A Brief Guide to Co-Teaching
Ever wished you had an extra hand in the classroom?
Of course, you do, we all do! Teaching is a blessing and so rewarding, but no one ever said it was easy. Having someone who can lend a hand, whether it’s helping grade papers or floating during lessons can be a lifesaver.
But not only for the teacher and their sanity. It’s better for the students and it can make each teacher better at and happier in their jobs.
Ready to learn about co-teaching, how it came to be, and why it’s a good thing? Read below.
What is Co-Teaching?
Co-teaching is what it sounds like, two instructors, sharing a classroom. If you’re used to a one-instructor model, transitioning to co-teaching can be difficult.
And sometimes it is – not every co-teaching pair is the right match. But when you spend the time to put two complimentary teachers together, magic can happen.
In this piece, we’ll go over the history of, the research and pedagogy of co-teaching, the benefits, and how to find your co-teaching match.
The History of Co-Teaching & Classroom Inclusivity
Historically co-teaching was established to give children with disabilities more resources. One teacher can’t teach an entire class of 20 (let’s be optimistic) children and give one special child individualized attention.
We aim to, but it’s not always possible. Some children don’t have disabilities, but they need more attention even so.
It was situations like these that led to the development of co-teaching in the 1960s. That was the first year (between then and 1970) when we saw laws governing student’s rights go on the books.
Before this, most children, even those with severe disabilities were “mainstreamed” or not given the chance to go to school at all.
Part of the reparations in these ten years was the development of co-teaching so that students who needed extra help could get it.
Section 504
It wasn’t until 1973, though, that Congress made children with disabilities a priority. That was the year they enacted Section 504 in the Rehabilitation Act.
The original law was made for war heroes and adults with disabilities, to keep them from being denied service. It took years for them to add students to the verbiage.
With this legislation, schools could no longer refuse services or assistance to children with disabilities. This applied to all levels of public education, as well as universities.
The Americans with Disabilities Act
In 1990, the government took another step forward in protecting people (including students) with disabilities. It’s thanks to the ADA that we have things like IEP’s in schools – and the training/budget to carry them out.
And what do some IEP’s have in their requirements? Extra help in the classroom for a student – hence, co-teaching. Or at least a paraprofessional.
Types of Co-Teaching
Before we look at the types of co-teaching, let’s talk about why someone would bother. Are there benefits to co-teaching?
What does the research show? We’ll go into more detail later, but here’s a teaser.
Co-teaching classrooms have a higher level of reading and language arts achievement. They have fewer absences and they increase their overall math achievement scores.
But not all types of co-teaching work in every classroom. If you choose the wrong type for your class, you may not find any benefits until you adjust the pedagogy to match what your students need.
You can and should ask for help. Here’s what bringing another teacher into your class can look like.
1. One Teach, One Support
This is the most independent version of co-teaching, where there’s a “main” teacher and a supportive one. The main teacher delivers the curriculum, as they would normally.
Then the supportive professional is on the floor with the children, providing extra help and keeping children from getting left behind.
The other teacher is like a floater. It keeps the main teacher from needing to stop their lesson for an individual, without ignoring them.
If it’s free work, then both teachers can rotate, helping double the amount of students.
This type of co-teaching is common in younger classrooms, or in classes where there’s a lot of hands-on learning. For example, a science class that’s being led through an experiment. The teacher can walk the class through the steps while the other teacher helps hands-on.
2. Parallel Co-Teaching
This co-teaching type is more integrated than the last type. Instead of one teacher delivering curriculum and the other helping, they usually divide the class in two.
One group may get the initial lesson, then the other teacher helps them work through follow-up problems.
Or, one teacher delivers one type of lesson and the other teacher delivers another. One teacher could do a math lesson while the other does social studies, then the students switch groups.
Parallel teaching is great for classrooms that have *too many* students. We all wish we had tiny class sizes, but it’s not always realistic.
This way you get the benefit of small class size when it’s not otherwise possible.
Parallel co-teachers don’t have to be there every day or all day long. They can come in to deliver lessons on specific days or for two hours or so.
However, the more contact the students have with the co-teacher, the better their attachment to them will be. Children learn better from people they like or at least who they know.
3. Alternative Teaching
In this teaching style, one teacher leads a lesson to most of the class. The other teacher takes an individual or small group of students to the side. The smaller group works on a lesson (or catch-up work) unrelated to the main class lesson.
If there are differences in learning levels, or a group of the class has different needs, this teaching style works well.
4. Station Co-Teaching
In this model, there are two “stations” or lessons. One teacher gives the lesson to one half of the class, and one gives another lesson to the other half. Then the groups switch and the teachers repeat the lessons they just gave to the new students.
5. Team Co-Teaching
Finally, we have the team style. This is one of the more common types for large classrooms or small schools that pride themselves on their teacher-student ratio.
Here, both teachers deliver the curriculum equally. One may have a stronger grasp on mathematics and delivers those lessons, while the other does Language arts.
The divide of work is up to the two teachers, what they need from each other, and their strengths/weaknesses.
The teachers can share the duties of teaching like grading and creating lesson plans. It’s not necessarily less work than teaching alone, because there’s more coordination and cooperation.
But it’s a great way for new teachers to get their confidence in a classroom and, of course, it’s great for the students.
6. One Teach, One Observe
This is commonly grouped into the “one teach, one assist” model, as it’s very similar. But instead of the other teacher assisting, they watch and might take notes.
They can both analyze and observe how the teacher is teaching, and how the students respond to the lessons.
The Benefits of Co-Teaching: Stats and Studies
Like anything in education, saying something is “great for students” means nothing unless there’s research about it.
And for co-teaching, there is no lack of research. The general benefits from different studies say the same thing – better reading, more participation, and better general test scores.
But there are some interesting individual study results. Like, a study by Bauwens et al., in 1989 that showed teachers who co-teach have higher job satisfaction.
Another study, on the student side, found that students not only engage more, but they use learning strategies more. These can be general or personalized learning strategies (Boudah, Schumaker, & Deshler, 1997).
Having a co-teacher in classes with students who have disabilities decreased social segregation. A study found that in co-taught classrooms, disabled students have a more positive attitude about learning (and in general).
That study relates to the findings of another one, which found that all types of students in co-taught classrooms have higher confidence. That’s higher self-esteem, a better attitude, stronger peer relations, as well as higher academic performance (Walther-Thomas, 1997; Weichel, 2001).
Which shows what teachers have always known – when a student feels able, they perform better and learn more.
Impressive, right? But that’s not all. There’s a noted effect on at-risk students, not just those with disabilities. Students who aren’t motivated to learn or don’t have resources at home do better in co-taught classrooms as well (Walther-Thomas, 1997; Weichel, 2001).
This result and these findings can keep children who just need extra help from being wrongly categorized as having a disability.
There are tons of other studies, you can read their findings and reference the original studies (like the ones quoted above) here.
Who Should Co-Teach?
Needing or wanting to try co-teaching says nothing about your quality or ability of teaching. Everyone needs help sometimes and wanting to deliver more to your students proves that you’re a great teacher.
The important thing is to talk to whoever is in charge of arrangements about the type of co-teacher you’re looking for. Not all co-teachers, like supportive-type ones, are licensed teachers.
Paraprofessionals are just as helpful in the classroom as a licensed teachers when it comes to things like 1-on-1 attention. And realistically, that may be all you have access to.
Just remember to communicate your expectations to your co-professional. They can’t read your mind.
And if what you’re doing right now isn’t working – you can always try a different arrangement. You deserve the extra help and so do your students.
