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How to Co-Teach
by Tiffany Tyndall
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Overview
Co-teaching may be a new concept in the education field since being a teacher has mainly meant that you have your own classroom, your own students, and your own way of doing things. Co-teaching has become more and more popular because it allows a greater number of students to receive individualized instruction more often, and disruptive students can be re-directed more quickly. There are many suggestions you can follow to co-teach effectively so that your students will continue to learn as much as they can in a safe, encouraging environment.
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Step 1
Talk about your preferred teaching styles. Since you'll have another teacher in your room, it will be important for you to talk about your style of teaching. Is your style more authoritative with desks in rows and lots of lecturing, or is your style more collaborative with desks in teams and lots of facilitating? Also, how will the teaching load be divided? You'll want to make sure that you and your co-teacher understand whi will begin the lesson and how much of the lesson will be taught by each teacher.
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Step 2
Discuss your philosophies of student discipline and grading. You'll want to establish a system of how to deal with student behavior and how to approach grading. These two issues often shape the "feel" of your classroom, so you will want to make sure that you and your co-teacher are clear on your expectations. Questions you will want to answer include the following: how many warnings do you give students, do you address behavior concerns in front of the whole class or one-on-one in the hall, do you allow make-up work, and will you allow students to fail?
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Step 3
Set time aside to plan together. Make sure that you schedule a time to meet with your co-teacher to plan the upcoming units. It's important that you schedule the lessons and determine who is responsible for writing which lesson. By designating a time to plan with your co-teacher, you will keep the lines of communication open, and you will ensure that your relationship with your co-teacher will stay positive.
