Co-Teaching & Models
What is Co-Teaching?
What Co-Teaching is Not!
How Co-Teaching can be successful?
What are the Six Models of Co-Teaching?
Definition: "co-teaching occurs when two or more professionals jointly deliver substantive instruction to a diverse, blended group of students in a single physical space" (Conderman, p.2).
Four parts to this definition: 1) two or more certified teachers 2) both professionals are meaningfully involved in the delivery of the instruction 3) diverse group: two teachers can better meet the needs of students in a diverse, inclusive classroom 4)both teachers are in the same space for the majority of the instruction (Conderman, p.3)
Cannot be taught with a paraprofessional, volunteer, or other non certified assistant
Implementing the same lessons in the same way you taught them when you did not have a co-teacher
According to Conderman (p. 3) Having certified teachers provide instruction to a homogeneous class
Grouping students with disabilities or language differences to work with the special education teacher or the ESL teacher at the back tale or removing them to receive instruction in their special or separate classroom
Shared Accountability: teachers become joint owners in the classroom. Both teachers share instructional and behavioral accountability for all students
Mutual Respect: be respectful to one another for their unique skills allowing teachers to be free to offer their areas of expertise and creative ideas without fear or humiliation (p. 4)
Parity: decisions are to be made mutually and mutually agreed upon, each teacher has a role in planning, executing and evaluating (p. 4)
Specific Mutual Goals: goals should be student-based, providing direction and purpose, offering accountability and growth
Shared Resources: teachers openly share materials, ideas, methods, strategies, and approaches
Team Teaching: similar to co-presenting where both teachers teach at the front of the room and move about to check in with students or elaborate in instruction (as needed).
Parallel Teaching
Station Teaching
Alternative Teaching
One Teach, One Assist
One Teach, One Observe
Team Teaching
Team Teaching - Pros:
Provides both teachers with an active instructional role
Introduces students to complementary teaching styles and personalities
Allows for lessons to be presented by two different people with different teaching styles
Models multiple ways of presenting and engaging with information
Models for students what a successful collaborative working relationship can look like
Provides more opportunities to pursue teachable moments that may arise
Team Teaching - Cons:
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Takes time and trust for teachers to build a working relationship that values each teacher equally in the classroom
Necessitates a lot of planning time and coordination of schedules
Requires teachers to have equal involvement not just in planning, but also in grading, which means assignments need to be evaluated using a rubric or other non-subjective methods
Parallel Teaching
Pros
Pros of Parallel Teaching
Provides both teachers with an active instructional role
Lowers the student-teacher ratio and reduces the load of teaching a large class
Allows for small group instruction, which can be especially helpful for students who learn and think differently
Gives students the chance to ask more questions during lesson time
Provides a chance for students to work in heterogeneous groups (made up of varying abilities instead of groups of students with similar strengths and challenges)
Keeps the academic rigor of a demanding lesson, but splits the responsibility between both teachers
Cons
Cons of Parallel Teaching
Requires both teachers have strong knowledge of the content so students will learn the same thing
Can be challenging to control for noise, distraction, and space when working in the same classroom
Requires careful timing to make sure both teachers end the lesson at the same time
Station Teaching
Pros
Pros of Station Teaching
Provides both teachers with an active instructional role
Allows teachers to use flexible grouping to tailor teaching to each groups’ needs
Lowers the student-teacher ratio
Resets student focus with each station rotation, increasing engagement
Provides time for students to engage with the content on their own as well as with teachers
Supports a UDL approach to teaching
Allows for more material to be covered in a shorter time frame
Provides a clear teaching responsibility for each adult in the room
Cons
Cons of Station Teaching
equires significant planning for teaching and material preparation
Students may not get to all of the stations if they’re not moving at the same pace
May be noisy and distracting for some students
Requires pre-teaching around expectations for independent work time
Alternative Teaching
Pros
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Provides both teachers with an active instructional role
Allows for a lower student-teacher ratio
Provides additional support to struggling students without specifically singling them out
Gives a chance to re-teach, review, and pre-teach
Allows for intervention as well as enrichment opportunities
Lets teachers use flexible groups
Cons
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Requires strong data collection in order to group students appropriately
May make students feel self-conscious, especially if they’re often in the small group
Can be challenging to control for noise, distraction, and enough space when working in the same classroom
Needs careful planning to make sure students don’t miss material being taught to the large group
One Teach, One Assist
Pros
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Allows one teacher to teach a lesson without interruption from students who need assistance
Gives real-time help for students who need it
Allows teachers to use proximity to keep students on task
Provides for increased classroom management, which can be helpful if the class makeup is particularly challenging
Can provide newer teachers with the opportunity to observe more experienced teachers
Cons
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Can create a dynamic in which students see one teacher as the one who manages behavior
Can appear as though one teacher is more “in charge” than the other
Sets up a possible expectation that one-to-one support can always be immediate
Requires solid planning to make sure the supporting teacher is used efficiently
One Teach, One Observe
Pros
Allows for uninterrupted observation and data collection
Provides data that can inform future instruction, interventions, and student grouping
Cons
Can create a dynamic in which students see one teacher as the "real" teacher
Can make it difficult for co-teachers to build a strong partnership
loses instructional opportunities in a true co-taught classroom
Resources:
Morin, A. (2021, April 9). 6 Co-Teaching Models. Understood. Retrieved October 18, 2022, from https://www.understood.org/en/articles/6-models-of-co-teaching
Greg Conderman, Val Bresnahan, E. S. E. T., & Theresa Pedersen. (2009). Purposeful Co-Teaching : Real Cases and Effective Strategies. Corwin.