Co-Teaching

1. Co-Teaching Latricia Trites, Ph.D. September 8 & 10, 2008

2. Co-Teaching • Partnership • Trust • Hard work • Communication • Shared preparation and shared responsibility. • Both are always working. Each section of each lesson should specify roles of both. • Considered a very demanding work arrangement.

3. Co-Teaching Definition • Two (or more) educators or other certified staff • Contract to share instructional responsibility • For a single group of students • Primarily in a single classroom or workspace • For specific content (objectives) • With mutual ownership, pooled resources, and joint accountability Cook & Friend (2004)

4. What Co-Teaching Isn’t • One person teaching one subject followed by another person teaching a different subject • One person teaching one subject while another person prepares instructional materials, makes copies, corrects papers, etc. • One person teaching a lesson while other people simply observe • One person’s ideas about what and how to teach being the only ideas implemented • One person being assigned as a tutor Villa, Thousand, & Nevin (2008)

5. Elements of Co-Teaching • Common, publicly agreed-on goal • Shared belief system • Parity (equity of dual roles) • Distributed functions theory of leadership • Cooperative process • Face-to-Face Interactions • Positive Interdependence • Interpersonal Skills • Monitoring Co-Teacher Progress • Individual Accountability

6. Background on Co-Teaching • Used extensively in special education. • Used at times in ESL in the U.S. • Used in “inclusive classrooms” in the U.S.

7. Why Use Co-Teaching? • Complementary Skills • “Two heads are better than one.” • Increased time and attention

8. Benefits of Co-Teaching • Mentoring and Professional Development • Support • Effective, culturally appropriate teaching • Impact on future teaching

9. Co-Teaching Approaches • Teach and Observe • Teach and Drift • Parallel Teaching • Station Teaching • Alternative Teaching • Team Teaching • Complementary Instruction • Supportive Co-Teaching

10. Teach and Observe • One teaches while the other observes learners. • Observer should have a defined task. • Qualities • Good for diagnosing problems with learners or groups. • Works well for informal assessment. • Good for gauging participation. • Provides excellent teaching feedback. • Good for gathering data about learners and learning, not teacher development.

11. Teach and Drift • One teaches while the other drifts around the room checking comprehension, activities, etc. • Qualities • Good when one teacher has particular expertise • Good when students need close monitoring either for behavior or comprehension • Good for “getting to know” each other as co-teachers • Can be distracting to students • Need to ensure that both teachers get the chance to teach and to drift

12. Parallel Teaching • Each one teaches the same content in separate groups. • Characteristics • Good for low teacher-student ratio situations • Fosters student participation and discussion • Good for drill and practice, re-teaching, and test review activities

13. Station Teaching • Each one teaches different material. Students switch stations. • Content must be non-consecutive. • May have one station with independent work (worksheet) • Characteristics • Good for introducing several similar, complex topics • Good for practicing different language skills with the same content (e.g., reading comprehension then writing task)

14. Alternative Teaching • One teaches mainstream content to most of the class while the other teaches adapted content to a small group. • Characteristics • Good for groups with differing ability levels

15. Team Teaching • One delivers content while the other provides clarification and support. • Characteristics • Good for demonstrations • Good when co-teachers are extremely comfortable working with each other

16. Complementary Instruction • One teacher delivers the content while the other teacher delivers the skills.

17. Supportive Co-Teaching • One delivers the content while the other oversees activities.

18. Effective Co-Teaching • Mixes and matches models. • Changes models and roles for variety and interest for learners. • May involve delegation of specific tasks to one teacher (e.g., one is the phonics expert). • Always specifies the role of each teacher in each activity.

19. How to Decide Which Co-Teaching Model to Use • Consider student characteristics and needs • Consider teacher characteristics and needs • Consider the curriculum, content, and instructional strategies to be taught • Consider pragmatic issues such as location of class, noise level, size of class, etc.

20. Tips for Effective Co-Teaching • Get to know your partner • Create a workable schedule • Vary instructional practices • Avoid second guessing your partner • COMMUNICATE

21. Get to Know Your Partner • Complete a co-teaching checklist • Discuss personal and professional issues • Discuss any “pet peeves”? • Discuss any health concerns • Discuss learning styles and preferences • Create a signal system for communicating in the classroom

22. Create a Workable Schedule • Find time to plan together • Discuss what will be taught, how it will be taught, and by whom • Create a “co-teaching” lesson plan template to be used