February 2001 Using Co-Teaching Using Co-Teaching in the Classroom Melanie MacInnis February, 2001

February 2001 Using Co-Teaching Overview Introduction Roles and Responsibilities Cons Pros Source

February 2001 Using Co-Teaching In 1997, Walther-Thomas conducted a study of 25 schools which were implementing co-teaching over a three-year period. Paticipants noted that students with disabilities became –less critical –more motivated –more skilled in recognizing their own strengths –and their social skills improved. Introduction

February 2001 Using Co-Teaching Co-Teaching Roles and Responsibilities The teaching team will: –plan and teach together –develop instructional accommdations –monitor and evaluate student performance –communicate student progress to others

February 2001 Using Co-Teaching Four variations of co-teaching Each of these variations will appear in the effective co-teaching classroom. –Interactive –Parallel –Alternative –Station

February 2001 Using Co-Teaching Interactive Co-Teaching Calls for the team ot alternate the instructional lead every 5 to 15 minutes Teachers work together to support, clarify and extend each other’s efforts ask clarifying questions rephrasing concepts or assigned tasks monitor behavour supervise practice modeling, role plays, demostrations

February 2001 Using Co-Teaching Parallel Co-Teaching the class is divided into two mixed-ability groups. teachers work with one group and both cover the same content/skills allows for closer monitoring, higher levels of student response, less intimidating for students

February 2001 Using Co-Teaching Station Co-Teaching Students rotate through stations set up around the class teachers work simultaneously, presenting or reviewing new content, supervising practice, or testing student skills

February 2001 Using Co-Teaching Alternative Co-Teaching One teacher works with a small, strategically-constituted group to work on specific skills, concepts, or projects groups are short-term of particular impact with students who have missed instuction also useful for extension or enrichment projects

February 2001 Using Co-Teaching Co-Teaching Pluses Promotes role/content sharing provides clarification (e.g. concepts, rules, vocabulary) encourages cooperation allows strategic grouping reduces student-teacher ratio offers time to develop missing skills

February 2001 Using Co-Teaching Co-teaching Minuses may be job-sharing, not learning enriching requires considerable planning and preparation increases noise level may be difficult to coordinate requires monitoring of partner’s pacing

February 2001 Using Co-Teaching Want to know more? Setting up an effective co-teaching team takes lots of time, energy and administrative support. For a closer look at Co-Teaching, refer to: Walther-Thomas, Kerrik,McLaughlan, Williams. “Meeting Student Needs Through Co- Teaching.” Collaboration for Inclusive Learning. Allyn & Bacon, pgs