Teachers.Net Focus Session

Teachers.Net Focus
Wednesday, February 10, 1999
Team Teaching
with
Alan and Patty Engle (Spouses who team teach)
Sponsored by

In Education

Alan - Good evening all. Patty and I welcome you to tonights forum on Team Teaching. We are a husband and wife teaming team in suburban Orlando, Florida. We might add that we also teach in a 4/5 multiage classroom. We team teach in the truest sense of the word -- 56 students and two teachers, sharing all teaching and student responsibilities equally. We hope to dispell some misbeliefs about team teaching, as well as provide some insight to our experiences as a part of a teaching team -- even before we taught together. A shameless plug -- you can find us also at our new web site www.twoteach.com, a resource for educators, students, and parents.
Patty - Good evening everyone!
Alan - I'll open with a question? anyone here in a team teaching setting?
Rook - Not me, but looking to do it next year with the SpEd teacher next door.
Alan - I'll also throw out a typing disclaimer -- we stink at it
Alan - rook- would you be sharing the kids for all content?
Patty - Rook- what grade level?
Rook - Not all, just for Math and Language Arts.
Rook - 5th grade
Ann/LA - They are in the process of building a humongous new school and have informed us if we want to transfer to it, we will have to teach in pod teams
Alan - i would call that co-teaching
Rook - Oh, this talk should be helpful to me, anyway, right?
Alan - team teaching is where two teachers share all the kids all day for all content areas
Ann/LA - I have asked for a transfer because I have had no good times with team teaching in the past
Patty - Ann- pod teams are different than "team teaching". They are talking more about departmentalized units...where you all share a core group of kids. I've done that also...it's nice too.
Alan - the kids leave the grade level having had two teachers for that grade
Ann/LA - Alan - they want us to share five teachers in a pod
Alan - rook -- i think it can be a great help, especially if others share their experiences with us all
Ann/LA - Patty - they have inserviced us as it being team teaching. These five teachers plan together what they will teach
Patty - Ann- what grade level?
Alan - ann -- that still really sounds like departmental teaching -- like in middle schools
Rook - The main concern I have is that we are both head strong and we are good friends. Might this interfere with our friendship?
Kathleen - This is a wonderful topic! Thank you for hosting it. I know that many of us confuse team teaching with other methods, so this will be very helpful.
Bill T. 6/nc - Exactly what is team teaching, then?
Alan - well, this head strong married couple were able to master it
Ann/LA - Alan - well, I am totally unfamiliar with what they are talking about, but at the inservice they showed us a master schedule that has to be turned in every week. They also are giving an extra hour to plan the schedules.
Alan - it is the art of compromise
Alan - ann -- will you be sharing the kids at all during the day?
Ann/LA - Alan - from the drift I get, no.
Bill T. 6/nc - Compromise? Thanks Alan
Patty - Rook- my last teaching partner and I were the very best of friends... not only did school become an even more exciting place, but I got to share my day with my "best" friend. I think that you both need to be very up-front with each other and compromise alot!
Alan - bill t. -- team teaching is where you have two teachers with double the class size sharing all teaching and student responsibilities
Alan - then ann, will you be only planning to gether?
Bill T. 6/nc - Okay. I am currently teamed with someone. They teach language arts and social studies. I do science and math
Patty - Rook- it worked out well for us...planning was very natural and we never "fought" over what we wanted to teach. But neither of us had a particular subject that we were in charge of. We just taught the lessons that we felt inclined to do
Jess - How do the children like team teaching???
Patty - Bill... do you have all of the kids in one room? where both teachers share in all of the upkeep of the same class?
Ann/LA - Alan - I am of the impression that planning will be together. It was mentioned the principal has the last okay on the schedule. He said he won't allow three tests in three subjects scheduled on the same day.
Alan - jess -- our kids have always loved having the two teachers
Kathleen - Patty, what is your physcial space like? My greatest concern would be space, noise
Rook - That's our plan as well. We are trying "mini-units" a few times. For instance a unit on Dr. Suess. She wrote a 2 day lesson and I wrote a two day lesson.
Bill T. 6/nc - No. We use two different rooms
Alan - they also benefit from two perspectives on everything
Ann/LA - Alan - so, what they are talking about is not really team teaching, is it?
Alan - ann - it sounds like you will be departmentalize or semi-departmentalized like Bill T.
Rook - What exactly do you mean by departmentalized?
Patty - K- we actually have two very large rooms that are side by side with connecting passages. One room is the "Learning Lab" and the other is the "Cybermedia Center" with our library and all of the technology. There is a constant flow of kids between the two classes all day. Yes it sometimes gets noisy.... but it's "good" noise!
Alan - noise? it is organized kaos! but then learning is noisy
Bill T. 6/nc - So, if I understand it correctly, in order to team teach, you have to be in the same classroom with two teachers????
Alan - rook -- where one teacher teaches one or two subjects, then the kids rotate to another teacher for another block of content
Ann/LA - Patty - what grade are you talking about?
Rook - Thanks, Alan . . .this is my first year.
Alan - yes, bill -- in the truest sense of the definition
Alan - what grade level rook?
Rook - 5th
Patty - Bill..."true" team teaching is truely sharing a group of kids with another teacher in a single unit. In our case our principal gave us an additional room because of the grant we were awarded... to set up a computer lab
Ann/LA - Alan - that's what we'll be doing. The same 150 kids will be moving to the same 5 teachers all day.
Bill T. 6/nc - But that sounds like what we do now, only we just use two rooms to do it
deer - I am a special ed. teacher. We are trying to do a full "inclusion" program. I have been team teaching with a reg. ed. teacher. It has been very successful. But how have you handled students with special needs at your campus? I am el.ed.
Rook - deer, how do you do it? Are all the sped kids in one reg ed room?
Patty - Bill... do you separate the kids for different lessons from the two teachers at the same time. Is one group doing math, for instance, while the other is teaching science?
Kathleen - I like the idea of the "flow" of kids between the two rooms!
Alan - ann, that is still not the same has having 50 of those kids for all day and all content
Bill T. 6/nc - Exactly, Patty
Patty - K- it is truely dynamic! Like a bee hive... all of our kids have a job... and they get it done!
Alan - also note that we teach a fully integrated curriculum
Ann/LA - Patty what grade???
Rook - They would like to put all sped in my room, then the sped teacher and aide would "co-teach" math and language arts with me, all the sped kids, and the remaining reg ed in my room.
Patty - Bill....Alan and I teach virtually every lesson together. One becomes the lead teacher and the other facilitates learning and helps with individualized questions and small cooperative groups.
Alan - deer, we are proponents of full inclusion and wish we could get more districts to go that route
Patty - Ann- we have a grades 4/5 multiage class.
Bill T. 6/nc - I see the difference now. My junior high trained teammate would never go for that.
Patty - Bill- it is a bit overwhelming for some of us! I taught middle school for a while and I can definitely understand where they are coming from!
Kathleen - With a difficult group, does team teaching make it easier to deal with the group?
Bill T. 6/nc - True, it does seem funny, Patty,. but I have had one terrible time getting him to do middle school this year...
Alan - deer, that is good co-teaching and i think great for ALL the kids
Ann/LA - okay - I'm sixth grade - how would we go about setting up a viable team teaching situation?
Bill T. 6/nc - I like the concept.
deer - exactly what goes on in the "learning lab"
Patty - Bill- middle school aged kids are a really unique group of "people"!
Alan - good -- bill -- so do we ;)
Bill T. 6/nc - You got that right!!!!
Patty - K- does it ever! Divide and conquer!
Bill T. 6/nc - Just don't know how we could work it with the gang of roughins I got this year.
Alan - LOL -- i'm there with ya' honey
Patty - Bill... I'd invite you to come see our class... trust me, we have quite the mix also! Hormones everywhere!
Bill T. 6/nc - What grade level???
Patty - 4th and 5th graders...
Bill T. 6/nc - Interesting mix....
Kathleen - Alan and Patty, what is the most difficult aspect of team teaching for you?
Alan - sara - where in TX are you -- Patty and I came from suburban Dallas two years ago
Jen/CA - OH! Thanks, K! I'm wondering if you team for core subjects (math, L/A) in elem. and if the classes are mixed up and regrouped or if whole classes roam from teacher to teacher...
Patty - k- not enough hours in the day!
deer - Alan How many SpEd teachers do you have on your campus? I am the only Special Ed teacher on a campus of about 500 students K-2nd. Me and my one aide are spread very thin. Any suggestions?
Alan - jen -- patty and i share our 56 kids all day- all content areas
sara/k/Tx* - alan, I/m on the Gulf coast.
Alan - truly have TWO teachers this year
Bill T. 6/nc - Omigosh...56 kids in one big room!!!!?????
Patty - All day ....every day.....!!!!!!
Alan - well, they do go to a specials for 40 mins!
Patty - And we love them all!
Bill T. 6/nc - You MUST!!!!!
Alan - deer - i'm not well versed in sped, but sounds like your principal needs to hire another sped teacher -- and fast!
sara/k/Tx* - I team taught with the person next door to me. I loved it.
Alan - the most difficult part of team teaching is being able and willing to share your kids and all their accomplishments with someone else. that is why the most critical part of team teaching is pairing with someone that you can build on each others strenghts and weaknesses
Patty - sara- did you both teach in the same room at the same time, or did you just share kids? there is a difference.
sara/k/Tx* - We shared children. I taught math/science. She taught Language Arts.
Kathleen - Alan, Patty, what happens when one of you has to take a day off, or (worse!) when BOTH of you have to be absent??
Alan - sara -- that is co-teaching or semi-departmentalized teaching. not really team teaching in the truest sense of the word. not wrong, just different
Patty - Sara- Alan and I teach every lesson together, one lead teaches while the other monitors and facilitates small groups, etc.
Kathleen - How much of the time is one adult talking to all 56 students?
Alan - it turns out to be a pretty easy day for the sub when one of us is gone
Deb - Last year I team taught with another kindergarten teacher to give our kids the specials art and music that were taken away from them. I taught art and my grade partner taught music.
Patty - There have been several times that we have both been absent, district commitments, etc. The subs that we have on campus know us and our kids very well and they love to be in our room because it is so different! We even have a waiting list of district people who need to spend a day in the classroom waiting for one of us to be sick!
Sara/k/Tx** - I think your way of teaching is more CO than mine. My opinion, only.
Kathleen - Are there any books or web sites that can help us understand better the concept of team teaching?
Sara/k/Tx** - Cool, Deb!! How did you like it?
Alan - why would you say that? maybe it is just a difference in terminology
Patty - There are lots of reference materials out there.... we'll post some on our web sitehttp://www.twoteach.com for those that are interested in looking more into it
Kathleen - What are some points about effectiveness that potential "teamers" can make to their administration in an attempt to get the go-ahead to try team teaching?
Patty - K- it is our belief that teachers should'nt talk more that about 10 minutes out of every hour.... we like to get them started and then just facilitate the process!
Kathleen - Brenda, I'm glad you came over to this discussion about team teaching!
Alan - i must to you all that the one year i taught alone, i felt like my workload doubled
Patty - K- They MUST be dedicated first of all...
Sara/k/Tx** - I don't know Alan, maybe it is a matter of term.....
Kathleen - Are you heavily into group projects? Do students have any opportunities to be alone, such as a quiet place?
Deb - Sara/k/Tx** I thought it was good for the kids because they got music from an excellent teacher. She could play the piano and was recognized in her church as a musician. I enjoyed the chance to get to know her class and provide them with art projects. It was a lot of prep. for me because of all the supplies.
Sara/k/Tx** - This year I'm not "teaming". My work load HAS doubled!!
Patty - K- it is a totally different way of teaching. I don't believe that it is for everyone, you have to be willing to give up some of your "ground" to another person and compromise!
Alan - some people use co-teaching and team-teaming interchangably
Alan - patty and i spend most of our day in cooperatives working on projects and interactive simulations
Sara/k/Tx** - Deb, My situation also. The teacher who taught mine LA was excellent!!! I am "good" at Math. The students got the best of both worlds. Hard to get into our classes at first of year!!
Patty - I believe that one of the most effective things that has come from team teaching is that you can address all of the different learning styles of your children
Deb - I have a student teacher this year and I feel it is like having another person to teach with. It is a good thing to have,especially since she is so nice and likes what she does.
Alan - that is one way teaming really helps out -- two of can walk around and facilitate and work in small groups
Kathleen - Are the 2 rooms divided off into small sections, with one large space for large group meetings?
Patty - If they don't get it from one teacher, chances are that they will get it from another.
Alan - if one of gets tied down -- no problem -- the other is there to cover
Brenda - i've never team taught and the only team i saw in action were two people who were very 'territorial'. By May they were no longer speaking. I did teach special ed and worked very closely with the other teachers. I am very interested in team teaching.
Kathleen - Alan, the response to that point (2 people helping) might be, "But you have twice the number of students." What would you respond to that?
Patty - It's nice to have different viewpoints on every subject...no two teachers will present the same material the same way
Sara/k/Tx** - Alan, I see your form of teachng Co because both of you are in the room together - one subject. CO teaching a subject....that's MY opinion again!.
Alan - the two rooms we have are about equal in size -- just two "regular" classrooms joined together at the hip
Alan - right sara -- we are talking about the same thing -- you call it co-=teaching, we call it team-teaching
Patty - One room is a large "meeting' room with tables for 6, the other is very open and spacious with the library, computer pod and lots of pillows, chairs, couch, etc.
Deb - Co teaching can be noisy. I have use older students to help me achieve that multi group approch
Kathleen - Do you use centers and or "stations" (I'm still thinking that it is desireable to have nooks where kids can escape the large group) What do you think?
Patty - K- we don't really have twice the number of students, actually we have fewer students per teacher than the traditional classrooms on our campus.
Sara/k/Tx** - Cool, Alan ...We are on the same page!!! I feel better! Hate to disagree!
Kathleen - pillows, couch, yes, that sounds like a nice environment, provides choices for those who wish to 'withdraw' a bit
Alan - kathleen, remember -- kids can also teach kids -- our job it is to facilitate
Alexis - K--In team teaching, are both presenting the material at the same time, or do you alternate?
jo - Has anyone teamed with a para who is not a certified teacher but is just in the room to help?
Deb - I have jo
Alan - hmmm sara, sounds just like patty -- which makes her a great teaching partner
Patty - There is plenty of space to spread out... pillows, comfy chairs, study cubbies, etc.
Patty - Thanks hon!
Kathleen - jo, good question
Sara/k/Tx** - My class had the noisey stuff(house, blocks...) Hers was quiet. OUr center time was called "Open Doors". We shared a restroom and rooms conected.
Alan - teaching partner is a great team teaching term -- you must be partners! in the past my teaching partners at times saw me more than patty did
Patty - Sounds like a nice set up!
deer - alan you said something about a learning lab? Could you explain that a little. I am teaming with a wonderful teacher. She is wanting to design her classroom into centers and keep room open for classroom work? Is this sort of what your learning lab is designed for?
Kathleen - back to jo's question about doing a teaming with a paraprofessinal assistant. I would think that with a talented para, that would be entirely possible. Patty, Alan, what do you think?
Alan - our learning lab is set up in a way that it has a very open concept with touches of home...we have centers areas and lots of spce to spread out on the floor to work -- the kids love it
Deb - Sounds like your class was fun...Sara/k/Tx
Patty - Alexis... sorry to keep you waiting....we both present the material, one usually leads and the other assists... but in our situation we usually end up teaching equally
Sara/k/Tx** - Thanks, Deb. I miss my teaching partner. She now is teaching 2nd grade. = (
Alexis - Being a new teacher, I haven't had the opportunity to observe team teaching
Alan - a para would work terrific, difference is they can only share in a bit of the responsiblity -- the teacher is still responsible for the teaching
Kathleen - Alan and Patty, how important to the success of your program is the fact that it is multi-age? And for how many years do you have these students? (2, right?)
Deb - I feel every classroom should have another teacher or adult to help teach or achieve other ends
Kathleen - Alexis, most OLD teachers haven't observed it either :-)
Alan - sara -- if it helps i lost my teaching partner nine weeks into the year -- and that was during my first year of teaching -- talk about stress
Patty - We feel that it is very important, the kids have the added benefit of being with us for two years so that their learning is on a true continuum
Sara/k/Tx** - Yikes, Alan. any hair left?
Patty - sara- he has a few....hahahaha, won't be many left after this year though! Just kidding!
Alan - it has mostly all grown back -- 'course MotherNature has taken abit for herself
Kathleen - For parent conferences....do you spread them out throughout the year rather try to hold 56 conferences?
Patty - K- back to the multiage ?.... i actually have 13 students who were in my 3rd grade last year and moved up with me.... I'll have them for 3 years, (their parents requested it that way!)
Alan - we schedule conferences on an as needed basis
Deb - Sara/kTx...I miss mine too, she had a heart attack and retired shortly after that. She was older but with a young mind. She is doing well now and comes to school once a week to help the new teacher...
Kathleen - Patty, I think 3 years with those kids is a wonderful advantage for all
Patty - K- it really is...they are a WONDERFUL group and have really become the leaders of our class this year!
Sara/k/Tx** - Deb, sorry to hear that! It is like losing a member of your family....truely is!
Alexis - Are there any age groups where team teaching is not as affective?
Alan - we are huge proponents of multiage and came from schools werte the entire campus was multiage and team taught
Deb - Patty...How do you handle the cost of teaching the same children 3 years in a row. Bulletin boards, ideas for lessons. Teaching style?
Kathleen - Patty and Alan, do you do workshop presentations on topics related to your program and experiences?
Alan - we have seen it work successively from K-6
Sara/k/Tx** - I don't think so. We all learn from each other!
Kathleen - Deb, good point, can't use the same cycle of materials and lessons 2 years in a row
Patty - different curriculum...lots of planning and we really don't have to many bulletin boards..mostly kid work
Alan - kathleen, we are soon presenting at the Florida Character Education Conference
Kathleen - Even without bulletin boards, it can be expensive equipping a classroom, unless your school budget is more generous than most!
Patty - in a multiage setting you rotate the curriculum each year so that the kids are exposed to all grade levels
Kathleen - Alan, on what topic will you present (something related to the character theme?)
Sara/k/Tx** - Ahhhh Character Ed..... what a buzz word in my district!!
Alan - yes, we are presenting our program for setting up a positive management system in a classroom
Patty - Well actually we work so that we can teach... hahaha... no, our school's budget is VERY slim, we are just VERY resourceful... lots of Scholastic bonus points!
Kathleen - Work so that we can teach...that's a good one, so true!
Sara/k/Tx** - What would teacher's do without bonus points!
Kathleen - Alan, perhaps you would return to address that topic here sometime this Spring?
Patty - hahaha... eat pb&j and ramen noodles a lot!
Patty - Kathleen- we'd love to...
Alan - we also put together workshops on integrated curriculum design and of course team teaching and multiage
Kathleen - It's time to close. Patty and Alan, would you post your web address again, and is there anything else you would like to say before we leave?
Patty - Sure Kathleen, thanks for having us! http://www.twoteach.com
Sara/k/Tx** - Thanks Alan and Patty! I'm glad we are on the same page!!! I was worried for a minute!! Take care and God speed!
Alan - We would like to thank Teachers.Net for this chance to share with our collegues some ideas that excite us
Patty - K- this has really been fun...I can't believe that it's time to go already.... :(
Deb - Our district is not using math books next year. I will need to build supplies,,copy work manipulatives etc. How would you or do you handle that
Kathleen - Alan and Patty Engle, thank you for sharing your time and topic with the Teachers.Net community! Goodnight, I look forward to having you back soon!
Alan - Thanks Kathleen it was our pleasure -- anytime -- we are not short of opinions
Alan - Remember Madeline Hunter said "You are only as good as the teacher across the hall."
Patty - Good Night all! Thanks for chatting! :)