Administrators ask us this question ALL the time. They walk into their co-taught classrooms and see the General Education Teacher leading the class and the Special Education or ENL teacher walking around helping kids.
There are multitudes of reasons why this happens, but these are the ones that are most common:
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The team has had no training regarding co-teaching and how to build a successful partnership.
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The team has little to no time to plan or communicate with each other.
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The general education teacher doesn’t want to relinquish instructional control.
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The Special Ed or ENL teacher hasn’t taught a large group of students before, has never seen this curriculum and/or feels uncomfortable entering what seems like another teachers’ space.
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One or both teachers doesn’t feel valued or safe.
The first thing administrators can do is find time for the teachers to talk with each other. If you haven’t provided them a common prep time, here are some low-cost, relatively simple options:
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Release time from their classroom – we know coverage can be tricky and sometimes teachers don’t want to leave their classrooms.
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Get creative! One principal wore her sneakers to work on Friday. She brought a class or two into the gym so her co-teachers had uninterrupted time to plan and talk.
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Faculty or department meetings- Set aside time for co-teachers to plan.
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Co-Teaching “duty” – at the secondary level, release co-teachers from hall duty, cafeteria duty, etc. to plan together.
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Grade-level meetings – set aside a portion of time for co-teacher planning.
GUESS WHAT THE #1 SOLUTION FOR TEACHERS IS??
Building Partnership!
Good co-teaching relationships require honesty, consistent communication and trust built over time. Professional partnerships are a lot like personal relationships in that they need good communication systems to be joyful and effective. Often, people need assistance with this.
Our video mini-course “Five Elements of A Collaborative Team” provides co-teachers with the foundational systems, tools, and strategies they need so that they can move towards truly equal partnership. Can you picture it?