Find success co-teaching: Tips and strategies for working with a co-teacher

So you’ve been told you are working with a co-teacher this year. Maybe it’s your first time, or maybe it didn’t go so well the last time. We will walk through some strategies that will make working with co-teachers successful. Once you find your groove, you will realize that an additional team member can be a true asset.

What is co-teaching?

Co-teaching is when two (or more) teachers team up in a general ed class. Typically it means your classroom has a population that warrants a specialist like special ed or ELL. Typically students with special needs are not pulled out of the general ed classroom but are assisted within the classroom.

Know your co-teaching role

Before you can even start co-teaching, you need to know how to implement it in your classroom. This is a meaningful conversation to have because it will explicitly dictate the role of each teacher. From there, you should better understand the expectations of the position. Here are the typical co-teaching relationship models:

- One Teacher, One Assistant: One teacher is giving the lesson while the other assists students while the lesson occurs
- One Teacher, One Observer: One teacher gives a lesson while the other teacher observes
- Station Teaching: Students go from one teacher to another and receive portions of the lesson from different instructors
- Parallel Teaching: Class is divided, and the same lesson is taught between two groups.
- Alternative Teaching: Co-teacher teaches a small group
- Team Teaching: Both teachers give instruction together
- Platooning: Teachers plan and collaborate, but they take on separate subjects and are in different classrooms

8 strategies for working with a co-teacher

Here are a few things to consider while working with a co-teacher. Try these tips to find more success:

Define your role, and make sure it’s fair

Start here, and make sure all parties agree to the arrangement. It may be helpful to look at the typical co-teaching roles above and pick a style that works for your situation. Talking about roles and responsibilities helps everyone understand their place in the classroom. One of the most significant issues with co-teaching is that a teacher can feel in the way, and this will not happen if both teachers understand their role in the classroom.

If you’re a newer teacher, speak up. Make sure your role is fair. If you’re an experienced co-teacher, you’re not in charge. Co-teaching should be equal.

Establish respect

Respect doesn’t happen overnight, but you can lay the groundwork from the beginning. Talk through the norms both of you have about teaching. These should include:

- Classroom management
- Parent communication
- Discipline
- Classroom procedures
- Priorities

This type of discussion can help the two of you understand where the other is coming from when disagreements arise.

Plan together

This can be tough because teachers don’t always have control over schedules. But try to prioritize time each week to plan with your co-teacher. Both teachers bring different things to the table, which come together nicely at a joint planning session. General ed teachers specialize in their content and develop the perfect activity to teach the subject. Special ed and ELL teachers are great at modifying lessons to work for the student population. This combination can create success in the classroom.

Fail together and grow

No one wants to fail, but it happens. If you are in a co-teaching relationship that has a foundation of respect, then you will see less blaming occur. Instead, you will be able to look at a failed lesson or class day and see it as an opportunity to grow. Look at what didn’t work, then apply them to future planning sessions. A co-teacher can be someone that you can lean on and help you move forward. Your partnership will produce better plans of action each time you step into the classroom.

Learn together

Ever wonder what other teachers are doing? Co-teaching can de-mystify that. You can learn from your co-teacher every day. Just simple observations can help your teaching. Additionally, you’re both pursuing more knowledge each year. So as your co-teacher continues their education, they will bring new and different lessons to the classroom. You get to witness this firsthand and learn from these new lessons. SPED teachers also have the unique experience of going to many different classrooms to share a perspective of how other teachers are doing things.

Communicate and be patient

Communication and planning are different. You need to speak up about your needs every day, and you must listen to your co-teacher. When they communicate a need, you have to consider it. This is how you move into the final strategy.

Build trust over time

Trust doesn’t happen overnight. You build it every day while in the trenches of the classroom. Your co-teacher has to see that you are working for the same things and have each other’s back. As you take the time to build trust, you will see an effective co-teaching relationship form. Then you will be hoping that your co-teaching relationship can continue for school years to come.

Create flexibility with your co-teacher using TeacherMade

TeacherMade is a tool that converts worksheets, handouts, and assignments into digital interactivities. TeacherMade’s co-teacher feature brings flexibility to your planning. With our co-teacher feature you can:

- Create online worksheets, lessons, and activities: Turn any PDF assignment into an interactive activity with our intuitive drag-and-drop interface.
- Share data with our auto-grade features: As soon as your students complete assignments, you and your co-teacher can instantly get the results.
- Accommodate diverse learners: Create different versions effortlessly for the unique learners in your classroom, and satisfy IEP requirements.
- Team grading and feedback: Share the grading and get another eye on things. You can both add personalized feedback to your online assignments.
- Activity sharing: Both teachers can share lessons with TeacherMade giving greater flexibility.