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(Unit 6) Topic 3: Team Teaching Strategies

1 Clock Hour of Early Childhood Education

How to Co-Teach 101

Topic 3 Page 7

Often, new teachers are thrown into a classroom without being trained on how to effectively co-teach. While every co-teaching relationship will be different, there are some essentials that should be discussed between the two of you.

Here are just a few of the “must-do’s”:

Identify and discuss teaching styles.
Each teacher will come to the classroom with a different teaching style and philosophy. It is important to talk about what you believe about teaching and learning as you get to know your co-teacher. Your teaching style/philosophy impacts how you interact with and educate children. It does not matter if your styles are different. In fact, that’s a good thing! However, it is critical to be knowledgeable and respectful of these differences.

Establish rapport.
It is necessary that individuals get to know one another on a personal level when they begin teaching together. Just like with your students, a functional classroom will not exist if some sort of a connection is not made. This does not mean that you will become best friends with your co-teacher. Still, both of you should figure out how to communicate with each other. Set aside some time to talk about your lives. You are going to spend more time with this person than you do your significant other or children. You will want to know who they are.

Talk about strengths and weaknesses.
You will also want to discuss what you think are your strong points as an educator and what you would like to work on. You can list or chart theses points for reference if you would like. Remember to be open and honest about this information. It will ultimately make your classroom stronger.

Make a plan of action.
Teachers need to agree how the classroom should be run. You will need to work out a schedule, management system, and overall organization of the classroom. In terms of daily exchange, you will want to set aside time every morning to discuss the plan for that day. Who is going to assess? Who is going to run small groups? What are your large and small goals for that day? It doesn’t have to be a long or drawn-out meeting. Just a simple daily check-in will help keep you both prepared and focused.

Be flexible.
Remember that in a shared classroom, not everything will go as planned. You will have to learn to compromise on certain things. This does not mean that one person gets exactly what they want and the other just has to live with it. Compromise means each person giving in order for both of you to be happy and functional.