Bonus Episode: Adventures in Coteaching
Melissa Milner 00:07
Hi, this is Melissa Milner. Welcome to The Teacher As... podcast. The goal of this weekly podcast is to help you explore your passions and learn from others in education and beyond to better your teaching. The Teacher As... will highlight uncommon parallels to teaching, as well as share practical ideas for the classroom. This is a Zooming In episode where I zoom in on something that I'm interested in right now.
[ZOOMING IN SOUNDBITE]
Hi, Tricia.
Tricia Piacentini 00:35
Hi, Melissa.
Melissa Milner 00:36
So it's been a minute.
Tricia Piacentini 00:41
Or two.
Melissa Milner 00:43
So July - I think it was July 16th - was our last Adventures in Co-Teaching podcast episode.
Tricia Piacentini 00:50
Was it really that long ago?
Melissa Milner 00:52
Yeah.
Tricia Piacentini 00:53
I can't believe it. All right.
Melissa Milner 00:55
Yes. So here we are, in our supposed to be monthly-- it will be monthly from now on, we're hoping, because there was some things going on. We didn't know what we were gonna be teaching. We didn't know if we were gonna be teaching together for a while there. We knew that I was going to be full remote because of health concerns.
But then we didn't know what that meant for the co-teaching model. And would it work? And, yeah, so now the district, do you want to explain what's going on with the district now, like what's been decided?
Tricia Piacentini 01:33
Right. So the district had to figure out how they were going to structure our return to school in this COVID era. So what they decided to do was to have a hybrid model, which is basically a week on, a week off with alternating cohorts. So there's a cohort A, they're in week one. There's a cohort B, they're in week two. And then it alternates moving forward.
And then there was some discussion about that needed to be phased in, because there are certain logistical things in staffing that needed to happen before we could go fully hybrid. So now we're a full remote start, and we're phasing in the hybrid piece where students come in. So the kindergarten will start next week. But for us, that means that we're currently full remote with the exception of our high need students. So the students who require additional services, whether they're on IEPs or not, are coming in for those services full time in person both weeks with me. And Melissa is at home, manning all of the remote teaching.
Melissa Milner 02:44
So drumroll, please, we are co-teaching!
Tricia Piacentini 02:48
We are.
Melissa Milner 02:51
Yay! It was really in question for quite some time this summer whether we would be able to still co-teach. So we're very, very excited. I know we always say we're excited. But we're very excited.
Tricia Piacentini 03:04
Yes, we are.
Melissa Milner 03:06
Yes. What's great, I'm finding what's working. Now that we know the structure, we know what's happening, we know who we're working with. We have awesome, excited, motivated fourth grade students. It's been a great start. We started this past Tuesday.
And then Wednesday, we had a really fun orientation, where kids who are comfortable, parents who are comfortable having their kids come in, there was just a quick orientation. I stayed outside with half the kids while Tricia worked inside with half, and then we switched. There were two different sessions. But anyway, it was really great to meet a lot of the kids, even with masks.
Tricia Piacentini 03:48
Yeah, and I've actually been really impressed how well the kids have done with the masks.
Melissa Milner 03:53
Yes, yes.
Tricia Piacentini 03:54
That's been a pleasant surprise. But it was so nice to see the kids and to just know how-- and just feel their excitement to be back. They were so excited to be back, and see each other, and see us, and really get back to learning. They're so motivated to learn.
Melissa Milner 04:03
They are. They're really, really motivated. So I think what we're gonna focus on for this mini bonus episode, whatever you want to call it, is what's working and what's challenging that we're still figuring out. And believe me, there's a lot working, but there's also a lot that we're still trying to get our brains around. So all right, Tricia, what's working?
Tricia Piacentini 04:31
So I think the thing that is working is that we're both being really flexible about how things play out. So I think that that's working really well. And I think the other thing that's working really well is we're pretty much on the same page about where we start with the kids and what our next steps are.
So I think we're very like minded in that way. So I feel like that's been really successful. I feel like that's working, and I think that the kids are really loving the learning. So I think that's going well. So they love the things that we're doing.
Melissa Milner 05:06
Can you give an example of any of the things you just mentioned? Just a quick example.
Tricia Piacentini 05:13
So I think for being flexible, when you and I are planning, and you'll want to do an activity, and I'll suggest a way to either put it together or where to put it in or maybe moving it sooner or later. And I think that we're both pretty open to that. And then we always kind of come to the same conclusion, so that feels really good. I feel like we've been able to get things organized and laid out in a way that really helps me understand what's going on. I don't know if that's a clear enough example.
Melissa Milner 05:48
No, that is. I completely agree. Even just taking the example of how we set up Google Classroom, and a landing page, and where we put the assignments, and how we approached the assignments as far as putting it in and how the kids will get to it. And, you know, Tricia is so-- we really complement each other, because I'm not sure if I were teaching by myself, whether I would have known how to do that on my own.
I would have been on YouTube. I would have been checking out Angela Watson's ideas. I would have had to figure it out with somebody's help, because my brain thinks a different way. And it's so amazing, Tricia is like, I've got this, I'll show it to you. And it's been working perfectly.
Tricia Piacentini 06:31
Yeah. And I think it helps, because we're digital, that we actually can show things in real time. Because if I say it, it doesn't make a lot of sense. But when you can show it, when you share the screen and walk through it, I think it saves a lot of time. I really do. I think it's a time saver in some ways.
Melissa Milner 06:52
It definitely does. Any other examples before I move on to what I think is working?
Tricia Piacentini 06:56
No, I want to hear what you're seeing.
Melissa Milner 06:59
So like I said, I think our strengths are complementing each other. And then I also think what's really working is that we're not introducing all of the tech to the kids at once. So this past week, we just focused on, what's a Google Slide, and how do you use a Google Slide. And oh, by the way, we're going to be on a Zoom meeting. And then we're going to do breakout rooms. What's that all about?
So just introducing not too much in one week. So next week, we're going to be introducing Newsela, the Newsela articles. And we will be-- oh, and we did Edpuzzle last week, too. And we'll be introducing Flipgrid. But they have already done Flipgrid, so we don't feel it's going to be too overwhelming. And we're also continuing-- I feel it's going really well.
We did a lot of growth mindset work last week, and the kids were really into it. And I think it's a nice way to start the year. And now, with that, we're going into the identity work with an understanding that we all can learn, and we all can grow. And now, who are we as learners is that next step. And that's that identity piece along with all the other pieces of identity, is who are you as a math learner? Who are you as a reader? So I feel it's really kind of authentically coming-- our planning seems to be authentic, the way it's working with the kids.
Tricia Piacentini 08:32
Yeah, I agree. And I think, just adding to that idea of it being authentic and the mindset, the kids are really seeing you and I as adults and teachers, learning things as we go here, you know? But really, they're seeing it in real time. And I think that that's a positive thing, for kids not to think that you have to be an authority on everything, that learning is a process.
And they're seeing us as adults, who maybe the misconception is teachers have all the answers, they don't. They just are willing to keep learning. And I think that the fact that when we come across a glitch, or there's a problem, or we know how to do this with Google Classroom, but we're not quite sure of that.
Making ourselves vulnerable as learners and showing that we don't know everything, but still maintaining that, well, I'll figure it out. I'm going to come back to this. Or even when the kids showed us some things, I just think that's very, very positive, especially in this kind of age where we're really asking the kids to do a fair amount on their own.
Melissa Milner 09:39
We had students share their screen and teach kids how to go in and hit view assignment and submit the assignment.
Tricia Piacentini 09:46
And that was particularly good, because we couldn't show that screen, right? We don't have a student view. So we had to have a student show it. And the students were eager to teach each other those kinds of things.
Melissa Milner 09:58
It was very, very cool. We also had an assignment. Because we watched-- there's a five part series on YouTube, I highly recommended it. It's Class Dojo about growth mindset. And throughout the week, we watched, eventually, all of them. But one of the things was focusing on, you can learn a lot from others, and you shouldn't be afraid to ask for help.
And so one of the Google Slide assignments was, what are you really good at that you could teach others. And we're going to have a master list. Oh, we know these kids are good at these things. And they can teach the other kids about how to do this. And it's going to be a really nice way for students to be involved. And they're going to, hopefully, start helping make some decisions about what they want the data to look like, really trying to be student centered.
Tricia Piacentini 10:43
I totally agree.
Melissa Milner 10:48
Moving on to the ever fun, what's challenging?
Tricia Piacentini 10:52
Okay. All right, I'll keep it short.
Melissa Milner 10:56
A lot of things are challenging.
Tricia Piacentini 10:57
Yeah, a lot of things are challenging. But I think for me, being in the building, some of the transitions are a problem, because there are things going on in the building. So when you teach remotely, the inclination for all of us is to really work up to the last minute, you know? So if the school day ends at 2:45, you work till 2:45. But if you're actually in the building, you really stop about 2:40, so everybody can pack their things up, wash their hands, line up.
So some of those transitions have been a little tricky on our end with the students who are in the building. And many of the students struggle with executive functioning stuff either, so they're not really sure where anything is to make a speedy transition. So we sort of support them with that. So that piece is a little tricky on our end.
And for me, as it is every year, there's always some scheduling glitches that are a problem. So for example, lunch in the building, they weren't able to do it at the time we have lunch, so the students have to buy their lunch during our math block, and then come back. And so those kinds of scheduling things have been a little bit tricky on our end. So I feel like that's a little bit hard.
Melissa Milner 12:07
I'm hearing transitions are challenging. And we certainly can sort of have a goodbye at 2:40. And then the kids who want to hang out can hang out, and we could do it that way.
Tricia Piacentini 12:19
Yeah, that would be great. That would be a big help. So I mean, in terms of problems in the age of COVID remote teaching, that seems like a small thing to me. But yeah, it's just you discover the things that are challenging as you go. There's no way I would have anticipated that. Why would we have known that that was going to be a problem? So that's part of it.
And then there was some-- the link alignments and issue with the specialists. So the specialists, like art and library and music, physical education, those kinds of teachers, there was a long discussion about, well, are they going to just chime in to our Zoom link? Do they have a Zoom link? Are they gonna lose kids? How is that going to work?
So that took a while to get organized. But we did, so we're there. But it was a little tricky, because we weren't sure if specials were happening. And for those of you who don't teach, specials are really when teachers have an opportunity to plan. So if we didn't have time to plan,we felt a little bit like we were scrambling.
Because trying to coordinate both environments, and all the kids, and the materials, and the new technology, we really rely on that planning time. So that was a little bit tricky, too. But I feel like that smoothened out.
Melissa Milner 13:40
Another thing that's working, before I move on to the challenging for myself, is I feel our fourth grade team is working really well, as well, which is really supportive. Because those two teachers that we're working with have taught fourth grade. I taught fourth grade years ago. I haven't taught Birch Meadow fourth grade, and neither has Tricia. So it's been really nice to have our weekly common planning time with the other two fourth grade teachers who are super supportive and really, really good at what they do. And that's been, I think, something that's working, as well.
Tricia Piacentini 14:14
Yeah, that's been enormous. I mean, they're such a good resource, not only for curriculum, which you would expect, but also for the technology, and how to organize things, and what worked in the past, and sidestepping pitfalls they've had. And they're just so generous with their time, and their expertise, and the things they've already prepared, so you're not reinventing the wheel. Yeah, it definitely feels like a really strong team. I agree.
Melissa Milner 14:42
Yeah, very helpful. Challenging for me overall is I know what I would be doing if I'm in the classroom. And I'm not able to duplicate that or replicate that online. So I'm having to learn. This is my 30th year of teaching, and it's like I'm having to unlearn some things and just say, this is a new structure. I need to put myself in the students' shoes. Are they on screen all day? I want to balance the day with the activities that I plan.
I want to balance it. I want some online. I want some offline. I want some in a journal. I want some typing in a slide. I want balance for the kids, and I want it to be fun, interesting. So it's just, I feel like a brand new teacher. I have a fantastic toolbox with all those years of experience, but it's just challenging. It's fun. It's a fun challenge, but there's not enough hours in the day.
Tricia Piacentini 15:51
No, there's definitely not enough hours in the day.
Melissa Milner 15:54
So that's basically what's challenging for me.
Tricia Piacentini 15:57
Well, you know what? You know what else is a little bit challenging, too? For me, it's seeing some of our students at home, struggling a little bit with the technology. So we always think about kids, it's just a given that they're really good with technology, particularly by fourth grade. But we do have some students who are struggling with that.
And to not be in close proximity to some of those kids, it's hard to watch that across the screen, just watch them feel like they're doing something wrong. I mean, I'm glad we're doing so much growth mindset stuff. But it really is always hard to watch a student struggle and not be nearby physically to help with that. And to communicate empathy and patience with the child through a screen doesn't quite feel the same to me.
Melissa Milner 16:47
These kids, they are trying so hard. Eventually, they're going to know how to do this. And it's not a big deal.
Tricia Piacentini 16:52
Yeah, absolutely. You know what that makes me think of? Actually, one of the things that I really like about the Google Classroom that we're using is that for those kids that we know we're seeing struggle, and they're trying to post things-- like when I went through last night and did comments, I felt like it was an opportunity to connect with the student. to leave everybody a little note about their work, make a comment about something that we referenced during the day. I was grateful to have that opportunity to add a little extra connection to the students.
Melissa Milner 17:27
Yeah, it's a great tool.
Tricia Piacentini 17:28
Yeah, so even though we couldn't see them in person, they know that we can see what they're doing. We can add a little humor. We can note things that we remember from the day that they did, so just because we're not on screen, they know that we are thinking of them. They don't think we're not thinking of them.
Melissa Milner 17:47
And it's a great little feedback piece, you know? And that's why it's important to have the prep time. Because I might decide, I'm going to take half of my prep time today to respond to some people, like immediate. And I think that's really powerful, too, to get immediate feedback that way. Sometimes it's not immediate, because we have a good amount of kids this year. But we can get to some of them immediately.
Tricia Piacentini 18:13
Well, and we can divide them up, too. So if you start, and I can still log in and see what's not done, I think that that's good.
Melissa Milner 18:22
Yep. Splitting work is the other thing that I think is working. We're starting to look at reading groups, and Tricia will take this reading group. I'll take this reading group. So just finding ways to split up the workload and how to work with the kids, we're putting what the kids need first, and then we're deciding which teacher is going to do what. So I think we're doing it the right order, because we're starting with what the kids need.
So we're going to do a new segment. It's called Co-Teaching Crystal Ball. We're going to be, probably end of October, doing another little episode. And we're going to sort of take a guess at what we might feel the need to talk about then and what might have gone on. The first thing I'm thinking is reading instruction and math instruction. And by the end of October, I'm hoping we're going to have some really cool things to share about our reading and math instruction, and how we've structured small groups, and and how that's going. How about you, Tricia?
Tricia Piacentini 19:26
I think that the kids are going to get better with the technology. So I think that's one of my predictions. One of my other predictions is I think we're going to find a way to structure time more creatively.
Melissa Milner 19:39
Yes.
Tricia Piacentini 19:40
I think that, in terms of co-teaching, we're really at an advantage that we can look creatively at our schedule, as long as we get everything in, and maybe get to those students who struggle with some things more, and give those kids who are really strong enrichment opportunities to run with their skills. I mean, I am excited, and I'm hoping and predicting that those will be things that we'll be able to tackle in the next month, as we look for ways to make this whole new world of classroom different and exciting for kids.
Melissa Milner 20:23
Right. And I'm also going to throw into that crystal ball that by the end of October, we might know when we are phasing into hybrid. Oooh.
Tricia Piacentini 20:33
That's true. And we might actually be hybrid by then.
Melissa Milner 20:38
We might!
Tricia Piacentini 20:40
We might be.
Melissa Milner 20:41
Dun dun duuun!
Tricia Piacentini 20:42
I don't think anybody has that crystal ball.
Melissa Milner 20:46
And would anything change? Or would we really still be able to keep a lot of the structures and things that we create, even though sometimes the students will be in, I'm still going to be remote. And we have many, we have eight or nine students, who are going to be remote only.
But could we still be doing the things that we've set up in full remote? Could we still be doing that in the hybrid model? And the hybrid model is our whole class is in, except for our remote only. Our whole class is in one week, and then home the next, and back and forth that way,
Tricia Piacentini 21:21
And still maintain all those COVID restrictions?
Melissa Milner 21:25
Right. And then the other thing, it's related to yours, is I predict that we will be more creatively using our three days a week. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, we have something called an intervention time. We call it WIN time, what I need. I think we're going to be super creative using that time.
Tricia Piacentini 21:48
I agree.
Melissa Milner 21:49
Thank you, Tricia. Thank you, everybody, for listening to Adventures in Co-Teaching.
If you enjoyed this episode and have not done so already, please hit the subscribe button for The Teacher As... podcast so you can get future episodes. For my blog, transcripts of this episode and links to any resources mentioned, visit my website at www.TheTeacherAs.com. My contact information for Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are also on this site.
I am sending a special thanks to Linda and Lester Fleishman, my mom and dad, for being so supportive. They are the voices you hear in the Zooming In soundbite. And my dad composed and performed the background music you are listening to right now. My intro music was "Upbeat Party" by Scott Holmes.
So what are you zooming in on? I would love to hear from you. My hope is that we all share what we are doing in the classroom in order to teach, remind, affirm and inspire each other. Thanks for listening. And that's a wrap!