Out of our Comfort Zone
When co-teaching, we sometimes have to make decisions that are in the best interest of our students, even if they are out of our “comfort zone.”
The Special Education Teacher Should Work with the Low Kids, Right?
Over the years, traditional practice has reinforced the myth that the special education teacher should be with the students that need the basic skills while the general education teacher teaches the whole class. That, however, is not necessarily the best thing for the students. Let the situation dictate the response.
The Co-teacher with the Best Skills for the Lesson Teaches the Struggling Students
For example, I met a math teacher who was becoming very frustrated that her students with special needs weren’t making the necessary gains, even though the special education teacher had been working with them. It was already March.
The math teacher found that the special education teacher knew the math well enough to teach it to the larger group. However, the students who needed alternate strategies and ways of explaining the math actually got them better from the math teacher. Why?
Simple – the math teacher understood the math at a deeper level. In this case, she was able to present the math concept in ways that the special education teacher didn’t know because that was her area of expertise. She came up with four or five different approaches to teach the concept while the special educator was able to teach the larger group in the way that the teacher’s manual presented it. While that was fine for the main body of students who were at grade level, it didn’t work for the ones who were struggling.
Who Has the Bigger Bag of Teaching Tricks?
Because the general education teacher had a bigger bag of tricks for teaching the math concepts, and a better understanding of the material, she was the better choice to work with the struggling students.
She found that as soon as she began implementing intense re-teaching and intervention strategies, her students started advancing in skill level and in understanding. She had the special education teacher teach the main lesson so that she could work with the students with special needs and they soon saw better results.
In this situation, both teachers had to put aside what they wanted to do, or what they were used to doing, check their egos at the door, and make the right decision for their students. This is co-teaching at its best.
From Co-Teaching and Collaboration in the Classroom: Practical Strategies for Success
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