Effective co-teaching is difficult on its own. Here at the DLC, we have created several resources to support special educators and general educators plan and implement collaborative teaching strategies for the best student outcomes.
That said, many districts are moving towards utilizing scripted curricula in general education classrooms. This use of scripted programs adds an additional challenge for effective co-teaching. If your school is using a scripted curriculum, you may be asking yourself:
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Does my role as a special educator change when the general education curriculum is scripted?
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How does the collaborative planning process look different now that we follow a scripted curriculum?
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What support can I provide my co-teacher and students if we have to follow a script?
In this post, we will outline three opportunities to maximize the effectiveness of your co-teaching when the general education classroom is using a scripted curriculum. We will discuss what you can do before planning, during collaborative planning, and in the moment.
Before Planning
Access the curriculum. First and foremost, it is essential that you, as a special educator, have access to and have been trained on the scripted curriculum being used in the classrooms in which you co-teach. You need to be able to see the lesson format and script before arriving in the general education classroom in order to meaningfully prepare for collaborative instruction. Access to and training in the curriculum will allow you to better plan for scaffolds, supplements, reviews, etc.
Incorporate practice of prerequisite skills. Now that you know about the curriculum and have your own copy of the materials, it’s time for each teacher to take on specific responsibilities related to their areas of expertise. Part of your skill set as a special educator includes the ability to identify necessary prerequisites for grade level skills. With this skill, you can plan and lead a review activity before starting the lesson with diverse learners in mind. Familiarize yourself with the lesson for that day and think about what the students need to know before they are ready for the new content. What pre-teaching or front-loading can you provide before they dive into the scripted content for the day? Consider a plan to address these concepts before or during the lesson.
Adapt or add to current materials. Lastly, a challenge of using scripted curricula with students with disabilities is that the supplemental materials provided are often inaccessible due to their difficulty level. Before collaboratively planning with your co-teacher, leverage your knowledge of students to anticipate and accommodate for their needs. This may mean providing supplemental materials or adjusting existing materials. You could create additional anchor charts, visual supports, or task analyses. Maybe you need to adjust the reading level of independent assignments, providing graphic organizers, or removing some repetitive activities to make the assignment more manageable.
During Planning
Plan your groups. Collaborative planning time is an absolute must-do. You can maximize this time by completing the pre-planning tasks and focusing your time together on planning your co-teaching moves. These might include analyzing lessons for opportunities to implement different student grouping strategies. One teacher might deliver instruction to students who need minimal scaffolds. Meanwhile, the other teacher might provide differentiated instruction to students who may need additional prompts, starters, or engagement techniques. By planning this ahead of time, you can seamlessly flow through different student groupings throughout different points of the lesson to best meet the needs of each student.
Coordinate your support. Collaborative planning time is a great time to leverage both of your teaching expertise. The general education teacher, as a content expert, knows which skills are often the most challenging for all students. You, as a student expert, know which students will need particular scaffolds to be successful. Anticipate moments in the lesson that will be challenging. Together, you can plan for opportunities to re-teach, scaffold, or provide additional practice. Ensure you both know your responsibilities and how they will flex throughout the lesson.
In the Moment
The beautiful and challenging thing about co-teaching is that there are two of you in the room the whole time. Effective delivery leverages this dynamic, utilizing each teacher’s strengths and knowledge throughout the lesson – even when the lesson itself is scripted. The great news is that you have predicted and planned for points in the lesson where your ability to scaffold and support will be most useful. Beyond your pre-planned moves, you can support your students and each other by offering additional examples, providing frequent checks for understanding, offering ample opportunities for students to respond, breaking directions into smaller steps, and all of the other amazing teaching skills you already have in your toolbox.
Ultimately, you may find that co-teaching when using a scripted curriculum is not so different from co-teaching with any other instructional materials. With intentional preparation, collaborative planning, and responsive instruction, you can achieve meaningful and effective co-teaching with a scripted curriculum. Now go grab yourself a copy of that program and get started!
