Yvonne Harari LEAD841

May Journal 5/30/2016

I came across a great opportunity this month when I saw two colleagues

who are co-teachers, Mandy and Jane, seeking help in working together more

effectively. I work closely with them so I was aware (more from Mandys

perspective) that they hadnt been working well together all year. I did my best to

advise Mandy alone in starting conversations with Jane to discuss the issues she

had, which she did several times, but nothing seemed to change. A few weeks

prior to my working with them, they had a conversation in which they realized that

the reason they werent working well together was because they didnt know how

to and they were never supported in doing so. They realized it wasnt about

blaming each other. They needed to learn how to work together. It was at this

point when I saw both of them open to learning that I offered to help them work

through some of their differences and begin to work together more effectively.

Formulating a plan for the meeting was a process for me. Knowing both of

them relatively well and understanding that the two of them have very different

personalities, philosophies of teaching, and perceptions made me think that to

begin with, they first need to understand the others perspective on what has

been going on in the classroom. I wanted my opinions and perspective to stay

completely neutral because this was about them. I was aware that I knew one

side more than the other and I wanted to be fair to both teachers involved. This

led me to create the first document (see below), which began with both teachers

saying something positive about the other and stating their goals for our work

together. I also had both teachers reflect on every aspect of the classroom (or at
least every aspect I could think of). I knew some touchy feelings might arise and I

wanted to prepare for the teachers to communicate in a productive way that

would keep both teachers emotionally safe. I had an I statement sentence

frame to help them frame their feelings as their own without putting it on the other

teacher. I wasnt sure what direction the meeting would go, so I also printed out

an article with 5 models of co-teaching so they could assess which they used

most often and they could choose a model theyd like to try in the classroom.

The meeting itself definitely took shape in its own way and I went along

with it. Starting off with the strengths of the other teacher helped kick off the

session in a positive way. Both teachers had similar goals of finding ways to

improve how they work together. The most enlightening part for me and both

teachers was the reflection on what had been happening in the classroom. I tried

to get both Mandy and Jane to state their perceptions for each area on the

worksheet because even aspects that seem to be straightforward differed for

each of them. I think it was very eye opening to both of them just to think about

how many different components there are to running a classroom and how they

assumed certain roles that were not benefitting themselves or their students.

There were two areas in particular that seemed to be sore spots for one or

both teachers. The first one had to do with planning. From what I knew

beforehand, Mandy felt like Jane completely took charge of the planning, so

much so that even when she put worksheets together, Jane often deleted them

without first discussing it. Mandy slowly stopped trying to plan because she felt

shot down whenever she suggested something. At the same time she was
frustrated because the way Jane planned went against her philosophy of

teaching, which she felt should be flexible and based on what students learned or

struggled with. In a nutshell, it seemed that Jane had assumed the role of math

expert, and Mandy, who hadnt communicated throughout the year, had become

completely disconnected to the planning (and therefore the teaching) in the

classroom.

Seeing how the conversation around planning played out in our meeting

was very interesting. Jane expressed that she felt anxious if copies werent made

from 3 days before so she would just take over and do it herself if it wasnt done.

Mandy responded that she didnt work like that and she felt like Jane should trust

her to get materials ready in time for a lesson. Mandy also brought up the idea

that just because something is planned, it doesnt necessarily mean it should be

used if its not going to help the students and their learning. Knowing that there

was a bigger issue at play here (that Jane may be planning only what shes

teaching without considering what students are learning) and that it couldnt be

addressed in this meeting alone, I tried to find a way for Jane to feel prepared

while Mandy could change the plan if need be. I came up with the idea that

theyd check in with each other several times a day for a few short minutes to see

how the lessons materials worked and to see if anything should be changed.

Mandy would need to have materials at least 2 days in advance and Jane would

have to allow her to take charge of the materials without taking over. At the same

time, Mandy could now begin to influence Jane in a way that would improve

student learning by going over the materials after a lesson and tweaking them or
even throwing them out altogether. At the same time, theyd be opening

communication about lessons to 2-3 times a day, which hadnt been happening

at all beforehand. They both agreed to the check-ins at the specific times we

came up with throughout the day.

I didnt feel like this solution really got to the core of the planning issue, but

I knew that would have to be addressed more fully another time in a planning

session (which happened a week later). I was aware this was a band-aid but I

wanted them to leave with something they could do right away. If nothing else, I

was hoping it would increase their communication, which is another major issue

they need to work on.

The second area that was a sore spot for both teachers was classroom

management. I decided to pull this out as another tangible thing they could take

away with them. Mandy had become the behavior police, which she resented

greatly, while Jane had a lot of difficulty managing classroom behavior. We

needed to come up with a way for Jane to improve her classroom management

skills so Mandy could be less involved in that way. The first thing we did was pull

out what the classroom expectations were for both teachers. One important point

we spoke about was signaling and being called on before speaking in class. Jane

was able to explain her reasoning for allowing students to call out. She felt that

when students called out on topic, it meant they were engaged. Mandy

responded that she felt it was important that students be called on so everyone

has a change to think and learn. Mandy told me afterwards that hearing Janes

reasoning was a big aha moment for her because she realized that there are
reasons behind Janes actions. She may not know all of them or agree with all of

them but it was a big realization for her that there were beliefs that explained

Janes actions. It was also important for Jane to understand Mandys reasoning

for being consistent with classroom management so she can improve her

classroom management.

We pulled out 4 classroom expectations and came up with rewards and

consequences for each. We discussed how Mandy could support Jane in staying

consistent with consequences by coming up with a signal to communicate when

a consequence needed to be given if Jane missed it. The day after the meeting

we even went through exactly how Jane would introduce the classroom

expectations to each class. I think both of them were happy with the solutions we

came up with.

In following up with Mandy on both of the tangible pieces they left with,

one has gone continually well while the other has not. The planning check-ins

have turned into behavior check-ins. Jane has shied away from changing

anything in the lesson plan regardless of how the plan played out. It seems

theres a lot more going on for Jane with this that needs to be worked on. At the

same time, Mandy hasnt spoken up or taken a stand about it and has reneged to

her regular pattern of not communicating when something is not going well. On

the plus side, they are at least communicating 1-2 times a day, even if its not

about the lesson.

The classroom management piece has been the complete opposite. Jane

has adopted the plan well and her classroom management has improved greatly.
Students behavior is under control when she teaches and Mandy doesnt need

to step in and be the police anymore.

I knew going into our coaching session that patterns of behavior have

already been going on for almost a whole school year so it wouldnt change

immediately. Jane and Mandy have established their relationship with unhealthy

patterns that will take a lot of work to break out of. I didnt expect that much to

change out of a single meeting, but I had hoped theyd at least move forward with

a new understanding of one anothers perspective. I think they did leave the

meeting with a new awareness of the others perspective, which in itself is huge.

I left the meeting with a new appreciation for how much it takes for co-

teachers to work well together. Everything little thing that I do in my own

classroom like tweaking a lesson plan or reviewing yesterdays homework would

have to be communicated to another individual if I was co-teaching. Everything

needs to be put on the table from how a classroom is organized to educational

philosophies for two teachers to effectively and collaboratively work together. I

believe the most important thing in a co-teaching relationship is communication.

Its the oil that makes everything run smoothly.

I also left the meeting feeling a lot more confident with my ability to coach.

I think one of the most important pieces of coaching is listening. I needed to hear

what both teachers were feeling and come up with a way to support them. I also

had to get both teachers to listen to one another and hear the others

perspective. I felt like while the coaching session was emotionally heavy, both

teachers left feeling positive and feeling like they accomplished something. This
meeting was important for me in seeing myself as capable of coaching. I knew

this theoretically but seeing it in action was completely different. I know that

coaching is something I want to do a lot of in the future so this was a nice way to

get my feet wet.

I spent a total of 15 hours planning, meeting, and reflecting on coaching

Mandy and Jane. In addition to the meeting detailed above, I had a planning

meeting with the two of them. These hours fall under standard 3: instructional

leadership is evident through effective coaching, supervision, and evaluation.

Classroom Reflection Document:

Write down 3 of your strengths as a teacher and 1 challenge.

Strengths Challenge
1.

2.

3.

Write down 3 of your co-teachers strengths as a teacher.

1.

2.

3.

What do you hope to gain from these meetings/what are your main
goals?

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________
Describe how the work is shared for each aspect of your classroom
shown below:

Planning
Lesson write up
Creating worksheets
Creating assessments
Grading assessments
Homework
Making copies
Inputting/tracking data
Classroom organization

Teaching
Whats the ratio of
whole class/partner/
independent work?
How often do you lead
lessons?
Whats your role when
you dont lead a
lesson?
How do you approach
parent contact as a
team?
How do you approach
discipline as a team?
Communication How often do you discuss:

Student successes
Student challenges
Teacher successes (your
own + your coteachers)

Teacher challenges (your

own + your coteachers)

Student behavior
What went well in a lesson
What didnt go well in a
lesson
How well youre working as
a team