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Co-Teaching Adapted From Anne Beninghof's Resource

Handbook

"Co-Teaching is the most effective form of professional development we have." -Principal

"One of the things that I love about co-teaching is the way we bounce ideas back and forth to develop really engaging lessons." -High School Teacher

"Most of the strategies that

we use in our co-taught

class are great for my

other classes, too." -

Middle school teacher

"By pairing educators with

differing areas of

expertise, teachers

are able to better

collaborate and

differentiate." -Professor

What people are saying ...

Co-Teaching = Collaboration Individuals who collaborate ... •  do so voluntarily •  have common goals for students and the collaborative

relationship •  share resources •  share responsibility for developing / delivering

instruction •  share accountability for the outcomes •  have a sense of parity - recognition of and respect for

each partner's contributions to the collaborative effort, even though their skills and expertise may be very different.

The Nuts and Bolts •  it is a proactive approach to education •  it pairs general and special educators •  it takes place in a heterogeneous, integrated setting •  is being simultaneously present in the classroom setting •  is maintaining joint responsibility for classroom

instruction •  is working in a co active and coordinated fashion •  is designing instruction to meet the needs of all students

in the class

Effective Models of Co-Teaching

Duet Both teachers share the entire instructional process. •  Pros

o  Most integrated for students o  Fully utilizes all expertise

•  Cons o  Most time intensive

•  What you need o  Shared space that promotes both adults as teachers (i.e.

two desks, two names, etc ...) o  Shared planning time o  Calibrated philosophies and expectations o  Admin. support

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Co-Planning

Lead and Support Teacher A does upfront planning in isolation. Teacher B is

fully involved in daily planning and implementation of assessments.

•  Pros o  Both teachers are involved in most phases of instruction

•  Cons o  Less input in planning for differentiation

•  What it looks like o  Content is planned by Teacher A. o  Teacher B provides feedback and ideas for

differentiation o  Some common prep time is needed

Speak and Add / Chart Teacher A leads and teacher B adds visually or verbally. •  Pros

o  Little co-planning time o  Almost anyone can do this

•  Cons o  Can step on toes o  Underutilization of Teacher B's expertise

•  What is looks like o  While Teacher A provides instruction, Teacher B may be

adding extra explanation, personal experience, writing notes on the board or assisting individual students.

Skills Group Teachers divide students into more homogeneous subgroups and

provide leveled instruction. •  Pros

o  Multiple readiness levels are addressed o  Focused on expertise

•  Cons o  Possible feel of "tracking"

•  What it looks like o  Students are divided into 2-4 groups based on instruction

level. Each teacher takes primary responsibility for planning for one or two groups. Instruction may take place in small groups or whole group differentiated levels.

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Station Teaching Teacher A leads the class while Teacher B pulls a small group

of students to the side of the room for direct instruction. •  Pros

o  Intense, direct instruction for a small group of students •  Cons

o  May be embarrassing for students who are pulled aside •  What it looks like

o  Teacher A is responsible for whole group instruction. o  Teacher B is responsible for small group instruction.

Learning Style Teachers plan lesson and divide responsibilities by learning

modalities. Teacher A might plan a visual and auditory component, while Teacher B plans a tactile/kinesthetic component.

•  Pros o  Insures that all learning modalities are incorporated

into the lesson •  Cons

o  Assumes that teachers will tolerate activity in the lesson

•  What it looks like o  Lots of movement and activity during lesson

Parallel Teaching Class is broken into 2 heterogeneous groups. Each teacher

takes a group. •  Pros

o  Increased participation rates due to smaller group size o  Effective for limited materials

•  Cons o  Requires equal expertise if used for direct content

delivery. •  What it looks like

o  Both teacher are experts in the content that they are instructing. They deliver equal instruction to mixed groups.

Complementary Instruction Teacher A focuses on curriculum. Teacher B focuses on

access or complementary skills through mini-lessons or input.

•  Pros o  Sets up clear expectation that specialized instruction

will be provided in general education setting •  Cons

o  May slow down pacing •  What it looks like

o  Teacher A does most of the teaching, while Teacher B provides accommodations and / or mini lessons.

Adapting Model Teacher A leads, while Teacher B wanders the room,

providing adaptations as needed. •  Pros

o  Very little co-planning time o  Focused expertise

•  Cons o  Instructional changes are superficial rather than

foundational

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The Teacher Dance

•  Both teachers should not be in the same area of the classroom at the same time. •  If one teacher is moving towards the back of the classroom then the other teacher should be moving towards the front. •  Don't be afraid to teach from the back of the classroom. Have the other teacher write the notes on the board. o  The student’s really like this technique because they

get to see the lesson from another view. o  It also develops their listening skills and uses their

senses.

Team Development Wheel

1 Forming

2 Storming

3 Norming

4 Performing

Stage 1: Forming Being as polite as possible

Stage 2: Storming Partners have disagreements

Stage 4: Performing Working together

effectively

Stage 3: Norming Partners develop rules and

"norms"

*All teams move fluently through these stages.

Useful Web Tools

www.fodey.com

www.fodey.com http://www.tagxedo.com/

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http://www.wordle.net/