TL;DR:
- A strong co-teaching relationship involves both teachers using their expertise to co-plan, co-teach, and co-assess as equals.
- Make sure to consistently reflect on your co-teaching relationships and practices.
- Give both your co-teacher and yourself grace.
Co-teaching is tough, whether you have been co-teaching for one semester, one year, or years. Yes, the cliche sayings that a co-teaching relationship is a marriage and true co-teaching takes time are true. Given these truths, how do we co-teach better?
First, it’s helpful to refresh ourselves on co-teaching best practices.
Co-teaching literature outlines that a co-taught classroom is a collaborative environment that includes two teachers. The ultimate co-teaching goal is for both teachers to use their expertise to co-plan, co-teach, and co-assess as equals. Simultaneously within this goal, all students receive differentiated instruction to empower their achievement of learning growth and mastery.
As teachers, we can look at the ultimate co-teaching goal as a power curriculum standard. Further, we can break that standard down into numerous skills. For example, these skills include a foundational relationship, shared expectations, co-teaching models, conflict resolution, and many more.
Truly, a co-teaching relationship is a marriage and true co-teaching takes time. Click To Tweet
Second, it’s helpful to reflect upon our own co-teaching relationships and practices.
How is co-teaching going? How would you describe your co-teaching marriage? What does shared instruction look like? Do students perceive you as equals? Does the “mom/dad” scenario feel familiar?
I want to reassure you, wherever your reflection took you is totally normal! Like any instructional practice, co-teaching requires a professional development learning process. Uniquely enough, it is a learning process where two adults are on the same journey. Those adults may or may not have similar perceptions along the way. Luckily, if we continue to look at our co-teaching goal like a power standard that includes numerous skills, co-teachers can improve upon these skills together as a team.
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Third, give yourself and your co-teacher some grace.
Co-teaching is tough! As educators, we provide our students with a safe space to make mistakes and grow from them. Likewise, we need to give ourselves the same permission and a safe space to learn within our classrooms. I’ve had over a decade of co-teaching mistakes, foot-in-my-mouth moments, mom/dad scenarios, humor, growth, and co-teachers that are now my most trusted colleagues. Truly, a co-teaching relationship is a marriage and true co-teaching takes time. Through this blog series, we will explore strategies and resources to co-teach better!
About Meghan Pahlke
Meghan Pahlke is a 7th Grade Resource Special Education Teacher at Plano Middle School. Throughout her career, she has had the honor to work alongside eight phenomenal co-teacher teammates in math and language arts classes. Co-teaching is her passion, and she is dedicated to supporting teams to co-teach with parity. When she’s not teaching or talking co-teaching shop, she enjoys spending time with her husband and Goldendoodle, Murphy.
