Zooming In Episode: Adventures in Coteaching
Transcript
(transcribed by kayla.r.fainer)
Melissa Milner 00:09
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. It's been quite a while, but a lot of things went on. And we wanted to wait till we had done hybrid a couple times. So Tricia, how's it going?
Tricia Piacentini 00:44
It's going all right, I have to say. It's been nice to see the kids. We're all in this for the kids. So actually seeing the kids in person has been really a highlight. So I am enjoying that.
Melissa Milner 00:58
Yeah, so how is this-- why don't you explain to The Teacher As... listeners how this works? Like some kids are home, some kids are in, blah, blah, blah.
Tricia Piacentini 01:07
Yeah, so we have a particularly complicated group, because probably about a third of the class is remote only. So they're never coming in the building. And then we have another third, just for argument's sake, that is in person all the time because of their special education needs or for other reasons.
We have about a third of the class in. And then another third of the class rotates. So the third that rotates is in one week with me with the in person kids and then remote the following week. And then it goes back and forth and back and forth because they were staffing issues for us.
So part of the issue is that to make sure we can maintain a six foot distance, we actually ended up spread out between two classrooms. The district took a while to get that set up, because they need a second person for the second classroom. Because you can't leave children unattended at school. That's generally frowned on.
So we were actually fortunate enough, because our building is such that not very many classrooms have adjoining rooms. So we actually have adjoining rooms, which has been a huge help. So I have two classrooms with a door between them. And I can go back and forth between them. And we have about 10 kids in one room and 10 kids in the other room when those kids are in.
Melissa Milner 01:17
And you have a fantabulous para educator.
Tricia Piacentini 02:35
Oh, our paraprofessional is just top notch. Yeah, we couldn't ask for somebody better. So we've really been able to do some cool stuff with the kids in this setting. I think the first week there were a lot of logistical things that needed to be worked out.
Melissa Milner 02:53
Because I'm still home, and there's nine kids learning from home. So that was a big part of the logistical along with just the logistics of being in, I'm sure.
Tricia Piacentini 03:04
Yep. So it was a little bit tricky. But it's been positive. I would say this past week, we're just ending another in person week with those rotating kids, and it went well. I feel really good about it. The thing that we've done, you and I, is that we haven't locked into we have to do things one way, which I think is what's making it work and saving our sanity and our paraprofessional's sanity.
Because for those of you who don't work in schools, paraprofessionals work extremely hard. And they're often given information at the last minute. So like you and I, Melissa, we'll plan and plan and plan and talk. And then we'll give her that information right before we do things.
Melissa Milner 03:49
Right.
Tricia Piacentini 03:50
So we've worked hard to try to do less of that. But it's still just the nature of the beast. She's just awesome. She rotates, she sees what the kids need. She takes initiative. She's just been wonderful. So it's like having another teacher in the room. She's just very experienced. It's been awesome. So she and I will kind of float back and forth between the rooms. And the kids are able to maintain six foot distancing, which was one of the things I was really concerned about coming back, is are we going to really keep six feet? And we can, so that was a big help.
That's our basic model that’s been happening. And then Melissa and I are doing a combination of some instruction. She's delivering via smartboard to the whole classroom, as well as to the remote kids. And then some instruction, I'm delivering on the computer to everybody. And then other times, Melissa just takes the kids who are remote only. And the paraprofessional and I deliver the instruction just to the in person kids.
So it really depends on the subject, the lesson, the activity. And it's not like we're always going to do writing remotely. We're always going to do reading in person only. We're sort of looking at what we're doing, how we're teaching it, and then picking a mode of delivery. So it's like one more layer to the teaching, right?
Melissa Milner 05:16
Yes. I mean, it's sort of like this model brought to you by Zoom. Because there's no way we would be able to do it.
Tricia Piacentini 05:23
Absolutely. So when you're teaching, you do what are you going to deliver? What kinds of lessons are you going to design? And then now we have this whole other step where it's like, well, do we do that virtually? Do we do it on paper and pencil? If we do it on paper and pencil, how are the remote kids going to access it?
And conversely, if we're going to do it digitally, how are the in person kids going to access it? Because we don't always have enough computers for everybody. So do we do it on a rotating basis? And so it takes a lot of planning.
Melissa Milner 05:55
And I think it's safe to say even when we plan, you'll come on, and you'll be like, oh yeah, we didn't think of this Melissa. You'll be like, yeah, you know when we were planning this? Well, we forgot blah, blah, blah, blah. It's like, oh man!
Tricia Piacentini 06:08
Or we'll plan something for this week. And we'll say, oh, no, no, we'll just do that next week. And we'll get to it, which is what we did this week with the open circle lesson. We're like, we'll just have them go into breakout rooms. And then we get to open circle Monday morning, we're like, we moved this from Friday. And they're in person! They can't go in breakout rooms when they're in person. And the kids are really taking it in stride. They've gotten a lot better of us being like, well, here we go, friends. We just have to figure this out.
Melissa Milner 06:34
With our population, it's good to model how do we react to change, and oops, and being flexible. And we model that a lot.
Tricia Piacentini 06:44
Yeah, and not always by design. But yes, we do model it a lot.
Melissa Milner 06:48
Right, right. So Tricia, you said that first week in and the second week in was better. So talk to us about that first week in. What were the transitions? And what were the kids able to do automatically, but what was different?
Tricia Piacentini 07:04
So I think for one thing, the kids were very excited to be back. So listening was-- you missed that mute button in person. I've got to say. Online, they have to mute. They have to wait their turn. In person, they haven't been in school for a long time, so they forget to raise their hand or wait their turn to talk. So that just adds a whole hum of chaos throughout the day.
So that's just always in the background. But in terms of transitions, things like the kids can't work together. Oh, I forgot my pencil. Well, this is your pencil now. You can't share it with anybody else. And no, you can't give it back to me. Put it in this bin, and we'll wash it at the end of the day. Like that kind of stuff is a whole other layer of classroom management.
Melissa Milner 07:48
Yeah.
Tricia Piacentini 07:49
People aren't sharing materials, that kind of thing. Making sure we have things printed out for them and that things would print out.
Melissa Milner 07:56
Oh, right. So formatting slides, and-- yeah, yeah.
Tricia Piacentini 07:59
Yes. So the first week, we forgot about formatting all the time. And so we're like, well, we'll just print this up. They'll do it in person. So it wouldn't print like it was online. And it was those logistical issues. But then also there's sort of this rotating event in the building where people have to be out, either because they've been exposed or they're actually positive for COVID.
So when it came to our specialists-- so the specialists are like gym and art and music and library. And so those teachers, who have also worked very hard through all of this, some of them were home. And I thought they were coming in. Because on the live week, they're supposed to be live in person, which means they come into one of the two classrooms, and then the satellite room kind of has them projected in on the smartboard. But they're live in person. It's not like a recorded lesson or an assignment that the kids do independently. They're actually live in person.
But what had happened is, Monday we had library, and our librarian was in the building. So she came into the room. And then the next day, we had music. And I was waiting for the music teacher to show up, but she had to be quarantined. So she was working live from home, and I didn't know.
And so for those of you who don't teach, when you have music and art and all those kinds of things with the students, that's when we do our planning and have our meetings and all that sort of stuff. And I would have my computer hooked up to the smartboard so the kids could do that lesson. And then I didn't have my computer to log into my meeting. So I had to-- I didn't even think about that when we were planning. Like oh, I'm gonna need a separate computer to hook in for the specialist.
So the next day, I had thought that the physical education teacher was still quarantining, but it was his day back. And so I got everything all set up and ran around and did it. And then he knocked on the door. And I was like, really? That kind of stuff. So this week, I did a really good job at the beginning of the week, making sure I knew if specialists were in person or if they were quarantining. And we got that all smoothed out. And all those transitions went great.
Melissa Milner 10:11
Yeah, that's huge.
Tricia Piacentini 10:12
Yeah. So that's just a logistical issue. But you don't know what you don't know until you're standing there.
Melissa Milner 10:21
Exactly.
Tricia Piacentini 10:22
And meanwhile, while I'm trying to figure out the whole hum of it, the kids are so excited to see each other. They're like chatty, chatty, chatty, chatty. And the volume goes up and up. And I'm like, everybody stop, I can't think! But we got there.
Melissa Milner 10:36
The COVID situation, these kids haven't been in school and there aren't routines yet. And so that's got to be very challenging for you. I can't even imagine.
Tricia Piacentini 10:45
But I feel like there's an advantage with fourth graders. Because they're far enough along that you can say, I need for you to be quiet until I can figure this out. And they'll do it. And we have a particularly well behaved, kind hearted group of students. It's just kids are always great. But sometimes you put them together in a group, and you get kind of--
Melissa Milner 11:05
Dynamic.
Tricia Piacentini 11:06
Yeah, the dynamics aren't great. This group, not only are all the kids really wonderful, but the dynamic between them is just fantastic. And they're really good citizens. They're kind to each other. They're kind to us. So if there was a year for this to happen, this whole class is really a gift.
Melissa Milner 11:25
I agree.
Tricia Piacentini 11:26
I mean, these kids are just awesome.
Melissa Milner 11:28
Can you talk about what happened with the excitement for writing with the in person friends?
Tricia Piacentini 11:35
Oh, this was so cool. So that first day that they were in, that first week, you and I really wanted to make sure that we gave the kids time to write. Because with all the transitions remotely with getting on Zoom, getting everybody on, making sure the directions were clear, the kids didn't have as much time to just write as we had hoped.
So what we decided with in person was that first writing block that we did that we just come on, give them a quick direction, and then just have them write for the whole block. And these kids love to write. The kids were like, this is so awesome. I feel like I never have enough time to write when we're in class. And so they were writing, writing, writing and doing a lot of work. And about two thirds of the way through the class, they were like, Mrs. P, can we share our writing with each other and get feedback? And I was like, yes. Yes, you can.
So they started coming up one at a time and sharing their writing. And I should also say that we let them do free writing. So we let them do whatever kind of writing they really enjoyed. And we have a number of kids who are writing their own books. The first student that we had got up and she shared, and the kids were so engaged with her story. They were really attentive. They were excited to hear the story.
And then they started to give feedback. And they did a really great job giving feedback. I wonder if you did this. And one of them said, I'd really love if your main character had a pet and the pet had magical powers. Because of course, she's writing a fantasy story. So I wish your pet-- and she was like, that's a great idea! And then one of the other students who was having trouble coming up with ideas to write said, oh my goodness, I loved your story. This gave me such a great idea for a story for myself.
And they were just so excited. And then the kids were racing through their snack. They're like, if I finished my snack early, can I work on my story more? And I'm like, yeah, just make sure you eat. But anytime they finish their work early or do something, they're like, can we go eat? Can we go work on our writing? And I'm almost done with my book. And would you mind printing this up so I can show my parents?
Melissa Milner 13:49
Yes. Remotely, the same thing happened. Because I only had, I think, nine kids remotely. And half of them were like, can we share? Can we come back on and share at the end?
Tricia Piacentini 13:59
It's at least half the class has just been bitten by this bug to do the writing. And it was so wonderful to see. With all the chaos and all the things that you're stressed out about in this environment, to watch these kids be so excited about learning and really take some autonomy with their learning in a way that was so productive and on task, it was wonderful.
Melissa Milner 14:23
Yeah. Because of this, we decided to have a writer's circle.
Tricia Piacentini 14:28
Yes. So we started a writer's circle where we went over feedback, which we really didn't have to spend a lot of time on. The kids are pretty good at feedback. And I think a lot of credit of that goes to you, Melissa. Because you do such a nice job modeling that when kids do things or even with the things that are submitted. The feedback that you write in the comments section on Google Classroom, it's really to the point.
And it shows the kids that you're interested in their story and the structure. And I think that the kids have really come to a place-- and I think as a school community, we always work on that. But I really think the work that you've done up to this point has helped to model for that. So kudos to you.
Melissa Milner 15:12
Well, thank you. However, they really did sort of come in being awesome.
Tricia Piacentini 15:16
Yes.
Melissa Milner 15:16
So we just gave them-- we literally just gave them the structure of glow and grow and make sure to be specific. And they're doing amazing feedback. We also have a lot of voracious readers. So when they listen to others' writing, they can think, well, I know in the books I read, I like this, this and this. So maybe I can tell them to do this, this and this. So because we have some voracious readers, they're able to give really good feedback about what makes something sound good to a listener, to the audience or reader.
Tricia Piacentini 15:49
Writer's circle is each student reads part of their writing. And then the students go around and give feedback. And the writer can either take the feedback or not take the feedback. But the feedback is either things that glow, so things that you really liked or things that need to grow, so things that you'd like to see more of that maybe they might want to rethink, that kind of thing. And just structure it in a way that's constructive.
And the kids really took to it. And so we did a class where they broke into writer's groups. And the kids loved it. They were so excited. They were so on point. They were really listening to each other and talking about each other's writing in a productive way. So now that's going to be one of the activities that we have in our toolbox as we go through writing this year. And it's been really cool. And it came from the kids!
Melissa Milner 16:40
First of all, yes, we are flexible enough to see the best idea wins. And the kids had the best idea. And then secondly, it's really important to try to find time for that discourse. Not just the kids' writing, but the discourse with their classmates and seeing how they could make their writing better, and understanding it's a process. You don't have a final draft the first time. It's all these things.
I think the kids can see their classmates trying to make their writing better. And they get the point that you should be always trying to make your writing better. In the classroom, normally we would have writing buddies. It would just be partnerships that they always meet together, similar in writing ability. And they're really pushing each other and helping each other. Instead, it seems like for now, the writer's circle structure is easier to do breakout rooms. And it's pretty tough to do 12 to 14 breakout rooms. And we can't get to all those breakout rooms. So a little bit bigger group is better? I don't know, we have to figure that out.
Tricia Piacentini 17:48
Well, and it's nice. Because then you can mix abilities. Because even sometimes those students who maybe are struggling with their writing have really great stories to tell.
Melissa Milner 17:58
Yes.
Tricia Piacentini 17:58
I think that sometimes the oral format where the kids-- so the kids aren't necessarily showing their writing. They're reading it to everybody. So they have to listen. For those students who are struggling writers who worry too much about their spelling or those kinds of things really have an opportunity to shine and do more and see that, not that spelling isn't important, but it's not where you start. And so helping the kids to really learn that it's a process and that you start with the story. You start with what you have to say. And then you go through several drafts to clean those things up.
Melissa Milner 18:33
And a lot of those students that struggle with the spelling and the mechanics have amazing content in their writing when they actually just write.
Tricia Piacentini 18:40
Yeah, I would agree.
Melissa Milner 18:42
And they have good feedback to give.
Tricia Piacentini 18:43
Yeah, and the best part is they see themselves as a writer. They don't see themselves as a writer because they can't spell. That happens so much. And in this situation, that's not a factor. They can be a writer. They can tell a story. They can offer something. And some of our kids who are artists want to show their writing, because they put illustrations in. So it's just been wonderful. I was so excited about it.
Melissa Milner 19:08
And good for you for noticing it and saying, Melissa, oh my gosh, right? Realizing this is magic, we need to bottle this up and use it. And now it's time for Co-Teaching Crystal Ball. Alright, so Tricia, what do you see in your co-teaching crystal ball?
Tricia Piacentini 19:30
So for my crystal ball, I think that in person, we're going to need to come up with some more creative downtime things to do, particularly as indoor recess becomes more of a problem. So one of the things that worked really well, which totally surprised me, was we had one indoor recess through all of this. And the kids played Guess Who? and loved it. Because they didn't have to be next to each other to play it. They could six feet. They each had their thing.
So I am thinking more about ways for kids to be social and engage each other six feet apart is the new challenge. And I think recess and maybe more of the writing sharing, or even social studies or science, I feel like that's going to be our next hurdle to tackle. But I think the kids are going to kind of show us the way as we try things out. So I think we're going to try things out. We'll see that some things are a complete disaster. And then other things are pretty good. But this group is going to give us some feedback that's helpful about what is and isn't working.
Melissa Milner 20:41
Yes. So we're actually doing sort of a survey about the routines. Do you feel understood? Do you feel heard in the classroom? Do you feel included? And from that, we'll be able to, as a class, come up with some better ways to do things. And the kids are going to have better ideas than we do. They always do.
Tricia Piacentini 21:01
Yeah, well, the kids are so flexible. And they're so much more tech savvy, too. I think that we've done really well with technology. But the kids just seem to have an intuitive sense of what will work or won't work. So they seem to have some great ideas. So I'm excited to see what they're going to share now that we've sort of gelled as a community. I feel like we're really-- I think the kids were connected as a community because they had been together last year.
But you and I are just getting to know them. And I feel like we really have, and they feel connected to us. And even though you're remote, they feel very connected to you, the kids who are in person. So I'm excited to see how, as a community, we kind of continue to tackle these issues, especially with the numbers going up. I'm sort of worried about if there'll be more restrictions. But we can't control that. So I'm going to let that go.
Melissa Milner 21:50
Right, focus on what we can control. All right. In my crystal ball, this is a hopeful crystal ball, that we somehow get our podcast idea up and running, starting probably, I'm hoping, in January. Where the kids are actually getting on Zoom, and I can record them. And I can take that and edit it. But we might have students that are interested in learning how to edit audio and learning some of that, too.
It would be really cool. We could incorporate it into what they're learning. So there could be a segment about writing tips, and different kids could give writing tips. There could be segment about social studies... So Tricia and I have been all this whole time, OK, could we get it started this month?
Tricia Piacentini 22:38
I know.
Melissa Milner 22:39
So can it be that this podcast in my crystal ball gets started in January? And we take things that the kids have already done. And then they just jump on with me, and we record on Zoom. Because then I can just go ahead and grab that audio. So what we thought we were gonna do is next week they're doing presentations.
They're going to do some research and do presentations on the southeast region of the United States. And they're going to present on Zoom. And so we're going to record that so that I can grab that audio of them presenting without them knowing why I'm grabbing the audio. And then I'm going to put it together real quick, edit it real quick with a soundbite and an intro and then play it for them. And then we're going to be like, do you guys want to do a podcast, and see what they say. So that's what I'm hoping happens in January.
Tricia Piacentini 23:34
I think that sounds great.
Melissa Milner 23:36
We just got to make it happen.
Tricia Piacentini 23:38
Yeah, we just got to make it happen.
Melissa Milner 23:40
Well, I hope our listener is-- I hope people get something out of these Adventures in Co-Teaching episodes. I know I certainly do. Whenever Tricia and I talk, I get so much out of it. But I hope people are enjoying these episodes. We would love some feedback. You can leave comments. And let us know what you think of these episodes, these little bonus episodes. Thank you, Tricia as always.
Tricia Piacentini 24:11
Thank you.
Melissa Milner 24:12
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!