It was a hot mid-September day. Although the windows were open to the sunlit courtyard, there was hardly a breath of air in the room. Inside, the 4th graders were settling down for their first math assessment that year. David and Kristin, the teachers of this co-taught class (and two of the coauthors of this article), scanned the room and saw Katie—one of six students in the class with significant disabilities—in tears. Kristin quickly went over. "Katie, what's wrong? Do you need help?"
"No," Katie replied. Through her tears, she explained that she was, in fact, happy. "I've just never been able to take a test with the other kids before!"
In this team-taught 4th grade classroom at Margaret A. Neary Elementary School, everyone belongs. Students with disabilities, English language learners, gifted math students, avid readers, students who struggle with reading—all work individually, in small teams, and as part of a whole class, learning to make good choices for their own academic and social needs and working together to foster a positive environment for everyone.
Margaret A. Neary School serves 300 4th and 5th graders in Southborough, Massachusetts, a Boston suburb. Of these students, 10.5 percent are identified as having special needs, 5.4 percent as English language learners, and 18.7 percent as having "high needs."
The 2014–15 school year was the fifth year this 4th grade classroom configuration had been offered at the school. The configuration consists of two classes (typically 40–42 students), two teachers, two classroom aides, and sometimes a one-on-one aide for a particular student. For the past three years, there have also been two co-taught 5th grade classrooms; this year, there are two other co-taught 4th grade classrooms, and one co-taught 5th grade classroom.
How Did This Begin?
Six years ago, in planning for our incoming 4th graders, we learned that of the more than 20 incoming students with special needs, Katie and five others had significant disabilities and would need separate instruction a large part of the day. Most of these six students had multiple disabilities, including pervasive development disorder, cerebral palsy, intellectual disability, severe dyslexia, and autism spectrum disorder. Given our staffing, we couldn't create a separate class for these six students; we also wanted to include them as much as possible. Through discussions involving all the 4th grade teachers, the special education team, and the principal, we decided to include these students (and four others with special needs) in a class of 36 with two teachers, an arrangement we thought would allow flexibility for separate instruction as needed. Although this plan made the other 4th grade classes larger, the teachers thought it would work best for the grade as a whole.
David and Kristin were excited about the idea and volunteered to create the combined class. We identified the space—two classrooms separated by a folding wall, next to the 4th grade special education teacher's room. We spent the summer painting and planning, arranging the space to make sure it felt like one classroom. By the time school began in the fall, the folding wall was open; the other walls were a pretty sky-blue color; and desks and resource spaces were organized, with a large rug at each end of the room and two teacher desks in the middle. David and Kristin had also planned the beginning of the year and their first conversations with parents at the fall open house.
That open house was a challenge. Many parents were skeptical. ("It's too big!" "My child will be distracted.") However, by conference time in early November, parents were thrilled with their children's growth both in academic learning and in social skills and responsibility. One parent's comment made us cringe, but it illustrated how well the classroom worked: The mother of a high-achieving student told David and Kristin how happy she was that her son was in their class and not in a class with students with disabilities. Meanwhile, the 10 students with special needs who were in the class were also doing well, and their parents said their children felt truly part of the class.
Belonging and Academic Success
Good classrooms, like good schools, have two essential elements: a safe learning community in which everyone feels accepted and valued, and challenging and stimulating learning experiences that enable students to learn at their optimal levels (National Association of Secondary School Principals, 2011; Shriver & Bridgeland, 2015). This co-taught class has been successful in both respects. We've seen many examples of how our students have grown and learned, from the student with severe dyslexia who could finally demonstrate his intellectual capacity through alternative means, to the English language learner who gained the skill to present a report in English, to the advanced math students who found encouragement working with other students to master algebra concepts.
Parents of students at all levels of achievement have praised the level of learning—and excitement about learning—and the growth in student independence they've seen. By the second year, many parents were trying to have their children assigned to this class.
What has made it work so well, and how does tandem teaching contribute to this result? First of all, David and Kristin consciously work to create a community that makes every student feel as though he or she belongs, that celebrates learning, and that challenges each student. They treat all the students as their students and their class, and they explicitly teach social skills. The folding wall is never closed; the only time students are separated is for their daily specials classes.
The following practices help ensure an inclusive and intellectually challenging environment.
Morning Meeting
The daily morning meeting sets the tone for community and learning. A recent morning meeting included the following: morning greetings; a choral reading of the co-teachers' daily classroom letter that greets students, sets a morning task for them, and explains any important events of the day; group correction of errors in the letter as well as a discussion of grammar (identifying prepositional phrases); a choral reading of the poem of the week; daily "calendar math" work; and recognition of students who had met the 20-book challenge. It also included two student learning extension presentations: One student read two poems she'd written, and another read a story written by her younger sister and explained how she had taught her sister about story elements.
Morning meetings often include social skills presentations, such as the skit that David and Kristin did one Halloween morning that modeled how someone could be feeling anxious about something, like Halloween, and what that person could do to have a productive day regardless.
Extension Presentations
Extension presentations, in which students share their work on something they're curious about, are frequent. An extension can relate directly to the curriculum (for example, studying the design of the Hoover Dam) or to a student interest (comparing and contrasting authentic Indian dance to American jazz dance). The presentations are open-ended and take different forms. Some students make an iMovie or slide show, others stand in front of the class and report, and still others—perhaps not yet fluent enough with oral reading or confident enough to present—ask the teachers to share their information for them.
The benefits are many. In addition to the fact that all students can do this activity, it fosters the natural curiosity of lifelong learners, encourages thinking about presenting information effectively, and gives students the opportunity to learn from peers.
Community and Individualized Learning
Throughout the day, the teachers use a variety of instructional strategies, including whole-class lessons, small learning teams, and one-on-one sessions. Students work in several contexts and make many of their own decisions, perhaps joining a teacher-led group to work on a particular skill, taking a pretest in a new content area, or working on an extension project. During math time, for example, one student might work with the special education teacher on learning to tell time, a small group might explore algebra with one teacher, and other students might work in a group on a different topic led by the other teacher.
David and Kristin work closely with the 4th grade special education teacher, frequently using the special education space adjacent to the class and making sure all students become comfortable in both that space and the larger classroom. Students with and without disabilities work in mixed groups and use both spaces.
In planning each lesson, David and Kristin start with the individual learning goals for all students and structure the lesson to provide activities that foster achievement of those goals. The lesson may have several parts, with students rotating from one task or center to another. Each student has an individual schedule of rotations, worked out with David or Kristin, so when a teacher tells students it's time for the next rotation, they each know where to go and what to do next. Specialist services are integrated into the rotations so students with special needs can work with specialists during these times. When a student does so, she's simply doing what's next in her rotation, just like everybody else.
A visitor at the beginning of a typical literacy period might see the following: several students reading to themselves with a designated purpose (for instance, one boy reads a Harry Potter book and collects descriptive words to use in his writing); David working one-on-one with a student to introduce inferencing through choral reading and modeling; Kristin helping a small group make inferences from a particular text; another small group working with an aide to find examples of inferencing in the books they're reading; several students listening to reading to build fluency; and a student with disabilities working with the speech/language teacher.
When the class switches to the next rotation, David begins a series of individual goals conferences with students. Kristin continues her small group, but she draws into it several students who had been reading independently, plus four students who'd been working with the special education teacher. Some students who were in Kristin's group move to the group working with the aide; the special education teacher gathers a new group; and the speech/language teacher moves to work with two other students, while other students start to read and work independently.
From the first day of class, David and Kristin work with students to ensure that they take ownership of their learning. Students practice going to a center or joining a group, and teachers model how a student might think about making the best choice for his or her learning. Students also practice transitions so they can transition smoothly, taking perhaps 45 seconds to move from one activity to the next. Learners can and do ask for help. For example, a student might tell Kristin he thinks he knows what inferences are but isn't sure he can identify them, and she may suggest an appropriate group for him to join.
Because of the emphasis on both community and individualized learning, students feel part of the whole class and also understand that everyone's needs are different. As one classroom poster notes, "Fair isn't everyone getting the same thing. Fair is everyone getting what they need to be successful!" Students understand that flexible grouping enables each student to set his or her own goals. They begin to feel comfortable with how they learn and what they need for success and become empowered to take an active role in their learning.
So how did this work for Katie and her five classmates with serious disabilities? Were they in a separate class most of the day? No. But did they work in small groups or individually with help so their needs were met? Yes—along with everyone else, including the advanced math students and gifted readers who were also in that class! No wonder they felt they belonged.
The Advantages
This may sound like inclusion nirvana. But we think it works well, and team teaching helps make it possible. In a single-teacher classroom, this level of differentiation is harder to achieve. And if the teacher is leading a whole-group lesson, he or she can't easily stop and take care of a student who is having an issue with academics or experiencing an emotional upset. In a two-teacher classroom, one teacher can usually respond immediately. If a student is upset, one teacher can take that student aside; if a student is confused, one teacher can help right away.
Research demonstrates that collaboration works (Brodesky, Gross, McTigue, & Palmer, 2007). Two teachers who brainstorm how to solve a learning problem or teach a difficult concept are much more likely to solve the problem and teach more effectively. In this classroom, the teachers continually co-plan lessons and solve problems collaboratively. In addition, other specialists can work effectively with individual students or small groups right in the classroom.
Another advantage of team teaching is that there's little lost instructional time. When one teacher has to respond to a pressing need, the other can continue the lesson or take care of both groups. Students rarely have a day without one or the other of their teachers. When one teacher's out, although there's a substitute, the students still have their other teacher managing the class.
The Challenges
Co-teaching provides the joy of working with a colleague to create a wonderful place of learning, but each teacher is also no longer autonomous in planning and managing his or her classroom. Co-teachers must be good communicators, respect each other, have similar teaching philosophies, be willing to spend time planning together, and at times be willing to drop their own ideas and go with the other person's plans. For example, when David and Kristin first started planning their combined classroom, Kristin was willing to drop her preferred method of spelling instruction and follow David's lead.
Developing and maintaining a clear, consistent structure in the classroom is crucial. In David and Kristin's class, expectations and structures are clear. Teachers continually remind students of the procedures ("We're going to make a transition now. Number one, stand up. Number two, gather your things. Number three, move to [_____].")
Good communication with parents is also essential; it's important to respond quickly to questions and concerns and encourage parents to volunteer in the classroom. Although parents have been thrilled with their children's experience in this classroom, every year some parents are nervous about it, particularly parents of children with disabilities and parents of children with attention issues, who worry that their child will be distracted. In fact, the clear structure, combined with individual attention, responsibility, and choice, has made this classroom an excellent place for students with attention issues and those with disabilities. Both receive the support they need and learn to implement better strategies for themselves.
Finally, administrative support is important. Parents sometimes need to hear from an administrator how the classroom will work for their child. Administrative support ensures that the placement team understands this classroom structure and that the school schedule will accommodate the needs of the combined classrooms.
Learning at Its Best
Will co-teaching solve all education problems? If we just combined classes and assigned two teachers to each, would magic happen every time? Obviously not. But in the hands of two teachers who want to co-teach, are committed to the model, and have similar teaching philosophies, this structure enables them to create an excellent, joyful classroom community in which adults can teach and students can learn at their best.
