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Benefits of Co-Teaching in Special Education

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Benefits of Co-Teaching in Special Education

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We all know that a student with special needs has the right to a free and appropriate public education. This is mandated under the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA 2004). This law also states that a student should be educated in their least restrict environment. Ideally, this would be the general education classroom.

We know this is not the best placement for all students to meet their unique learning needs. However, for those students who are included in the general education setting, I would encourage educators to consider co-teaching as a service delivery model.

Research studies have shown that co-teaching can be very effective for students with special needs, especially those with milder disabilities such as learning disabilities. When implemented correctly, co-teaching can be a very successful way to teach all students in a classroom setting. On the other hand, uninformed teachers can poorly implement this model which will not yield positive results for students.
Here is a basic explanation of what co-teaching means along with the benefits and different models of Co-teaching.
The Definition of Co-teaching:

Two or more teachers delivering instruction at the same time in the same physical space to a heterogeneous group of students (Friend and Cook, 2004).

Benefits of Co-teaching:

1. Students with disabilities are provided access to the general education curriculum and general education setting

2. Students with disabilities will still receive specialized instruction

3. Students will have the opportunity to be taught in an intense, individualized manner

4. Greater instructional intensity and differentiated instruction

5. Teachers will learn from each other's expertise and expand the scope of their teaching capacity

6. Reduces negative stigma associated with pull-out programs

7. Students with disabilities may feel more connected with their peer group

Models of Co-teaching:

(defined by Friend and Cook, 2004).

1. One teach, one observe:
one teacher delivers instruction while the other observes student learning and assesses student understanding and academic functioning

2. One teach, one assist:
one teacher will take the lead in providing instruction while the other moves around the classroom and assists students who may be struggling

3. Parallel Teaching:
The class is divided in half and the same material is presented at the same time by both teachers (teacher to student ratio becomes more manageable)

4. Station Teaching:
Both teachers are actively involved in instruction and the students rotate from one station to the next, learning new material

5. Alternative Teaching:
One teacher takes a small group of students and provides instruction that is different than what the large group is receiving

6. Team Teaching:
Both teachers instruct on the same lesson with all students present

Tell us what you think... Have you found co-teaching to be a helpful

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The Benefits of Co-Teaching for Students with Special Needs - Friendship Circle - Special Needs Blog

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We all know that a student with special needs has the right to a free and appropriate public education. This is mandated under the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA 2004). This law also states that a student should be educated in their least restrict environment. Ideally, this would be the general education classroom.

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As many schools move toward including students with special needs in general education programming, co-taught classes-collaborations between general education and special education teachers-have become fairly common.

But co-taught inclusion classes can look wildly different depending on how the model is implemented. Engaging in the complex act of teaching with someone else is, well, complicated. In fact, I've often thought of co-teaching as being like a marriage. Co-taught inclusion classes can provide rich teaching and learning opportunities for students and teachers-and they also have the potential to go terribly awry.

While there's no silver bullet that will ensure an effective teaching partnership, I've learned some practical tips that have helped me (a general education middle school English teacher) collaborate successfully with many wonderful special educators.

Here are eight tips for making the most of co-teaching:

1. Make time for co-planning. You must have time in your schedules to sit down and meet-not a casual, fly-by, "what are we doing tomorrow" kind of conversation but a regular and appointed time for structured planning sessions. Ideally, you would have two (or more) periods a week devoted to this process. I prefer a meeting at the beginning of the week and another at the end of the week.

Without time in your schedule for co-planning, it will be impossible to maximize the full benefits of co-teaching. One teacher will most likely fall into more of an "assistant" role, which is not true co-teaching. If you don't have time to co-plan in your schedule, it's worth advocating for with your administration.

2. Be on the same page! Yes, literally. I would be lost without a common planning document shared with my co-teacher(s). I typically use Google Docs, which allows multiple users to view, edit, and comment simultaneously.

For each unit, I create a document that includes "big picture" elements of the unit: key concepts, time frame, skills, texts, and assessments. The document also includes a calendar where we mark daily aims and agendas. We comment in the margins with questions, to-do's, and reminders.

3. Develop a productive co-planning flow. It's great to catch up a bit on life or debrief on the lesson when you sit down to meet with your co-teacher. However, I try to keep lesson debriefs and other items to about 10 minutes so that we use the time mainly for planning.

Here's how my co-teacher and I organize our planning time:

Before beginning a unit, we meet to look at the "big picture," or the shape that the whole unit will take-the concepts, progression of skills, and how students will demonstrate their learning.

In Monday meetings, we focus on planning the following week's worth of lessons, though not always in full detail. We also tie up loose ends for the current week.

In Friday meetings, we debrief the week, fine tune the plans for next week, and create a skeleton for the following week.

4. Divide up to-do's. At the end of each meeting, it's best to identify and delegate the To Do's that arise from your plans. These include materials that must be created or student work requiring feedback by a particular date. Ideally, we do this in advance and run materials by each other before class.

5. It's "we," not "I". This is a detail that speaks volumes about your co-teaching partnership: Do you say "we" or "I" when introducing an assignment to students? If you want students to see you both as "their teachers," then, when addressing the class, you should say, " We want you to remember that..." and not " I want you to do it like this..." This can be a hard shift for teachers not used to co-teaching. But it sends an important message to students that both teachers have equal status and are on the same page.

6. Vary the way you group students. Though the special education teacher may take on a more active role in supporting the learning needs of our students with special needs, it's important in an inclusion class that all students feel like both teachers are "their teacher." One way to make this clear is by varying student groupings and which teacher leads each group. For example, if we tier groups for an activity based on reading levels then the special education teacher should not always go with the "lower-level" group. By mixing this up, we create a more inclusive classroom-and the opportunity to get to know all students equally.

7. Dialogue in front of students. Ongoing communication is necessary in co-teaching. Sometimes it's beneficial to have a dialogue with your co-teacher right in front of students.

Let's say my co-teacher tells students to put their books away at the end of a short activity. However, I actually want them to keep out their books because it worked better in my class last period. I have choices for how to respond.

I can:
&nbsp&nbsp a) Let it go, and ask students to take their books out again later.
&nbsp&nbsp b) Be visibly annoyed and say nothing.
&nbsp&nbsp c) Address it aloud to my co-teacher in front of students.

A is often an appropriate response. B is not good, because it puts negativity out there for students and my co-teacher, and it doesn't solve anything. If I choose C, though, I can solve the practical problem, and I can model effective adult communication for my students.

For example, I might say in an even, enthusiastic tone, "You know what, Mr. K, what if students keep their books out, so they can refer to them later in the writing activity? What do you think? Would that be helpful?" Tone is important here.

If I'm sincere and not grabbing for power, Mr. K might respond, "That's a good idea! Yes, keep your books out, everyone." This way, I haven't contradicted my co-teacher's directions. I shared my thought and then left it to him to make the call-and we've modeled flexible collaboration for our students.

I also initiate dialogue with my co-teacher for other reasons. Maybe I'm unsure of how to respond to a student's question, so I say, "I'm not sure. What do you think, Mr. K?" Or, to share spontaneous decisionmaking, I say, "Mr. K, do you think we have time for students to talk with a partner before sharing out to the whole class?" Sometimes this kind of adjustment can be decided in a whisper, but all conversations do not need to be kept private. Sometimes it's more efficient and interesting to dialogue in front of the class.

8. Check in and have that conversation. At times, it's necessary to check in with your co-teacher on how the co-teaching dynamic itself is going.

Here are some general questions for a check-in conversation:

Are there management items we should clarify, such as when are students allowed to go to the bathroom?

Are we sharing airtime well?

Are we dividing grading in an equitable way?

Are there teaching formats that would better utilize the two of us in the classroom?

Change can be hard but necessary. Checking in makes an investment in the relationship and opens the door to change.

Every co-teaching partnership is different. Some work wonderfully with relatively little effort, as long as basic structures are in place. Others take great effort and progress slowly. (In some cases-and I think this is the rare exception-a co-teaching partnership will not work, despite anyone's best efforts. In such cases, seek administrative intervention.)

In every partnership, however, conflicts arise, and there may be a need to speak directly to the conflict, which is an adult skill most of us need to strengthen. Co-teaching will definitely test that strength!

My co-teaching relationships have been some of the most powerful sources of professional development in my career. Most importantly, a strong co-teaching dynamic can create an inclusion class that is a rich, challenging, and supportive learning environment for all students.

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Eight Tips For Making the Most of Co-Teaching

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As many schools move toward including students with special needs in general education programming, co-taught classes-collaborations between general education and special education teachers-have become fairly common. But co-taught inclusion classes can look wildly different depending on how the model is implemented. Engaging in the complex act of teaching with someone else is, well, complicated.

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AMLE - Association for Middle Level Education

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When the phone rings in the middle of summer and you see your principal's number coming across the screen, you can't help but wonder, "What did I do?"

A few years ago, when I answered such a call, my stomach dropped as my administrator cheerfully told me about a wonderful "opportunity" that awaited me during the coming school year. I was being assigned the eighth grade math inclusion classes and would work with a special education teacher for four class periods each day. I would have general education students as well as students who have IEPs or 504 modifications.

My first reaction (like that of any good teacher) was "Of course, I would be happy to do this!" After I put the phone down, reality set in. I was going to have to share my space, my students, my entire world with a stranger. The feelings of being the kid in group projects who did all the work while my teammates goofed off quickly resurfaced. I had heard horror stories about how co-teachers never did any teaching or how they didn't help with management or grading.

However, I'm a problem solver and an overachiever by nature. If I were going to get this "opportunity," I wanted to do my best for my students and my school. I immediately began searching online for conferences, webinars, and books about co-teaching. I read, watched, and attended anything I could find that dealt with co-teaching or special education students.

Tips for Co-Teaching

Some common themes became evident throughout my summer research and by the time I met my co-teacher, I felt prepared to contribute to an environment that was built on partnership, trust, and mutual responsibility. These tips are gleaned from my efforts to prepare.

Start early. From the minute you know who your teaching partner is, get to know him or her as a person. Talk about family, pets, hobbies, work experience, childhood. You may not end up being best friends, but you can build a good working environment and establish mutual respect as individuals and as colleagues.

Discuss teaching styles and content background. Thankfully, my co-teachers have had strong math backgrounds, which allowed each of us to teach in our own ways. Other co-taught classes may not be as flexible; the strong content teacher may need to take the lead with the partner providing support.

Examine your teaching habits. Assessing and understanding your strengths and weaknesses will allow you to work with your partner as a support system in weaker areas and vice versa. In our classroom, we always knew each other's weak side and quickly learned to compensate when necessary.

Take an honest look at your classroom management practices. You can't expect to work successfully with someone else until you know your own deal breakers or trigger issues. Some of the first conversations I had with my co-teachers included questions like "Does it bother you for students to leave the class without pushing in their chairs?" and "What if a student gets up and sharpens his pencil during a lesson?" and "What color ink do you use to grade papers?" This may not seem like a big deal at the beginning when everything is still in the newlywed stage, but five or six months into a school year, issues like these can cause hurt feelings, tension, or a big blow-up that could have been avoided.

Respect each other. Mutual respect is a must in a successful co-teaching classroom. This person is not trying to "take your job," but is working with you.

Co-Teaching Styles

There are many types of co-teaching or team-teaching models in schools, but one of the most common is similar to mine: a general educator is paired with a teacher who specializes in special needs students. Even if the co-teaching pair is structured in a different way, there are similarities in the types of teaching that most often occur in a co-taught classroom.

One Teach-One Observe. This model allows the members of a new co-teaching team to get to know each other or it can fully utilize one teacher's strengths in an area. One teacher teaches and the other, the observer, monitors students for comprehension and behaviors, or makes anecdotal notes for future use. Just a note: This does not mean the general educator is always teaching and the second teacher is always observing. Try reversing the roles occasionally to provide a new point of view for the students and the teachers.

One Teach-One Drift. This model is great for new teams as well. One teacher is the main instructor while the other drifts around the room, interacting with students or groups. This type of interaction allows for more one-on-one time and additional opportunities for students to ask questions of a teacher without having to stop the flow of a class or the lesson. Planning time is minimal.

Parallel Teaching. In this type of teaching, students are split into two groups, each led by one of the co-teaching pair. This strategy allows for review or for special attention to a smaller group of students who are learning a difficult subject. This method requires more planning because both educators have a common teaching goal.

Station Teaching. The use of stations in the classroom is not a new concept, but within a co-teaching classroom these stations can be tailored to the needs of the students. Two educators supervising and interacting with students at different stations can promote student understanding. In our math classes, these stations were often used for hands-on geometry activities with little "teaching" necessary. Station teaching requires quite a bit of pre-planning to be effective.

Alternative Teaching. This is similar to parallel teaching with regard to the amount of planning needed and the fact that students are separated. In this scenario, one of the co-teachers works in an alternate location with students who need a more intensive intervention or review of material before moving forward in the subject. This model is effective for re-teaching or for test review.

Team Teaching. Team teaching is an ideal situation in which both teachers are comfortable with the content, the students, and each other. Within a team-taught classroom, the teachers move seamlessly into roles throughout the lesson with neither dominating the other. Lessons are more conversational between the teachers and students and the environment is engaging. Teachers are able to fill whatever role or need is required at the time: Does a prompt need to be given? Does another student need a quick one-on-one review? Would another point of view help clarify a concept? In a successful team-taught class, an onlooker sees two teachers interacting with a group of students as a cohesive unit.

My teaching partner and I worked together many years before she moved on to a different school and I repeated the process with another special education teacher. As a math general educator, I can testify that my years co-teaching have been some of the most fulfilling, challenging, and worthwhile of my teaching career.

Samantha Dooley is the math general educator partner of a co-teaching team at a 6-8 middle school in Arkansas. s.dooley74@gmail.com

Published in AMLE Magazine, November 2014.

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When the phone rings in the middle of summer and you see your principal’s number coming across the screen, you can’t help but wonder, “What did I do?” A few years ago, when I answered such a call, my stomach dropped as my administrator cheerfully told me about a wonderful “opportunity” that awaited me during the coming school year.

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Impossible. That was my first thought when I saw the class roster. In one of my ninth grade English classes, 13 of my 27 students had IEPs. Additionally, about one-third of the students had failed the class the previous year. I dreaded the first day of school. But then something wonderful happened: The principal assigned me a co-teacher, a special education expert to serve as another set of hands (and eyes and ears!) during this class every day. I was thrilled.

My co-teacher Sandie was a joy to collaborate with, but our relationship was by no means perfect, especially at the beginning. We often struggled to find planning time. Sometimes we disagreed about how to best help a particular student. However, we nurtured the co-teaching relationship and, in time, found a rhythm that worked for us-and for the students we served.

In the years since I co-taught with Sandie and other teachers, I've coached and consulted with dozens of successful and not-so-successful teams. Co-teaching, when done well, offers benefits for both students and teachers. When not done well, it can be confusing or downright frustrating for all involved. If you are or will be part of a co-teaching partnership, this post will show you some ways to make your partnership work beautifully.

What is Co-Teaching?

In a co-teaching relationship, also known as a "push-in" arrangement, a general education teacher partners with a specialist who may be certified in teaching English Language Learners (ELLs), students with learning disabilities, or some other special population. A co-teaching team works in the general ed classroom; for the majority of the time, students with special needs are not pulled out to receive services in another location.

For instance, a middle school social studies teacher may have an ELL teacher co-teaching with him during one class period because five students in that class are newcomers to the United States and speak only Arabic fluently. A high school teacher may have one or two sections of biology to which many students with IEPs for reading are channeled; a co-teacher who specializes in reading disabilities co-teaches in these classes. A 4th grade teacher may have two students with 504 plans and another three who have specific learning disabilities in her class; she works alongside a special education teacher daily during lessons in the four core academic subject areas.

For more background, download this Brief History of Co-Teaching.

Co-Teaching Structures

General education teachers working with specialists in a "push-in" model often work in one of the following structures described by Friend and Cook (1996):

One teach, one observe: One teacher delivers instruction while the other observes student learning. Usually the observer collects data on student understanding so that the co-teaching team can better plan future instruction. Sometimes, specific students are watched closely so that the teachers can determine new strategies to use with them.

One teach, one assist: One teacher takes the lead in providing instruction while the other moves around the classroom, assisting struggling students. This help is not limited to students with special needs; the assisting professional is there to serve whomever needs support.

Parallel teaching: The class is divided in two groups and the same material is presented simultaneously by both teachers. The teachers plan the two groups deliberately to maximize the success of all students; this is not simply a "pull-out" or intervention group sitting in the same room.

Station teaching: Both teachers are actively involved in instruction as students are divided into groups and rotate from one station to the next. There may be stations where students work independently or with a paraprofessional in addition to the two stations the co-teachers facilitate.

Alternative teaching: One teacher takes a small group of students and provides them more intensive or specialized instruction that is different than what the large group receives from the other teacher.

Team teaching: Both teachers teach the content at the same time in tandem or "tag team" fashion.

It is important to note that both teachers have equal status and equal responsibility in all six of these arrangements. In the co-teaching relationships that work best, at no time is one teacher seen as subordinate to the other. Both professionals are credentialed professionals, although each may have his or her specific areas of expertise.

How to Make the Most of a Co-Teaching Partnership

Researchers and practitioners have tons of advice about how to co-teach effectively, and as a person who has been "in the trenches" with several different co-teachers, so do I. The advice below sums up the most common recommendations.

1. Respect each other.

Not surprisingly, mutual respect is critical to the co-teaching relationship. You'll have to share ideas openly and do much of your work facing students together, so respecting each other is paramount. Sometimes you'll disagree, and that's to be expected. As co-teacher and ELL specialist Melissa Eddington says, it's fine to disagree with someone's ideas, but don't make the disagreement about the person.

Teachers in co-teaching situations that don't work well often report feeling disrespected. Amy* is an ELL specialist paired with a middle school social studies teacher. When they collaborate, Amy feels her suggestions for tweaking whole-class lessons are not taken seriously by her partner. "She respects me as a professional," Amy says of her co-teacher, "but I think because I'm not experienced in her content, she doesn't see my input as valuable."

Susan*, who is licensed in both secondary science and learning disabilities, works with two physical science teachers and one biology teacher. The physical science teachers welcome her ideas and eagerly adjust their lessons based on her suggestions. They are seeing a steady increase of students mastering the required standards in the classes Susan supports. The biology teacher, however, dismisses many of Susan's ideas and accuses her of "dumbing down" his content. Susan feels disrespected and finds it hard to even be in the room with the biology teacher because he constantly positions himself as "the expert" and places her in a subordinate role.

Words and gestures speak volumes. Take care to show respect for your partner in all you do.

2. Clearly define roles and responsibilities.

Co-teaching works better when the partners agree on who does what, when. Clearly defined roles and responsibilities prevent either partner from feeling the other has overstepped a boundary or shirked responsibilities.

Natalie Marston (2002-2015), an elementary special ed teacher, recommends co-teachers reach agreement on scheduling, classroom procedures and behaviors, classwork and homework policies, grading, and school/home communication together so they present a united front at all times.

Obviously this type of planning requires a great deal of time, ideally before school starts. If extended time is not available prior to the beginning of the school year, then the co-teaching team should expect to put in extra hours before and after school in the first few weeks so things get off to a good start.

My co-teacher Sandie and I did not have advance warning of our assignment. We found out about it on the first teacher workday, leaving us only a few days before the students arrived. For weeks, we both felt like we were playing "catch up and keep up," but found that having lunch together (and some happy hours together) helped us stay in sync.

3. Be flexible.

Innovation is difficult. That's why so many teachers find themselves falling back on comfortable (and even tired) activities and strategies. Co-teaching allows you to gain another person's perspective on how instruction might be improved, how students might be best assessed, what resources to use, and so much more. Sometimes this means one person has to put aside his or her favorite tried-and-true strategy and try something different.

When Susan suggested a tactile, quiz-like method for reviewing the periodic table to her physical science co-teaching partners, they were skeptical about the time and materials it might require. They initially felt it would be more efficient to simply give additional notes to their students and then pair students to quiz each other. However, they agreed to try the review Susan's way. The students loved the activity, and almost every student with special needs passed the chapter test two days later. All three teachers were thrilled and committed to using the activity in future years.

4. Plan together.

The co-teaching relationship brings together two people with wonderfully rich expertise and experiences. Special educators are typically skilled in individualizing curriculum and instruction based on children's needs (Dettmer et al., 2005; Volonino & Zigmond, 2007). General educators, on the other hand, tend to have broad knowledge of the curriculum, standards, and desired outcomes for the larger group. Therefore, when general educators plan lessons, they tend to aim for the masses (Dettmer et al., 2005). Both perspectives are important, and co-teaching teams need ample planning time to work through how to best utilize each one.

Lack of planning time can lead to territorialism. Without time to plan for a good balance of content and individualization, a general ed teacher may become protective of his subject matter, or a specialist may become protective of his students. Emma*, a high school special ed teacher partnered with two geometry teachers, has experienced this. One teacher often asks Emma to pull aside the five or six students with specific disabilities within his class and work only with them. He sometimes says to her, "You worry about your kids. I'll worry about geometry." The principal is now providing an additional hour of planning time for Emma and this teacher. An assistant principal who oversees the math department facilitates the meetings so Emma feels supported and the geometry teacher has another content-area expert to hash things out with.

Keep in mind that planning must include both instruction and assessment. Considering many students with special needs have legal accommodations for assessment (like being provided translation, extended time, or oral reading), it's best to include both partners fully in designing quizzes, tests, papers, and other high-stakes assessment tasks.

How much time is ideal? One study found that co-teachers desired, on average, 15 minutes to an hour each day for planning (Dieker & Murawski, 2003). This figure corresponds to what worked for my co-teacher and me, and it also confirms what I hear from many co-teachers in the field. Strive to find that time any way you can.

5. Don't take yourself too seriously.

Innovation requires failure. Many times, teachers feel they've failed somehow during instruction, and in reality, the students haven't even noticed. We are often our own worst critics. Revisiting or correcting something later in the day (or the next day) doesn't mean you failed earlier. It means you've learned something since. This is the kind of ongoing learning we want to model for our students.

And, as in most situations in life, a little bit of humor goes a long way. Laugh with your co-teacher. Allow students to see both of you laughing with each other and with them when something is surprising, silly, or just doesn't go the way you planned. In the words of Jennifer Wolf who co-teaches with Melissa Eddington, "Take the work seriously, but don't take yourself too seriously."

Eddington adds, "You gotta laugh at each other! Our job is hard, and if you're not laughing and making light of some things, then it's just not going to be a good place to be."

6. Communicate, communicate, communicate.

Planning time is one thing; constant communication is another. Not only should co-teachers frequently plan for what standards will be covered, how material will be taught, and how students will be assessed, they should also regularly communicate in less formal ways.

Co-teaching teams have different methods to create and sustain that communication:

Eddington and Wolf use the Voxer app throughout the school day and on their drives home to send messages back and forth. Voxer works like a walkie-talkie and allows back-and-forth conversation in real time when two people are not physically close to each other. Melissa says, "We're constantly communicating. We're talking about specific students. We're looking at assessments to see what areas are lacking...different things we want to bring to the classroom, things we don't want to do..."

Some other teams I've worked with use texting and emails throughout each day to share updates. Voxer, texts, and emails can all work well, especially if one teacher has urgent information or an urgent question about a particular student.

Teams can use Google Docs or other shared documents to keep track of lesson planning and to share feedback with each other on how lessons went. Collaborative documents can also be used to provide each other with information about targeted students.

In addition to ongoing communication, Ariel Sacks (2014) reminds us to periodically check in with our co-teacher about how we are doing in general. She recommends asking your partner the following:

Are there management items we should clarify, such as when are students allowed to go to the bathroom?

Are we sharing airtime well?

Are we dividing grading in an equitable way?

Would different teaching formats better utilize the two of us in the classroom?

Finally, co-teachers need to present a united front when dealing with parents. Some partners go as far as to create a shared email address from which all communication flows. This may or may not be practical in your situation. At the very least, important parent communication about a student's progress should be drafted by both parties.

For more in-depth information about communicating and collaborating with your co-teacher, see Communicating and Collaborating in Co-Taught Classrooms (Conderman et al., 2009).

7. Seek administrative support.

Sometimes, teachers have been scheduled to co-teach by administrators but didn't have much advance notice. This is what happened with Sandie and me. We were able to find snippets of time during the school day to use for planning and checking in with each other, but we had no common planning period. If you and your partner don't have a common planning time when you can frequently collaborate, ask for it. Go to your principal with a couple of proposals about how this can work without too much disruption to the rest of the schedule.

Sometimes co-teachers may not understand fully why they are being asked to team. If this is the case, ask for a meeting with the principal and any others responsible for the assignment. Ask them why they thought the two of you would be a good fit and what they hope you will accomplish with students.

If you're already in a co-teaching partnership that's not working well, and you've tried to address this with your partner, turn to a trusted administrator next for advice. If you and your co-teacher have not recently been observed, ask the administrator to come sit in on part of a lesson. Tell him or her what you'd like feedback on or what feels like it's not working well. Debrief with the administrator, ideally with your co-teaching partner. When an observer offers data and feedback to both of you, it may feel different for your partner than when you share things from your perspective. (This co-teaching observation form can help.)

It's important not to go to other teachers with your concerns. Respect the collegial relationship you have with your co-teacher and don't do anything that might undermine it. And it should go without saying that you don't want students to perceive any problems within the co-teaching relationship. Be cognizant of your demeanor, tone, and body language. Students are quite perceptive and can easily spot trouble. They are also experts at "good cop/bad cop." Don't let students play you and your partner against each other. If your colleagues or students give you any evidence that they know the co-teaching arrangement is ineffective, head straight for that trusted administrator to support you. ♦

*These names have been changed.
References:
Conderman, G., Johnston-Rodriguez, S., & Hartman, P. (2009). Communicating and collaborating in co-taught classrooms. Teaching Exceptional Children Plus,5(5). Retrieved January 26, 2017, from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ967751.pdf

Dettmer, P., Thurston, L., Knackendoffel, A., & Dyck, N. (2009). Collaboration, consultation, and teamwork (6th ed.). Columbus, OH: Pearson.

Dieker, Lisa A., Murawski, W. M. (2003). "Co-teaching at the Secondary Level: Unique Issues, Current Trends, and Suggestions for Success." The High School Journal, 86(4). Retrieved January 26, 2017, from http://search.proquest.com/docview/220220652/13494E2D48D1DB506F0/8

Friend, M. & Cook, L. (1996). Interactions: Collaboration skills for school professionals. White Plains, NY: Longman.

Marston, N. (2002-2015). Six steps to successful co-teaching: Helping special and regular education teachers work together. National Education Association. Retrieved January 26, 2017 from http://www.nea.org/tools/6-steps-to-successful-co-teaching.html

Sacks, A. (2014, October 15). Blog post. Eight tips for making the most of co-teaching. Retrieved January 26, 2017, from http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2014/10/15/ctq_sacks_coteaching.html

Volonino, V. & Zigmond, N. (2007). Promoting research-based practices through inclusion. Theory into Practice, 46(4), 291-300.

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Angela Peery is the author of The Co-Teacher's Playbook, which will be available in September 2019.

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When done well, co-teaching offers benefits for both students and teachers. When not done well, it can be confusing or downright frustrating for all involved.