Benefits of Collaborative Teaching #3 - Good Cop, Bad Cop

True confession time ... sometimes ... occasionally ... scarcely ... rarely ... we might get a tiny bit impatient or frustrated with our students  ... hardly ... occasionally ... did we say that already?

We're all human beings. Sometimes you're having a bad day. Sometimes they're having a bad day. Sometimes something just rubs you the wrong way. Whatever the reason, we all have moments when we're not equipped to be our best selves when dealing with a trying situation. So that's where one of the benefits of collaborative teaching comes in. You're not alone. You have a partner. You have backup.

Okay, so another confession ... this isn't really "good cop, bad cop", it's more of a tag team situation but we really just wanted to make an awesome picture of us as cops.

This is how it works ...

 TAG!!!

TAG!!!

TAG!!!

TAG!!!

From the limb,

Benefits of Collaborative Teaching #2 - The Dance of Critical Mass

One of the best things about collaborative teaching, in our opinion, is what we like to call "The Dance of Critical Mass". Have you ever experienced the frustration of having most of your students finished with an activity or an assignment, but there a still a few stragglers who are not quite through? Now we're not talking about those little beans who stalled or chit-chatted or generally wasted their work time; we're talking about those kids who need more think time, who work a bit more slowly, and perhaps methodically, than their peers, who are truly focused and putting their best effort forward but at their own laborious unique pace. Every class has kids like that - and their needs become diametrically opposed to the "zoomers", the kids that plow through everything and are ready for more ... more ... more ... next ... next ... next.

When we were teaching alone, we continuously faced a conundrum - do we hold up the class until everyone is finished, allowing for as much work time as needed for each child OR do we move the class on when most of the children have finished, creating an environment of perpetual unfinished work for our "stragglers"? It was always frustrating to have to choose, to have to suppress the needs of the few in order to meet the needs of the many, BUT then we realized ... working together, we no longer had to choose!

So what is this mythical "Dance of Critical Mass" you are now wondering? Well, sit back and relax while we perform:

Our dance begins in a classroom, just at the close of a dynamic and riveting writing mini-lesson in which the students are filled with inspiration and the insatiable need to complete their writing assignment. Their eyes aglow with ideas and their fingers itching to record their thoughts, they surge off the rug and find little workspace nooks about the room where they can do their best work. The room is buzzing with the gentle sounds of productive work ....

WHAT? This sounds a bit fantastical. Well, it's our retelling so we can remember as we want, o-kay!! Anyway ...

Suddenly, a voice is heard above the noise of the classroom, "Teacher, I'm finished, what should I do now?" That lone voice quickly becomes a chorus, filling the room with an ever-rising cacophonous chant: "What should I do now? What should I do now? What should I do now?" As the music rises, the teachers survey the scene, "How many students need more time?" "Me! Me! Me!" softly rings out above the crowd and so the dance begins. One teacher waltzes the majority of the class on to a new activity or engages in a read aloud or guides a meaningful reflection, while the other teacher tangoes with each student - coaching, assisting, motivating. And so the Dance of Critical Mass.

Ok, so that was a little bit silly and we sure did stretch that dance metaphor to it's limits, but we get to have fun on our own blog, right?!? Goofiness aside, the technique is sound and satisfying. We get to engage the majority of our learners in a new activity where they benefit from explicit teacher direction, while we also get to support our "stragglers" in a smaller group setting where they benefit from individualized attention and, most importantly, enough time to finish their work. Now as a disclaimer, we still have children with unfinished work. Even in collaborative teaching where we have been able to find new and creative ways to maximize our schedule, we must still bow to the demands of having ... well ... a schedule. This is not a magic wand to wave away the frustrations of unfinished work (if only!), but it's something that has helped ameliorate the problem and so during the day when we inevitably have children that need more time ... we dance!

P.S. This is us dancing. You're welcome.

From the limb,

Benefits of Collaborative Teaching #1 - Built In Coaching

So, yesterday Kristie and I had a wonderful plan of using the two of us to model for the first graders how Making Words lessons work. Making Words is a component of our Word Work block that we are adding for the children next week. We wanted to take advantage of the fact that there are two of us to show the students exactly what the teacher and the student will do during the lesson. It was a beautiful plan ... until I botched it. Now, you have to know that I was teaching third grade before I moved down to first and I, by nature, tend to keep my teaching discourse at a high level no matter what grade I'm teaching; it's something I have to work on so that all of my students can access my instruction equally. I was acting as the teacher in our scenario and I did not keep my phrasing explicit enough to be appropriate for first grade. So, yeah ... there it is ... I botched it.

Now Kristie, being the kind and understanding teaching partner that she is, sat down across from me at recess and said in her most diplomatic voice: "So, can we talk about our Making Words lesson?". And I, after stifling down my initial instinctual feeling of defensiveness, replied, "Of course." Long story short, we talked it out and she outlined for me more explicitly what would have been more appropriate for a first grade Making Words lesson. And she was right.

Today we had modeling the Making Words process in our plans again so I was given another chance to practice my delivery. This time, I followed her directions and the lesson went much better. At recess today, I said: "So Coach Kristie, let's talk about our Making Words lesson. How did I do? Give me 2 stars and a wish." While I was being a bit facetious, the inherent benefits of what happened in this simple exchange over two days were not lost on me. Not only did I benefit from the embedded professional development that comes from having another teacher in the classroom, I was also able to adjust my curriculum delivery almost immediately to better fit the needs of my first graders. Would I have been able to calibrate my instructional delivery to fit my first graders needs on my own? Sure. But how long might it have taken me before I figured out a formula of delivery that was appropriate? How many frustrated lessons might we all have lived through before I got it right? Of course, we'll never know, but the benefit of having someone there, someone who has taught the grade before and knows the appropriate jumping off point, was invaluable for me this week and I know my students will directly benefit from it as well. So, thank you Kristie! Thanks for being a great teaching partner and a supportive coach!

Love,
Kristin

From the limb,