Co Teaching

Co-teaching FHS 2007-2008 By Adelbert L. Wilber, Ph.D.

What is Co-teaching?  2 or more people sharing the responsibility for teaching some or all of the students assigned to a class.  A creative way to better connect with and support all students.

What Co-teaching Is Not:  One person teach one subject, followed by another who teaches a different subject.  One person teaching, while one is in the teacher’s lounge.  One conducts a lesson, while one sits and watches.  One person prevails in deciding content and methodology to use in the classroom.

**Side Note**  Pertains to What Co-teaching is not:  There may be times when it is necessary to do some, any, or all of the items previously mentioned. They should just not be done on a daily basis.  Co-teachers may experience some or all of these items as they start to build trust, develop and work on communication, and learn to work together creatively as a team.

History of Co-teaching  1960’s - example of progressive education.  1970’s - advanced by legislated school reforms, due to increased needs to modify instruction.  2001 - NCLB and IDEA change legal requirements for students with disabilities, as well as promoting more highly qualified teachers.

Elements of Co-teaching     

One common, publicly agreed upon goal. Share a belief system. Demonstrate parity. Use a distributed functions theory. Use a cooperative process.

Four Approaches to Co-teaching  Supportive teaching  Parallel teaching  Complementary teaching  Team teaching

Supportive Teaching  One teacher teaches; the other rotates through the students to provide support.  Also called, “one teach, one float”.  This approach is common and often favored by new co-teachers.

Parallel Teaching  Two or more people work with different groups of students.  Co-teachers may rotate between groups or even leave a particular groups of students to self-study.  Co-teaching can be in same classroom, or pull-out.  A popular approach for new co-teachers.

Complimentary Teaching  One teacher teaches, while the other complements him/ her by writing notes on board, or the overhead, or by modeling some aspect of the lesson.  As co-teachers improve, this approach, as well as team teaching will become the preferred forms of co-teaching.

Team Teaching  When two or more people do what the traditional teacher has always done - plan, teach, assess, and assume responsibility for all of the students in the class.  Both teachers teach the lesson simultaneously.  Co-teaching and team teaching are NOT synonymous.  Team teaching is the highest form of co-teaching that one can assimilate.

Which approach is best?  Depends on the dynamics of the classroom.  No one approach should be espoused over another as “the approach” to use.  Each situation is different and requires forethought and planning on the part of all co-teachers.  Complementary and Team teaching require the most planning, preparation, and trust.

Forming, Storming, Norming  Three stages describing the process coteaching partners go through in assimilating the higher levels of achievement and efficiency.  There is no one answer as to how long it may take to get through each stage, let alone all of them.  Key??? (Communicate, then communicate differently, then communicate again!)

Summary  Co-teaching serves to satisfy both NCLB and IDEA requirements.  There are four approaches to co-teaching.  There is no one “best” approach for all situations.  There are three stages to becoming an efficient co-teacher.

Questions?