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Amanda Morin's article is relatively short and VERY thorough - a fantastic introduction to educators ready to bring their game to the next level! On a related note, her website 'understood.org' is a wonderful resource for staff, families, and individuals living with neurodivergence. Check it out!

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As more schools move toward inclusion, integrated co-teaching (also known as collaborative team teaching) is becoming more common. However, not all teachers are familiar with co-teaching models, the planning and collaboration it takes, or the different ways it can look in a classroom.

Co-teachers are often general education teachers and special education teachers working together in the general education classroom. You plan lessons together and teach together to support the diverse academic and social-emotional needs of all students - those who have been identified as having a disability and those who haven't.

Studies show that this co-teaching can successfully meet the needs of all learners when the co-teachers:

Have ample time to build a trusting relationship with one another

Have shared planning time

Each have the chance to use their expertise in the classroom

There are six basic models of co-teaching. Read on to learn how each model works, what it looks like in the classroom, and when to use it. You'll also learn about the benefits and challenges of each co-teaching model.

1. Team teaching

In team teaching, both teachers are in the room at the same time but take turns teaching the whole class. Team teaching is sometimes called "tag team teaching." You and your co-teacher are a bit like co-presenters at a conference or the Oscars. You don't necessarily plan who takes which part of the lesson, and when one of you makes a point, the other can jump in and elaborate if needed.

Team teaching can make you feel vulnerable. It asks you to step outside of your comfort zone and allow another teacher to see how you approach a classroom full of students. However, it also gives you the opportunity to learn about and improve your teaching skills by having a partner who can provide feedback and - in some cases - mentorship.

In team teaching, as well as the five other co-teaching models below, a teacher team may be made up of two general education teachers, two special education teachers, or one of each. Or in some cases, it may be a teacher and a paraprofessional working together. Some IEPs specify that a student's teaching team needs to include a general education teacher and a special education teacher.

Here's what you need to know about the team teaching method:

2. Parallel teaching

In parallel teaching, the team splits the class into two groups and each teacher teaches the same information at the same time. Parallel teaching works well to differentiate instruction when the content being taught is particularly challenging. Students can benefit from learning difficult material in a smaller group.

Parallel teaching can be a comfortable way to start co-teaching. You and your co-teacher plan together to make sure you're covering the same material. And since you're teaching your half of the class, you're less likely to feel closely observed by your colleague. Here's a closer look at parallel teaching:

What it looks like in the classroom
The class is divided into two groups, and both teachers teach the same information simultaneously in different sections of the room.

Benefits

Provides both teachers with an active instructional role

Lowers the student-teacher ratio and reduces the load of teaching a large class

Allows for small group instruction, which can be especially helpful for students who learn and think differently

Gives students the chance to ask more questions during lesson time

Provides a chance for students to work in heterogeneous groups (made up of varying abilities instead of groups of students with similar strengths and challenges)

Keeps the academic rigor of a demanding lesson, but splits the responsibility between both teachers

Challenges

Requires both teachers to have strong knowledge of the content so students will learn the same thing

Can be challenging to control for noise, distraction, and space when working in the same classroom

Requires careful timing to make sure both teachers end the lesson at the same time

3. Station teaching

In station teaching, the class is divided into three or more groups and the classroom has multiple learning centers. As the students rotate through the stations, the teachers teach the same material in different ways to each group. For example, fractions may be taught with a fraction line at one and with cubes at another. If there are more stations than teachers, some stations may be student-led and at least one will focus on independent work or practice opportunities.

Both you and your co-teacher are responsible for planning and teaching an in-depth concept that helps meet the overall lesson goal. Learn more about station teaching:

What it looks like in the classroom
Different learning stations are set up in various areas of the classroom, one for each teacher and at least one for independent student work.

Benefits

Provides both teachers with an active instructional role

Allows teachers to use flexible grouping to tailor teaching to each group's needs

Lowers the student-teacher ratio

Resets student focus with each station rotation, increasing engagement

Provides time for students to engage with the content on their own as well as with teachers

Supports a UDL approach to teaching

Allows for more material to be covered in a shorter time frame

Provides a clear teaching responsibility for each adult in the room

Challenges

Requires significant planning for teaching and material preparation

Students may not get to all of the stations if they're not moving at the same pace

May be noisy and distracting for some students

Requires pre-teaching around expectations for independent work time

4. Alternative teaching

In alternative teaching, one teacher instructs most of the class and the other teacher teaches an alternate or modified version of the lesson to a smaller group of students. Alternative teaching is also sometimes described as "big group/small group" teaching.

Small groups are often put together based on students' learning needs. You and your co-teacher will need to find time to look over student data. This will help you figure out which students need support filling in gaps in background knowledge, which students need remediation, or which students could benefit from accelerated learning because they already know the content or have mastered the skills of the large group lesson. Here's more of what you need to know about alternative teaching:

5. One teach, one assist

In the "one teach, one assist" model of co-teaching, one teacher teaches a full group lesson, while the other teacher roams and helps individual students. This is sometimes called "one teach, one support," because the second teacher often provides additional support for learning or behavior management.

This model of co-teaching can be difficult to negotiate because it may leave one teacher feeling more like an assistant. Building a strong relationship with your co-teacher and talking through when it makes sense to swap roles can make it easier. That's key to making sure that both of you have a chance to teach content and to provide support to students one-on-one.

Debriefing after a lesson is also key. Both of you need to know which students needed extra support during the lesson, what that support looked like, and what each student was struggling with. Here's what you need to know about this co-teaching method:

6. One teach, one observe

In a "one teach, one observe" setting, one teacher serves as the primary instructor, while the other is simply observing students' learning and collecting data, which can be useful in:

Determining what instruction takes place next

Seeing which students need additional help

Deciding what co-teaching model may be used next to address any identified needs

Identifying and tracking helpful school services, such as IEP, 504 plan, functional behavioral assessment (FBA), behavior intervention plan (BIP), or response to intervention (RTI)

Making co-teaching work

Co-teaching definitely has benefits, but it can also be challenging to implement. It can be especially hard for new teachers who are paired up with teachers who have more experience, or for co-teachers whose teaching philosophies differ from each other. But there are several steps you can take to help make co-teaching work:

1. Plan who's doing what. No matter which co-teaching model you use, you and your co-teacher need to thoughtfully plan out which responsibilities each of you will have. Planning is vital to your success as a co-teaching team.

2. Agree on expectations. Having a conversation before the year begins about your expectations for students, behavior, homework, bathroom use, etc., can help you work out any differences you may have and come to a consensus for how your shared class will run.It's also essential that both teachers share behavior management equally. Avoiding a "good cop/bad cop" situation can make it easier to maintain a positive classroom culture.

3. Understand the needs of all of your students. It's critical that both you and your co-teacher understand the needs of all of your students, including those who learn and think differently. Knowing how to read an IEP or 504 plan, implement accommodations, and participate in IEP meetings is a shared responsibility.

4. Use signposting. Making sure both of your names appear on the door, on assignments, and in the classroom can also help your students see you as the team you are.

5. Keep setting aside time to collaborate. Planning and reflecting on the lessons you teach together is especially important. Keeping lines of communication open, raising concerns respectfully, and having a supportive and involved administrator can help bridge any gaps.

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Learn about team teaching and other co-teaching models. Explore the benefits and challenges of each model and learn strategies to help make co-teaching work.

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The Student Benefits of Teacher Collaboration

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The Student Benefits of Teacher Collaboration

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A quick six-minute video highlighting how co-planning, co-delivering, and co-assessing learning can be beneficial for students - worth checking out!

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Rooted Linguistics: Serving Teachers of Multilingual Learners

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Rooted Linguistics: Serving Teachers of Multilingual Learners

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"This is a space for educators who wish to design culturally inclusive, language affirming and language building classrooms where all students experience success!" - Valentina Gonzalez

Worth checking out, for sure!! Tons of resources, affirmations, artfully created supports/articles around super-relevant topics.

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Rooted Linguistics: Serving Teachers of Multilingual Learners

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In a globalized society, it is a disadvantage to understand and speak a single language. Nations work together to solve problems as well as communicate and work alongside one another. Therefore, one who is able to speak and understand multiple languages has apparent advantages in communication over one who can not.

Let's examine the brain, languages, and how this plays out in our classrooms.

The F-Word. Fidelity & Why it May Be a Fallacy for EL Instruction

Buzzwords in education are like mosquitos. They are here for a while and during that time they become very annoying. Lately, many educators are hearing one certain F word frequently in regard to programs and curriculum.

FIDELITY

"There is something special about the languages we learn early in life", Worldwide over 7,000 languages are spoken. While linguistic diversity is valued by many countries in the world, 40% of these languages are research indicates.
endangered .

International Mother Language Day is celebrated on February 21st each year in an effort to shine a spotlight on the beauty and power of linguistic diversity and multilingualism.

No. It's how we engage students with the objectives that makes magic!

For years, teachers at the campus where I worked were asked to post objectives clearly on the board. I, like many of my colleagues, did this. I followed the directive given and posted the objectives. As administrators walked by and conducted the obligatory walk-throughs I was always given the pat on the back for having objectives. Yet, they were a bureaucratic check mark in many ways. I complied with what I was asked to do.

Then one amazing day at a workshop the presenter empowered me with how to use objectives with my learners...as a tool for their own learning and it was a magical.

Here's what I learned.

Last year this article was shared and greatly loved. This year, I'm adding to it to include one additional support.

Multilingual learners count on us to provide high-quality, comprehensible, and culturally responsive instruction in each lesson in every classroom.

Here are 23 practical and efficient ways (in no particular order) we can support multilingual learners as they climb to become our future global leaders.
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*The terms multilingual, emergent bilingual, and English learner are used interchangeably in this article and also include the acronyms MLs, EBs, and ELs.

An EL Teacher's Perspective on Self (& Professional) Improvement

When we pour into ourselves, those around us benefit. This is why becoming the BEST version of yourself is an investment for not only YOU but all of those around you. Our students, families and colleagues deserve the best from us and so do we.

These ideas led me to think about how I will deliberately improve myself for the sake of the English learners, families, and colleagues I work with and here is my plan. I'm nudging you to think about your intentions also. What will you do in 2023?

Teachers of multilingual learners or English learners need many tools and supplies in their toolbox. And they may travel from class to class or even school to school. Here are a few of my own favorite classroom essentials.

Being a good educator for multilingual learners is one thing, but being an amazing educator for multilingual learners is quite another story. What are the secret ingredients that make amazing educators for multilingual learners so phenomenal?

This brief post lists 13 instructional practices that reduce the love and motivation for reading in students and then 13 ways to inspire and motivate them. ​ In contrast, here are
13 ways to help students find love, joy, and excitement in reading.

Sketchnoting is a powerful tool for learners of all ages and in every content area. We can teach young and older students how to use sketchnotes to increase their own linguistic & academic development. Here are some of the posts and articles I have shared related to sketchnotes.

The Picture Word Inductive Model (PWIM) which was introduced by Emily Calhoun in the 90s is a popular way to support language learners. It helps meet students where they are, grow their language, and add to their content knowledge.

This article was first published on 6/8/2018 and updated on 8/21/2021.

​When I first saw the graphics below that showed the diversity represented in children's books, I was stunned and appalled. You can learn more about . The statistics were alarming. They reported that the majority of main characters depicted in children's books are either White or Animals/Objects. Seeing these graphics and reading about the study led me to take an audit of my own books and resources. I started by sorting out my books. I made stacks. And honestly, I was shocked and saddened that my bookshelf truly was not as diverse as I imagined. It certainly did not parallel the demographics on my campus either. the article here

This prompted action.​

, Rene Watson, an author and educator, shares how important it is for students to read about about characters that are like them and share similar experiences. Rudine Sims-Bishop calls these books mirrors.
Students benefit from seeing themselves and others in the books they read. Why? For one, because seeing ourselves outside of ourselves makes us feel visible. In this video

On the other hand, readers also need to read about a wide variety of people and experiences. Sims-Bishop calls these windows. Reading about other's lives helps us to find connections and build community. Dr. Brene Brown says, "We are hardwired for connection and without it there is suffering." We also gain much knowledge and learn empathy from seeing others in the books we read. So why aren't our shelves filled with books that have diverse characters? ​

If you've ever questioned why your students aren't interested in the books on your shelves, you might stop to think about the types of books that are there. Do they represent your students? Can the kids connect with them?

I also learned about a non-profit organization called We Need Diverse Books. Check it out. They share a lot of information including lists of diverse books.

In my quest for making my shelf more diverse, I have found some great books. I'll keep adding to this and if you have suggestions, please comment and include a picture if you can.

The Stepping Stones that Led me here

Over the past few years, teachers often ask me how I went from a classroom teacher to an educational consultant and author. They are curious and many would like to follow the path. It's no secret. I'm happy to share it with you. If you're curious or perhaps have a similar desire, read on.

On May 11, I had the honor to sit in a virtual room with THE Regie Routma n about teaching readers NOT teaching reading. Yes, we carefully thought that out because we both believe the center of instruction should be around children always. I'm delighted to share this conversation with you.

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ESL, ELL, EL, English as a Second Language, English Learners

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Any age, all content - Responsive Classroom is a legit model/org in which solid, interactive, structured learning communities are cultivated. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

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"Before you speak, listen." -William A. Ward Listening With Purpose As I listen in on the student conversations occurring around the classroom, I notice that my students have a firm grasp on the basics of listening and speaking. They turn their attention toward the speaker and maintain a calm...

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Responsive Classroom is an evidence-based approach to teaching that focuses on the strong link between academic success and social-emotional learning (SEL).

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A team of people committed to awesome teaching!

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You have reached the meat (or hummus, if you'd rather) inside the sandwich that is Cult of Pedagogy. This is where most of this site's accumulated wisdom lives.

To help you find what you need, I've chunked all the posts into three big buckets. Start there, or scroll down to see an index of topics. If you want to get more specific, use the search bar at the top of this page. Still can't find what you're looking for? Contact our support staff. If they can't help you find it, they'll add your topic to our list of future blog posts.

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You have reached the meat (or hummus, if you'd rather) inside the sandwich that is Cult of Pedagogy. This is where most of this site's accumulated wisdom lives. To help you find what you need, I've chunked all the posts into three big buckets. Start there, or scroll down to see an index of topics.

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Northeast Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports Network

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Northeast Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports Network

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Are you a new or veteran educator interested in strengthening your classroom management and student behavior support skills? Consider joining the Northeast PBIS Network for a FREE professional development Community of Practice (CoP) opportunity.

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Six simple ways to play around as a co-teaching partnership with how varying the co-delivery component of the model can be leveraged to maximize responsive impact.