Co-planning and Co-teaching for ELLs

Abstract

This capstone project seeks to provide the general education teachers and the English as a New Language (ENL) teacher at the Avon Middle School with the strategies and resources they need in order to effectively co-plan and co-teach in the mainstream classroom. The Avon Central School District is a small rural district with around one thousand students from kindergarten to twelfth grade. In this district, there is a very apparent lack of co-planning and co-teaching in the general education classrooms. The ENL teacher is often left pushing into the mainstream classroom and serving as a one-on-one tutor for the English Language Learner (ELL). This lack of co-planning and co-teaching strategies is due to a lack of knowledge on the topic as well as a lack of leadership support and guidance. Solutions to this problem involve a professional development series for the teachers and the administration of the school. This professional development series provides the audience with strategies for implementing effective instructional approaches and virtual resources that teachers can use as they begin to co-plan and co-teach. Conclusions to this research focus on the need for explicit instruction and professional development in order to effectively implement co-planning and co-teaching. Recommendations are for continued practice of co-planning and co-teaching strategies through additional professional development and reflections. The professional development should be modified in future years to reflect the feedback from the general education teachers, the ENL teacher, and the administration.