Fourth grade teachers at Union Ridge Elementary School use the functionality provided by the district’s brand-new capital facilities buildings to utilize innovative teaching techniques in their classes.
Mindy Morris and Nani Mack team-teach fourth grade language arts thanks to a collapsible adjoining wall in their classrooms. “Initially, the plans for the new building included a solid wall between our classrooms, however we suggested the construction team use a collapsible wall instead and they fit the idea into the plan,” said Morris.
The two teachers alternate who leads each lesson so the other one can ensure students receive extra help if they need it. For the students, they have two language arts teachers instead of just one. “The concept of team-teaching language arts stems from the new common core curriculum which combines reading and writing – having two teachers introduce the material makes us both that much more effective,” said Morris. “In addition, since the students have more classmates, they are exposed to the additional perspectives their new classmates bring with them.”
Morris previously taught as part of a team in a middle school and brought up the idea of team-teaching with Mack last year. “I love team teaching and would never go back,” said Mack. “It’s definitely a different experience since we spend a little more time planning, however we’re able to manage class-time so effectively that students spend more time learning since there’s always one of us who can help those students who are struggling without slowing down the rest of the class.” In addition, when either teacher uses a substitute teacher, the lesson plan doesn’t slow down. “When we have subs, the classes still have at least one teacher with whom they’re familiar so the lessons proceed as planned,” explained Mack.
Mack and Morris work well together thanks to their similar teaching styles. “Our personalities mesh very well so team-teaching comes easy to us,” said Morris. “We’re very lucky because it can be rare for two teachers to get along as well as we do.” Mack agreed, “The biggest challenge of team-teaching is getting used to being observed by your teaching partner every day; you have to really trust your partner and appreciate giving and receiving feedback.”
Students really enjoy the team-teaching concept, too. “It’s nice getting to try something we’re not used to which is also so new to us,” said Cameron Jones, a fourth grader. “Team-teaching is more fun because you get more time with the teachers and each one has their own style – they help each other and communicate very well together.”
Jordyn Davies, a classmate, agreed with Jones, “I really like language arts and now we have more than one teacher to help us with things we don’t understand,” she said. “The two teachers are really fun to learn from and it’s fun watching them both teach.”
