Co-Teaching relationships can be either arduous or awesome. How can you ensure that your co-teaching experience will become awesome? What specific actions do successful co-teacher pairs practice? Together we will discuss and develop the essential elements of a healthy co-teaching partnership, assess your current co-teaching practices, and develop effective models which meet the needs of all learners. Participants will analyze the pros and cons of various co-teaching models, determine which models work best for you and your co-teacher, and create a set of discussion points to guide the successful negotiation of the co-teaching partnership. This course is designed to equip teachers with the necessary tools and knowledge to be effective teaching partners in the classroom.
Presenters:
Donald Willoughby is a 23 year United States Air Force retired Master Sergeant. He has a Bachelors and Masters in management with a post-baccalaureate in Special Education. He has worked in the special education field since 2017, having worked with multiple levels of students with specific learning disabilities. Currently, he teaches Essentials of Geometry and Intermediate Algebra in the resource classroom and co-teaches in the Geometry and Intermediate Algebra general education classrooms at Mesquite High School in Gilbert, AZ.
One of the most important things I have learned from teaching in a co-taught environment is that the teachers must create a cohesive and positive classroom environment. This cohesiveness will set the tone for the classroom and provide a much more productive learning experience. As a special education co-teacher, I can be placed in any classroom to help out with the students with learning disabilities. This means I am constantly learning new curriculum, so I am better capable of providing services for the students.
Mary Beth Cristian has 25 years experience in sales and business management and 10 years experience in the classroom. She has a bachelor’s degree in Economics, and Master’s degrees in International Business and Secondary Education. Mary Beth has taught Math, Economics, and Marketing for 10 years, many of which have included co-taught classes. For the past 3 years she has co-taught Algebra and Geometry with Don Willoughby at Mesquite High School in Gilbert, AZ.
Co-teaching has been a fantastic experience for me. When co-teachers have a strong partnership, student learning multiplies. Don and I attended a similar co-teaching class our first semester working together. We worked through our questions, talked through the details, and made a strong joint commitment to our students. With this foundation in place, we have helped each of our students reach their full potential. In the spring of 2021, every student we had in our co-taught classes was successful despite the challenges of returning to the classroom post-pandemic. I can only attribute this to the partnership and teacher efficacy that Don and I committed to early on in our co-teaching relationship.
This HEMS Workshop is focused on High School Mathematics that earn participants professional development certificates for 4 hours. $25 stipends will only be provided to the first 25 teachers from Arizona schools who participate, thanks to the generosity of Lee and Arthur Herbst.
Please only register if you can attend the session.
https://crr.math.arizona.edu/events-0#:~:text=first%2025%20participants.-,REGISTRATION,-Oct%2029%2C%202022
- For questions regarding this resource, please contact .