A review on research on co-teaching approaches.

1. Co-teaching
by Shaun Wood

2. Co- is for?
• Co-Teaching
- to teach jointly.
• Co-llaborative Teaching
- to work together with others to create more than one could individually.
According to Cook (2004), co-teaching can be collaborative, although
does not need to be. Collaboration usually refers to how individuals
interact with each other, not what they are doing. Any activity
including co-teaching, may or may not be collaborative.

3. Co-teaching Rational
• Meets need of individual students
• Provides more individualised instruction
• Opportunity for flexible scheduling
• Can create positive model for social interactions
• Sense of collegial support

4. Co-teaching Characteristics
• Two or more teachers shared guardianship and responsibility
• Heterogeneous group of students
• Shared delivery of instruction in some curriculum areas
• Shared physical space - ownership
• Participation based on student need

5. Co-teaching Approaches
Every class is different and is community made of Co-teaching approaches listed below are more effective
many different people with different needs, some if selected and used intentionally.
factors to consider when selecting a co-teaching
approach are: Co-teaching Approaches
1. Student characteristics and needs • One Teach, One Observe
- consider students personality and learning needs
2. Teacher characteristics and needs
• One Teach, One Drift
- consider human nature and personality types
• Parallel Teaching
3. Curriculum, including content and instructional
strategies • Station Teaching
- consider the type of content and instructional
strategies
• Alternative Teaching
4. Pragmatic considerations
- consider the setting and spaces • Team Teaching

6. One Teach, one observe
• One teacher leads while another purposefully observes for specific
types of information and together they analyze it.

7. One Teach, One Drift
• One teacher leads the instruction while the others drift, or focus on
small groups based on student need. Which can allow for
differentiated teaching. It also lends itself to when one teacher has a
particular expertise.

8. Parallel Teaching
• Teaching planning is created collaboratively between teachers. The
same planning is then taught to half or groups at a time.
• In mixed Year classes it allows for group differentiation by stage not
age.

9. Station Teaching
• The lesson content is usually split into various activity stations
which students rotate through. Teachers often at one station each
to provide scaffolding / teaching, other stations may be
independent. We often use during inquiry - content is complex but
not hierarchical.

10. Alternative Teaching
• One teacher teaches the main group while the others work with
smaller groups to pre-teach, re-teach, supplement, or enrich
instruction.
• Often used when student mastery of concepts vary largely.

11. Team Teaching
• Teachers plan and teach students, together in a coordinated way.
Teacher need good comfortable professional relationships. (used to
model / discussions / shared experience)
• Instruction becomes conversation or to demonstrate some type of
interaction to students.

12. Co-Teaching to Collaborative
Research indicate that co-teaching, has traditionally been used to provide support for
students with mild to moderate disabilities (Sileo, 2003). It also reduces the teacher to student
ratio (Friend, 2001).
Collaborative Teaching blends the same ratio of teacher to student as a traditional classroom
but blended together.
Co-teaching provides a foundation for collaborative teaching: co-teaching = activity (verb)
and collaboration = how (adverb). There is no one way for successful collaborative teaching, yet
the rational, characteristics and approaches of co-teaching provide a sound foundation to build
your team. I would say collaborative teaching requires even more:
• Supportive caring relationships and open communication between teachers.
• Honest modeling of collaboration in learning, social and professional lives.
• Passionate agile teachers who are lifelong learners.
• Sharing, using, and owning spaces.
• Shared guardianship, structured responsibilities.
• Using digital tools to enhance collaboration.

13. Rule of Three
Stephen Heppell
I have a simple rule of three for third millennium learning spaces.
1. No more than three walls so that space is multifaceted rather than
just open.
2. No fewer than three points of focus so that the "stand-and-
deliver" model gives way to increasingly varied learning groups.
3. Ability to accommodate three teachers/adults with their children.
Larger spaces allow for better alternatives for effective teaching.

14. References
Cook, L. (2004). Co-Teaching: Principles, Practices, and Pragmatics. Retrieved from http://www.ped.state.nm.us/
seo/library/qrtrly.0404.coteaching.lcook.pdf
Friend, M. (2001, February). Co-teaching for general and special educators. Paper presented for Clark County School
District, Las Vegas, NV.
Heppell, S. (2004). Stephen Heppell’s rule of three. Retrieved from http://rubble.heppell.net/three/
Sileo, J. M. (2003). Co-teaching: Rationale for best practices. Journal of Asia-Pacific Special Education, 3(1), 17-26.