Co-Teaching
Co-teaching is a teaching relationship in which general and special educators share responsibility for planning, delivery and evaluation of instruction for a heterogeneous group of students. As the two co-teachers work and plan together they will evolve their practice over time, so all the items below need time to develop.
- Key principals of co-teaching
- Each teacher has strengths to contribute to the class; the general education teacher is the content matter expert while the special education teacher is the expert in differentiation and accommodations
- Both teachers put meeting the needs of students first, rather than personal teaching style, when planning instructional delivery
- Every student is entitled to access to the general education curriculum in the least restrictive environment with the provision of appropriate supports and services
- Both teachers need to jointly make decisions regarding:
- Equality of space (room ownership)
- Behavior management
- Professional behavior
- Accommodations and modifications
- Instructional routines
- Organizational routines (including grading)
- Special education teacher and general education teacher jointly:
- co-plan lessons and lesson adjustments (with established regularity)
- deliver instruction through a variety co-teaching models, as appropriate
- reflect and debrief on effectiveness of co-teaching practices and plan adjustments
- establish parity and are both seen as teachers of the class