Case study methodology and applications

Amy is the main character of the case under study and is facing a problem with Joe who agreed to co-teach with her. The problem that Amy faces is that Joe is not clear about the concept and idea of co-teaching and how it is supposed to be carried out. Moreover Joe says things which hurt Amy and she feels insulted by them. Firstly Amy should realize that she is young and comparatively inexperienced. Joe on the other hand is an experienced teacher who has been teaching for a very long time. He is used to his method of teaching and therefore it is hard for him to accommodate himself to this new change of method. Normally a person who has been teaching for twenty years with the same pattern finds it hard to undergo a change. Amy thus should not find his comments to be insulting and she should not get hurt by them. Further, Amy should solve the problem about Joe's lack of knowledge about co-teaching. She should at first develop a friendly environment with Joe and introduce him to the concept and methods of co-teaching. She should clarify that co-teaching is not about two teachers in a classroom with one of them being an observer and just stepping in when she wants to. Joe plans out the schedule for the students a whole month before. Hence the current month that Amy has joined the class, she should keep her interaction minimal and for the coming month she should plan out the schedule with Joe. Individual preparations would only lead the situation to be a mess and there would be no compatibility with the teachers. Hence Amy should sit down with Joe and make an entire schedule for the coming month and explain to him how one teacher presents the content in the classroom while the other enriches the content.

At this point Amy and Joe are in the beginning stage and Amy should adopt appropriate methods of interpersonal communication. She should also develop her sense of boundaries and give Joe time to know his boundaries as well. Amy should try to establish a professional relationship with Joe. Her communication with Joe should be well guarded and polite. Once professional work relation develops, Amy will find Joe to be more open and there will be more interactive communication. This would in turn develop their trust in each other and both would find themselves in the collaborative stage where there will be open communication and interaction. Amy should also compliment Joe who would in turn learn not to be blunt in his remarks and he would learn to compliment Amy as well. If I were in place of Amy, I would presently stick to the complimentary teaching method where Joe would present the class with the teaching content and I would teach students techniques to facilitate learning within the context of what Joe has planned for them.

JOE

Joe has been teaching English all by himself to students for over 20 years and his knowledge about co-teaching is not adequate enough. He has his plans made out for the students and wishes to stick to the schedule teaching each day what he has been teaching for the past 20 years. Amy to him is an inexperienced teacher with an experience of only 3 years. I feel Joe finds Amy to be intruding his territory and he expects her to conduct a lesson according to the time frame that he assumes it should be within. Thus Joe was rude in his comment to Amy and failed to compliment her out of politeness and discussing any issues with her politely. Joe has been honest to Amy about not knowing how to "utilize" her however he fails to ask Amy and understand the methodology of co-teaching and how it is to be carried out. He seems to be very inflexible as far as co-teaching is concerned. Maybe Joe is not prepared for co-teaching and wishes to teach alone. Joe needs to decide and act upon whether he wants to co-teach or not. If he has a problem with co-teaching then he should talk to Amy and Principal Kelley about this and show his desire to teach alone. If however Joe does wish to participate in co-teaching, then he should become a bit more flexible. He should include Amy in his plans devised for the student and should be more cooperative.

If I were Joe I would first try and evaluate whether I am up for co-teaching or not because if I am not up for it then there is no point in co-teaching as it require flexibility and cooperation. Moreover I would ask Amy to brief me in on the methods of co-teaching and how it is supposed to be carried out. On learning the different methods of co-teaching I would then decide which of the three methods of co-teaching I can easily adapt to for the benefit of the students. The next step would be a discussion with Amy on the decided method of co-teaching. Most importantly I would try not to evaluate Amy and pass a comment which would hurt her. Politeness and a professional work relationship would be established by me so that we can work efficiently as a team.

PRINCIPAL KELLEY

Principal Kelley is another important character in the case study. She knows the importance of co-teaching and knows that Amy is a very competent teacher who is useful to the school. Principal Kelley has introduced co-teaching in the school and her problem is that Amy, a young and competent teacher is facing trouble with her veteran English teacher. Both teachers are important to the institution and Principal Kelley should play a part where Amy can carry out co-teaching with other teachers who voluntarily agree. However her school teachers do not have any idea what co-teaching is all about. Moreover her school has a reputation and its academic achievements have been high. This shows that all her teachers are competent enough. Though Amy is a newcomer, she is "to die for" and thus firing her would be a loss to the institution. Moreover there is an increase in the student's enrolment and the institution requires more teachers.