6 Co-Teaching Models to Maximize Student Success and Engagement

A while back, we wrote about the six models of co-teaching, developed by Marilyn Friend and Lynn Cook. This month, we’re revamping that article with some updates! Read on to learn more or get a refresher on the six models of co-teaching... 

To many people, the idea of co-teaching elicits images of two people standing at the front of a classroom, keeping students engaged with their banter and well-timed jokes, aimed at using humor as a tool for engagement. Banter is great and engagement is critical, but this is only one way to co-teach!  

In a co-taught class, whole-group instruction should only happen on an as-needed basis. Of the six models of co-teaching, three of them break the class up into smaller groups and three keep the class together as a whole. Let’s take a look! 

Small-Group Models  

The three models below are the ones we recommend teachers try to use as often as possible. Group students heterogeneously for all new instruction.   

Parallel Teaching: Students are split into as many equal-sized groups as there are teachers in the room. If there are two teachers in the room, each teacher has half the class. If there are three teachers in the room, perhaps due to another service provider coming into co-teach for the period, then each teacher would have one-third of the class. Each teacher teaches the same lesson objective. They can all teach it the exact same way or they may use different methods as long as students meet the same goal by the end of the lesson. 

Station Teaching: Teachers set up three stations and three equally-sized groups. Two of the stations are teacher-led lessons, and the third is an independent activity. All groups rotate to all three stations. The lessons/activities at each station must be non-sequential. Some teachers find it easier to try Station Teaching at first with two teacher-led stations and no independent station. This is fine to do at first. When you feel ready, add the independent station into the rotation. 

Alternative Teaching: One teacher takes a small group to a designated area while the rest of the class works with the other teacher on independent practice or review. The small group should be used to pre-teach, re-teach or extend a skill, and should not last any more than 10 minutes. The large group cannot learn new content (or the small group would miss it). Instead, they are engaged in a review, independent work, or something other than a brand-new lesson. It’s important that the teacher and students in the small group change regularly. 

Whole-Group Models 

Teaming: This is the model most people picture when they think of co-teaching. It can be difficult to do well because it can easily slip into turn-taking who is “leading”. In order to use this model with efficacy, both teachers need to know all parts of the lesson and be able to share instruction equally.  That takes a lot of co-planning and sometimes even creating a script! Teaming should be reserved for lessons that require two people in order to be taught effectively (modeling social skills, debate skills, turn-taking during a conversation, many materials that would require two sets of hands, etc.) Ask yourself: How is this lesson different and better for all our students because we’re both here? 

One Teach, One Assist: One teacher instructs the whole class while the other teacher assists the students. This is the most distracting model for students. Teachers in the “assist” role have quiet conversations with individuals, which pulls other students’ attention away from the lesson. Use 1-teach, 1-assist only when students are working with a material or on a task with which they require hands-on assistance (science lab materials, a new note-taking format, new manipulatives, etc.). Use this model as briefly as possible. 

One Teach, One Observe: One teacher instructs the whole class while the other teacher takes data for a specific purpose. There is no other reason to use this model. Some examples of data collection are to monitor a student’s progress with an IEP goal (i.e. attending to a lesson), collecting the frequency of a student behavior for a Behavior Plan or assessment, or to gather information about student choices/preferences during a lesson. When partners feel safe and comfortable together, they can use 1-teach, 1-observe to give each other instructional feedback.  

Shifting from whole-group instruction to small-group instruction can feel overwhelming at first. Like so many things, the more you do it, the easier it becomes! Using the models flexibly with a focus on the small-group models results in engaged, happy and successful students and co-teachers!