1 is Good, 2 is Better: Professional Learning for Differentiation with the Option to Co-teach

Short Description: This interactive workshop introduces a co-teaching model designed to enhance instruction for high-ability learners within the regular classroom setting. It shares field-tested professional learnings used to launch successful push-in programs in elementary schools. Participants will engage in segments of the full training, learn effective co-teaching strategies, explore grouping options, and discover differentiation techniques to address the abilities of all students.

Extended Description: In the United States, students are grouped by age in grade-level classrooms (Warren et al., 2014). This often leads to wide ranges of ability within a single class. Pedersen et al. (2024) found that 69.3% of 4th-grade math classrooms had students spanning four or more achievement levels (i.e., under low, low, intermediate, high, advanced). This presents challenges, especially for gifted learners who may require more advanced instruction.

To address this need, our research team developed professional learnings for teachers. Funded by the Jacob Javits program, these trainings focused on implementing research-based best practices, including the push-in model using co-teaching (Mofield & Phelps, 2021), flexible grouping, and differentiation strategies such as curriculum compacting (Reis, Renzulli, & Burns, 2016). The trainings covered assessment options, data-driven decision-making, and selecting appropriate advanced activities. After a year of implementation, teaching teams found flexibly grouping and differentiating up to be easier both when the gifted teacher pushed into the classroom and even when the classroom teacher was alone. This session focuses on Professional Standard 3.1, Curricular planning (NAGC 2019).