Essay about Communicating And Collaborating With Colleagues
Ms. Hester was not present in the classroom when I arrived; she came in around 9:15am.
Mr. Harden instructed, while Ms. Hester assisted. They remained in these roles for the entirety of the class; it would have been beneficial to see them switch roles.
The students were working on identifying letters of the alphabet. They directed their questions to Mr. Harden.
Ms. Hester worked with individual students, but did not engage with the entire class at any point. Mr. Harden did not circulate among the students, but remained at the front of the class.
I would have liked to see both teachers engaged more equally with the students and to have shared more of the instruction.
When I followed up with each teacher individually, I learned that Ms. Hester had not been involved in the lesson planning for this particular class, citing a scheduling conflict. Mr. Harden mentioned that he felt that Ms. Hester was not interested in instructing the entire class; she had never outright expressed a desire to lead the class.
Ms. Hester expressed frustration about Mr. Harden’s availability for co-planning, which was limited as a result of his family obligations in the afternoons. When they are able meet and plan lessons together, she feels that she is unable to contribute at an equal level.
I would suggest that both Mr. Harden and Ms. Hester attend a training session on co-teaching and collaboration, as neither is familiar with co-teaching and different co-teaching strategies.
©2014 Walden University 2
