Everything You Need to Know About Team-Teaching

by California Casualty | Educators | 0 comments

Our Education Blogger is a public school teacher with over a decade of experience. She’s an active NEA member and enjoys writing about her experiences in the classroom.

Are you curious about team teaching? We have answers to some of your questions!

What is Team Teaching?

• Usually occurs in inclusion classrooms
• Two or more teachers working together to teach a group of students
• Together, teachers plan, organize, teach, and evaluate
• Teams may be single-discipline, interdisciplinary, or school-within-a-school
• Co-teaching = general education teacher + special education teacher
• Team teaching = both teachers plan and teach lessons
• Parallel teaching = each teacher instructs half of the class, the same lesson
• Alternative teaching = one teacher instructs a small group of struggling students while the other teachers the larger group, might be the same lesson or struggling group may receive extra support on previous lessons
• Teacher and assistant = one teacher instructs while other teacher monitors and assists students as necessary, this can also be used in a teacher/observer manner to gather data regarding student progress

How Does it Benefit Students?

• Students receive more individual attention
• Students learn from teachers with different teaching styles, experience, perspectives, and ideas
• Improved student-teacher relationships
• Students achieve at higher levels
• Daily consistency: the likelihood of both partners being absent is slim

How Does it Benefit Teachers?

• Easier to differentiate instruction
• Allows teachers to reflect on personal teaching strategies, style, ideas, perspectives, etc.
• Improves teaching skills
• Cultivates professional peer relationships
• Improves parent-teacher communication

With Your Teaching Partner(s), Be Prepared To:

• Plan everything together
• Create common grading standards
• Be honest, yet tactful
• Play to one another’s strengths
• Disagree politely
• Communicate openly and often
• Have humor
• Trust your teaching partner
• Be organized
• Be flexible

Team teaching can be rewarding for students and teachers. If this sounds like an adventure upon which you’d like to embark, begin by talking with your administrator and potential teaching partner(s). In some cases, it may take up to a year to prepare for a team-taught classroom, so begin your team teaching dialogue sooner rather than later.

Have you team-taught or co-taught before? In the comments below, please share your team teaching advice!

This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and nurses. Get a quote at 1.866.704.8614 or www.calcas.com.

Discipline Ideas & Resources for Teachers

by California Casualty | Educators | 1 comment

About the author

Alan Haskvitz has taught for 45 years and has credentials in special education, gifted education school administration, and all core subjects. He has been inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame and was chosen by Reader’s Digest as a Hero in Education.

Discipline is probably the most difficult of all areas to deal with as it encompasses issues that may be related to a vast array of difficulties that can try the expertise of the most experienced parent and educator. Contributing factors may include personal problems, improve medication, self-esteem issues, and peer pressure.

Indeed, in my 45 years of teaching at every grade level and nearly every subject, I have had my fair share of problems all of which were unique in some regard, but needed to be dealt with in a manner that resolved the issues for all involved. With this in mind, I put together a variety of free resources that may be of value in being proactive and help to prevent a discipline problem. You can read it below:

Be Proactive

Essentially there are three main ways to deal with these issues starting with being proactive. First, let the students know behavior expectations early. From the start of the year be positive. Always look for ways to reinforce good behavior. Developing rapport with students is also essential. I used an information card that included the usual contact numbers and such items as favorite games, people, family pets, and other information that would enable me to get to know the students better. If students feel you are approachable it helps eliminate problems and also encourages them to confide in you of concerns that would otherwise be kept secret.

Consequences

Consequences are important, but they need to be appropriate and consistent, but always leave yourself room for accommodations depending on the circumstances. The ideal combination is to be firm and fair and calm.

Communicate

Perhaps the most important way to prevent behavior issues is to establish good communications with the student, parent, and administration. Keeping them informed of issues can help prevent an escalation that can take the joy out of teaching. I try to contact parents the first week of school and have a handout for Back to School Night that explains classroom expectations. As well, I document what I have done to keep the parties involved aware of the situation.

Expect the Unexpected/Teachable Moments

One day some students in my classes jumped out of their seats and ran to the back of the room. Some were screaming. Now, this could have been a planned event to challenge me, but from experience, I knew I had to remain calm. I walked over and saw a large spider had entered the room and caused the students’ reaction. I quickly handled the situation, but the students were unsettled. And so I turned it into a teachable moment by asking them to describe what they had seen and their actions. Some indicated a fear of spiders and were swept up in the reaction of the crowd. The appearance of the spider provided a teachable moment that even extended outside of the classroom. Most importantly it turned what could have been a behavior problem into a learning opportunity.

Here are a variety of sites that can provide ideas and resources to help you with discipline-related problems. They run the gamut from simple to complex, but each of them does provide insights from teachers, students, parents, and theorists.

Classroom and Site Discipline ideas and strategies

Methods and Practice of Discipline

• An interesting selection, but check the teacher caused discipline section first: https://teacher2b.com/discipline/discistr.htm

• Ways to encourage good behavior from Canada:  https://www.canteach.ca/elementary/classman1.html

• Rewarding younger children in class: https://www.canteach.ca/elementary/classman2.html

• Dealing with tattletales: https://www.teachnet.com/how-to/manage/tattling100600.html

Classroom Management Plan

• A Large link site of good ideas from the United Teachers Association includes legal ramifications. https://www.ueatexas.com/Links/Classroom_Help/Links_Classroom_help.html

Relational Discipline Strategies

• “When a teacher, parent, or paraprofessional engages in a power struggle with a student, the student will always win. While the adult may be able to eventually elicit compliance, the student has controlled the situation.” https://www.teachersworkshop.com/twshop/relationaldisc.html

• What is your classroom management style? : https://www.pent.ca.gov/pos/cl/es/classroommanagementstyle.pdf

• Tips for school counselors: https://www.education-world.com/a_curr/curr198.shtml

• Information on dealing with bullying: https://beyondbullies.org/

• Printable good behavior charts: https://www.freeprintablebehaviorcharts.com/

• Helping students develop their own behavior modification program: https://maxweber.hunter.cuny.edu/eres/docs/eres/EDSPC715_MCINTYRE/715TipsInsert.html

• Positive discipline for younger children: https://afineparent.com/be-positive/positive-discipline.html

Research sites

• Research on school and class discipline. A great many links are provided with the emphasis on disparity.: https://educationnorthwest.org/search/site/discipline

Special Education Related Behavior Sites

• Adjustments for students with learning problems: https://www.ldonline.org/article/6182/

• Management problems for children with special traits such as ADD: https://www.helpguide.org/articles/add-adhd/teaching-students-with-adhd-attention-deficit-disorder.html

• Adjustments for students with learning problems. : https://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/teaching_techniques/class_manage.html

• Dr. Mac’s site  – You must go here and see the oodles of ideas on discipline.: https://www.behavioradvisor.com/oldindex.html

Sometimes a lesson plan might find some students are done early. This site has some ideas. I would also add that having the students create a newspaper of what happened that day in class is very good and it could be given to those that were absent. You can keep them to augment your lesson plans, too, and check to ensure learning.

• Dealing with the student who does not care: https://www.teachhub.com/when-kids-dont-care-battling-student-apathy

• Huge array of classroom management links: https://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/archives/classmanagement.shtml

• Frequently asked questions and great tips: https://www.cortland.edu/flteach/FAQ/FAQ-Discipline.html

• Student discipline and the new teacher five tips: https://www.edutopia.org/blog/classroom-management-tips-novice-teachers-rebecca-alber

• Management ideas for new teachers: https://www.nea.org/tools/management-tips-for-new-teachers.html

• Short slideshows on the essence of student discipline: https://www.slideshare.net/LATTC/student-discipline-1873546

• Slide shows on school discipline: https://www.slideshare.net/search/slideshow?searchfrom=header&q=school+discipline&ud=any&ft=all&lang=en&sort=

• Resource list: https://www.mathguide.com/services/Discipline/Resources.html

• Excellent collection of teacher ideas and articles and printables: https://www.theteachersguide.com/ClassManagement.htm

Parent sites

• Check out this site and provide the information to parents who are having problems with their children: https://www.healthyplace.com/Communities/parenting/elaine/discipline.html

• Teaching responsibility lessons : https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/teacher-made-activities-teaching-responsibility

This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and nurses. Get a quote at 1.866.704.8614 or www.calcas.com.

KNEA Member Receives $500 New Teacher Award from California Casualty

by California Casualty | Educators | 0 comments

Kansas City, KS, December 26, 2019 – Piper East Elementary School instructor Katherine Kirchhoff’s holidays became much sweeter, thanks to a $500 New Teacher Shopping Spree from California Casualty. California Casualty’s Field Marketing Manager, Gabby Sole, presented Ms. Kirchhoff with the award during a student holiday sing-along on the Friday before Christmas.

Ms. Kirchhoff, a KNEA member, applied for the award while she was a student teacher in Olathe. She was hired to teach 4^th grade this year at Piper East Elementary School in Kansas City, Kansas.

“I am so thankful for this giveaway from California Casualty,” she said. “Being a first-year teacher, I didn’t realize all of the things I would need, and this money is going to help me get supplies that I planned to purchase for my classroom and students.”

Ms. Kirchhoff will use the funds for essentials, such as Expo markers, pens, paper, and other materials that will benefit her students. Surveys show that most educators spend $500 or more each year of their own funds for classroom supplies.

From remembering student names, applying classroom management techniques, and developing lesson plans, new teachers face many challenges as they enter the classroom for the first time. California Casualty wants to support them with the funds to create a learning environment where students thrive.

Student members of the National Education Association can apply for the 2020 $500 New Teacher Shopping Spree at www.winwithcalcas.com. The entry deadline is August 4, 2020. A winner will be announced in September.

Partnering with educational groups since 1951, California Casualty gives back with community impact initiatives that benefit students and schools, awarding more than $100,000 each year in academic grants and awards for educational excellence.

Founded in 1914, California Casualty has partnered with the Kansas NEA to provide members auto and home insurance tailored to their professional needs since 1994. Headquartered in San Mateo, California, with Service Centers in Arizona, Colorado and Kansas, California Casualty has been led by four generations of the Brown family. To learn more about California Casualty, or to request an auto insurance quote, please visit www.calcas.com/KNEA or call 1.800.800.9410.

This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and nurses. Get a quote at 1.866.704.8614 or www.calcas.com.

Stocking Stuffers for Teachers

by California Casualty | Educators | 0 comments

Having trouble finding the perfect gift for the education professional in your life? Check out these holiday stocking stuffers for teachers, education support staff and even school administrators. These easily giftable goodies will let your children’s teachers know how much you appreciate them, and they’re sure to please all of your educator friends!

You Can Never Go Wrong With Caffeine

Or a Mug to Hold all of the Caffeine

Or a Mug to Hold all of the Caffeine…and a Little Something More

You Can Also Never Go Wrong With Gift Cards

Or Expo Markers

Or Pens

Or Really School Supplies in General….

But teachers also enjoy things like…

Lanyards

Cozy Socks

Tote Bags (That Know The Struggle is Real)

Candles

Personalized Notepads

Stress-Relieving Coloring Pages

Literally Anything Sweet

And Finally, More Caffeine 🙂

Happy holiday shopping/DIYing!

Check out our Pinterest board “Stocking Stuffers for Teachers”  for more Teacher gift ideas! While you’re there, don’t forget to give us a follow at California Casualty to stay up to date on every new stocking stuffer we discover! Scan our Pincode with your Pinterest camera to follow:

This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and nurses. California Casualty does not own any of the photos in this post, all are sourced to their original owners. Get a quote at 1.866.704.8614 or www.calcas.com.