Co-Teaching at the IC

The IC is an inclusive community that welcomes all identities. To best support our students' academic and social-emotional growth, our instructional specialists have shifted their service delivery method to push into the general education classroom the majority of the time. The general education teachers and instructional specialists plan their lessons together and differentiate strategies to meet all students' needs and work as a team to flexibly group students. This is called co-teaching. Currently, our specialists who are co-teaching include our English as a Second Language teacher, our reading specialists, and our special education teachers.  

Instructionally, it is more effective for student learning to have a team of teachers work together rather than isolating each teacher and leaving one person to meet all student needs in their individual classrooms. Students get the benefits of all of the team's strengths and skills, and teacher teams can accomplish more differentiation across the spectrum of student skill level. Social-emotionally, students get the benefit of feeling fully included in the classroom community which is foundational to being able to succeed in school.

FAQs

What is Co-Teaching?
Co-teaching is when multiple certified teachers are present in the classroom and they work together through the teaching process: planning, teaching, and assessing student progress. In a co-taught setting, the teachers are considered equally responsible and accountable for instruction.

What are the benefits of Co-Teaching?
There are many proven benefits of co-teaching. Students frequently have different learning styles and preferences. Co-teaching allows those different needs to be more easily met because the teacher-to-student ratio is reduced. Combining our expertise creates opportunities for all students to be successful. Lastly, co-teaching allows for an inclusive setting where students remain in class and instruction is differentiated for all learners.

What does Co-Teaching look like?
Multiple teachers in the same classroom looks different depending on the activity and the needs of the students. Sometimes, teachers will split the class into groups with each teacher teaching one of the groups; this allows for a smaller teacher-to-student ratio for more complex topics. Occasionally, one teacher will pull a small group aside for additional instruction while the other teachers assist students with an extension assignment. This way, students receive additional help when needed or they receive meaningful extension activities led by a teacher instead of work to complete independently at their desk. If you are interested in learning more about the different co-teaching strategies, this website offers quick summaries of each strategy: http://www.marilynfriend.com/approaches.htm.

Who is the “head” teacher?
The co-teaching team shares this role. One of the biggest goals as co-teachers is to establish parity and be viewed as equals among the classroom community. Teachers all share roles and responsibilities within the classroom and continuously communicate in order to ensure consistency for students. Please contact all co-teachers when reaching out.