Follow AAE on:

Subscribe to RSS Feed:

The Do’s And Dont's of Co-Teaching
posted by: Alana | September 09, 2015, 10:36 PM   

 

Co-teaching is a critical part of thousands of classrooms across the nation for students who need a little extra help in school. But without developing good expectations at the beginning of the school year, students may not respect the teachers as equals. If this happens, it’s a very hard habit to break!

 

Here’s a list of Do’s and Don’ts for teachers who are in a co-teaching classroom this school year:

 

 

DO

  • Discuss how each teacher will be introduced before students ever step foot into the classroom
  • Share leading roles as much as possible – especially on the first day back to school
  • Use words like “our” class, “we” are assigning, come to “us” if you have questions
  • Use both teacher’s names wherever possible (i.e. letters, classroom doors, assignments, report cards, etc.)
  • Create joint email accounts with dual signatures that both teachers and parents can use together
  • Plan lessons jointly. Use programs like Planbook.com to facilitate the effort


DON’T

  • Introduce your co-teacher as an “assistant”
  • Treat or act as a helper that follows instructions from the other
  • Conduct conferences without the other teacher present
  • Let students favor one teacher over the other, but encourage them to utilize both equally
  • Single out special needs students more than necessary

 

Co-teaching has its fair share of challenges, but following these simple steps is a great way to stay ahead of the game this school year. As with most things, practice makes perfect!

 

Do you work in a co-teacher classroom? What advice do you have for co-teaching teachers?
Tell us in the comments below!

 

Comments (2)Add Comment
...
written by Nicole Entwistle-Arizona, November 04, 2015

Co-teaching is so important when done right! Students will have more one on one time with two teachers. Is there anyway that co-teaching could go wrong, even with everything done right?
goodjob
written by michele, September 15, 2015

In the beginning of the school year, students may not respect the teachers as equals

Submit a comment
 (not published)
smaller | bigger

security code
Write the displayed characters


busy