Our Kindergarten Co-Teaching Model
What is Co-Teaching?
A co-teaching model has at least two educators teaching simultaneously and/or fluidly with the same group of students throughout the school day. At PREP, our teachers both instruct all Kindergarten students in whole and small group settings.
Why Co-Teaching?
Co-teaching allows for extremely flexible student groupings for small group instruction, targeted intervention, and enrichment for advanced learners. Modifications to our schedule allow for an increased emphasis on small group instruction, collaborative projects, and play-based learning. Students learn to make independent choices during station time about the type of play they are most interested in on a given day. Two teachers sharing the classroom results in a high level of collaborative planning around curriculum, assessments, and student support.
How Does Co-Teaching Work at FHPS?
Co-Teaching, Early Childhood and International Baccalaureate
Inquiry-based learning
In the 1st quarter of the year, Baltimore City Public Schools’ Office of Early Learning have noticed students’ problem-solving capabilities improving and increased peer discussion during lessons.
Although the number of total students in the classroom may seem overwhelming at first, the student-to-teacher ratio remains 23:1—comparable to a regularly sized K classroom with one educator. The majority of the day is taught in small groupings. At PREP, students receive small group instruction for phonics, guided reading, writing, and math.
Our teachers divide students into ability level groupings to help students meet their academic and social goals for the year. Groupings are fluid—students may change groups from unit to unit depending on their knowledge base, the speed of their knowledge acquisition, or the goals that we set during each unit of study.
Times of day where students interact in a whole group setting include: calendar, snack, interactive read-aloud, and inquiry exploration.
Inquiry-based learning is at the heart of the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum. In previous years, our Kindergarten teachers have seen the power of engaging students in project-based and hands-on learning experiences. During many of these projects, the teachers already found themselves bringing the grade level together for inquiry, discussion, and collaboration on projects. The shift to an IB methodology allows a co-teaching classroom to dive deeper into what students really want to learn, while providing the flexibility to create, explore, and collaborate to find answers to student questions.
Baltimore City Public Schools' Office of Early Learning has made a push in the last 2 years to make play-based learning a priority in early childhood settings. With the decision to co-teach, our Kindergarten teachers have created a dedicated space for student exploration and discussion through play.
Baltimore. City. Public.