Co Teaching in the Classroom

Meeting student need with diverse learning options.

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​Lets talk about Co-Teaching

The Six approaches to Co-Teaching:

​Diverse learning options

Students at all academic levels benefit from alternative assignments and greater teacher attention in small-group activities that co-teaching makes possible. Co-teaching allows for more intense and individualized instruction in the general education setting increasing access to the general education curriculum while decreasing stigma for students with special needs. Students have an opportunity to increase their understanding and respect for students with special needs. Students with special needs have a greater opportunity for continuity of instruction as the teachers benefit from the professional support and exchange of teaching practices as they work collaboratively.

Co-teaching involves two or more certified professionals who contract to share instructional responsibility for a single group of students primarily in a single classroom or workspace for specific content or objectives with mutual ownership, pooled resources and joint accountability. 

​​1. One Teach, One Observe

One of the advantages in co-teaching is that more detailed observation of students engaged in the learning process can occur. With this approach, for example, co-teachers can decide in advance what types of specific observational information to gather during instruction and can agree on a system for gathering the data. Afterward, the teachers should analyze the information together.

​​2. One Teach, One Assist. 

In a second approach to co-teaching, one person would keep primary responsibility for teaching while the other professional circulated through the room providing unobtrusive assistance to students as needed.

 

​​3. Parallel Teaching. 
On occasion, student learning would be greatly facilitated if they just had more supervision by the teacher or more opportunity to respond. In parallel teaching, the teachers are both covering the same information, but they divide the class into two groups and teach simultaneously.

4. Station Teaching.
In this co-teaching approach, teachers divide content and students into three or more groups. Each teacher then teaches the content to one group and subsequently repeats the instruction for the other group. If appropriate, a third station could give students an opportunity to work independently.

 

5. Alternative Teaching: 

In most class groups, occasions arise in which several students need specialized attention. In alternative teaching, one teacher takes responsibility for the large group while the other works with a smaller group.

 

​​6. Team Teaching:

In team teaching, both teachers are delivering the same instruction at the same time. Some teachers refer to this as having one brain in two bodies. Others call it tag team teaching. Most co-teachers consider this approach the most complex but satisfying way to co-teach, but the approach that is most dependent on teachers' styles.

Co-teaching does not work when:

when one teacher makes all the decisions about instruction and assessment,
or when one teacher takes the lead while the other only assists or observes. 



Co-teaching is when two teachers work together in the classroom, with both teachers equally involved in planning, grading, correcting, and supporting students. 

Co-teaching is a partnership for students with and without disabilities in an inclusive classroom. There are social and academic benefits for students with disabilities in a co-teaching environment.

While there is more research needed to develop a robust evidence base for co-teaching, one can have confidence that supporting our students using collaborative teaching is “the right thing to do.

​Who benefits from co-teaching?

Co-teaching challenges:

• Increased communication demands are given instructional interdependence among teachers.

•  Obtaining sufficient time during the school day to plan and discuss instruction and student progress

Co-teaching challenges:

• Loss of instructional and decision-making autonomy.

• Decreased flexibility and creativity given when additional instructional personnel are present in classrooms.

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Co-teachers are considered equally responsible and accountable for the classroom.

They share the responsibilities of planning, instructing, and assessing students in a classroom.

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​Roles &
Responsibilities

Co-teaching allows teachers to model appropriate behavior while interacting with one another, exposing students to daily lessons in encouragement, politeness, teamwork, and support.

​Role Models

• Establish Trust....

• Start Strong with How You Present Yourselves to Students....

• Plan Together....

• Think About Which Co-Teaching Model to Use....

• Be Flexible....

​Making your co-teaching
partnership the best it can be.

What are the 3 phases of effective co-teaching?

Through extensive coteaching experience, observations in coteaching classrooms, and conducting in service training with co-teachers over the past decade, we have identified three developmental stages in the coteaching process: 

The Beginning stage - Discuss role & responsibilities

The Compromise stage - Respect differences in teaching styles

The Collaborative stage - Build upon each others strengths

Poll

Do you feel Co-teaching could work in your classroom?

• Definitely

• Maybe

• I can't see it working

• I like working alone