Collaborating With Students in Instruction and Decision Making

Learn more about Richard Villa's PD offerings Richard A. Villa is president of Bayridge Consortium, Inc. His primary field of expertise is the development of administrative and instructional support systems for educating all students within general education settings. Villa is recognized as an educational leader who inspires and works collaboratively with others to implement current and emerging exemplary educational practices. His work has resulted in the inclusion of children with intensive cognitive, physical, and emotional challenges as full members of the general education community in the school districts where he has worked and consulted. Villa has been a classroom teacher, special education administrator, pupil personnel services director, and director of instructional services and has authored 4 books and over 70 articles and chapters. Known for his enthusiastic, humorous style, Villa has presented at international, national, and state educational conferences and has provided technical assistance to departments of education in the United States, Canada, Vietnam, and Honduras and to university personnel, public school systems, and parent and advocacy organizations. Jacqueline S. Thousand, Ph.D., is Professor Emerita at California State University San Marcos, where she designed and coordinated special education professional preparation and Master's degree programs in the College of Education, Health, and Human Services. She previously taught at the University of Vermont, where she directed Inclusion Facilitator and Early Childhood Special Education graduate and postgraduate programs and coordinated federal grants, which, in the early 1980s, pioneered the inclusion of students with moderate and severe disabilities in general education classrooms of their local schools. Prior to university teacher, Dr. Thousand served as a special educator in Chicago area and Atlanta public schools and as the coordinator of early childhood special education services for children ages 3 through 6 in the Burlington, Vermont area. Dr. Thousand is a nationally known teacher, author, systems change consultant, and disability rights and inclusive education advocate. She is the author of 21 books and numerous research articles and chapters on issues related to inclusive education, organizational change strategies, differentiated instruction and universal design, co-teaching and collaborative teaming, cooperative group learning, creative problem solving, positive behavioral supports, and, now, culturally proficiency special education. Dr. Thousand is actively involved in international teacher education and inclusive education endeavors and serves on the editorial boards of several national and international journals. Ann I. Nevin is professor emerita at Arizona State University and visiting professor at Florida International University. The author of books, research articles, and numerous chapters, Nevin is recognized for her scholarship and dedication to providing meaningful, practice-oriented, research-based strategies for teachers to integrate students with special learning needs. Since the 1970s, she has co-developed various innovative teacher education programs that affect an array of personnel, including the Vermont Consulting Teacher Program, Collaborative Consultation Project Re-Tool sponsored by the Council for Exceptional Children, the Arizona State University program for special educators to infuse self-determination skills throughout the curriculum, and the Urban SEALS (Special Education Academic Leaders) doctoral program at Florida International University. Her advocacy, research, and teaching spans more than 38 years of working with a diverse array of people to help students with disabilities succeed in normalized school environments. Nevin is known for action-oriented presentations, workshops, and classes that are designed to meet the individual needs of participants by encouraging introspection and personal discovery for optimal learning.

Foreword: The Importance of Students' Voices by Paula Kluth and Peyton Goddard List of Tables List of Figures Acknowledgments About the Authors I. Introduction Letter to the Reader 1. Why Collaborate with Students? Rationale #1: Student Collaboration Facilitates 21st Century Goals of Education Rationale#2: Student Collaboration is Democratic Schooling Rationale #3: Student Collaboration Increases Self-Determination Rationale #4: Student Collaboration Increases Academic and Social Competence Rationale #5: Student Collaboration Facilitates Other School Reform Efforts Rationale #6: Student Collaboration is an Untapped Resource in Times of Limited Fiscal and Human Resources Summary II. Teaching With Students Definition of Teaching What is the Instructional Cycle? What is the Research Base for Teaching with Students? 2. Students as Co-Teachers in Cooperative Learning Groups What is Cooperative Learning? What Cooperative Groups Are NOT Five Essential Ingredients of Cooperative Group Learning: PIGS Face The Four Phases of Planning and Implementing Formal Cooperative Group Lessons Teacher Decisions at Each Phase of Planning and Implementation An Example of a Formal Cooperative Group Lesson What Do Students Say About Cooperative Group Learning Summary 3. Students as Peer Tutors and Partner Learners Meet Some Peer Tutors What is Peer Tutoring/Partner Learning? Essential Ingredients of Peer Tutoring and Partner Learning Getting Started with Peer Tutoring and Partner Learning An Example of a Peer Tutoring/Partner Learning Lesson Students' Views of Peer Tutoring and Partner Learning Summary 4. Students as Co-Teachers What is a Co-Teacher? What are Examples of Adults Co-Teaching with Students? Co-Teaching Approaches Challenges Faced by Student Co-Teachers What Are Student Co-Teachers, Adult Co-Teachers, Administrators, and Learners in Co-Taught Classes Saying About Co-Teaching? Summary III. Decision-Making With Students 5. Empowering Students as Collaborative Creative Thinkers Barriers to Creative Thinking and Action Awareness Plans for Busting Barriers and Imagining Improvements Osborn-Parnes Creative Problem-Solving (CPS) Process Thinking for Collaborative Solution Finding-Focusing Upon What You Can Do Summary 6. Students as Instructional Decision Makers Collaborating with Students to Determine the Product of Learning Collaborating with Students to Differentiate Instruction for Struggling Learners Summary 7. Students as Designers of Their Own Learning Defining and Nurturing Self-Determination Making Action Plans (MAPs) as a Tool to Actualize Self-Determination Student-Led Individualized Education Programs Personal Learning Plans as a Tool to Teach Self-Determination What Do Students Say About Self-Determination? Summary 8. Students as Mediators of Conflict and Controversy Examples of Everyday School Conflicts Understanding Conflict An Example of a Class-Wide or School-Wide Peer Mediation Program A Lesson Plan Example: Learning Friendly Disagreeing Skills Summary 9. Students as Collaborators in Responsibility A "Circle of Courage" Definition of Responsibility The Self-Discipline Pyramid Summary Epilogue: Beyond Benevolence to Befriending Glossary Resources A. Cooperative Group Learning Lesson Plan B. Peer Tutor Lesson Plan C. Co-Teaching Lesson Plan D. Syllabus for High School Course for Teaching Students to Be Co-Teachers E. Template for Product-Activity Matrix Integrating Bloom's Taxonomy and Gardner's Multiple Intelligence Theory F. Template for Facts about the Learner, Classroom Demands, Mismatches, and Potential Solutions G. Student Collaboration Quiz (for students) References Index

"The authors brilliantly bring the reader's focus down to the core of the educational process: the student. This powerful focus on the purposeful engagement of students in their own learning process guides us through reflection, cooperative learning groups, planning, choice, a sense of belonging, and advocacy, as well as social, emotional, academic, and life-skills issues. Resources abound in this contribution to the dialogue of increasing student achievement and well being while reflecting on the whole student." -- Denise M. Gudwin, Educational Consultant and Adjunct Professor "How powerful learning could be if students and educators shared more of the teaching responsibilities! Educators who use even a few ideas from this text will find their teaching and learning experiences greatly enhanced and far more enjoyable. Best of all, involving students in the teaching experience helps them learn more academically and do more socially." -- Peggy King-Sears, Professor "In this easy-to-read resource, the authors help educators understand that inclusion isn't something that we do to and for students, but rather, something we must do with students. The powerful anecdotes of educators and students planning, tutoring, and teaching side by side give us new hope and further direction for the creation of inclusive schools." -- Cathy L. Taschner, Assistant Superintendent "This book is a must-read for every administrator seeking to build a school that meets the needs of diverse learners. Villa, Thousand, and Nevin practically and purposefully demonstrate how the reallocation of existing resources can be instrumental in 're-forming' schools. The descriptive, step-by-step planning guides empower administrators, new and experienced, to redesign their school community in a way that will increase student achievement without increasing the budget!" -- Kimberly R. Donahue, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction "This book emphasizes the work of students as significant members of the school and classroom community, not just as recipients of the work that teachers do, but as an integral part that can benefit from the teaching as well as be part of the teaching force. I loved the emphasis on empowering students in this co-teaching arrangement. I also appreciated the focus on listening to students' voices so the work of teachers is based on what students really need. The authors provide knowledgeable and practical advice for personalizing and individualizing instruction for all students while maintaining high expectations." -- Mary A. Falvey, Dean, Charter College of Education "Classrooms go further when they are student-driven, and this book provides amazing resources and ideas to empower both students and teachers. From providing a rationale for teacher/student collaboration to helping with the nuts and bolts of the actual work, the authors have written a practical, useful, and inspiring guide for collaboration." -- Renee Salazar-Garcia, Principal