Kate Harris
Welcome to the EAL/D Conversations podcast. My name is Kate Harris and I am the EAL/D Education Advisor for K to 6 with the NSW Department of Education. Today I am joined by Kim Rhodes and Kim is one of our EAL/D Education Leaders working in Regional South. So welcome Kim.

Kim Rhodes
Hi, Kate.

Kate Harris
Today, we're going to be talking about EAL/D co-teaching, and we often hear that EAL/D co-teaching is beneficial for student learning. However, there is a lot of planning that needs to be done before a school chooses to engage in co-teaching. So Kim, where would be a good place for schools to start if they are thinking about engaging with EAL/D co-teaching?

Kim Rhodes
Yeah thanks, Kate. It's a great place to start by recognising that support for students learning English can be incredibly effective when EAL/D specialists and mainstream teachers collaborate. I think it's important to note that in schools, collaboration or collaborative practice can take on various structures or models and co-teaching is one of those. Co-teaching is a collaborative mode of delivering EAL/D support and one that can be highly beneficial for both the learners and the teachers that are involved.
And the reason for this is that co-teaching creates the conditions for mainstream teachers and EAL/D teachers to push their pedagogical practices together to work in partnership and to build a shared responsibility when delivering lessons and scaffolding and extending EAL/D students in their learning. But it is important to remember that the introduction of a co-teaching model of support, if it's a new approach for the school, requires a level of change, and so time must be dedicated to the planning of this shift to ensure that any transition to co-teaching has the best chance of succeeding and remaining as a sustained practice within a school. And from my experience, this begins with the why and being able to define why this is important for the school and then followed by the what. What is co-teaching aiming to achieve for those involved? And, and usually there's a recognised need and it's crucial that teachers understand the link between this need and this new practice.
And when this, this why and this what can be articulated, it helps to define the language that the school will use when communicating this vision to the wider staff and it will really help to establish what it will involve for the teachers who will be taking part. And schools might want to consider how this, why and this what is established and whose voice contributes to this, because voice is really important in change of any kind. Also, I think if schools rest their practice on an evidence base and a shift into co-teaching would need to do the same. So taking time to consider the body of research that will underpin a co-teaching model, it's a key part of the planning process and will help to link theory to practice along the way.
I think another key point to consider is that co-teaching is relational. There's a strong human element involved in this model of support. Co-teaching may be asking teachers to transform the way that they work together, or to do things differently than what they're used to, and to form new professional relationships. And so planning involves thinking about how we empower the teachers involved to do this opportunities for collective input into this new way of teaching is a is a key step along the way, allowing time to address any potential reservations, time to clarify the expectations or just time to answer general questions that teacher may have in a collective way. So establishing time for this at the planning level builds trust in the process.
And when you think about it, co-teaching usually involves altering the structures within a school. It may be adding a layer to how a school operates and so time will need to be dedicated to addressing questions that relate to processes and systems.
For example, what does this mean in relation to time? Time for teachers to talk and reflect together as co-teachers. What does it mean in relation to capacity building?
How will teachers consolidate and deepen their expertise along the way and how would successes be shared? These are examples of considerations when preparing for successful co-teaching. And so planning is key to the successful implementation of co-teaching. We start with the why, followed by clarifying what will be achieved, build trust through voice and ensure that the structures and the systems in place are going to empower and support those involved.
And one final point I'd like to share is that in my experience with co-teaching, the notion of starting small can often be really effective. Schools might consider implementing a co-teaching approach with a small team, a pilot group, or just the coalition of the willing, and the idea of small but impactful change can also build trust in a new process in a more controlled and manageable way within the busy life of a school.

Kate Harris

You raised lots of really interesting and valid points just then, Kim and one of the things that you mentioned was the importance of understanding the research base and the evidence. And there's quite a lot of evidence which supports effective collaboration, including co-teaching, and for teachers, as you mentioned, it's really important for us to understand the research behind our practice. So what are some of the evidence bases that you find most useful when discussing co-teaching and collaboration with schools?

Kim Rhodes
I agree that the decisions that we make in our schools need to be evidence based, best practice and in Department of Education schools where guided by and surrounded by effective research and certainly a key evidence base for us as educators is the What Works Best research released in collaboration with CESE, the Centre for Educational Statistics and Evaluation in 2020. One of the key themes for overall student performance within the research is collaboration, and this research reminds us that collaboration connects teachers in in various ways, often with experts or specialists. And co-teaching being an example of this collegial connection has the potential to increase collective efficacy. When collaboration through co-teaching rests on effective structures that fosters feedback and reflection, then this is even more powerful. The What Works Best research reminds us also of the key role of school leaders in creating the conditions for effective collaboration and co-teaching, including that shared vision and strong structures and this really relates to what we were just talking about earlier.
Think adding to this body of evidence is the notion of collective efficacy, which as mentioned is highlighted in the What Works Best research and put simply, collective efficacy as the idea that together teachers can achieve more, especially if they collectively believe that they can do so. And many of us are familiar with the work of John Hattie in his meta analysis, synthesis, visible learning where Hattie lists collective efficacy as a significant factor that influences student achievement.

I also like to draw on the EAL/D Effective School Practices research, which is also joint research between the department's multicultural education team and CESE which outlines the importance of a collaborative approach within EAL/D education specifically. Findings in this research confirm the significance of collaboration in schools where co-teaching between EAL/D and classroom teachers exists. And arising from this research are key points in relation to the valuing and sharing of language expertise and the development of trusting relationships between educators to support English language learners.
Also, the research that has been previously published by SLEC or School Learning Environments and Change within the Department of Education is an excellent evidence base for schools as they consider co-teaching. SLECs handbook of evidence for educators, both versions one and two, bring research and practice together and provides a great outline of the benefits and the challenges of co-teaching as well as case studies that provide perspective various schools. The resources draw on the co-teaching cycle and the various co-teaching models aligned with the research of Friend, Reisling and Cook. And these are all examples of quality research that can underpin the development of a co-teaching model within a school.

Kate Harris
Thanks Kim for sharing all of those really useful resources. Having worked in schools to build effective collaboration, including co-teaching, what would be some of the benefits and also some of the challenges of utilising an EAL/D co-teaching model?

Kim Rhodes
Uh, as I mentioned earlier, it is important for schools to find time in the lead up to the implementation of a co-teaching model to explore, to reflect upon, to be able to share their thoughts about the benefits and challenges of co-teaching as presented through research. Transparency will allow teachers to acknowledge these and feel more prepared to explore them in relation to their own experience along the way. In my experience of leading the implementation of co-teaching across a whole school and observing the impact, one of the most beneficial aspects of co-teaching is the influence that it can have on pedagogical practice. When teachers are fully engaged in co-teaching and they're aware of what it is aiming to achieve, and strong partnerships exist, then they're more willing to adopt or to adapt their teaching to take on new strategies and approaches to the way that they work together. I like to think of this as a leveraging of expertise. I mean, think about this in the case of EAL/D in mainstream teachers and what they individually bring to a lesson. Pedagogical knowledge content expertise on one hand and language acquisition processes and techniques on the other. And of course, they offer each other interpersonal skills, so the bringing together of the two teachers, it's a powerful idea if you think about the combining of skills and resources that they bring with them and how this learning can transfer over time to each other. Certainly, another observed benefit is that co-teaching has the potential to boost teacher parity and establish a more equal presence for both teachers. And in this case, for EAL/D specialists and classroom teachers, I think it's critical that EAL/D specialists in schools have high profiles and are seen as an integral part of learning and improvement and co-teaching can certainly be a catalyst in building and sustaining this profile.
In my experience, I I've also seen co-teaching um and the critical talk or reflection that's embedded as a part of the co-teaching process as ongoing professional learning just in itself. When co-teaching is considered in this way, it becomes in house and authentic professional learning and capacity building that takes place over time and this is a major benefit.

When you think about it co-teaching naturally encompasses a level of modelling, observation, mentoring, feedback and reflection. When two teachers work in partnership with each other, these are all elements associated with professional growth. When schools carefully plan for co-teaching and they ensure that the structures and the systems have considered these benefits, then teachers and students can thrive. So this ongoing professional growth can be complemented at times with external support and training, but if an evidence base has supported the process from the beginning, professional learning is embedded throughout the process and there's a lot of learning that can take place along the way.

But if we think about challenges or cons, then I like to use the term cons as in considerations as opposed to cons meaning contra or against. The main challenge or consideration that comes to mind from my experience is definitely the issue of time. To begin with, the implementation of a new process itself takes time. Time to plan well, time to set the scene, time to consider the processes, and structures and time to build capacity in an ongoing way and not to mention time for coteachers themselves to plan, debrief and reflect. And again, this comes back to planning. Decisions will need to be made and time will need to be established. But if the why and the what are strong enough, then schools will make decisions for this to happen.

And another consideration is certainly that of relationships. As I mentioned earlier, co-teaching, it's about people. It involves relationships and the synchronisation of two or more educators within a learning space, and these relationships are the foundation for successful co-teaching, and they can break down if the conditions have not been created to foster this partnership. Schools will need to ask themselves, what tools and resources do we need to ensure that the co-teaching relationships are supported and there are effective ways to do this, such as designing co-teaching planning resources, using protocols or frameworks to support reflection and critical conversation, and the development of co-teaching agreements that help to establish clarity around different aspects of teaching and learning. These are all examples of tools that can strengthen a co-teaching partnership, which is absolutely an aspect of co-teaching that can't be ignored or put to the side.
And finally, I think a challenge with co-teaching is is quality planning. It raises the question of what this looks like between two educators in a way that is manageable.
This is about the practicalities of co-teaching. We know that schools are busy places and teachers are on the move throughout the day. We also know that planning happens outside of teaching moments and when this now involves more than one person needing to be on the same page, well, this needs consideration and thought.
In my experiences, I've seen schools address these practical constraints by utilising shared drives and online platforms for more efficient communication. But even more effectively, I've seen teachers consider ways to plan effectively, but in a succinct and timely way. And this has been done by narrowing down the key elements of the lesson that both teachers would need to know to be able to bring their expertise to the lesson. And so this might be thinking, well, if I know the learning intention of the lesson, if I know the key activity involved and the agreed upon co-teaching model to deliver the learning, then I can prepare myself to lead this lesson in partnership, bringing with me the necessary strategies or resources to contribute to that lesson.
And so three key points is manageable. Co co-teaching requires this kind of smart thinking that might seem more on the fly, but with the key information needed for a successful lesson. And co-teaching takes time and this is something that improves the more that you do it, and the more that you practice.

Kate Harris
So many great points there, Kim and I really liked when you mentioned that it's important to really understand the why the what and if these are strong enough, then that issue of time can often be overcome because the school makes the decision that this is important and it needs to happen. And as you really highlighted there, having the expertise of an EAL/D teacher and the curriculum content expertise of a classroom teacher and those two teachers being able to work together really strengthens the practices that are happening in the classroom and will benefit the learners within there.
So what would be your top three tips then, for schools that are interested in starting EAL/D co-teaching in their setting?

Kim Rhodes
Hmm. Yeah, top three, okay. So I think my first tip comes back to where we started today and that's the power of planning for collaboration. Rushing into co-teaching as a model of support may result in frustrations and a lack of clarity as to why this is happening. All aspects need to be considered before implementation takes place.
Schools are a community of people, so transparency and communication are key to the successful implementation of a new initiative. So that would be my first tip.
My second tip would be to utilise protocols or frameworks to foster co-teaching, reflection or critical conversations. Tools such as this can help to facilitate critical talk in a way that is timely, and it can also help to strengthen the co-teaching partnerships by factoring this element into the reflection. Protocols really help to focus on the practice as opposed to the people, and they're very effective in sustaining open communication, feedback and professional growth.
And my final tip would be to ensure that there is time to share along the way. Small or micro opportunities to share co-teaching wins, successes in lessons, epic failures and lessons learnt, you know, I believe that informal sharing of good practice, new ways of doing things, and insights from teachers is crucial and it really helps educators to feel that a work in progress is okay and that effective co-teaching takes time. Learning from our colleagues is is authentic and real, and I believe that most teachers appreciate this when they're engaging in something new, like co-teaching.

Kate Harris
There were some really great tips there, Kim and I just wanted to say a big thank you for joining us today and sharing your knowledge and expertise around co-teaching as a collaborative practice. You've really been able to unpack some of the research, talk about the why and the how, and also think about some of those benefits and challenges that teachers may face and some handy tips to help them along the way.
So thank you so much for joining us today.

Kim Rhodes
Thanks, Kate. Thanks for having me.

Kate Harris
And thanks everyone for listening to this episode of the EAL/D Conversations podcast.