What Is Co-Teaching?

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1What IsCo-Teaching?1Susan 3/1/04 2:32 PM Page 1 WHAT CO-TEACHING IS NOTAlthough the concept of co-teaching is not new in education, there are manyteaching arrangements that have been promoted in the history of Americaneducation that may look like co-teaching. If you are a person who learns fromnonexamples, then the following discussion may be your own experience as a guide, can you think of nonexamples for whatco-teaching is not?We can think of several from our is not one person teaching one subject followed by anotherwho teaches a different subject. Many teachers are familiar with this structureif their students travel in groups within a departmentalized administrativeframework. In this case, however, the teachers often do not have time to plan orevaluate instruction. Instead, they are responsible for covering the subjectmatter individually within their curriculum areas (for example, science) andthen the math teachers who are then replaced by the language arts teachers,replace them, and so is not one person teaching one subject while another personprepares instructional materials at the Xerox machine in the teachers work-room or corrects papers in the teachers lounge.

Co-teaching is not happening when the ideas of one person prevail for what ... to co-teach instructional thematic units for a six-week period of time, perhaps culminating in a schoolwide celebration. Over time, they see that their unique ... trust-building as well as conflict management and creative problem solving.

  Management, Week, Ideas, Celebration