Brief History of the Excellence in Co-Teaching Initiative

In support of Virginia’s Statewide Inclusion Action Plan and in an effort to promote and improve the implementation of co-teaching throughout Virginia, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) began the Excellence in Co-Teaching Initiative in 2014. The initiative sought to establish demonstration sites across the state in which educators can experience co-teaching. Using a competitive process, teams have been identified who are willing to further enhance their current co-teaching practices and to share their knowledge and skills with others. Nearly 300 teachers and administrators in schools from all regions of the state have been involved in the initiative to date. Their efforts are facilitated by staff from the regional Training & Technical Assistance Centers.

These co-teaching teams and administrators have been provided opportunities to enhance their learning by working with leading experts in the fields of co-teaching and instructional strategies. Summer institutes have highlighted various state-of-the art practices, including: schoolwide inclusion, integrating co-teaching models and specially designed instruction with content teaching, strategic instruction, project-based learning, high-leverage practices, total participation techniques, and instructional coaching.

The Excellence in Co-Teaching Initiative, in collaboration with the VDOE Instructional Offices, has also sponsored content-specific co-teaching academies to support other co-teaching teams. These academies have focused on improving content understanding, pedagogical strategies, collaboration/co-teaching methods, and networking opportunities. More than 1,200 general and special education teachers have participated in these summer offerings for secondary co-teaching teams of English, mathematics, and science, as well as elementary co-teachers of reading and mathematics.

The demonstrations site teams involved in The Excellence in Co-Teaching Initiative share their knowledge of effective co-teaching with others in three specific ways:

• Demonstration Site Observations & Discussions: Co-teaching teams and administrators from other schools/divisions are invited to observe model co-taught lessons in action at the demonstration sites. Time is scheduled for visitors to meet with the co-teaching team and administrator to discuss factors that impact co-teaching success. The educators at both schools have been encouraged to continue their discussion and share resources by establishing distance mentoring relationships.

• Professional Development: Demonstration site teams conduct professional development sessions related to co-teaching and specially designed instruction in their schools/divisions/regions and at professional conferences across the state. They serve as presenters at the content-specific academies and as distance mentors for academy participants who wish to continue contact with experienced co-teaching teams during the following school year.

• Online Training Resource Development: “Real Co-Teachers of Virginia” eWorkshops and webshops" have been created within the TTAC Online website to share instructional videos and co-teaching lesson plans developed by the demonstration site teams. Since 2015, these have been among the website’s most popular online trainings, with more than 44,000 unique page-views by teachers across Virginia and the nation. Videos demonstrate co-instructing using various co-teaching models; share tips for effective co planning, co-assessing, and administrative support; discuss using high-leverage practices in co-taught classes; and share ideas for virtual instruction. Creation of products by the demonstration site teams is an ongoing process, and new sites will be forthcoming.

The Virginia Department of Education appreciates your participation in this initiative and the contributions you will make to improving co-teaching in the state this year.