Co-Teaching

Co-teaching is a collaborative partnership between two teachers (general education and special education) of equal license to teach children with or without disabilities, together, within the regular education classroom.

It exists as a means for providing specially designed instruction to students with disabilities; it ensures access to general curriculum, in the least restrictive environment, with the provision of supplementary aids and services. A framework detailing specific components for enhancing instruction as well as resources for educators are listed below.

Oklahoma Co-Teaching Framework

The purpose of the Co-Teaching Framework is to specify co-teaching components for enhanced instructional practices and to allow greater access to the general education curriculum for students with disabilities. This framework provides guidance and consistency of quality implementation for local school systems using co-teaching as a service delivery model for improving achievement of students with disabilities. An extended use of this tool would be to embed the essential co-teaching components into strategic planning at district and school levels to address the needs of all learners.

Framework Vision Statement

General and special educators have gained the capacity to regularly collaborate and have joint accountability and ownership for planning, delivering instruction, and assessment for the success of all students in the general education curriculum resulting in systemic and sustainable change.

Framework Mission Statement

To improve achievement of students with disabilities by supporting the professional growth of administrators and teachers by:

• Giving teachers high quality tools and meaningful and engaging learning experiences to implement effective evidence-based co-teaching practices resulting in improved student achievement and more inclusive opportunities for students with disabilities.

• Giving system leadership and school-based administrators high quality tools and meaningful and engaging learning experiences to support and monitor effective evidence-based co-teaching practices resulting in improved student achievement and more inclusive opportunities for students with disabilities.

• Providing online social networking opportunities and learning communities, for administrators and teachers to engage in dialogue, access resources, and exchange information for professional growth.

• Identifying and utilizing co-teaching networks that house valuable techniques, strategies, protocols, examples, media to improve co-teaching to increase student academic achievement.

Framework Resources

• Co-Teaching Framework

• Co-Teach Questionnaire

• Co-Teaching Synopsis

• Part 1 Collaborative Implementation Rubric Form

• Part 2 Co-teaching Models Rubric Form

• Reflection Tool Part 3 Action Plan Form

Essential Co-Teaching Components

• Two or more professionals with equivalent licensure and employment status are the participants in co-teaching.

• Co-teachers share instructional responsibility and accountability for a single group of students for whom they both have ownership.

• Both educators contribute to instruction as part of co-teaching. Perhaps the most significant re-conceptualization critical for co-teaching is the notion of a two-teacher classroom--rather than a one-teacher classroom with “help” available from the other teacher.

• Co-taught classes are highly interactive places with high levels of student engagement.

• Co-teachers outline roles and responsibilities so that both professionals have meaningful roles.