e-Collaboration:

Challenges, Successes, and

Tips for Co-Teaching in Higher
Education
Jennifer Rider
Fort Lewis College
October 20, 2015

For online access to this

presentation, visit:
https://goo.gl/P20Vck
Jennifer Rider
Fort Lewis College
October 20, 2015

Introductions
Whos in the room?
Please share a little about who you are, & interests/experiences with

co-teaching

 Frame effective co-teaching within the research

Explore successes and challenges of co-teaching

Share my experience in co-teaching and collaboration using technological tools

Prioritize technological tools that can support collaboration and overcome challenges

Experience with & Knowledge about

CO-TEACHING
When educators have or create the opportunity to work closely with someone

whom they respect and trust, the experience can be both invigorating and
contagious (Dyrud, 2008a, p. 82).

The research
The most successful efforts [of co-teaching] involve an intense

level of communication and flexibility, and trust in ones fellow

teachers is essential (Dyrud, 2008b, p. 190).

So what characterizes effective co-teaching?

Effective co-teaching
Duchardt, Marlow, Inman, Christensen, & Reeves (1999):

effective co-planning and co-teaching model

Stage 1: Choose a teacher you trust.

Have you worked with the teacher before?
Does their teaching philosophy and pedagogy align with yours?
Do you each have unique perspectives, knowledge and strategies to

bring to the experience?

Effective co-teaching
Duchardt, Marlow, Inman, Christensen, & Reeves (1999):

effective co-planning and co-teaching model

Stage 2: Find pockets of time to plan.

Can you agree on a time to connect, collaborate and plan?
How much time per day/week will you need to do this?
How can you share the responsibility of planning materials and

documents for teaching?

What technological tools are available to you?

Effective co-teaching
Duchardt, Marlow, Inman, Christensen, & Reeves (1999):

effective co-planning and co-teaching model

Stage 3: Brainstorm.
Are course objectives and assessments aligned?
Do you have a common syllabus, course policy, and expectations?
What are each of your goals for the course?

Effective co-teaching
Duchardt, Marlow, Inman, Christensen, & Reeves (1999):

effective co-planning and co-teaching model

Stage 4: Prepare the lesson.

Who will create the documents for lesson delivery?
How will you overcome differences in goals, intentions, or pedagogy?
What are the strengths of your colleague that will contribute to lesson

design?

Effective co-teaching
Duchardt, Marlow, Inman, Christensen, & Reeves (1999):

effective co-planning and co-teaching model

Stage 5: Co-teach the lesson.

Will one of you lead the lesson, or will you share responsibilities in

delivering the content and guiding activities?

Will students be in a large group every day, or are small groups

beneficial in some cases?

Effective co-teaching
Duchardt, Marlow, Inman, Christensen, & Reeves (1999):

effective co-planning and co-teaching model

Stage 6: Support your partner.

Can you see differences as assets?
What experiences/knowledge can your partner contribute to the

teaching experience?

What skills can you model for students as you co-teach with your

partner?

Effective co-teaching
Duchardt, Marlow, Inman, Christensen, & Reeves (1999):

effective co-planning and co-teaching model

Stage 7: Evaluate the lesson (& students).

When will you evaluate the lesson?
How will you critique each other and be receptive to feedback?
What tools will you use to evaluate students? Are expectations

consistent?

Our case
Fort Lewis College
Teacher Education Program
2 courses
Emerging Technology in the P-6 Classroom
Emerging Technology in the 7-12 Classroom

18 undergraduate students

Benefits of our co-teaching experience

Sharing of academic knowledge and experience
Provide multiple perspectives for students
Differentiate the teaching and learning experience
Diffused authority/power = community of learners
Modeling the collaborative process for students
Shared responsibility for students
More time to provide support to students in class
Increased accountability for planning high-quality lessons
Mentoring between faculty and adjunct
Non-traditional form of collegial mentoring and professional development
Increased reflection on pedagogy when another professional is present

Challenges of Co-teaching
Collaboration with colleagues has historically been challenged by lack of

planning time, inadequate administrative support, or insufficient professional

development opportunities (Friend, 2008).

What are experienced or foreseen

challenges with team-teaching a

class at your current school or college?

Technology tools we used to collaborate

"Not only do such technological breakthroughs offer us opportunities for accessing an
overwhelming array of data and resources, but they are also generating new collaborative
technologies that alter the way we learn, research, work, and socialize" (Bonk & King, 1998,
p. XXV)
Canvas (LMS)
Common assessments and rubrics
Course design & objectives

Google Drive
Document sharing
Lesson planning

Google Plus (Google Hangouts)

Synchronous video conferencing
Lesson planning and evaluation

Technology to foster collaboration

What other technological tools have you used that may

contribute to collaboration outside of school?

Share ideas

Technology to foster collaboration

Synchronous conferences:
Adobe Connect
AnyMeeting
Big Blue Button
Google Hangout
TodaysMeet

Document sharing:
Dropbox
Google Drive
Microsoft Office 365
Zoho

Asynchronous audio/video sharing:

Camtasia
Vocaroo
VoiceThread

Content organization, delivery and

assessment:
Canvas Learning Management System
Edmodo
Schoology

Figure 1: Software programs that may be beneficial in planning and collaborating.

Recommendations for Implementation

Set aside time before the course begins to create common learning goals and

develop the syllabus together (Harris & Harvey, 2000).

Agree on common documents to use for planning and teaching (i.e. Google

Slides).

Commit to 2-3 digital platforms to use, and become familiar and comfortable

with them.

Plan weekly and daily class agendas together (Harris & Harvey, 2000), even if

one teacher takes the lead in delivering the lesson.

Allow time after each class to reflect and critique the experience (Harris &

Harvey, 2000), whether it be in person or virtually.

Practice being vulnerable with your colleague, take risks, and be willing to learn

from them (hooks, 1994).

GoalsTakeawaysNow what?
In what ways would your students benefit from team-teaching?
Is there a colleague with whom you can align your pedagogical and ideological

frameworks?

Will time/scheduling allow for you to co-teach a course?

What technology tools do you need to learn in order to maximize collaboration

and overcome identified challenges?

Thank you
Jen Rider
jrider@fortlewis.edu

References
Cover photo: http://biztechnologysolutions.com/it/collaboration/
Other photos:

http://www.upcyclededucation.com/2013/02/turn-and-talk.html
https://www.fortlewis.edu/
http://whitelightgrp.com/how-collaborative-innovation-is-transforming-workplace/
http://learningmatters.tv/share/
http://ed100.org/so-now-what/

Bonk, C, & King, K. (Eds). (1998). Electronic collaborators: Learner-centered technologies for literacy, apprenticeship and

discourse. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Duchardt, B., Marlow, L., Inman, D., Christensen, P., & Reeves, M. (1999). Collaboration and co-teaching: General and special

education faculty.Clearing House,72(3), 186.

Dyrud, M. A. (2010a). TEAM TEACHING, PART I.Business Communication Quarterly,73(1), 80-82.

Dyrud, M. A. (2010b). IN THIS ISSUE: TEAM-TEACHING, PARTII.Business Communication Quarterly,73(2), 190-191.
Friend, M. (2008). Co-teaching: Beyond the basics. Resources and related materials for the conversation, Empower Schools

Network #17. Retrieved from https://eso2yuet.wikispaces.com/file/view/Marilyn+Friend+packet.pdf

Harris, C., & Harvey, A. (2000). TeamTeaching in Adult Higher Education Classrooms: Toward Collaborative Knowledge

Construction.New Directions For Adult & Continuing Education,2000(87), 25-32.

hooks, b. (1994). Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom. New York: Routledge.