An ASCD Study Guide for Teaching in Tandem: Effective Co-Teaching for the Inclusive Classroom

Most of the questions contained in this study guide are ones you can think about on your own, but you might consider pairing with a colleague or forming a study group with others who have read (or are reading) Teaching in Tandem.

Chapter 1: Understanding the Basics

1. Describe the historical underpinnings of the inclusion movement and co-teaching.
2. Discuss the difficulties of addressing the need for intensive instruction in a co-taught environment.
3. The terms "inclusion" and "mainstreaming" are often confused. Describe the differences between the two practices.
4. Describe the benefits and challenges of co-teaching and determine ways that concerns can be addressed.
5. Successful co-teaching requires administrative support and co-teachers' emphasis on student learning. What other components of co-teaching do you think are most important?
6. Of the types of co-teaching programs described in the chapter, which do you consider to be the best choices for your classroom (real or future)? Explain your choice.
7. Describe how co-teaching can be part of a Response to Intervention continuum.
    
    
   Extension activities
8. Construct a time line that charts the history of the education (or lack of it) of students with disabilities.
9. Visit another school and investigate how its staff has implemented a co-teaching program.
10. Review the vignettes at the beginning of the chapter and write or discuss a positive ending.
11. Review the case studies at the end of the chapter and describe how you might handle the problems.
12. Review the following case study and consider how your school could address the problem.
    Ms. Partin, a special education teacher, is assigned to two 2nd grade inclusive classes. She works with Ms. Warner in the morning and Mr. Relat in the afternoon. Mr. Marlin, a paraprofessional, is assigned to work in those classes on the opposite schedule. Each class has eight students with special needs. Ms. Partin feels that she could be more effective if she was assigned to be in one class for the entire day. The general education teachers and Mr. Marlin try to address the needs of the students with disabilities, but know that they can't deliver the same intensity of instruction without Ms. Partin.
    Statement of the problem: How part-time co-teachers can adequately address the needs of their students in an inclusive class.
    Problem genesis:
    How the problem is being denied or addressed:
    Ways to promote a positive outcome:

Chapter 2: Delving into the Details

1. Why do many co-teachers defend the practice of one teach, one support?
2. Describe the different advantages of parallel, station, and alternative co-teaching.
3. Parallel teaching can be challenging for co-teachers and students. Describe some of the difficulties and how co-teachers can address them so that everyone may reap the benefits of parallel teaching.
4. Describe how you would use each co-teaching approach in your co-taught classroom.
5. Explain how alternative teaching can increase the intensity of instruction while decreasing stigma.
6. How does the way groups are formed contribute or detract from the goals of co-teaching?
    
    
   Extension activities
7. Create a lesson and transform it from a one teach, one support lesson to using parallel, station, and alternative models.
8. Visit a co-taught class at least three times and record the types of co-teaching approaches that are used.
9. Review the vignette at the beginning of the chapter and write or discuss a positive ending.
10. Review the case studies at the end of the chapter and describe how you would go about handling the problems.
11. Review the following case study and consider how your school could address the problem.
    Ms. Saranson and Ms. Jessora are fabulous co-teachers. They are smart, competent, get along with each other, and are committed to making sure that each student flourishes. They understand how using various approaches that decrease the ratio of students-to-teacher will increase student learning. However, they have 30 students in their small, co- taught classroom. They tried parallel teaching but the two groups were too close to each other and even modulated voices distracted the other group. They tried to create stations, but felt that getting the students into groups took a long time and was disruptive. Although they plan their lessons together, they usually follow a one teach, one support routine.
    Statement of the problem: How co-teachers cope with the physical constraints of their classroom.
    Problem genesis:
    How the problem is being denied or addressed:
    Ways to promote a positive outcome:

Chapter 3: Establishing and Maintaining Effective Co-Teaching Relationships

1. How does the manner in which co-teaching teams are assigned affect the success of the partnership?
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of co-teaching pairs staying together for several years?
3. Describe various ways that co-teaching teams can be supported as they help all students be successful.
4. What qualities of successful co-teachers are most important? Explain your thoughts.
5. What type of professional development do you think would be most effective for new co-teachers? Explain.
    
    
   Extension activities
6. Create an employment advertisement, seeking co-teachers.
7. Create a survey for co-teachers, including how long their school has been using co-teaching, how long their teams work together, what types of support they receive, and information about the best professional development they've received.
8. Interview an administrator who supervisors co-teachers and investigate how the pairs are determined and how they are supported.
9. Investigate websites on co-teaching and consider their value to co-teachers.
10. Review the vignette at the beginning of the chapter and write or discuss a positive ending.
11. Review the case studies at the end of the chapter and describe how you would go about handling the problems.
12. Review the following case study and determine ways to address the problem.
    Ms. Karan and Ms. Salar did not volunteer to co-teach. Ms. Salar, a teacher for 12 years, has always loved teaching and being in charge of her classes and did not want to share teaching responsibilities. However, she was willing to give co-teaching a try and thought that there might actually be some advantages to working with another teacher. Ms. Karan, an experienced special education teacher of self-contained classes, does not feel that students with significant special needs could flourish in an inclusive environment. Ms. Karan usually takes the students with special needs to the back table or to another classroom so that she can work on remediating their difficulties and address their IEP goals. Ms. Salar feels that the students are missing important aspects of the curriculum and wants to try approaches that integrate students into the class. Ms. Karan insists that separating the students is beneficial.
    Statement of the problem: How do co-teachers settle differences?
    Problem genesis:
    How the problem is being denied or addressed:
    How to promote a positive outcome:

Chapter 4: Planning Lessons

1. Explore the statement that "Without co-planning there is no co-teaching."
2. Considering time constraints, demands, and various knowledge bases of co-teachers, describe ways that they can plan together.
3. When co-planning co-taught lessons, what elements must be addressed?
4. How can you use the Co-Teaching Planning Pyramid (Figure 4.3)? Can you use it as a structure for co-planning lessons?
5. Describe ways that co-teachers can ensure that various co-teaching approaches will be used when teaching lessons.
6. How does planning a co-taught lesson differ from planning a solo-taught lesson?
    
    
   Extension activities
7. Use The Quick Co-Teaching Plan (Figure 4.1) and Co-Teaching Planning Pyramid (Figure 4.3) to plan a series of co-teaching lessons.
8. Interview co-teachers about how they make co-planning work.
9. Review the vignettes at the beginning of the chapter and write or discuss a positive ending.
10. Review the case studies at the end of the chapter and describe how you would go about handling the problems.
11. Review the following case study and determine ways to address the problem.
    Mr. Janre, a 9th grade social studies teacher, teaches one co-taught and four solo classes. Although he understands that there are students with significant needs in the co-taught class, Mr. Janre feels an obligation to keep the lessons in all of his classes the same. Mr. Janre insists on using the same materials to ensure all students are exposed to the same curriculum in the same manner. His co-teacher, Ms. Ruion, is a first-year teacher and is willing to create different materials and use different teaching approaches and strategies, but can't seem to convince Mr. Janre to co-plan.
    Statement of the problem: How do co-teachers create a unique learning environment?
    Problem genesis:
    How the problem is being denied or addressed:
    Ways of promoting a positive outcome:

Chapter 5: Developing Curriculum and Assessment

1. How do curriculum and standards affect what is taught in a co-taught class?
2. What are some elements of textbooks that may confound what is taught in an inclusive setting?
3. Describe how instruction is intensified in a co-taught class.
4. Describe some of the difficulties of addressing IEP goals in a co-taught class.
5. "Adapting" and "modifying" are terms that are often confused. Describe and give examples of each.
6. Explain why it is important for co-teachers to prioritize the components of the curriculum.
    
    
   Extension activities
7. Compile classroom materials and assignments and transform each by adapting and then modifying the materials.
8. Make a list of accommodations that are offered to students with special needs and give examples of when and how each would be used.
9. Collect a series of exams used in a co-taught class and use the Test Assessment Chart (Figure 5.1) to determine how questions are distributed.
10. Review the vignettes in the beginning of the chapter and write or discuss a positive ending.
11. Review the case studies at the end of the chapter and describe how you would go about handling the problems.
12. Review the following case study and determine ways to address the problem.
    Erik, a bright and motivated student, has significant reading difficulties and is in a co-taught class. His teachers adapt the reading level of materials or create assignments that incorporate text-to-speech technology so Erik can access the work. One co-teacher always reads exams to him and he does exceptionally well. The curriculum is dense and fast- paced and Erik, with the accommodations provided, is flourishing. However, his reading skills are not improving and there never seems to be enough time to address the reading goals on Erik's IEP.
    Statement of the problem: How do co-teachers address IEP goals in a co-taught class?
    Problem genesis:
    How the problem is being denied or addressed:
    Ways of promoting a positive outcome:

Chapter 6: Combining Instructional Elements, Materials, and Environment

1. Describe some of the difficulties that teachers in co-taught settings need to address for their students.
2. Consider how you can address the essential elements of instructional design and how that does or does not address the needs of your students.
3. How does classroom environment affect learning in a co-taught class?
    
    
   Extension activities
4. Select materials used in a co-taught class and score them using Figure 6.5, Rating Scale for Teaching Materials.
5. Observe a co-taught lesson and use Figure 6.6, Task and Lesson Rating Scale, to assess the difficulty of the tasks and determine how you might adapt or change the lesson.
6. Collect a series of materials used in co-taught classes and evaluate them using the elements of design.
7. Evaluate a co-taught class in terms of environmental elements.
8. Review the vignettes at the beginning of the chapter and write or discuss a positive ending.
9. Review the case studies at the end of the chapter and describe how you would go about handling the problems.
10. Review the following case study and determine ways to address the problem.
    Mr. Redkin and Ms. Blackman love co-teaching and plan engaging lessons for their students. They love using projects to teach concepts and contents and their room is filled with student-made materials, even hanging the results from a series of cords strung across the room. In each corner of the room, they have set up a learning center. They enjoy parallel teaching and have two carpets at opposite sides of the room for student groupings. They've leveled the books and have labeled cartons throughout the room. Although it is obvious that this is a creative and engaging co-taught class, it is difficult to find empty space anywhere.
    Statement of the problem: How do co-teachers create a supportive environment for everyone?
    Problem genesis:
    How the problem is being denied or addressed:
    Ways of promoting a positive outcome:

Chapter 7: Incorporating Teaching Strategies

1. Critique the teaching strategies introduced in the chapter, or used in your own classroom, by considering their strengths and weaknesses in a co-teaching setting.
2. Select an essential element of instructional design (big ideas, primed background knowledge, conspicuous strategies, mediated scaffolding, or judicious review) and describe the strategies that address it.
3. How do the strategies for essential elements address the learning diversity of students in a co-taught class?
4. What are some of the advantages of partnering students for learning experiences?
    
    
   Extension activities
5. Select one of the teaching strategies described in the chapter and use it with your students. Reflect on the results.
6. Interview a co-teaching pair about the teaching strategies that they feel are most successful.
7. Review the vignette at the beginning of the chapter and write or discuss a positive ending.
8. Review the case studies at the end of the chapter and describe how you would go about handling the problems.
9. Review the following case study and determine ways to address the problem.
   Ms. Sari and Ms. Feld are determined to incorporate successful co-teaching strategies into their co-taught class. Each week they search the internet and collect graphic organizers and lesson ideas. They plan the lessons and are excited to present the materials but their students are still having difficulties. The co-teachers are beginning to think that they should go back to using the teaching manuals and worksheets that are packaged with the textbooks.
   Statement of the problem: How can co-teachers incorporate successful strategies into their class?
   Problem genesis:
   How the problem is being denied or addressed:
   Ways of promoting a positive outcome:

Chapter 8: Defining and Assessing the Administrator's Role

1. In what ways are administrators essential to the success of a co-teaching program?
2. Describe the advantages of pairs of administrators or supervisors co-observing a co-taught class.
3. How do a supervisor's attitudes and beliefs about students with special needs affect co-taught programs?
4. What components would you use to evaluate the success of a co-taught program?
    
    
   Extension activities
5. Create a half-day workshop for administrators and supervisors that describes and explains the components of co-teaching.
6. Formulate a series of questions and interview an administrator who supervises co-teachers.
7. Create a survey investigating supervisors' attitudes toward and knowledge about co-teaching.
8. Compare the components of co-taught programs in two neighboring districts and how each was established.
9. Review the vignettes at the beginning of the chapter and write or discuss a positive ending.
10. Review the case studies at the end of the chapter and describe how you would go about handling the problems.
11. Review the following case study and determine ways to address the problem.
    Ms. Renkin, an 8th grade math teacher, is co-teaching for the first time. She is convinced that her co-teaching partner, Ms. Blanchfield is not doing her part. Ms. Renkin's idea of co-teaching is a division of labor, so she expects Ms. Blanchfield to mark half of the papers, plan half of the lessons, and contact half of the parents. Ms. Renkin has been complaining to the math supervisor and is making her concerns known to anyone who will listen. The math supervisor is now complaining to the special education supervisor and doesn't want this co-teaching team to continue next year.
    Statement of the problem: How do administrators support positive relationships between co-teachers?
    Problem genesis:
    How the problem is being denied or addressed:
    Ways to promote a positive outcome:

Chapter 9: Clarifying the Paraprofessional's Role

1. Describe the benefits and disadvantages of having paraprofessionals in the co-taught class.
2. How can co-teachers communicate their expectations and parameters to the paraprofessionals assigned to their classrooms?
3. How do paraprofessionals remain committed to the learning of students without overstepping their boundaries?
4. What type of credentials and training is needed for paraprofessionals to successfully support student learning in a co-taught class?
    
    
   Extension activities
5. Design an introductory workshop for paraprofessionals who will be working in co-taught classes.
6. Work with co-teachers to prepare a series of workshops for paraprofessionals that identify student needs, as well as the appropriate roles and responsibilities for the paraprofessionals.
7. Create a survey for paraprofessionals that will help co-teachers understand the needs, concerns, and accomplishments of the paraprofessionals.
8. Create a survey for co-teachers inquiring about paraprofessional activities in the co-taught class.
9. Create a simple chart of Do's and Don'ts for paraprofessionals and share it with the co-teachers and paraprofessionals, as well as the administration.
10. Review the vignettes at the opening of the chapter and write or discuss a positive ending.
11. Review the case studies at the end of the chapter and describe how you would go about handling the problems.
12. Review the following case study and determine ways to address the problem.
    Ms. Marlbow and Ms. Tunis are first year co-teachers and have two paraprofessionals in their co-taught classroom. Mr. Brem is assigned as a one-to-one paraprofessional for Steven, a student with autism. Ms. Rider is assigned as a general paraprofessional because there are nine students with special needs in the class. The co-teachers feel uncomfortable telling the paraprofessionals what to do because they (the co-teachers) are not the paraprofessionals' supervisors. As the weeks go by, though, it is evident that the paraprofessionals need direction and instruction if they are going to be helpful.
    Statement of the problem: How do co-teachers mentor paraprofessionals assigned to a co-taught class?
    Problem genesis:
    How the problem is being denied or addressed:
    How to promote a positive outcome:

Chapter 10: Addressing Parent and Student Issues

1. How can parents of students with special needs support their child in an inclusive, co-taught class?
2. Imagine that you are a parent, what are your expectations of your child in a co-taught class? What if your child has special needs? What if your child is typically achieving?
3. Describe a parent's concern regarding co-taught classes and develop a positive response.
4. How can students support one another, academically and socially, in a co-taught class?
5. How would you respond to questions from parents and students about co-taught classes? Brainstorm several questions and answers.
    
    
   Extension activities
6. Prepare a 1-hour workshop for parents with special needs whose children will attend co-taught classes in the fall.
7. Present a 1-hour workshop for the combined PTA/SEPTA meeting explaining to parents the important elements of co-teaching.
8. Write an article for a SEPTA or PTA newsletter on the co-teaching programs in the district.
9. Develop a list of questions that parents of students in co-taught classes should ask the principal and co- teachers regarding the procedures in the co-taught classroom.
10. Create a series of lessons on accepting diversity for a co-taught class.
11. Review the vignettes at the beginning of the chapter and discuss or write a positive ending.
12. Review the case studies at the end of the chapter and describe how you would go about handling the problems.
13. Review the following case study and determine ways to address the problem.
    Ms. Raine is a single parent of Carlton, a 2nd grader. Carlton is classified as a student with learning disabilities and has significant learning problems; his behaviors in class, at lunch, and on the playground are quite problematic. Carlton has frequent outbursts and runs around the room shouting. When he does work, Carlton constantly mumbles to himself. In order to complete tasks, he requires the assistance of a co-teacher or the paraprofessional, though Carlton either demands or resists assistance. A behavior specialist works with the co-teachers to create behavior plans but Ms. Raine questions every plan. She sends e-mail messages to the co-teachers every morning and sometimes during the day—and she expects an immediate response. The co-teachers have a folder filled with correspondence from Carlton's mom. Ms. Raine picks up Carlton every day and insists on talking with at least one of the co-teachers after school.
    Statement of the problem: How do we respond to a parent of a student with special needs in a co-taught classroom who wants daily contact with the co-teachers?
    Problem genesis:
    How the problem is being denied or addressed:
    Ways of promoting a positive outcome:
14. Review the following case study and determine ways to address the problem.
    The co-taught inclusion class is made up of students with diverse needs, from typically achieving students to those classified as having disabilities. A few of the students with special needs are new to an inclusive setting and were previously taught in a special education class. The transition to the inclusive setting has been relatively smooth and the co- teachers work well together making sure that all students are engaged and learning. The area of concern pertains to homework. Although the co-teachers try to customize the assignments, they feel all students need significant practice with skills to learn the fast-paced curriculum. The parents of the students with special needs are finding the homework load for their children overwhelming and are spending many hours each night helping their children complete homework and study.
    Statement of the problem: How do increased standards and expectations affect homework?
    Problem genesis:
    How the problem is being denied or addressed:
    Ways of promoting a positive outcome:

Teaching in Tandem: Effective Co-Teaching in the Inclusive Classroom was written by Gloria Lodato Wilson and Joan Blednick. This 197-page, 7″ × 9″ book (Stock #110029; ISBN-13: 978-1-4166-1340-4) is available from ASCD for $19.95 (ASCD member) or $26.95 (nonmember). Copyright © 2011 by ASCD. To order a copy, call ASCD at 1-800-933-2723 (in Virginia 1-703-578-9600) and press 2 for the Service Center. Or buy the book from ASCD's Online Store.