RIDGEFIELD — After attending a training on co-teaching, South Ridge Elementary School teachers Megan Suarez and Dana Swensson worked to implement the new teaching style.
Suarez, a special education teacher, joined forces with Swensson, a traditional third-grade teacher. The teaching style allows the classes to work together regardless of what level a student is at academically.
They grouped students with similar skills, creating teaching stations in different areas of the room. At one station, students worked as a group on a list of problems, while they used laptops and headphones at another to do independent math games. According to a news release, the teachers have seen improved math scores in their “unified classroom without barriers.”
Previously, students who required specialists in learning disabilities, advanced learning or in English as a second language were separated, putting them behind when they missed day-to-day instruction.
