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Better Together: Collaborative Planning for Inclusive Classrooms
Written by: Julie Gomez, Curriculum & Instruction ELA and Writing Specialist
Have you ever wondered what The Avengers and the Beatles have in common? Imagine a scenario in which a villain comes to destroy the world. What would happen if seven different personalities all tried to work independently to eradicate the danger? How about attending a concert at which four musicians walked on stage and played together without a set list? In both scenarios, would their strengths just magically come together to create the desired outcome? Most likely, that would be a resounding no. Whether you are a superhero, musician, or teacher, collaborative planning with your teammates is essential to your success.
When most people think of a teacher’s role, delivery of instruction is generally what comes to mind. However, there is a lot of time spent planning for which is not accounted. Inclusion classrooms are no different. Ask a teacher their number one roadblock, and time is often the response. While planning collaboratively won’t completely fix the time issue, it will allow for more quality and quantity of plans.
Collaborative Partners
It takes a village to teach effectively. Even if you are a team of one, you have collaborative partners available within your school. Instructional coaches, administrators and other grade-level teachers are your planning partners. In an inclusive classroom, your special education teacher and related service providers are some of your most valuable planning partners too. Even if you have a full grade-level team, your instructional coaches and administrators are great partners as well. Collaborating with teachers in grades below and above yours is also helpful for vertical alignment.
Non-negotiables
Beginning with structured and protected time is essential to maximizing the productivity of collaborative planning.
Create and stick to an agenda.
Keep the focus on standards and instructional practices.
Review standards based data.
Build in appropriate scaffolds and multiple exposures at the grade level as well as extension activities.
Stay positive and keep the students’ learning outcomes in the forefront.
While you may not have a super techy spandex uniform or jam out on a microphone or guitar, you can be a superhero or rock star to your students each day. Instead of squandering that role, take the time to invest your effort by collaboratively planning successful lessons.
Looking for More Information on Collaborative Planning?
Below are a few resources available through the UCP Institute:
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