Guiding Questions for Facilitating Dialogue Regarding the Co-Teaching

Strategic Visit
Successful co-teaching requires a number of skills and strategies different from those
needed by a teacher working alone. To develop and enhance these practices, coteachers need opportunities for guided reflection with and feedback from their
administrators. The Co-Teaching Strategic Visit Conversation Guide supports a
dialogue among co-teachers and administrators after a visit to the classroom during a
co-taught lesson. Administrators can use the form to record evidence that was seen,
heard, or reviewed before, during, or after the co-taught lesson.
The stage of co-teaching implementation as defined below can be recorded during the
visit by the administrator or together with the co-teaching team during the post-visit
discussion.
Emerging: Two teachers have been assigned to the same classroom and have
begun to develop a co-teaching partnership and establish responsibilities to be
shared.
Developing: Co-Teachers are sharing many responsibilities, modifying their
thinking and implementing evidence-based co-teaching practices in an observable
way.
Sustaining: Co-Teachers consistently share responsibilities and collaboratively
implement
evidence-based co-teaching practices through seamless planning, delivery and
assessment of instruction.
Administrator Self Reflection Regarding Structural and School-Wide
Considerations
Before completing the Co-Teaching Strategic Visit, administrators may want to reflect
upon school-wide factors that impact co-teaching implementation. The questions that
follow can serve as a basis for that reflection and possible discussion with co-teachers,
the School Improvement Team, or other stakeholders.
1. What strategies have you planned/taken to group students heterogeneously?
2. What options are you considering to create a master schedule that facilitates coteaching opportunities?
3. Describe how your staff are being used to effectively to support co-teaching?
4. Where do you perceive your school in terms of co-teaching implementation
Emerging, developing or sustaining? How can you support each other in taking the
next steps?
5. What supports are in place to support co-teaching (co-planning time, co-teaching
coach or mentor, co-teaching professional development to enhance implementation
practices, etc.)?

This document was developed and produced by the Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Special
Education/Early Intervention Services (December 2011) with funds from the [U.S. Department of Education, Grant
# H323A07000-09].

6. What do you think is working and not working in your schools co-teaching
implementation and how will you address it? What had real meaning for you from
what youve heard? What surprised you? What challenged you?
Before the Strategic Visit
Administrators may want to prepare for the strategic visit by reviewing the class roster
and familiarizing themselves with the needs of the students. They may also want to ask
the teachers if there is anything about the class or the planned lesson they should know
in advance of the visit.
During and After the Strategic Visit
The bolded items below are the Look Fors on the Co-Teaching Strategic Visit
Conversation Guide. When administrators meet with teachers after the visit to reflect
on the lesson, they may want to use some or all of the guiding questions to facilitate
discussion with co-teachers in order to enhance implementation and delivery of
instruction.
1. A heterogeneous classroom with flexible grouping
What strategies were used to develop flexible grouping for instructional
activities?
2. Students with disabilities seated among their classmates in a way that
integrates them naturally within the classroom
How did you decide how to seat students within the classroom?
How have cooperative learning team structures been incorporated in the
classroom organization?
How do you know that students with disabilities feel included in the classroom?
3. IEP accommodations, modifications, and specialized instruction are
provided
What tools or protocols are used to provide accommodations, modifications &
specialized instruction?
How do you ensure individual needs are met?
4. Collaborative planning by general and special education teachers focused
on content standards (CCSS).
How do you equitably share in the collaborative instructional planning process?
What steps do you take to ensure the focus on grade level content standards?
Describe your planning form or tool that effectively supports your collaborative
planning?
5. General and special educators sharing instructional responsibilities
equitably and teaching collaboratively
How were instructional responsibilities for each teacher decided?
How do you feel it is working? Whats emerging here for you? What new
connections are you making?
What would create possibilities for greater implementation of co-teaching and
what adjustments need to be made?

This document was developed and produced by the Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Special
Education/Early Intervention Services (December 2011) with funds from the [U.S. Department of Education, Grant
# H323A07000-09].

6. Educational professionals sharing roles and responsibilities for working

with students in such a way that the distinction between generalist and
specialist is not obvious
How do you ensure that each of you address the needs of all learners?
7. Strategic use of co-teaching approaches
What prompted the choice of co-teaching approach for this lesson?
Which co-teaching approach do you feel most comfortable with and why?
8. Universal Design For Learning (UDL) embedded within instructional
practices
What UDL principles did you use for addressing the diverse learning needs of your
students?
9. Differentiated instruction, practice activities, and assessment procedures
for all students
What differentiated instructional strategies did you use to ensure that each of you
addressed all learners in the class?
10.
A wide variety of instructional materials available in the classroom
What types of resource materials are available in your classroom to support the
diverse learning needs of students? Which would be most helpful in moving
forward right now?
Describe the materials that you developed?
11.
Ongoing monitoring of student performance (through benchmarks
or
chapter tests, informal assessment, and/or IEP goals)
What tools or strategies are you using to determine effectiveness of instruction
and track student performance in order to make appropriate adjustments?
12.
Data collection procedures for established outcomes
How do you share responsibility for monitoring student outcomes?
What procedures are in place for collecting student achievement data?
General Discussion Questions
1. What support do you need to enhance your co-teaching practice?
2. Is there a specific area of professional development that would assist your growth
in co-teaching implementation (What new skill and strategies would you like to
learn?)
3. Are there any barriers? Where are you stuck? What will keep you from being
successful? What do you think would improve the situation?

This document was developed and produced by the Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Special
Education/Early Intervention Services (December 2011) with funds from the [U.S. Department of Education, Grant
# H323A07000-09].