Reality 101: CEC's blog for new teachers

Kaylie: Learning the Importance of Reevaluations

All special education teachers know about the three-year reevaluation. Every three years, we are required to take a look at our students’ progress, behavior, medical and family information and any changes that may have occurred in their lives during this time. As teachers, we complete assessments, complete observation forms and fill in the data collected three years ago so it can easily be compared to new data. General education teachers and parents also complete observation forms and share any other relevant information.

What’s the point of all this? We are determining whether or not the student continues to need special education services and if the current services are meeting his or her needs. 

Danielle: Tears of Joy

One of the greatest privileges of my job is occasionally I am given the opportunity to change a parent’s perspective his/her child’s mind. One of the greatest misconceptions about giftedness is that a gifted child is a perfect child. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. A gifted mathematician might struggle to read and a talented musician might struggle to sit still in the classroom.

Most gifted children struggle with asynchronous development, which confuses parents and teachers alike. For example, a five-year-old child may read a book intended for eighth graders (well above age level) and ask her bewildered father for help tying her shoe (age appropriate) while sucking her thumb (below age level). Difficulty with social skills, overexcitabilities, extreme perfectionism, fear of failure and many other things can mask a student’s giftedness.  Uncovering that giftedness can change a child’s life–and the lives of their entire family.

Jerry: (Para) Professional, Part Three

I know a paraprofessional who was responsible for getting children off the bus in the morning. Among the children who were helped off the bus was a student with multiple disabilities who was amazingly adept at taking off her shoes and did so frequently. One morning, the student arrived on the bus and had, predictably, in the course of her ride, taken off her shoes. The paraprofessional collected the child and promptly allowed her to walk into the school building without shoes, in nothing but socks. In November. This was, in my view, an individual who was not trained properly to work with students with disabilities.

In this final part of my three part series, I will note three ideas that I have come across in literature and in my personal experience that I believe might pave the way forward if we are serious about providing paraprofessionals with the respect their work deserves.

Jerry: (Para) Professionals, Part Two

When I was student teaching, I had to learn the hard way that being a teacher in a special education classroom involves more than knowing good ABA or PBIS or RTI or any of the other million and one interventions we have at our disposal each day. It also means being a manager of people and learning how to get those people to work in a way that ultimately benefits the students, and to work with the teacher to create an environment where education can happen.

Two experiences really brought the issue of the paraprofessional to the forefront of my thinking so that even now I tend to obsess about it to the point that, maybe in the future, I can conduct some research and begin to offer ways to make that job a rewarding career for some folks.

Jerry: (Para) Professionals, Part One

“Many paraprofessionals who assist with instructional tasks do not receive the training that they need so that they can be successful at these tasks.” (Keller, Bucholz, Brady, 2007).

Indeed, this was one of the biggest issues during my student teaching experience that I decided would not be an issue when I actually started teaching. Ironically, I understand it too well because I started out as an educational assistant and, at times, was a substitute in the special education classroom. Trust me when I say that, given what I now know about students with disabilities, I was worse than clueless then.

Danielle: You Catch More Flies with Honey…

How do you advocate effectively for your students without making enemies?

I knew going into this school year that I was in for a challenge. My school has never had a full time K-12 Gifted and Talented Coordinator. As a result, the needs of gifted students have never really been the top priority. Now that I’m here, there is someone who listens to every word in every meeting with the thought, “How will that affect a student who is gifted?” The answers aren’t always easy to hear, especially with a state audit coming down on a whole bunch of metro-area districts in the fall… including ours!

Charmelle: Learning to Collaborate

As my summer vacation comes to a close, I anticipate returning to my classroom and my students for the upcoming school year. I have not just spent this time resting and relaxing, but reflecting. During my vacation, I examined some of the successes and challenges I faced through my first year as a special education teacher.

In my current position, I work as a resource teacher and support students with IEPs in the general education classrooms through co-teaching. The biggest challenge was collaboration with my colleagues in the general education classrooms. Of course, we could communicate with each other, but working together at times was difficult. It was hard for them to fully understand the benefit and purpose of my presence in the classroom, and I was often faced with the feeling that I was invading their territory or being viewed as an assistant, floating around the room to help out. Not, only was I the new teacher on the block, but now I wanted to be in their space and I was expected to teach with them.

Richard: Where to Next?

As the year comes to an end, I have to review my students’ progress and determine if I want to recommend placement, advancement, or retention for next year. As I began this process as a novice, I looked over my school provided rubric to determine if my students met the criteria quantitatively. I went through and according to that rubric, everyone should move on to the next grade.

Something didn't feel right with that process, so I decided to confer with my paraprofessional on how she felt regarding student placement. We had a conversation on the qualitative growth of each student. We asked each other if the student matured sufficiently, if the level of work he or she was able to produce this year suggests success next year, and if we felt the student would be able to achieve success in the general curriculum standards, especially with the Common Core State Standards being rolled out next year.

Jessica: Teamwork Strikes Back

In my past two posts, I’ve written about the importance of teamwork and a common IEP team scenario wherein the parents and school district fail to reach agreement on how to address the needs of a child. In the grand spirit of Star Wars, I am going for a trilogy of teamwork-related posts.

This post focuses on when the general education teacher and specialist (you) fail to agree on accommodations and modifications. Unless you’re Darth Vader with the full backing of the Dark Side, you’re going to have to learn how to reach an accord with colleagues.

Jessica: A Team Effort

I don’t know how many times I’ve heard, read, or said it: the “I” in IEP stands for individualized. Indeed, the goal of special education is to come together as a team to create an appropriate learning environment that meets the individualized needs of our exceptional students. In a larger sense, the aim of all education is to recognize every student’s needs and differentiate within the classroom to see to it that all their individual needs are met.

Hmmm. Everybody say it with me, “Easier said than done.”

Let me explain my work environment:

Allisence: Siloed

First of all, I’m not so proud to share that I have not started running, nor have I made much progress in finding any balance in my life. But I did walk outside and buy myself a new pair of earrings. Baby steps, I tell you, baby steps.

Anyway, did you know that 1873, a man named Henry Hatch of McHenry County, Ill., invented the very first silo? He built it out of wood and stored grains inside of it. He was probably a very forward-thinking man.

I saw my very first silo when I moved to Michigan for college. After being told farmers kept grain inside of them to feed their animals, I could not figure out how they filled those things up. I mean, if you put the grains in through a little window, all the grain already in there would just spill out! Little did I know that silos require some fancy engineering . . . on the inside.

My grad program is built on the idea of co-teaching. In the past year and a half it’s been drilled into my head that silos are bad news and that no teacher should operate in silo fashion. Everyone knows this, but when you’ve been trained to operate as a co-planner, co-teacher, and co-assessor, being the sole teacher-of-record in a self-contained class where I have no team whatsoever is quite hard.

Theresa: Too Much of a Good Thing?

Disclaimer: I am not a super hero, nor do I claim to have super-human powers.

Collaboration. (sigh) It seems every time I turn around someone is talking about it. I almost feel like I need to put a dollar in a “swear jar” whenever I hear the word “collaboration.”

I understand that collaboration is a necessary part of my job in order for my students to succeed. However, I feel like the expectations placed on me in this area are unobtainable. As much as I would like to be in more than one place at a time, it is just not possible (hence the need for super-human powers—and maybe Richard’s cape).

Theresa: My Co-Teaching Comfort Level

When looking through my students’ IEPs, nothing increases my anxiety more than seeing the word “co-teaching.” Behavior plans, transition difficulties, and problems listening to adults do not faze me. However, when I see that my students require co-teaching, I begin to feel a slight panic.

I know some teachers really enjoy co-teaching, but I have to admit, it is not one of my favorite things. Don’t get me wrong: I want to do what is best for my students, and if co-teaching is what they need, then that is what I will do. I have taken the classes, attended the PDs, and watched the videos about “ideal” co-teaching. But it is still something I am not very comfortable with.

This year, I am so lucky to be co-teaching with a wonderful colleague (and she is probably reading this right now, too!). Having a general education teacher who is willing to accept you into her classroom is really one of the most important things when it comes to successful co-teaching. I know that some teachers like to be left alone in their own classrooms, but come on! Having two teachers at once is better for all of the students.

Allisence: Managing for Dummies

In 1991, Dan Gookin might have been the most ingenious dummy on Earth. Ingenious because he authored the first in a series of more than 1,600 books (take that, J.K. Rowling!). And a dummy because he dared to call pretty much everyone who can read the English language . . . a dummy.

And yet he got away with it. Why? Because his book, DOS for Dummies, explained to “the rest of us” what DOS is. I, for one, have not read this book, so I am still unable to call myself an enlightened DOS dummy. However, there is one For Dummies book that I could really use right about now: Managing for Dummies.

Pretty much every single class I’ve taken thus far in my masters and certification program has talked about how to collaborate with paraprofessionals, how to incorporate them in instruction, and how to create a classroom culture that embraces the strengths of all its members. I heard the same things so many times that it became quite ingrained, but none of it really hit me until I started teaching this year.

Richard: Where Did I Put My Cape?

What a first week! As a teacher in a self-contained classroom, I was aware that I would be teaching all the subjects to students in all grades, plus two elective courses. I was happy when I found out that I only had one eighth grader for one class, which meant I would only be teaching two grades for the majority of my day.

As the summer progressed, I decided to be proactive and begin lesson planning, which also helped me meet and build relationships with those need-to-know teachers who are the best of the best in their subjects.

Going into pre-planning, I felt assured that I was fully prepared and ready for my students. But by the end of day two, frustration consumed me. It was not the frustration that comes with setting up my first classroom or normal beginning-of-the-school-year stress. Rather, it was the sense that my school expected me to be Captain Planet.

Why Captain Planet? “Earth! Fire! Wind! Water! Heart! . . . By your powers combined, I am Captain Planet!”

Sheena: Our Passions as Our Professions

As the end of the school year quickly approaches, I realize that attending the CEC 2011 Convention & Expo was exactly what I needed at this stage in my career. Countless amazing, inspiring, and dedicated people were placed in my path, giving me the perspective I needed to move forward on my journey.

As I attended sessions and asked questions about the realities of co-teaching—my favorite subject, as you all know!—I was shocked to hear veteran special educators both acknowledge my professional concerns and encourage me to continue on the path. Their positive and supportive responses were just the consolation my young, passionate teacher’s heart needed.

Sheena: Expectations vs. Realities

Where in the world have I been these last few weeks? I’ve been trying to survive in a bureaucratic world that doesn’t make sense for idealistic thinkers like me.

Although I have not yet received a letter or pink slip from my school, I anticipate that I will not be offered a renewed contract or tenure at the end of the year. This year has been an incredible mountain of obstacles as I’ve attempted to advocate for my special education students by taking a collaborative, engaged role during lesson planning meetings. The word “passion” has often been used to describe my actions, goals, and value system, but the same word is sometimes equated with “aggression” whenever I attempt to interject an opinion. I have been entrusted to help develop lifelong skills and successes for my students with learning challenges, and yet I feel I am often not given an equal opportunity to share my ideas for effective teaching strategies.

Tenured teachers with no incentive to change have been boulders and windstorms along my path, and I honestly have very few resources in which to seek shelter, other than my faith, my family, my friends, and even this blog, which has served as a great outlet.

Reading through past journal entries often helps me remember past journeys on which I once felt that I would be lost forever, but eventually found a way to make it through. In one entry, I read the words of a woman I interviewed with who worked for UNICEF in Niger at the time. I inquired about any advice she had to pass along, and I remember being stunned by her yogic wisdom. She said that our expectations in life almost never meet the reality of our experiences; thus, the only way to be successful, to feel fulfilled, is to constantly meditate on our intentions.

Brad: Confidentiality at the Expense of Connection?



Recently, I had an opportunity to share some of my school’s inclusive practices with a special educator from another district. I told him about using general education peer-tutors, inviting general education classes into self-contained classrooms for shared lessons, and helping typical and non-typical students change the school climate with respect to students with disabilities.

While my colleague was personally connected to the mission of inclusion, he was unsure that some of these practices could actually occur at his school, due to parental and administrative concerns over confidentiality. He cited a few incidences of parents who were quite protective of their child’s right to privacy within an education setting. I couldn’t help but wonder why I had never encountered this “right to privacy” issue at the school where I teach.

To be sure, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act includes a number of definitions and legal requirements, especially with respect to evaluations, personally identifiable information, and access to records. But I’ve never interpreted these rights as contrary to the mission of inclusive practices within schools.

Sheena: Past and Present

My restless nights as a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger, West Africa, were spent with a pair of portable speakers and Nina Simone’s wisdom. Her songs became my ray of hope and comfort as I lay under the moon and a mosquito net, covered by the blanket of the night.

I joined the Peace Corps in 2006 because I needed a change from my comfortable, mundane life as an office assistant in the United States. As a young, Black college graduate, I knew I did not want to get stuck in a meaningless existence. I wanted to contribute to society in ways that really mattered.

Lurking in my subconscious was this lovely, precious dream that Nina Simone so desperately wanted the world to believe in. This was the American Dream that I, in my youthfulness, was fearless enough to pursue. I made the bold decision to travel, learn new languages, and gain experience in international development. It was exhilarating to announce that I would give up air conditioning and clean drinking water for two years to make my humble contribution to the world.

With Simone’s commanding, lyrical voice at my side, I “opened my heart.” However, on my journey through the harmattan sandstorms of West Africa, I would be forced to ponder how this dream differs for individuals depending on their cultural and personal needs.

Melissa: Changes

I’ve always hated the expression “the more things change, the more they stay the same,” but that currently sums up my life at school.

When I show up Monday morning, things will be drastically different than they were just last week. One of my students moved over the weekend, so my group of six is now down to five. Losing a student in any class makes a difference, but when one student makes up about 17% of your class, it’s a pretty significant change. And because this was a particularly challenging student, the changes will be, um, pretty darn big.

Because I now have fewer students, I am also losing a paraprofessional during the morning. Administratively, I completely understand the move. Professionally, I know my class will be just fine with one para instead of two. But personally, it kinda stinks. When you work with someone every day for three semesters, especially when he is a very good someone, it’s hard to think about him not being there anymore. I am very glad he gets to stay with us for the part of the afternoon when my students split into two groups and go to two separate general ed classes during my planning time.

Sheena: One Stroke at a Time

Happy new year! Students and teachers alike returned to school this week feeling relaxed and refreshed.

In one of my classes, we asked students to write about a new goal for their language arts course. The seventh graders’ resolutions included: Change my attitude. Do my homework. Finish my classwork. Pay attention. It was an uplifting way to start the week, having our kids share their commitments to change.

Speaking of which, I kept my resolution to join a swim team. I made it to the first practice of Masters Club this week and was so nervous about being out of shape compared to other swimmers. My mind was plagued with images of gripping the wall in fatigue after each drill and being passed repeatedly by swim-mates sharing my lane. But as it turned out, the coach was a gentle, jovial soul who paired me with another swimmer who, like myself, was returning to swimming after a seven-year hiatus. We immediately bonded and shared some time in the hot tub after our 90-minute practice.

Each lap was just a lap. The coach advised us to take it easy and work on our form. He told me I needed to bend my arm with each stroke in freestyle, and I tried to focus on that skill with each lap. Being a teacher, I immediately compared my physical actions—focusing on each movement to complete a full stroke—to student learning. Teachers, like coaches, support students by providing them with skills that they can practice until it become part of their metacognitive process. My getting back into shape is similar to a student’s becoming proficient in a standard. Each stroke is supported by a skill that must be actively developed, practiced, and eventually owned.

Sheena: Acceptance

Recently I’ve been reflecting a lot about change—and recognizing the difference between the things that I can and can’t change when it comes to instruction.

As a special educator working with four different content teachers, I’ve realized that one of the most important factors of my success is the ability to accept. Each one of my fellow co-teachers has a different level of readiness when it comes to changing activities in lesson plans or deviating from pacing guide dates, and I must be accepting of this.

This week I attended a professional development workshop on how to incorporate adaptations for the differentiated instruction classroom, and I left with an almost bittersweet feeling. The presentation was amazing, but the special educators I sat next to noted the same thing that I thought all along: These instructional adaptations are only possible when the content teacher is open to that approach.

Sheena: The Toughest Job You Will Ever Love . . .

We’re entering the third month of the 2010-2011 school year and I will continue to use the Peace Corps motto to describe the heart and soul of the service that I provide as a special educator. Team teaching remains the toughest job that I’ll ever love.

My two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in West Africa were truly a time of reflection, growth, and resilience. The experience was filled with ups and downs, tears and triumphs, but I survived with the support of countless mentors and friends.

Similarly, in my second year of teaching, I am much more confident in my duties as a student advocate in the classroom and throughout the IEP process. I am familiar with our diverse socioeconomic and cultural student population, and as a result of our school’s community outreach and engagement initiatives, I feel accepted by and connected to the families and parents of the students that we serve.

Jennifer: Troubleshooting the Inclusion Dilemma

I have always been a huge advocate of inclusion. I think it does so much for our students when they  leave their self-contained classroom to go out and engage in a different-paced activity with a larger group of students than they are used to. It encourages communication and helps them increase interpersonal skills. And most importantly, it builds friendships that they may not have otherwise had.

My school is specific to students with physical and health impairments; however, we are connected to a general education school. When I first came here, I thought that this was the absolute perfect set-up for inclusion. I had all these huge plans for pen-pal programs to motivate my students to write, science projects that they could do in teams, maybe even a play or music performance that would bring our classes together (for some reason, every time I thought about how great it would be, my ideas played out in my head like a montage to the theme song for “The Wonder Years”).

It's All About Perspective

By Elizabeth Stein

"All children can learn." It’s agreed. It sounds optimistic…hopeful…and dare I say it is the sign of an effective teacher? Not quite. When the rhetoric is transformed into action, this statement becomes powerful. Let’s look at this from the lens of a special educator.

In a resource room setting, you must make sure that your instruction targets specific IEP goals while aligning with standards and district expectations—and the general education teacher’s ideas. Easy enough…you pull the students into your classroom, and the instructional time is in your hands. You know your students’ strengths, you teach in small groups, and you judge the best way to spend precious instructional time.

In an inclusive classroom setting, the difference lies in the fact that you are joining someone else’s classroom. The challenge of implementing your well-thought-out lesson plans—or finding the co-planning time—can become a bit daunting. There are three realities of the inclusion world:

1. You find yourself in the perfect co-teaching experience. Life is great.
2. You find yourself balancing your instructional philosophy with your co-teacher’s, with respect for each other’s roles and goals. Life is good…and balanced.
3. You find significant differences between you and your co-teacher…and you become quiet, intimidated, and hesitant to set the teacher in you free.

Keeping it Real

By Elizabeth Stein

“Reality 101” is the perfect title for this blog. As you begin your teaching career, your belief systems (your reality) merge with the real world (the reality of others). It can be quite overwhelming when your ideas merge with the thinking of others. As a special education teacher, you will be expected to collaborate with many colleagues—and not all will have the same belief systems as you. You will work collaboratively to make recommendations for students, or teach alongside a general education teacher who may not share your passion or philosophy, or talk with a parent who is not fully at the acceptance stage—and you may be left feeling a bit dizzy. If so…CONGRATULATIONS…you have entered the real world!

Hello fellow special educators! Welcome to one of the most rewarding professions. Let’s break here for a quick introduction…

I am a special education teacher in Long Island’s Smithtown Central School District. I teach within inclusive and resource-room settings. Teaching education courses at the college level is one way I love to share my passion for teaching and learning. Writing is another way. Thus far, my words have been published in the March 2008 edition of NEA Today. In addition, you can read my article, Teach Kids to Think and They’ll Want to Learn, in Educator’s Voice, Volume II, published by New York State United Teachers (NYSUT).  I am also pursuing National Board certification in the area of literacy.

The Art of Networking

By Barbara Baditoi

Do you remember when you were a student heading back to school? Loaded with anticipation and wonder, students are often anxious to figure out who is who, what is what, and where everything is. First-year teachers are the same and, even if you are in your second or third year of teaching special education, you may still be going to a different building, meeting a new co-teacher or paraprofessional, and sorting through unknown faces and names on your team.

School faculty lists read like a “who’s who” for the building. Secretaries tell you where your mailbox is located and point you in the direction of the clinic room assistant, who discusses which of your students require an EpiPen or seizure training. Walking down the hall to your room, you are greeted by returning teachers and stopped by nervous new teachers. Before you put down your growing stack of papers, you are summoned to the “back to school breakfast” and first staff meeting, where you will find more new faces. If you are a first-year teacher, your mentor helps by introducing you to colleagues. You have met the building administrators, but what about the speech and language clinician, occupational therapist, physical therapist, social worker, psychologist, school counselor, custodian, and behavior resource specialist?

Collaborating through Co-Teaching

Originally posted Jan. 15, 2008

By Marilyn Friend, Ph.D.
University of North Carolina at Greensboro

When it comes to topics of interest related to collaboration, co-teaching is probably at the top of the list. In this post, I thought I would talk a little about the problems constraining the potential of co-teaching from being realized. These ideas come from keeping up with the professional literature on co-teaching as well as my own frequent work in schools. The dilemmas include these:

• Lack of initial and ongoing professional development for co-teaching partners.
  Would anyone in the world of business expect a sales representative to introduce a new project without first being taught about it? Would a surgeon try a new procedure without training? Of course not. But it seems in education that professionals often are left on their own to figure out how to implement new ideas and practices.  

Originally posted Jan. 15, 2008

By Marilyn Friend, Ph.D.
University of North Carolina at Greensboro

When it comes to topics of interest related to collaboration, co-teaching is probably at the top of the list. In this post, I thought I would talk a little about the problems constraining the potential of co-teaching from being realized. These ideas come from keeping up with the professional literature on co-teaching as well as my own frequent work in schools. The dilemmas include these:

I Know What To Do with the Kids, But What About the Grown-ups?

Originally posted Jan. 9, 2008

By Marilyn Friend, Ph.D.
University of North Carolina at Greensboro

I would like to focus on collaboration, that is, the rather complex responsibilities that all special educators have for effectively working with other teachers and other professionals, paraprofessionals, administrators, and parents in the school and the community.  I’m wondering whether you’re finding that you are well-prepared to work with students; understand clearly your responsibilities related to writing, implementing, and monitoring IEPs; and realize the importance of current efforts to raise academic expectations for students with disabilities . . . but that the most challenging part of your job, in many ways, is the part that involves working with adults!

Originally posted Jan. 9, 2008

By Marilyn Friend, Ph.D.
University of North Carolina at Greensboro

I would like to focus on collaboration, that is, the rather complex responsibilities that all special educators have for effectively working with other teachers and other professionals, paraprofessionals, administrators, and parents in the school and the community.  I’m wondering whether you’re finding that you are well-prepared to work with students; understand clearly your responsibilities related to writing, implementing, and monitoring IEPs; and realize the importance of current efforts to raise academic expectations for students with disabilities . . . but that the most challenging part of your job, in many ways, is the part that involves working with adults!

Co-teaching and student engagement

If you happen to be lucky enough to be co-teaching this year, then we wanted to share a resource from a current issue of TEACHING Exceptional Children called "50 ways to keep your co-teacher." You might want to review this article to give you some tips to make it a great year; if you are a CEC member, you should have access to it. The article abstract can also be found here (Murawski & Dieker, 2008).

Co-planning
Also keep in mind to talk with your co-teacher about how he or she feels the co-taught class is progressing on a regular basis. All of us involved with posting this month have been involved in co-teaching, and we have found it to be a very rewarding experience. It is important when you co-teach that you plan as a team. There are two tools out there to help with planning. One is a traditional plan book that can be found in the CEC store. There is also an electronic planning tool by my colleague Wendy Murawski that can be found at http://www.2teachllc.com.

Whatever model you choose, planning is a key element to success.

A Few Thoughts on Collaboration in Today’s Schools

By Marilyn Friend, Ph.D.
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Representative to the Representative Assembly (RA) for the Teacher Education Division (TED)

This semester, I’m teaching a doctoral level seminar on collaboration as it pertains to the field of special education.  My students have background in early childhood education, speech/language therapy, and special education.  As we begin to explore the state of the art of school collaboration, they are raising concerns that I suspect also are pertinent to most of you reading these posts.  They’ve raised issues such as these, topics that I hope some of you are interested in commenting on:

• Educators often say that they value collaboration, but when it comes to implementation, they may decide they only want to collaborate with certain individuals or in situations that are their choice.  One of the most difficult aspects of collaboration is the understanding that it should be based on the goal to be achieved.  That is, if attaining a goal (for us, usually positive student outcomes, but it could be others, such as designing a new program, revising curriculum, or creating a professional development activity) is most likely when professionals work together, then collaboration is necessary.  It’s not a matter of choice based on preference, it’s a matter of choice based on understanding the goal.

I Wish I Knew What To Say When…

By Marilyn Friend, Ph.D.
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Representative to the Representative Assembly (RA) for the Teacher Education Division (TED)

Most of the time, everything at schools moves along smoothly.  Teachers teach, students learn, and the days fly by.  Interactions among teachers, administrators, and parents occur as needed, and they are clear and constructive.  Occasionally, however, that is not the way it is.  Perhaps in a co-taught class, the general education teacher directs the special educator to run to the office to make the missing copies of the assignment, and the special educator bristles at what is perceived as an order.  Perhaps a teacher and a paraprofessional have a disagreement.  Suddenly, you might be at a loss for words. 

Collaborating through Co-Teaching

By Marilyn Friend, Ph.D.
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Representative to the Representative Assembly (RA) for the Teacher Education Division (TED)

When it comes to topics of interest related to collaboration, co-teaching is probably at the top of the list.  In this blog, I thought I would offer ramble a little about the problems constraining the potential of co-teaching from being realized.  These ideas come from keeping up with the professional literature on co-teaching as well as my own frequent work in schools.  The dilemmas include these:

• Lack of initial and ongoing professional development for co-teaching partners.
  Would anyone in the world of business expect a sales representative to introduce a new project without first being taught about it?  Would a surgeon try a new procedure without training?  Of course not.  But it seems in education that professionals often are left on their own to figure out how to implement new ideas and practices.   When teachers’ styles and approaches are complementary, this might not be a huge issue.  However, presuming that all teachers will naturally form strong classroom partnerships isn’t  realistic.  They should receive professional development—together.  This enables them to discuss expectations for co-teaching, negotiate classroom roles and responsibilities, discuss student matters, and so on.  Professional development is important for elementary teachers and critical for middle and high school teachers.  I suspect that better professional development (and initial teacher training) would eliminate many of the situations in which special educators are functioning, for all intents and purposes, as classroom assistants in their allegedly co-taught classes.

I Know What To Do with the Kids, But What About the Grown-ups?

By Marilyn Friend, Ph.D.
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Representative to the Representative Assembly (RA) for the Teacher Education Division (TED)

Greetings, Colleagues, and Happy New Year.  It’s time for the January blog, and the topic that I thought might be helpful to focus on is collaboration, that is, the rather complex responsibilities that all special educators have for effectively working with other teachers, related services and other professionals, paraprofessionals, administrators, parents, and others in school and the community.  I’m wondering whether you’re finding that you were well-prepared to work with students; understand clearly your responsibilities related to writing, implementing, and monitoring IEPs; and realize the importance of current efforts to raise academic expectations for students with disabilities…but that the most challenging part of your job, in many ways, is the part that involves working with adults!