Co-Teaching That Works

Structures and Strategies for Maximizing Student Learning

Anne M. Beninghof

• Publisher: Jossey-Bass
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781119653325
• eBook ISBN: 9781119653318
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education Teaching Methods

Guaranteed Success for the Co-teaching Classroom

Following the success of the first edition, Co-Teaching That Works: Structures and Strategies for Maximizing Student Learning, Second Edition is here to provide actionable advice to co-teachers seeking to utilize one another's strengths. Unlike other co-teaching books, this manual is written for every possible educator combination—not simply general educators. You'll find sections on everything from co-teaching in literacy and speech-language therapy to special education and technology so that, no matter what subject matter or expertise, you'll be prepared to co-teach.

This book is written to provide concrete, actionable advice, including:

• Co-Teaching Roll Out Plans
• Leadership Guidelines
• Relationship Development
• Best Co-Teaching Models
• Specially Designed Instruction
• And more

Educators will have the opportunity to learn from other experienced co-teachers who share their personal stories, tips, and tried-and-true co-teaching techniques that lead to student success. Their creative, time-efficientapproaches will revolutionize the way you view your classroom teaching strategies and enhance your ability to collaborate with other educators.

Whether you are planning to build your co-teaching strategy from scratch or just looking to refine your current approach, Co-Teaching That Works will undoubtedly be a priceless resource to have in your professional toolbox.

PART ONE
DEVELOPING A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS

CHAPTER 1
An Overview of Co-Teaching

What Is Co-Teaching?

Co-teaching (or collaborative teaching) is a coordinated instructional practice in which two or more educators simultaneously work with a heterogeneous group of students in a general education classroom.

Several key terms in this definition emphasize essential elements for success. First, co-teaching is coordinated. Co-teaching partners spend time planning together, smoothly sharing instructional responsibilities, and collaboratively reflecting on their practices. Effective co-teaching can be compared to partners cooking dinner together—they take on different responsibilities, add their own flourishes, occasionally bump into each other, and finally sit down to share a tasty meal.

Many different educators can be involved in co-teaching relationships. Historically, special education teachers have been the most common to partner with classroom teachers, but this is rapidly changing. Successful partnerships have developed with English Language teachers, speech therapists, librarians, literacy specialists, occupational and physical therapists, gifted specialists, technology specialists, social workers, and school psychologists. Inclusive schools seek innovative ways to use all staff to directly support student learning. In addition, powerful examples exist of co-teaching with paraeducators or instructional aides. Many districts hesitate to use the term co-teaching when referring to paraeducators, but all agree that para educators can be more fully utilized in inclusive classrooms. Of course, how these individuals co-teach will depend on the expertise they bring to the classroom and the time they have available.

Co-teaching differs from collaborative consultation because both educators are simultaneously engaged in the instructional process. Rather than a specialist suggesting a few instructional ideas to a teacher and then retreating, the partners are implementing the planned instruction together. As future chapters will detail, co-teaching can take many different forms to the casual observer. Within one period, we may see both teachers take a lead in lecturing, giving directions, monitoring student behavior, or taking responsibility for a small group. We may see one teacher quietly collecting observational data while the other facilitates whole-group instruction, or one teacher problem solving with an individual student while the other continues the lesson. No matter what it looks like, effective co-teaching always requires the active engagement of both educators for the entire period.

Other definitions of co-teaching exist (Basso and McCoy 2007; Murawski 2009; Villa, Thousand, and Nevin 2004; Fattig and Taylor 2008). The simplest of these is “co-teaching is having two teachers in the room.” Of course, effective co-teaching is so much more than just two adults in a class together. You may even know of schools that claim to be doing co-teaching, yet the specialists spend most of their time circulating the room. Perhaps you know of co-teaching initiatives that don't provide any common planning time for partners, or even a teacher who believes that co-teaching consists solely of pulling a small group of students with individualized education plans (IEPs) to the back of the room and doing a separate activity. These variations on the definition cause confusion and resistance. Effective co-teaching is highly coordinated co-instruction that fully utilizes the skills and talents that both teachers bring to the classroom.

What Does the Research Say?

In fact, so many different definitions and interpretations exist that it has been difficult to gather data on the effectiveness of co-teaching. In somewhat of an understatement, one educator concluded, “Co-teaching is not a phenomenon that lends itself to precise investigation” (DLDCEC 2001).

While the body of research is small, it is growing.

• An elementary school study showed that students with disabilities made significantly more progress in co-taught classes than those in separate educational settings, with the difference growing over time (Tremblay 2013).
• A study on teacher competency showed that co-teaching resulted in improved content knowledge for special educators and improved pedagogical knowledge for general educators. Researchers concluded that co-teaching resulted in co-constructed professional development for participants which benefited students in inclusive settings (Shaffer and Thomas-Brown 2015).
• A research review concluded that when co-teachers work closely together and have the time to plan, small positive outcomes are achieved (Solis, Vaughn, Swanson, and McCulley 2012, 507). These same researchers found, comparing co-teaching to other forms of consultation, that “when specialists recommend improved instructional practices to teachers, instructional changes are unlikely to be realized in the classroom. However, when the specialists coordinate c...

Table of contents

• COVER
• TABLE OF CONTENTS
• THE AUTHOR
• Introduction
• PART ONE: DEVELOPING A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
• PART TWO: SERVING UP EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTION
• PART THREE: MAXIMIZING UNIQUE TALENTS
• PART FOUR: THE FINISHING TOUCHES
• APPENDIX: Instructional Strategies for Co-Taught Classrooms
• REFERENCES
• INDEX
• END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT