Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1. List what you learned about each of the characters in the case. What do you
think is motivating the thoughts and actions of each of the characters?
Mary King has taught at CHS for five years, out of the fifteen years she has been
teaching. Mary is soft-spoken and sensitive, who creates a safe place for
students and is admired for her collaboration and tranquility. Mary ends up coteaching with Helen. Mary approaches Helen to plan and discuss roles, to which
Helen responds that she has it all figured out, and Mary will be there as a support
for those students who need it, which Mary accepts. The school year begins and
soon Mary notices that Jim is struggling with the spelling work. Since the spelling
tests are so heavily weighted, Mary begins to worry that Jim will not pass the
class which will hurt his chances of graduating and his goal of going to college.
Mary is a person who genuinely cares about the success of her students and
to Mary was that nothing could be done to help Jim except to master the spelling
tests.
2. What are the issues and problems in the case? Discuss the common
problems and issues faced in co-teaching.
What steps are required to establish successful co-teaching relationships?
The issues and problems in the case are that Jim is struggling to succeed with
the spelling tests in Helens class, which are heavily weighted. Another issue is
that, when Mary notices this and the fact that it will impact Jims chances of
graduating and going to college, she approaches Helen about it, but Helen
responds matter-of-factly that nothing can or should be done, and so Mary
accepts this and tries to think of another way to change the situation. Mary and
Helen have very different personalities, teaching styles, and outlooks on student
needs, which causes their communication to be poor.
Some common problems and issues faced in co-teaching are that they are like
arranged marriages, in that the teachers often do not choose who they are going
to co-teach with. Once the teachers find out whom they will be working with, it is
rare that they have time to plan how they will go about co-teaching. This causes
a lot of assumptions and miscommunications. The teachers often have different
ways of doing things, and without the time to plan, these differences can cause
friction.
Mary introduced Jim to smaller groups of words after she noticed that he was
struggling. She reduced the number of words a second time. Mary also had Jim
write the words repeatedly and helped him study with flash cards. These
modifications were not effective because Jims disability does not allow him to
remember the order of the letters precisely.
The benefits of communication and collaboration are that they enable teachers
and other school professionals to better do their jobs. When all school staff are
on the same page, the care and instruction that the students receive is of higher
quality than it ever could be when staff work in isolation from their colleagues.
This also means that teachers have better interactions with students, parents,
and obviously school personnel, as well as community members.