+

CO-TEACHING

+
WHAT IS CO-TEACHING?

When two or more

professionals jointly deliver
substantive instruction to a
diverse, or blended group of
students in a single physical
space (Cook and Friend,
1995).

THE CO-TEACHING DYNAMIC

TEACHER

TIME / SPACE

KNOWLEDGE

The Types of Co-teaching

Team
Teaching

Curriculum
Knowledge

Alternative
Teaching

Planning
Time
Allocation

Parallel Teaching

Philosophica
l Agreement

Station Teaching

Level of
Trust

Lead and Support

Friend, M., Reising, M., & Cook, L. (1993). Co-teaching: An overview of the past, a glimpse at the
present, and considerations for the future. Preventing School Failure, 37(4), 6-10.

1.

One teach, one support

--One person assumes primary
instructional responsibility while
the other adult assists students
with work, monitors behavior,
and corrects assignments. (This
approach is most successful
when it is used on an occasional
basis in conjunction with the
other approaches.)

+2. One teach, one observe

--One person assumes primary
instructional responsibility while
the other adult makes
observations about the class to
collect classroom data. (This
approach is most successful
when it is used on an occasional
basis in conjunction with the
other approaches.)

3. Station teaching
--Curricular content is
divided into two parts. One
person teaches the first part
to half the students and the
other professional presents
the second part to the other
half. The two student groups
then switch.

4. Parallel teaching
--Students are divided into
heterogeneous groups in
which each student has more
opportunity to participate in
discussions. Different types of
presentations are structured
to accommodate the various
student learning styles.

5. Alternative teaching
--Students are divided into
two groups, and one person
instructs one group while the
other person pre-teaches the
other group for the lesson to
follow or re-teaches material
using alternative methods.

6. Team teaching-- Both

professionals share leadership
and are equally engaged in
instructional activities. They
might role play, stage
debates, or model note-taking
strategies. (Friend & Bursuck,
1999, pp. 82-85)

+
What do these strategies look
like?
Lets

watch and see:

Co-Teaching Strategies

+ The Stages of the Co-teaching

Process

Open communication /
changing roles / use of
humour / mutual respect /
flexible equality
Give and take communication /
more active role of special
educator / increased level of
trust and social relationship
Careful Communication /
Boundaries developing /
Feelings of Intrusion / Very
defined roles
*Teachers may get stuck at this
level.

Gately, S., Gately, F., Understanding Co-teaching

Components, Journal of Teaching Exceptional Children, 2
(3) 41-47

COLLABORATING
STAGE

COMPROMISE
STAGE
BEGINNING STAGE

COMPLEMENTING EACH
OTHERS STRENGTHS

+
The Benefits of Co-teaching
better

student to teacher ratio and more

individual attention (especially helpful to lower
level students.).

wider use of instructional techniques, to better

student learning

more

and better critical, planning and reflective

practices by teachers

social

skills improvement / better classroom

management.

more community oriented classroom

increased

score results.

HOW STRONGIS YOUR

CO-TEACHING RELATIONSHIP?
< 50 = a poor co-teaching relationship

50 75 = a satisfactory (but in need of

improvement) co-teaching relationship

76 100 = a very healthy co-teaching

relationship

+
Communicating about
Co-Teaching
Everyone
Grab

sit in a circle

a whiteboard and a marker

Question 1:
How would you typically
respond to a student that
continuously calls out in
your class without raising
his/her hand?
Write your answer on your
whiteboard, keep your answer to
yourself.

+
When teaching styles differ
Show

your answer to the

group
Select

2 group members that

have opposing views on
handling students that call
out

Have

a discussion and
decide as a group how you

Consider this scenario:

Buster, a student in your class with
ADHD, has the tendency to act
impulsively. This includes behaviors
such as calling out. He is working on
reducing the number of times he
calls out as one of his IILP goals.
How does this scenario effect the
group decision that was previously
made?

Question 2:
What information/materials do
you think are essential for your
co-teacher to have?
Co-Teachers: What information do
you need to feel prepared for a
lesson?
Write your answer on your
whiteboard, keep your answer to
yourself.

+
When teaching styles differ
Show

your answer to the

group
Select

2 group members that

have opposing views on
classroom essentials

Have

a discussion and
decide as a group how you
will plan together in your

Consider this scenario:

You are co-teaching at ICS and
because of unforeseen
circumstances you are not able to
meet on Monday, which is your
normal planning time with your coteacher. You have a lesson coming
up on Wednesday.
How do you plan for the remainder
of the week if you cant find time to

Question 3:
When/How would you prefer to
be approached by your coteacher if there was a
disagreement or issue in the
classroom?
Write your answer on your
whiteboard, keep your answer to
yourself.

+
When teaching styles differ
Show

your answer to the

group
Select

2 group members that

have opposing views on
communicating issues to
your co-teacher

Discuss

how you would

approach the other person to

Questions 4:
What is the noise level that
you expect in a room when
students are working
independently?
Write your answer on your
whiteboard, keep your
answer to yourself.

+
When teaching styles differ
Show

your answer to the

group
Select

2 group members that

have opposing views on noise
level

Have

a discussion and decide

as a group how you will
address noise level in your
shared class.

Question 5: What is your

greatest strength as a
teacher?

Write your answer on your

whiteboard, keep your
answer to yourself.

+
When teaching styles differ
Show

your answer to the

group
Select

2 group members that

have 2 different strengths

Have

a discussion and
decide how you could utilize
2 teachers strengths in a coteaching classroom.