Co-Teaching: It’s Our Superpower!
Learn more about our collaborative approach to instruction, and hear from co-teaching pair, Brooke Yuen and Jane Merriam, to see how our model facilitates a sustainable workload for educators and increased learning for students.
With lessons and interventions to plan, data to analyze, and assignments to grade, it’s no wonder teachers often feel pulled in many directions. In the classroom, teachers must constantly differentiate their instruction for students with varying academic levels. At Springfield Prep, teachers don’t have to clone themselves to get everything done and meet their students' needs-- they have a co-teacher to collaborate and tag-team with throughout the day.
What Goes Into Effective Co-Teaching?
Effective co-teaching is so much more than two teachers in a classroom:
1) It starts with a vision for high impact and requires grade-specific schedules with a clear plan for what each teacher will do throughout the day to meet the needs of students.
2) It also requires using the right co-teaching structure. Check out what co-teaching structures look like at Springfield Prep!
3) With a shared vision in place and a game plan for each part of the day, successful co-teachers also need to build rapport and commit to regular communication throughout the day. This models teamwork and ensures a positive, encouraging learning environment for kids.
Q&A: Ms. Yuen & Ms. Merriam
Hear from dynamic duo, Ms. Yuen and Ms. Merriam, about how they work together to make their third-grade classroom run as smoothly as possible!
How does co-teaching help maintain a positive classroom culture and ensure kids learn as much as possible?
Ms. Yuen: With a co-teacher, you’re able to reach more students based on their learning needs in the moment. It’s best for checking in on students in real time when there are misconceptions, or if they’re having a moment and need a one-on-one check-in with an adult. If something is going on at home, or in school with a peer that needs to be addressed, with a co-teacher, you’re able to reach them and not disrupt class. Similar to confusions or behavioral concerns, with two teachers in each class, there are more adults in the room making sure students are being held accountable and heard at all times.
Ms. Merriam: Echoing similar things, having a co-teacher helps us be attentive to all of the students' needs, both learning and emotional, without having to pause the lesson or address it at a later time. Also, having two adults in the room sets the precedent that the students know they’re held accountable at all times. It helps to be aligned because the students know that both have the same expectations and are holding them to the same standard.
During summer institute (training), we set good intentions prior to going into the year. We had the opportunity to create a vision for our co-teaching relationship and set the foundation for what we wanted our classroom to look like. his really helped us be aligned on both of our teaching styles and receiving feedback.
In what areas do you support one another most effectively? And in what ways are you more effective together than you would be alone?
Ms. Yuen: There are so many different scenarios throughout the day. In lessons where one of us is either leading or supporting, the teacher that is supporting can see more of the students' work and ‘give intel’ to the leading teacher about where misconceptions are happening. Another scenario would be if we’re both leading separate groups. During prep time, we’ll take a moment to connect about how our groups are doing, and similarly, support each other and work together to tackle misconceptions. Other times, it’s just keeping each other in the loop about something the other might have missed. For example, it could be, ‘This student is a little sleepy today’ or ‘FYI, this kid is struggling with this strategy, keep an eye out.’ It’s really helpful.
Ms. Merriam: Brooke is great. She’s created trackers that allow us to track goals and measure progress cohesively. We do this throughout the day in a lot of different lessons - at times checking in in the middle of it to align. We have many mini-check-ins throughout the day, making us more effective in front of students.
Ms. Yuen: Yes, we’ve developed a relationship where we pick up after each other. There are so many things that we have to remember throughout the day, and if I forget something, or if I miss something, I know Jane will be there to see it. It's nice to have two brains thinking together and tracking the same classroom goals.
“With a co-teacher, you’re able to reach more students based on their learning needs in the moment. It’s best for checking in on students in real time when there are misconceptions, or if they’re having a moment and need a one-on-one check-in with an adult. If something is going on at home, or in school with a peer that needs to be addressed, with a co-teacher, you’re able to reach them and not disrupt class.”
What do you love about your co-teacher? :)
Ms. Yuen: I wear a lot of hats in the school in addition to being a 3rd-grade teacher, which means I have so many tabs open in my brain. Jane is always holding it down in the classroom, and if there’s anything I ever miss, I know Jane is there and has it. I appreciate her flexibility and willingness to step in when needed.
Ms. Merriam: I love her sense of humor, to be honest! We get along very well as humans, and I just appreciate that Brooke is organized. She is a planner, and is just a little bit more type A than I am so I feel like she’s really what I need in a co - especially in my first year in 3rd grade. I appreciate that she just always has the next thing and can get me geared up when I feel like my brain is done.
What are the challenges that come with co-teaching and what do you do to mitigate those challenges? What do you think people misunderstand about co-teaching?
Ms. Yuen: Developing the relationship, at first, can be challenging. You have to work to build that relationship and truly learn how the other person works. It’s important to set your ego aside to allow for your co-teacher’s voice.
Also, some people may think of co-teaching as there always being a lead teacher and an assistant teacher. Or that there’s always a veteran in the room and a newbie. But the truth is, you’re equals and the students see you as equals.
Ms. Merriam: There are many times when your communication has to be on point. Through trial and error and communicating with one another before and after school, we’re able to talk a lot about instruction and the changes we want to implement. Our relationship goes beyond our time in front of the students and that helps solidify how we work together in front of the kids.
I think there’s a misconception that it’s more work to co-teach. I’ve lead a classroom by myself and I can promise it’s definitely not more work! At a previous school I worked at, there was an attempt to integrate a co-teaching model between special education and EL teachers. It was not very effective because they didn’t communicate a clear vision to us. When coming here, something as simple as being in the room together all day and having lots of opportunities to communicate was exciting. I came in ready to learn and listen, and, in general, that’s how you should approach co-teaching.
Ms. Merriam teaching a small pull-out group, while Ms. Yuen teaches the same lesson whole group.
At Springfield Prep, two heads are truly better than one, and it’s all because of the hard work and collaborative mindset of our team! Looking for a supportive and sustainable environment where you can focus on great teaching? Learn more about our career opportunities below.
