Co-teaching Strategies That Work

As teachers, we are tasked with many responsibilities and must meet the needs of diverse students. At times, this can seem like a daunting task. I remember myself as a new teacher, not realizing all the extra responsibilities of teaching and wondering how I would get all these things done and be an effective teacher.

The answer to my question was collaboration in the form of co-teaching. True co-teaching is more than just two adults in a room: It is where the roles and responsibilities of the classroom are shared between two educators. Through co-teaching, my students could have more adult support when working independently, and the content could be differentiated into small groups to make complex content more accessible. I had someone to brainstorm, plan, and problem-solve with, and with two of us in the room, it was easier to manage our students.

When a truly collaborative environment is created between educators, the daunting task of teaching becomes much more attainable. The teaching team needs to make sure they have shared responsibility, shared routines, and shared pedagogy. When both teachers have the same vision in these three areas, we truly have what we need to create an effective co-teaching environment.

Sharing of responsibilities and expectations

The most challenging parts of co-teaching occur right after the start of the year. This is when we’ve finished our community-building activities and completed our baseline testing for the year. During this time, as we get through our first unit or two of content, we sometimes see the problematic aspects of co-teaching. This is when we need to make sure that class responsibilities are also shared. 

We are diving into the content and know that assignments must be scored and graded. During this time, it’s important for both teachers to have some say in the academic expectations. Common expectations can come from working together to create the success criteria for the assessment or grade evaluations together. When teachers are co-grading their assignments, it’s essential to look at how each teacher scores the student’s work. The teachers must be in agreement regarding what they expect from student work. That way, no matter what group of students the teachers are working with, the expectations for work are consistent. This is also an excellent time for both teachers to give feedback to all students. This ensures that students see both teachers as equal educators in the room. 

Shared routines and classroom management

As we work together to manage a classroom, we should revisit our class routines to ensure that we are on the same page. This doesn’t mean we need to re-create the classroom management wheel, but both teachers need to sit down and be on the same page on how our classroom will function. Both instructors should review behavioral management procedures so that each instructor feels comfortable praising or correcting all students.

The team should be on the same page about behavior expectations so the message sent to the students is cohesive. The co-teaching team can create common phrases so the students can hear a similar message. Sharing classroom functions can be complex for some homeroom teachers because they think they will give up some autonomy on how their classrooms should be run. The idea behind sharing classroom management is not to take away one teacher’s ownership of the room but to share ownership equally. Both teachers must understand how the room will work to ensure a standard set of expectations. 

Another part of sharing routines is how the room and materials are laid out. As a team, ensure that the room layout is conducive to co-teaching. Michael Ralph has some great thoughts on creating a collaborative teaching classroom. Some of the best forms of co-teaching happen during station and parallel teaching. That means both instructors will need somewhere to pull groups so they are not on top of each other and can work through their part of the lessons without disrupting each other.

Working together on how this will look is a great time to ensure that both teachers know where materials are and how they should be organized. That way, if a student needs materials, both teachers will know where these are located and can assist the student without interrupting the teaching that may be going on with the other group. This is a small step, but it creates an efficient classroom environment when done correctly. 

Co-teaching Pedagogy

The next step for the teaching team will be to ensure that we have the same outlook on our pedagogy. Throughout the year, especially at the start of a new unit, both teachers need to review what needs to be taught and plan together how to present this to students. As teachers, we all have strengths in our content areas. Use this to your advantage, and be transparent about it to students.

Students have the same views regarding certain content areas. This can be used to build connections with them. Students’ knowing that we all have strengths and struggles when it comes to content can help instill a growth mindset and push them to try challenging content. As you create the small groups you will be working in, you can divide the lesson so one group is more of a support strategy, and one is more content-focused, depending on your expertise.

For example, if the teachers gave a math lesson on multiplication strategies, the students could be split based on their needs. Some students could work in a small group using more concrete materials to go through the lesson, while others would be working on more abstract strategies or getting extension activities to move into higher-order thinking.  

Two of the best modes of co-teaching are parallel and station teaching. This is where both teachers can split the class based on the students’ needs. Group sizes are broken down so that students receive more adult support. In station teaching, we can break down each station so they are differentiated and work on what students need the most.  

Co-teaching is a delicate balance between the two teachers who will be running a classroom together. Working together to have a shared vision about routines, pedagogy, and responsibilities creates a truly collaborative environment. This benefits all of our students, from our struggling students to our high performers. Sharing these ideas and working together helps balance the teachers’ workload. Consistent work on aligning these shared ideas will help both teachers and students be successful in the classroom.