The Arkansas Co-Teaching Project is designed to provide support to Arkansas schools interested in planning for and implementing a new co-teaching program or improving an existing one. Support is provided through comprehensive training, technical assistance, and informational resources.

“Co-Teaching is an instructional delivery approach in which a classroom teacher and a special education teacher (or other special services professional) share responsibility for planning, delivering, and evaluating instruction for a group of students, some of whom have exceptional needs” (Friend, Reising, and Cook, 1993).

Arkansas Co-Teaching Project staff is available to offer technical assistance via phone and email. This consultation service is totally free of charge. Our website also offers a wealth of information, including links to co-teaching articles and a DVD library.

These one-day or half-day professional development sessions (and occasional webinars) are available on request and include no formal follow-up support.  They are designed to provide basic information about co-teaching to teachers and administrators. There are no charges for these sessions, but the number of sessions offered during the school year is limited.

 

Co-Teaching More Than Sharing Space is an interactive session that focuses on the definition of co-teaching, its benefits, and the three critical components necessary for effective classroom application.

 

Co-Teaching Implementation Planning is designed to assist administrators and leadership teams in implementation planning. It is appropriate for schools starting a new co-teaching program or improving an existing program. The session includes an overview of the co-teaching model, strategies to address implementation issues, and the creation of an implementation action plan.

The Arkansas Co-Teaching Project collaborates with Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Technology in Education to offer two blended, year-long, comprehensive professional development packages designed to assist schools in creating sustainable and effective co-teaching programs. 

 

Both packages are designed to meet the needs of schools implementing co-teaching for the first time or improving an existing program.

 

The Boundless Learning Co-Teaching (BLC) package for co-teachers and administrators is designed to teach effective co-planning, co-instructing, and co-assessing, so that all students, including students with disabilities, reach academic and behavioral targets. The package includes a face-to-face introductory session, facilitated online modules, electronic learning communities, on-site coaching visits, and pre/post implementation evaluations.

 

The School-Based Facilitator’s Boundless Learning Co-Teaching package is for literacy/math instructional facilitators. This package is designed to create a cadre of instructional facilitators capable of supporting co-teachers in transferring the information gained during their professional development activities into their co-taught classrooms. This package includes the BLC components as well as additional resources designed to help literacy and math instructional facilitators.

 

Professional development activities begin in the fall and conclude at the end of the school year. There is a charge associated with these packages. Only a limited number of schools can be accepted, and registration is required. Detailed information including costs, registration process, and submission deadlines are online. Visit Boundless Learning Co-Teaching Professional Development.

 

Debbie Fleming
Co-Teaching Director

Phone:501-319-7333 ext. 105

Email: Debbie.Fleming@ade.arkansas.gov

 

Debbie Byers
Co-Teaching Facilitator

Phone:501-319-7333 ext. 102

Email: Debbie.Byers@ade.arkansas.gov