Bonus Episode: Zooming In…Adventures in Coteaching
Transcript:
(transcribed by kayla.r.fainer@gmail.com)
Melissa Milner 0:00
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. Thanks for joining me every month for Adventures in Co-Teaching.
Tricia Piacentini 0:33
Well, thanks for having me.
Melissa Milner 0:35
This is going to be awesome. So every month, we'll just kind of pop in and say how it's going, whether it's going well or whether it's really challenging. What do you want The Teacher As... podcast listeners to know about you?
Tricia Piacentini 0:49
I think, first of all, this is a new adventure for me. I've been a special education teacher for a long time. But most of my career has been in individual special education work. So I did a lot of substantially separate work where we worked really hard to prepare students for learning in an integrated setting.
So a lot of these students, when they would first come, didn't have what we generally refer to as access skills. So things like attending to a group, taking turns, sitting in a chair, even orienting their body or their eye contact to the speaker were all things that were really a challenge in addition to the academic needs, of course. And most of my students fall somewhere on the autism spectrum, though not not all of them. But they all struggle with these similar issues.
And so a big part of doing all of that substantially separate work has been trying to prepare children to be in the integrated setting more and more. And so after having done that for so long, this past year, I had done a partial inclusion program. So that was where students who had been in the substantially separate program had made enough progress that they were now able to be partially included for the day. And it was so gratifying to be able to do that.
Something else that happened this year that hasn't happened before in my career is these students that I got are students I got back that I had had who were substantially separate students early on. And now they're a little bit older and in the older grades. And so as I looked to next year, this is sort of like the third step for many of these kids or other students that I haven't had before who are able to be integrated all day, and to support that and have that continue to be successful for them.
So I'm really excited to come full circle with where I started, which was trying to get these students that are often counted out to be part of their school community. And I feel like this third step is not where I've been before. So what does it look like once they get there? So I'm excited to figure that out, and it's a new challenge. So I'm excited about that.
Melissa Milner 3:03
That's that's so cool, that you literally have worked with all three kinds of scenarios.
Tricia Piacentini 3:10
Well, I will have after next year. For people who know you, they know that you work ridiculously hard and make a huge impact on these students. So I am very excited to be co-teaching with you and to learn so much from you about how to help students feel they belong and help them successfully navigate being in all day long.
Yeah, it's really cool. And I think this year, for people who don't know, this past year was the first year you and I had worked together. And I was just so impressed with how natural that was for you. No, honestly, a lot of teachers struggle with, how do I do this? Or if I try that, am I doing it wrong? And you just really had a great attitude about it and were willing to jump in the deep end of the pool right there at the beginning of the year.
And so I'm excited that we're gonna be doing this together, because I feel like you're very brave about trying to do this and motivated to do it. And I think the kids are just going to benefit no matter what kind of mistakes we make that we're so invested and trying to see it work. I'm excited about it. I really am.
Melissa Milner 4:25
Yeah. It's definitely exciting. I tend to be a very big picture person. I get these big ideas. And I want, let's incorporate this and let's incorporate that. With pedagogy behind it, but very much so a big thinker. And what's amazing is what's been happening is I'll get these big ideas, and I'll share them with you. And I love to get your perspective. Because Tricia is very-- what would you say? Not detail oriented, really.
Tricia Piacentini 5:03
Well, I'm used to really creating individualized learning. And so I'm used to finding systems to format those big ideas so that they're measurable, so that I can prep for them appropriately, so that I don't miss anything. So I think that the pragmatics and the logistics of harnessing those big ideas is just something I've had to do.
Because in the substantially separate room, the kids are all different grade levels. They're all different skill levels. And so trying to find ways to create systems, I guess is the best way to say it, that I can organize, and funnel, and prep and wrap my head around how am I going to explain this to a kid is a big part of what I do.
Melissa Milner 5:47
It's so amazing. You'll be sharing things with me, and I'll be like, yeah, I didn't think of that. And yep, yep. Didn't think of that. But I don't know whether you would have thought of the big idea. So it's a nice balance.
Tricia Piacentini 6:02
And for me, I'm looking forward, actually, to learning from you so much more about the content area and how general ed just approaches curriculum in general. So much of my experience is taking curriculum and making it accessible. So trying to think about, what's the big-- And it's older students. I've done K-2 for a long time. So doing fourth grade is really going to be a lot of not totally new, but-- the K-2 curriculum, I really don't even have to think about because I've done it so long.
So I'm excited to get more into fourth grade curriculum with you. Because you always just know, well, this will go with this and this will go with that. And I'll be like, oh, we do that in fourth grade? Excellent. OK. Well, because it's substantially separate work. The kids work individually.
So I'm not always sure where third grade ends and fourth grade begins, because the students are working at their own pace. So to work from a place where these are the expectations and these kids are going to meet it is very different. It's a little bit of a shift for me.
Melissa Milner 7:11
Wow. It's such a different way of approaching teaching kids. Because I didn't even think of that. You're working on skills, and you don't necessarily know when a third grade skill becomes a fourth grade skill. We've been talking a lot about, what is this hybrid model going to look like? Are we going to have a hybrid model? Are we going to be full? Are we going to be at home?
So Tricia and I have been starting to plan this huge, big idea that we're trying to figure out. We were going to start with an identity unit. And I thought, oh, we could do a podcast with the kids about identity. And that was a big idea. But at the same time, it was very limiting. And Tricia started asking questions. And it sounds like we might attempt to do a year long, starting in probably October with the actual recording, a year long class podcast. Tricia, what do you want to say about that?
Tricia Piacentini 8:20
Well, I have to say, at first I was a little bit panicky, like, OK, where is she going with us? And then once I was able to organize, I asked all those questions. A, because I don't know a lot about podcasts. I mean, I listen to them, but I don't really know about the structure of them or all of that. So I was like, OK, how are we going to harness this for our visual learners?
That's always the first place I go. How are we going to harness this for our visual learners? And we worked through a lot of that. We're still at the point where we don't know what will or won't work. But I feel like once I'm able to, in my own mind, understand it well enough that I can explain it to a student, I feel like I think it's going to be good. I really do. I think it's going to be good for the kids. And I like that we have a system for it. Because that's where I go.
So I'm happy we have a system for how we're going to present it to the kids, and organize it and that there's room to grow from that structure. I think that that was kind of nice, too. I don't want to take your big ideas and squish them in a box either, you know? But I want to have a platform to start from so that the kids can access it. So, again, it's part of that making it accessible for the kids and then, once they understand it, expanding it.
Melissa Milner 9:39
And as I was going through that and you were asking the questions, I was like, wow, this is really interesting. I never would have thought of this question. I grew to appreciate you even more. And I hope that people who collaborate with other teachers will put their ego aside and really listen. Because so much can happen when you do that. And I knew that I trusted Tricia, that she was going to bring my idea to a better place for kids. And I think that's really important to do when you're working with colleagues.
Tricia Piacentini 10:16
Yeah. I think the thing that I'm grateful for in this working relationship is that we're both pretty open to ideas and that we appreciate real feedback. I think if you're somebody who's insecure about your ideas and you get feedback, then you take that really personally. And I think you and I have a jam going, even since this past year where you had a substantially separate student in your room and we were working together. You could say this, and then I could say that. And it was like, oh, right, it's always about the kids.
It's always about the ideas. It's not about that what you're bringing to the table isn't worthwhile. And I feel like if you bring it to the table, I certainly hope you feel that way. But I know that I feel like if I bring something to the table, that that's always valued and heard. And sometimes when we talk through it, we're like, oh yeah, that's a terrible idea. Never mind.
And sometimes we're like, well, but maybe we could change it this way. And then other times we're like, oh yeah, let's run with it. But it's always about making whatever we're doing best for the students, that we're flexible enough that if it's not going to work, just chuck it and we'll start over.
Melissa Milner 11:25
Yeah. And making sure we're both on the same page. So when we have that conversation, it came out and we figured it out together that they're going to be doing this content anyway. Now we'll have a place to publish the content. That's basically what the podcast will be.
Tricia Piacentini 11:45
And there was some flexibility within the roles for the kids, so that we could honor whatever challenges students might have with what certain parts of participating in the podcast. So I like that piece, that there was flexibility of roles for the students, too. So it felt really good. When I got off that call with you, I was like, oh, this is really going to work. I just had wrapped my head around it. And I felt like we were good with it. And it may not go the whole year, right? It might tank or it might be awesome. But we're both OK with that, which I think is great.
Melissa Milner 12:20
Exactly. And it's a plan, like I said, that can be done if we're fully in school or if we're fully at home or for hybrid. It's still gonna be very doable.
Tricia Piacentini 12:32
Yeah, I'm excited about that. Because who knows what that's gonna bring? And trying to plan stuff you can do across all three possible scenarios is key. It's key. Or we're not going to survive this, you know?
Melissa Milner 12:47
Exactly. I think we'll talk again when we know more about what school is gonna look like. And maybe we can share our process in figuring all that out once we know what the plan is with our district.
Tricia Piacentini 13:00
Yeah, I think that sounds great.
Melissa Milner 13:02
I usually do this. I didn't give you any notice. What's your favorite movie, and why?
Tricia Piacentini 13:07
I don't know that I have a single favorite movie. I have to say when I watch movies, I've lived and experienced through work a lot of pathos. So when I look for a movie, I look for something just to make me laugh. So when I'm looking for that kind of movie, I love Uncle Buck. It's just an old favorite. And it's also a movie that my kids will actually watch with me.
So I watch Uncle Buck for fun. I know that doesn't make me sound very smart, but it's the truth. And we're being raw, right? It's just so fun. And I like kind of silly, happy movies when I just want to clear my head and spend some time with my kids. What I like is something kinda fun, and silly and something we can just laugh together with.
Melissa Milner 14:03
I love that movie.
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!