6.8 Appendix H - Co-Teaching Models
- Leslye Ashwood
- Jonell Pacyga
Co-Teaching
Co-Teaching is beneficial for everyone! It includes various models of how teachers inhabit the physical spaces within a classroom (see chart below) as well as how they interact with students, either in face-to-face teaching or on-line formats for Distance Learning. Co-teaching is defined as “two teachers (the cooperating teacher and the teacher candidate) working together with groups of students, sharing the planning, organization, delivery and assessment of instruction as well as the physical space.” It provides a rigorous yet supportive experience for teacher candidates, allows cooperating teachers to remain actively engaged in the classroom, and enhances the quality of learning for P12 students. (Heck & Bacharach 2010). Co-Teaching also benefits all students, including those with differentiation needs such as those with IEPs, multilingual learners, and those from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
Co-Teaching is a method that has been shown to benefit collaborating teachers across content disciplines, student teachers and cooperating teachers. Opportunities for collaborative planning and teaching align with the following pedagogical practices: joint planning, curriculum mapping and alignment, parallel teaching, co-developing instructional materials, collaborative assessment of student work, co-teaching, and joint professional learning (Dove & Honigsfeld, 2018, p. 11).
To best capture these relevant instructional benefits, select from the following Co-Teaching Models featured in the chart below.
Begin by discussing the models with your co-teacher during the planning stage of your lesson. Your cooperating teacher can be considered your collaborating teacher within the co-teaching model. You can then describe which co-teaching models you will be using in your UNW School of Education Lesson Plan document when it is relevant to do so.
Co-Teaching Models
Dove & Honigsfeld, 2008
Names for Models | Descriptions of Models |
Station Teaching
| Students are divided into heterogeneous or homogenous groups and rotate through stations. The general education teacher and EL teacher lead two different stations. Students work independently, with a partner, or in small groups at the other stations.
|
Parallel Teaching
| Students are divided into two heterogeneous groups. The general education teacher provides instruction to one group, and the EL teacher provides instruction for the other group. The content is the same for both groups, but the teachers may utilize two different instructional approaches or encourage students to consider two different perspectives on a topic.
|
Alternative Teaching
| One teacher works with a small group of students while the other teacher provides instruction for the rest of the class. The purpose of the small group is for pre-teaching, pre-reading, background knowledge building, re-teaching, assessment, enrichment, skills practice, etc. Take care to vary the students in the small group.
|
Teaming
| Both teachers actively provide instruction to the whole class. They take turns interjecting and providing supports or strategies.
|
One Teach, One Assist
| One teacher takes the lead for providing instruction to the whole class while the other teacher assists students individually. Take care not to always have the same teacher doing the assisting.
|
One Teach, One Observe
| One teacher takes the lead for providing instruction to the whole class while the other teacher observes in order to collect data. Take care not to always have the same teacher doing the observing!
|
Adapted from Anderson, A. (2017) Making the transition: Moving from a pull-out model for EL instruction to a co-teaching model, https://sites.google.com/hamline.edu/makingthetransition/home, further adapted from A. M. Beninghof, district training, June 20-21, 2013; Cobb Morocco & Mata Aguilar, 2002, p. 317; Cook & Friend, 1995; Friend, 2015, p. 18-21; Friend, Cook, Hurley-Chamberlain & Shamberger, 2010, p. 11-13; Honigsfeld & Dove, 2008, p. 9; Honigsfeld & Dove, 2010, p. 75-81
Permission has been granted to the University of Northwestern – St. Paul from the Academy for Co-Teaching and Collaboration at St. Cloud State University for use of this co-teaching information and the following co--teaching lesson plan templates.
Using DELIVER to Enhance Co-Teaching:
DELIVER is a helpful acronym developed by researchers Dove & Honigsfeld (2018, p. 257) to describe elements of integrated instruction one needs to consider when co-teaching:
- D= Differentiation of Instruction (by varying Content, Process, and Product)
- E= Engagement of Students (including an analysis of SWRL language modalities used). (See2.5 Academic Language and Support for more information)
- L=Language and Content Objectives (both displayed and reviewed)
- I=Instructional Strategies (including: visuals, realia, cognates, pacing, step-by-step demonstrations/modeling, guided practice, scaffolding, use of home language, etc)
- V= Varied Co-Teaching Models (see chart below)
- E= Equity and Parity Established (for both students as well as co-teachers)
- R= Rigor (re-examining and reflecting on content, process, an product as experienced by each learner and teacher)
For a successful co-teaching experience, all participating teachers should plan for and deliver integrated instruction together. Note that co-teaching strategies are not hierarchical; they can be used in any order and/or combined to best meet the needs of the students in the classroom. While co-teaching is not a new phenomenon, application of co-teaching model theory is a relatively new area of study. Many additional resources for facilitating and exploring co-teaching can be found here.
Finally, optimal delivery of co-teaching instruction to students can increase options for flexible grouping with students, enhance collaboration skills for teachers, provide professional support, help in classroom and lesson preparation, and assist with classroom management while allowing for a greater diversity of instructional styles and student engaged time.