Co-Teaching 101
This is the 3 step process in which effective co-teaching occurs.
1. Co- Plan
2. Co- Teach
3. Co- Assess
Co-teachers divide their class into small groups to provide instruction in smaller chunks. Instructional materials should be designed to be teacher led or function independently of each other and require approximately the same amount of time with student groups. This approach reduces the student-teacher ratio, increasing student participation and effective monitoring of the students.
Station Teaching
This is the number one and MOST important component in co-teaching.
Communication
This teacher or these teacher(s) are responsible for planning instruction, implementation of instruction, assessing student learning, and updating grades.
General education teacher and Special education teacher
Co-teachers divide the class in half and instruct students on the same material; groups don't rotate. This form of teaching allows the co-teachers to maximize participation and minimize behavior problems. This approach reduces the student-teacher ratio and increases instructional intensity. Co-teachers will need to be cognizant of timing and pacing when using this strategy.
Parallel Teaching
This is a living document that should be updated regularly to reflect the classroom norms, teacher roles and responsibilities, and learning environment.
Co-teaching agreement
A collaborative approach to instruction in which two teachers, typically a general education teacher and a special education teacher, work together to plan and then implement instruction for a class that is incluisve of students with disabilities.
Co-Teaching
One teacher manages a large group of students while the other takes a small group for a specific instructional purpose. This approach provides instructional flexibility and can be used for enrichment, remediation, assessment, or preteaching, as well as for using alternative methods of providing lesson input.
Alternative Teaching
If/when conflict occurs amongst the co-teaching team, a teacher from the team should reach out directly to this person for guided support.
SWD coach or another content instructional coach.
Both teachers are often in the front of the classroom, sharing the responsibilities of lead instruction, with equally active, but possibly different, roles in a lesson. This approach can enhance teacher creativity, encourage collaboration, and energize students. This strategy should be used occasionally as more subtle student needs can be missed when grouping is not being used.
Team Teaching
One teacher acts as the primary teacher while the other assists and supports the learners. The co-teacher assists by monitoring student work, addressing behavior issues, answering student questions, distributing materials, or asking the lead teacher to clarify any developing student misconceptions.
One teach, One assist.