All aboard, the station to success! Mr. Colburn, an IRR teacher at CHES supports 4th grade students in reading by leading a guided reading lesson, while the general education teacher Ms. McKinney teaches the lesson topic using the iReady curriculum. Mr. Colburn and Ms. McKinney believe the station model of collaborative teaching has helped the students grow in reading and move towards mastery of the standards. Mr. Colburn loves to find books to read with the students in his guided reading lessons. He feels that putting high quality literature in the hands of the students will help foster a love of reading while having the students practice the skills being taught. This is making the grade level standards accessible to the students that Mr. Colburn serves. Mr. Colburn is a frequent patron of the school media center and consistently uses his resources and the school media specialist, Mrs. Sheldon, to find and curate materials that meet the diverse learners where they are while learning the standards of the fourth grade curriculum. Ms. McKinney added, “Having the benefit of collaborating with Mr. Colburn this school year has been a game changer. We team up to provide data-driven instruction and a positive learning environment. Together we strive to ensure an inclusive learning environment that enables each student to meet high standards.”
Mr. Colburn also collaboratively teaches math with Mrs. Bias. “I love going into the classroom to support all the students,” states Mr. Colburn, “but there is something really special about that moment when you can see the mathematical concept click in the mind of a young learner.” The students greatly benefit from having two teachers in the classroom. Mrs. Bias added, “Mr. C and I feed off of each other. When the students are working in centers we help facilitate making sure the students get started and know what is expected of them.We also switch out leading small group instruction. The students definitely get more bang for their buck with two teachers. I love working and collaborating with Mr. C!”