Co-teaching Co-teaching is when two educators work together to plan, organize, instruct and make assessments on the same group of students, sharing the same classroom. Teacher candidates who are learning to become teachers are asked to co-teach with experienced associate teachers, whereby the classroom responsibilities are shared, and the teacher candidate can learn from the associate teacher. One teacher leads instruction, while the other provides support to students who need additional help or enrichment, gathers observation data, or provides classroom management. Each teacher, or teacher and student teacher, plan jointly but each teaches the same information to different halves of the classroom at the same time.
Team teaching has also been referred to as collaborative teaching and co-teaching. Team teaching is an instructional strategy used across subject areas in a variety of methods. Initially it was most prevalent in middle grades, but it has expanded into high school in recent years and can also be used at the elementary and post-secondary levels.
Team teaching in K settings is often used to assist with the inclusion or mainstreaming of students with disabilities into general education classes.
The implementation of team teaching adds diversity into the classroom, raising the academic achievement of students. Teams are typically composed of between two and four teachers working collaboratively to plan and teach thematic units and lesson plans in order to provide a more supportive environment for students Coffey, Elements of team teaching have been practiced long before the term itself appeared in the second half of s, while interest in team teaching at the college and university level dates back to the s.
In the s, team teaching was seen as a way to gain control of large groups of students and directing teacher's methods and strategies Marsh, InWilliam M. This recommendation of junior high school reform is where the idea of team teaching developed.
Team teaching is now used in all grade levels and across disciplines. When done correctly, this approach has been shown to create bonding opportunities for students and to engage teachers in collaborative, interdisciplinary planning Coffey, A multitude of studies have been conducted on Team Teaching over the past 25 years: Research conducted through The Project on High Performance Learning Communities suggested that team teachers should have the opportunity to meet four to five times per week for at least 45 minutes.
Furthermore, the results of this research study showed a correlation between frequent common planning time and interaction with school support staff like counselors, specialists and administrators.
They found that many schools have implemented "co-teaching" as a means for promoting effective instruction in inclusive classrooms, in response to recent trends and legislation promoting inclusive instruction and access to the general education curriculum. It was also concluded that co-teachers generally supported co-teaching, although a number of important needs were identified, including planning time, student skill level, and training; many of these needs were linked to administrative support.
Contemporary research on Team Teaching, suggests that students who do not feel connected to peers and their teachers often have a higher rate of academic failure. Team Teaching provides students with a greater sense of identity, belonging, and support, which is why its elements have been in existence for so many years, evolving into an effective and beneficial strategy for creating positive and productive learning environments in the 21st century.
Educational Leadership for Teacher Collaboration.
Program Leadership for Serving Students with Disabilities,14, The Potential of Team Teaching-Introduction."Co-Teaching in Inclusive Classrooms: A Metasynthesis of Qualitative Research" Exceptional Children July vol.
73 no. 4 [9] Another study reviewed student outcomes via a resource room model and co-teaching. Purposeful co-teaching: Real cases and effective strategies Thousand Oaks, CA: interdisciplinary team members, and others who are co-teaching with practical, research-based, proven, and successful ways to approach this endeavor.
Teaching in inclusive classrooms: A metasynthesis of qualitative research. Exceptional Children, 73 (4). A QUALITATIVE CASE STUDY OF A CO-TEACHING RELATIONSHIP AT A RURAL. HIGH SCHOOL. A Dissertation by. Diane K. Nickelson.
MA, Southwestern College, Co-Teaching Benefits Inclusive Practices. Read "An examination of teacher–student interactions in inclusive classrooms: teacher interviews and classroom observations, Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs" on DeepDyve, the largest online rental service for scholarly research with thousands of .
References Brownell, M. T. & Walther-Thomas, C. (). An interview with Dr. Marilyn Friend. Intervention in School and Clinic, 37(4), Cook, L., & Friend. Co-Teaching in Inclusive Classrooms: A Metasynthesis of Qualitative Research. Author of this structured abstract: Kyrie Dragoo, NICHCY October PDF version NICHCY Structured Abstract 81 describes the following research synthesis: TitleCo-Teaching in Inclusive Classrooms: A Metasynthesis of Qualitative ResearchAuthors Scruggs, T.A.