Co-teaching is a partnership designed to combine the expertise of two educators in a way that supports all of the students in their class. The success of this kind of professional partnership hinges on a relationship of mutual respect and parity. When the partnership isn’t working well, it often results in one or both teachers feeling undervalued, unhappy, and like they aren’t contributing to student success in the way they know they can.
Co-teaching partnerships need to be cultivated! Akin to our personal relationships, if we don’t attend to and nurture the relationship itself, it can be difficult to find joy in collaborating around both the easy and hard parts of what we need to do together. It can become hard to even walk into the classroom.
Enhancing trust is the first step to creating a dynamic, interdependent partnership. There are three bits of information about you and your partner that will help you begin the process. Let’s get started!
1. Who am I as a person?
It’s so important to talk with your partner about how you roll. Questions can include:
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What’s your communication style?
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When are you at your best?
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When are you not?
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What are your pet peeves?
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What parts of you as a person do you love to bring to the classroom?
2. Who am I as a teacher?
Everyone has their own identity as an educator. When co-teachers discuss their own personal “brand” as a teacher, they can find their similarities and differences, and get creative about how to address the differences. Ask each other things like:
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How do you interact with students?
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What teaching strategies are in your toolbox?
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How do you use small group instruction?
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What are deal breakers in your classroom?
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What’s your approach to behavior?
3. Who am I as a planner?
Like teaching, everyone has their own style when it comes to planning. Some people plan well in advance while others are creating their lesson plan as they walk into the building in the morning. You’re going to need to co-plan in this relationship, so getting each of your styles on the table is crucial. Here are some key questions:
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When do you plan?
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Where do you plan?
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How far in advance do you plan?
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Do you plan on paper or digitally?
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And the VERY important one… when can we co-plan?
Talking about who you are as a human, a teacher and a planner will help you establish, nurture and grow your partnership.
You can build your communication toolbox with our video training, 5 Elements of a Collaborative Team.