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By Amanda Morin

At a glance

Co-teaching (or collaborative team teaching) can involve a general education and special education teacher working together.

There are different models of co-teaching.

Co-teaching works best when both teachers are equals in the classroom.

Can having more than one teacher in the classroom help students learn better? That's the idea behind co-teaching, which is also known as collaborative team teaching. Co-teaching is one way schools make sure that students who need special education services are being taught in the least restrictive environment (LRE). And for most students who learn and think differently, the general education classroom is the LRE.

Here's what you need to know about co-teaching.

It's an approach that makes it easier to teach all students the same content and hold them to the same educational standards. That includes students who have Individualized Education Programs ( IEPs) and 504 plans.

The Benefits of Co-Taught Classrooms

Being in a co-taught classroom has many benefits. Students can spend more time with the teachers and get more individual attention. And with more than one teacher, it's easier to teach students in smaller groups or one-on-one.

Here are the basic models of co-teaching and how each benefits students:

Team teaching. Both teachers plan lessons and work together to teach students.

How it helps students: Students see the teachers as equals with each other. It also gives students the chance to ask questions and get assistance during a lesson. This can be especially helpful for students who struggle with working memory.

One teaches, one assists and/or observes. One teacher actively teaches while the other assists, gives individual help as needed, or observes..

How it helps students: Students know there's a teacher available to answer their questions or give help in the moment. Also, an observing teacher may collect information about how a student responds to different teaching approaches or about attention and behavior. That kind of data is valuable for IEP teams and for behavior intervention plans. It also allows teachers to discreetly address issues as they come up..

Station teaching. Teachers may be responsible for different parts of the lesson plan. This allows them to play to their teaching strengths.

How it helps students: Teachers divide the students into groups using flexible grouping. As students (or the teachers) move from one station to the other, the teachers can address each group's specific learning needs.

Parallel teaching. The class is split in half, and each teacher takes one group.

How it helps students: Both groups learn the same thing but the teachers can use different ways to teach it depending on the needs of the students in their group.

Alternative teaching. One teacher teaches a larger group of students.

How it helps students: The other teacher can work with a small group on a different lesson or give more support to struggling learners.

Co-teaching doesn't always work perfectly. It relies on teachers being able to communicate with each other even when they may disagree on the best strategy for teaching a topic or how to grade a certain student. Sometimes one teacher may be more experienced working with students who learn and think differently, so certain students doesn't get to know some teachers as well as others.

Interested in learning more about co-teaching? Explore the six models of co-teaching in more depth.

Key takeaways

The goal of co-teaching is for all students to get high-quality instruction.

Co-teaching can take many different forms, even in the same classroom.

Co-teaching can help teachers implement IEP and 504 plan goals in a general education classroom.

Tell us what interests you

About the author

About the author

Amanda Morin is the director of thought leadership at Understood and author of "The Everything Parent's Guide to Special Education." She worked as a classroom teacher and early intervention specialist for more than a decade.

Reviewed by

Reviewed by

Ginny Osewalt is a dually certified elementary and special education teacher with more than 15 years of experience in general education, inclusion, resource room, and self-contained settings.

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Co-teaching (or collaborative team teaching) can involve a general education and special education teacher working together. There are different models of co-teaching. Co-teaching works best when both teachers are equals in the classroom. Can having more than one teacher in the classroom help students learn better?

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Special Education in Collaborative Classrooms

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Special Education in Collaborative Classrooms

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In special education, the term "collaboration" refers to a team teaching approach. In addition to the regular classroom teacher and the special education teacher, a collaborative team may also include speech, occupational, and/or physical therapists. Today, more special education students are taught in regular classrooms, and collaboration is increasing. Collaboration helps to ensure children with learning disabilities get a free appropriate public education, including specialized instruction, in a regular classroom.﻿﻿

There are several ways to ensure students get the instructional support they need. Collaboration provides options to allow students to be educated (as required by American law) in the least restrictive environment.﻿﻿

The Lead Teacher Collaboration Model

In classrooms with a lead teacher, often the regular classroom teacher delivers the instruction in the subject area. The special education teacher is an observer who works with children after instruction to provide specially designed instruction, ensure understanding, and to provide adaptations and modifications.

The Learning Centers Collaboration Model

Each teacher is responsible for instruction in a specific area of the room. Students are assembled into groups that rotate through the centers for instruction. Special education teachers may deliver instruction in areas of their certifications and may also serve as support to other teachers without a special education background.﻿﻿

The learning center collaboration approach is particularly appropriate for younger students, for whom center-based education is more typical.

Pull-Out Collaboration Model

In some settings, rather than having special education teachers or therapists "push into" general education classrooms, students are "pulled out" for services. In such situations, students might leave the classroom for therapies or particular subjects, and then return to the general education classroom.﻿﻿ When this occurs, the general education teacher collaborates with the special needs professional to be sure the student's needs are being met.

Alternative Collaborative Setting

Partially or entirely separate educational settings are relatively rare, even for students with significant learning or developmental challenges. A substantially separate setting is designed specifically for students with particular disabilities; for example, some classrooms are set up to serve students with autism while others are set up for students with speech and language disabilities, etc.

Students work one-on-one or in small groups with a special education teacher and possibly with instructional assistants for all or part of the instructional day. Even when students are placed full time in special education classrooms, teachers may communicate with each other to ensure students' programs include appropriate instruction.

Separate settings are typically used with students who have a more significant need for direct instruction.

Team Teaching

Team teaching involves general education and special needs teachers working together simultaneously to teach a classroom of students. Either teacher who has the necessary background knowledge in the subject introduces new concepts and materials to the class. Both teachers work as a team to reinforce learning and provide assistance to students as needed. Special education teachers provide specially designed instruction to students with IEPs, and regular education teachers can assist with this as well.

Consultation Models of Collaboration

A special education teacher may provide some instruction to students, but the majority of service is indirect. The special education teacher mostly provides guidance to the regular education teacher on how to modify instruction to meet the student's needs.

By Ann Logsdon
Ann Logsdon is a school psychologist specializing in helping parents and teachers support students with a range of educational and developmental disabilities.

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Models of Collaborative Teaching for Special Education Students

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In special education, the term "collaboration" refers to a team teaching approach. In addition to the regular classroom teacher and the special education teacher, a collaborative team may also include speech, occupational, and/or physical therapists. Today, more special education students are taught in regular classrooms, and collaboration is increasing.

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It allows students to increase their chances of academic success.  It increases their knowledge and effectiveness.

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Both teachers need to:

1. SHARE

2. LISTEN

3. LEARN

WITH & TO EACH OTHER!!!

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Need to ensure both teachers have equal authority in the classroom

All students are treated equally

Work with all students in the classroom

Share responsibilities

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Essential Elements - The Six Models of Co-Teaching

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Co Teaching Models: Strategies and Planning

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- increased instructional options
- group flexibility
- decreased stigma
- lower student to teacher ratios
- promote differentiated instruction

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PARTNERSHIP

Share everything

Planning

Instruction

Assessments

Open communication

Get to know one another

strengths

weaknesses

Set clear expectations

TEAMWORK!!