Establishing an Effective Co-Teaching Relationship

One of the proudest moments of my career was when one of my students was discussing his school day with his parents and enthusiastically mentioned how he had two teachers in his U.S. History class. It was a proud moment for my co-teaching partner as well. It let us know we had been co-teaching as a united front, with clearly defined responsibilities, shared accountability, and consistent classroom management. In my opinion, there is no better compliment than that.

My co-teacher and I have been teaching together for 12 years, which is a blessing, as it has allowed us to grow together over that time. Getting to that shared vision and synergy took time, effort, and humility.

Based on my experience, a successful co-teaching partnership is created through building trust, making time to plan, and establishing clear roles. 

Building Trust

Creating an open dialogue is crucial at the beginning of any co-teaching relationship to design a classroom that brings out the best in both teachers. The consistent time we have spent together has allowed us to do that.

Despite general positive sentiment, problems can still arise in any co-teaching arrangement. That’s why trust is critical. Co-teaching simply cannot happen without trust. And trust takes time to build. Trust must be built first to create a partnership in which each partner feels comfortable sharing their ideas over time. When there is trust between a co-teaching pair, both teachers will fully participate, engage, communicate, and ultimately deliver better results.

Patience and trusting the process along the way has been key to getting my co-teacher and me to the point we are now.

Establishing Roles

Managing roles and responsibilities while collaborating can take immense skill, commitment, and trust. For a co-teaching partnership in a general education classroom, one of the most important aspects is establishing the best possible roles for general and special education teachers to take on. The primary role of the general education teacher is to assume responsibility for content, curriculum, and instructional planning, while the role of the special education teacher as the learning specialist involves their identifying where strategies and interventions are needed, and then providing them. It is the general education teacher’s job to ensure that the learning specialist is confident in the portion of the content that is being presented on a day-to-day basis, which can be discussed when the two have time to meet and even during a bell-ringer activity while students are working.

At the beginning of the relationship with my co-teaching partner, we sat down and established the history curriculum being taught, the pacing, and how we could make sure the bar was set high to raise every student’s achievement. We decided right away that students would only be pulled out into a separate location during tests to meet individualized education program (IEP) requirements and for very specific small group reteaching if necessary. The reason we do this is to establish that the two teachers in the room are there to help all students. We also want students who struggle to learn not only from us but also from students in the classroom who may be a bit stronger in the content area.

Successful co-teaching relationships demonstrate effective collaboration and deliver straightforward instruction. A united front is paramount. Consistency and alignment on classroom management, expectations, and grading policies are essential. Co-teaching pairs must find time to share ideas, whether that’s during a co-planning period, institute days, professional learning community time, or a few minutes during class while students are working on a bell-ringer activity. Working out the structure of your class will make it easier to get started, maintain, and eventually start to grow.

Co-Planning

One of the biggest challenges that can arise in a co-teaching relationship is having availability for co-planning time, which may not be able to happen regularly due to the pair’s class schedules. I believe that establishing a bell-ringer activity for students to work on at the beginning of the period is key so that the co-teaching pair can check in with each other and get on the same page for the day. Clearly set goals and expectations make the team better and lead to better outcomes for all students in the classroom.

Co-teaching can be performed using a wide variety of methods. My co-teacher and I have found that teaming—teaching a lesson together—consistently yields the best results. Teaming helps students to respect both educators in the room. It is important for the pair to try this model early on in their teaching relationship to set a standard for students so they know they are going to see both teachers engaged in teaching lessons.

My co-teacher and I were doing this within the first week of school. It can be daunting early in a co-teaching relationship, but remember: Both teachers should feature their strengths when presenting their portion of the lesson.

Benefits for all students

Successful co-teaching has added benefits. It models collaboration and respectful behavior for the students. And, in my experience, struggling students without IEPs or 504 plans have benefited tremendously from having two teachers in the room who can give the extra attention they need when we are working in groups or individually.

One of the most important concepts for co-teaching pairs to keep in mind is that both teachers are responsible for all students. In a co-taught classroom, extra focus is placed on how lesson plan materials are being constructed, how the content of the course is being presented, and how the assessments are being created so that all students in the co-taught classroom can benefit. Ultimately, having two highly qualified teachers in the classroom allows for more support for all students.