller group for a specific instructional purpose. This approach should be used sparingly to avoid the perception of a special needs pullout within the classroom for a select group of students.
Look for collaborative planning by general and special education teachers and small-group sessions where enrichment, remediation for acceleration, assessment, or pre-teaching where teachers alternate responsibilities between the groups is varied. / Team Teaching ____
Evidence:
Team Teaching—both teachers share the delivery and have equally active roles in leading the class. Both teachers are actively engaged in the delivery of core instruction. This approach may be used frequently as appropriate, with the caveat that it does not eliminate the practice of flexible grouping.
Look for general and special educators sharing instructional, and assessment responsibilities equitably and teaching collaboratively. The classroom should have a wide variety of instructional materials available to meet the identified needs of the students.
Look For:
(Strategic Practices That Support Effective Instruction for Diverse Learners) / Evidence: (Seen, Heard, and/or Reviewed) / Initiating / Developing / Sustaining
  1. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) embedded within instructional practices
Teachers:Both teachers use a variety of instructional materials/methods to engage students and provide options for the students to demonstrate mastery of the content.
Students:Students are actively engaged in the instructional process and are able to demonstrate mastery of their learning in a variety of ways
  1. Differentiated instruction, practice activities, and assessment procedures for all students
Teachers:Both teachers engage in pre/post-assessment of student learning and use the information to plan, implement and adjust future instruction. Both teachers are actively engaged in delivering content and assessing student learning through flexible grouping and differentiated content, processes and products. IEP accommodations and modifications are implemented by both teachers. Both teachers collect, analyze and use data to inform instruction.
Students: When asked, students are able to describe their preferred learning style. Students participate inpre/post assessment activities. They are engaged in constructing, processing and demonstrating knowledge through varied content, processes and products.
  1. A wide variety of instructional materials available in the classroom.
Teachers: Both teachers implement classroom instruction that includes a variety of print, media, electronic and technology resources aligned with student needs.
Students: Students access content, processes and demonstrate knowledge through a variety of print, media, electronic and technology resources appropriate to their needs.
  1. Ongoing monitoring of student performance (through benchmarks or chapter tests, informal assessment, and/or IEP goals)
Teachers: Both teachers provide clearly stated learning goals accompanied by a scale or rubric that describes the levels of performance relative to the learning goal. Teachers routinelyuse informal assessment strategies (such as asking questions to check for understanding, exit tickets, thumbs up/down) and formal assessments ( benchmarks, unit or chapter tests) aligned to learning goals. Teachers analyze learning data and use the information to adjust instruction. Teachers help individual student and /or the whole class track progress on the learning goal.
Students: When asked, students can explain the learning goal and describe their status relative to it.
  1. Data collection procedures were evident or identified for established outcomes.
Teachers:Both teachers monitor and /or facilitate student tracking of their progress on the learning goals through the use of rubrics, data collection charts and procedures. Rubrics and data collection forms are observed in use in the classroom.
Students: Students can describe or demonstrate the tracking of their status relative to the learning goal(s).

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This document was developed and produced by the Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Special Education/Early Intervention Services (June 2011) with funds from the [U.S. Department of Education, Grant # H323A07000-10].