Co-Teaching Frequently Asked Questions
What’s inclusion and what’s co-teaching?

Lynne Cook and Marilyn Friend define co-teaching as: “two or more educators or other certified
staff contracting to share instructional responsibility for a single group of students.”1 This means
co-teaching could include:
o
Two general education secondary math teachers co-teaching a section of Algebra I.
o
A 7th grade, self-contained special educator co-teaching a math block with a
paraprofessional.
o
A high school special educator and a general educator co-teaching a section of biology or
English I.
o

A special and general educator co-teaching a class of 4th graders.
Though the terms are often used interchangeably, inclusion and co-teaching are not necessarily the
same thing. Inclusion, according to Cook and Friend, “refers to a broad belief system or philosophy
embracing the notion that all students should be welcomed members of a learning community,
that all students are part of their classrooms even if their abilities differ.” Co-teaching is often an
integral part of inclusionary practices—effective co-teaching helps students with different ability
levels succeed in a general education setting. Co-teaching between a special educator and general
educator is one way students with disabilities receive the services they need to progress in the
general education curriculum to the maximum extent possible.
Why should special educators and general educators co-teach? Why might IEP Teams want students
to receive special education services in the general education setting?

1
Cook and Friend provide the following rationale for co-teaching:
For more information, see this packet by Lynne Cook and Marilyn Friend:
http://www.tfanet.org/wps/myportal/teachinglearningcenter/resourceexchange/resourceprofile?resource_id=4ffa44dae06433a9:68cfb8
e8:11e3901da74:378b.

Of course, students (and co-teachers) don’t automatically reap these benefits by simply existing in a
“co-taught” environment. As you know, both teachers have to work hard to ensure all students are
progressing as far as possible.
For whom do I set a big goal?

Your co-teaching placement is likely very unique; in fact, there’s probably not another inclusion
corps member who has your exact schedule, co-teaching responsibilities, or co-teaching
relationship(s). Therefore, there may not be just “one answer” to this question.

The chart below summarizes the goal setting approaches inclusion corps members could adopt.
You should work with your program director to identify the option which makes the most sense
given your unique context.
Option:

My co-teacher and I set big goals for all of our
Notes:

Some special education corps members who co-
students. My co-teacher and I assess and track
teach in inclusive settings work with their co-
the performance of all students.
teachers to craft big goals for and track the
progress of all students—that is, students in
general education and students receiving special
education services.

Given the definition of co-teaching—shared
instructional responsibility for a group of
students—this makes sense. The special
educator and the general educator work
together to ensure all students, regardless of
ability level, succeed.

However, though ideal, this approach likely
makes the most sense for corps members who
work with one co-teacher, particularly
elementary teachers who work with one general
educator and teach the same group of students
all day.


My co-teacher does not want to set a big goal

You may not be able to invest your co-teacher
for all students in the class, but s/he likes the
in your big goals for your students, but your co-
idea of tracking students’ performance.
teacher may be very invested in tracking
We assess and track the performance of all of
students’ performance and using that data to
our students. I have still identified a big goal
make strategic instructional decisions.
for either a) all students or b) the students with

In this situation, you may want to obtain and
disabilities whom I serve, but I may
track student achievement data about all
communicate this goal to students in different
students. You can (and should) still have a “big
ways.
goal” for either all students in the class or the
students with disabilities you serve.

I set a big goal for, assess, and track the

This option likely makes the most sense if: you
progress of only the students with disabilities
are a secondary inclusion teacher, and/or you
whom I serve in the class.
work with multiple co-teachers, and/or your coteacher does not want to set a big goal for or
track the progress of all students.

In this situation, you can still communicate your
big goal to your students and assess and track
students’ progress towards that goal but these
actions may need to occur in “non-traditional”
ways, many of which are explored throughout
this document in more detail.
What can I do if my co-teacher doesn’t want to give a diagnostic?

If your co-teacher wasn’t planning on giving a diagnostic, you could:
1. Invest your co-teacher(s) in giving the diagnostic to all students in the class. Show the
diagnostic to your co-teacher, explain its contents and the potential benefits of its
administration (i.e. uses of the data). Offer to grade and track the data for all students in
the class.
2. If your co-teacher still has reservations about giving the diagnostic, set up times outside of
class to administer diagnostics to the students with disabilities you serve or, if possible, all
students in your class. Times to consider include: lunch (over several days), before school,
or after school.
What can I do if my co-teacher’s unit assessment is not valid?

If your co-teacher’s unit assessment is not valid, you could:
1. work with your co-teacher to co-create valid assessments

Offer to help create unit assessments so that you can ensure all students in the class
take valid assessments. You could also volunteer to grade and track the class’ unit
assessments. This way, you and your co-teacher would have valid assessment data
for all students in the class, and could use this data to make strategic instructional
decisions.
2. work with your co-teacher to supplement his/her unit assessments so that they are valid

If your co-teacher already has unit assessments and is not interested in co-creating
new unit assessments “from scratch,” offer to supplement existing unit assessments
with additional questions so that they are valid.
3. supplement the unit assessment with additional questions you administer (during warm-ups,
exit tickets, before or after class, etc.)

If your co-teacher does not want to alter existing unit assessments, write new or
additional questions which would make the assessment valid, and administer these
assessment items to (preferably) all students during warm-ups, before or after class
or (less preferably) the students with disabilities you are serving during the class
period.
4. write valid unit assessments and administer the assessments before or after school, during
lunch, etc.

A fourth option is to create valid unit assessments and administer these assessments
to the students with disabilities you serve in the class. These assessments would
likely need to be given outside of regular class time (i.e. before school, after school,
during lunch, etc.).
How can I track my students’ progress?

Depending on the subject(s) you teach, you’ll either use a growth or mastery tracker. If you have a
mastery big goal, your tracker should include the prioritized learning goals to which you’ll hold
each student accountable. Below is an example of Dhathri Chunduru’s (Atlanta, ’08) reading
fluency tracker:
ORAL FLUENCY
3/6
Level
Branch, Danielle
W
Bright, Tremico
W
Duckett, Naiya
W
Edwards, Tyreka
W
Hill, Raiona
W
Lawrence, Lydia
W
Love, Kamrie
W
Thomas, Kayla
Z
Thompson, Jaelen
W
WPM
75
95
170
182
115
95
122
115
117
3/12
Level
W
Accuracy
0.9375
0.825688073
0.98989899
94.44%
90.36%
78.00%
93.79%
100.00%
93.48%
3/17
WPM
96
Accuracy
98.96%
W
W
160
111
99.38%
94.59%
W
W
W
97
137
97
98.97%
99.27%
98.97%
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
AVERAGE
WPM
85.50
95.00
165.00
146.50
115.00
96.00
129.50
106.00
117.00
117.28
Accuracy
96.35%
82.57%
99.18%
94.52%
90.36%
88.48%
96.53%
99.48%
93.48%
93.44%
Daily tracking:
As an inclusion teacher, you may need to gather data from multiple sources (e.g. exit slips, independent
practices, do-nows, quizzes etc.). Therefore, you may find a simple daily tracker helpful.
After identifying the learning goals to which each student will be held accountable in a unit, identify the
sub-components/daily objectives of each learning goal. Record these objectives in a tracker and record
students’ mastery as you gather the data. Below, you can see Dhathri’s example for the following standard:
ELA7C1.A: Identifies and writes simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences correctly,
punctuating properly, avoiding fragments and run-ons, adding or deleting modifiers, combining or revising
sentences. Dhathri began to break this standard down by tracking students’ ability to identify the different
types of sentences. This student achievement data may have been gathered from do-now problems, exit
tickets, independent practice, or quizzes given before or after class or school. With this data, Dhathri
could pinpoint the exact remediation each student needed during class, before or after school tutoring,
etc.
Daily Tracker Example (Quizzes and Do-Now’s)
LANGUAGE ARTS (TT)
3/5/09: ELA7C1.A
ID def of
sentences
Branch, Danielle
Bright, Tremico
Duckett, Naiya
Edwards, Tyreka
Hill, Raiona
Lawrence, Lydia
Love, Kamrie
Thomas, Kayla
100
ID Compound
100
25
100
25
50
100
50
50
50
50
50
100
50
ID
complex
33
ID CCX
50
ID Simple
0
83
66
50
66
0
0
100
0
50
0
100
0
100
100
100
100
100
100
ID IC
ID Sub
0
0
0
50
50
50
50
0
100
100
100
100
Thompson, Jaelen
Averages
100
100
100
100
100
50
100
69
69
50
50
88
36
71
What can I do if students don’t have the prerequisite knowledge and skills needed to master the
standards on a unit assessment, and my co-teacher’s unit plan does not adequately address the
remediation/instruction students need?

Chances are high that the students with disabilities you serve in the class aren’t the only students
who may initially lack the prerequisite knowledge and skills needed to master the standards on a
unit assessment. Talk with your co-teacher about using diagnostic data (or administering a pre-test
and using pre-test data) to plan each unit so that all students have the prerequisite knowledge and
skills they need to master the learning goals on a unit assessment. Use the diagnostic or pre-test
data to create a draft unit plan to share with your co-teacher.

If your co-teacher does not want to alter the unit plan to account for varied needs, find
opportunities to pursue additional instructional time to ensure the students with disabilities you
serve in the class have the foundational knowledge and skills they need to succeed on a unit
assessment. Make sure you know the class’ rough plan for the upcoming unit or upcoming few
weeks. Using a unit assessment and other curricular resources, identify the skills and knowledge
students will need in order to be successful on the unit assessment. Find time (anything from five
to ten minute chunks of time before, during, or after class to tutoring before or after school) to
teach students necessary prerequisite knowledge and skills for upcoming content.

You may also use this additional instructional time to pre-teach upcoming objectives. Pre-teaching
the skills and knowledge students will need in order to master an objective gives students more
time to internalize new information and/or more practice time with new skills, makes class time
more productive, and can increase students’ confidence and success during class time.
What can I do if students don’t do well on a unit assessment?

If students don’t do well on a unit assessment, you could:
1. Work with your co-teacher to plan time for remediation and re-assessment from the
previous unit into the following unit or units. Again, chances are high that there are many
students – not just students with disabilities – who’ll need some sort of re-teaching and reassessment for standards they did not master. Work with your co-teacher to use your unit
assessment data to identify these students and adjust your unit plan to ensure students
receive the re-teaching they need.
2. If your co-teacher does not want to adjust the unit plan to incorporate needed re-teaching
or reassessment, evaluate the performance of the students with disabilities you serve in the
class.

Use your unit assessment data to identify the learning goals students did or did not
master.

Find time to re-teach the targeted learning goal(s) each student needs to master.

Write additional assessments aligned to the learning goals your students need to
master.

Schedule time to administer the assessment to students

Track students’ performance on assessment
How can I find the time to pre-teach, re-teach, reassess or re-track?

Consider accessing the following resources on the resource exchange which can help you a)
identify opportunities during class time to assess students, and b) identify additional instructional
time
1. Creative assessment strategies:
http://www.tfanet.org/wps/myportal/teachinglearningcenter/resourceexchange/resourceprofil
e?resource_id=4ffa44dae06433a9:-6033b896:11ce4b1b8ac:abf
2. Pursuing additional instructional time:

Resource #1:
http://www.tfanet.org/wps/myportal/teachinglearningcenter/resourceexchange/resour
ceprofile?resource_id=4ffa44dae06433a9:-6033b896:11ce4b1b8ac:abf

Resource #2:
http://www.tfanet.org/wps/myportal/teachinglearningcenter/resourceexchange/resour
ceprofile?resource_id=4ffa44dae06433a9:364a186:12089258ff5:-6d84
Do I set a big goal for all students on my caseload even though I don’t directly serve them (in one of
my co-taught classes, for example)?
Your school or district might have another name for it (such as “folder students”), but your caseload is the
group of students whose IEP paperwork is your responsibility. All of these students might receive special
education services from you, or your caseload might include students who receive services from others,
such as other special education teachers or other service providers (such as an occupational therapist or a
speech-language pathologist).

Students you directly serve: You should set a big goal for all the students you directly serve. As a
co-teacher serving students in an inclusive environment, this includes all the students to whom you
provide special education services in general education classrooms. It does not matter if these
students are on your caseload or another teacher’s; if you directly serve them in special education,
you should set a big goal for and track the progress of these students.

Students you don’t directly serve: If you have students on your caseload who you don’t serve,
then you need to make sure that they are receiving special education services from someone else.
For a student with a speech-language disability and no other special need, that service provider
would probably be the speech-language therapist for your school. For another student, that person
might be another special education teacher. If the student is receiving special education services
from someone other than you, then those teachers or service providers are responsible for tracking
their progress since they provide the special education services. Those students would also not be
included in your tracking data.
Why can’t my co-teacher and I just take turns planning?

You and your co-teacher could “take turns” planning, but planning independently likely won’t set
you and your co-teacher up to be as effective as possible and truly take advantage of “the power
of two.”

Like all teachers, each co-teacher needs to internalize the academic content students will need to
master and the methods (i.e. how the content will be taught). At the unit and daily-planning levels,
co-teachers must also decide how they’ll use two instructors to move all students closer to their
goals. These decisions require consistent input from both co-teachers.

Resources which could help you consider planning issues:
o
Possible issues to resolve during planning: A document in this zipped file of co-teaching
resources:
http://www.tfanet.org/wps/myportal/teachinglearningcenter/resourceexchange/resourceprofil
e?resource_id=4ffa44dae06433a9:6f6e5701:11f2b40d193:-e09
o
Co-teaching daily lesson planning templates:

Co-teaching five-step lesson planning template:
http://www.tfanet.org/wps/myportal/teachinglearningcenter/resourceexchange/resour
ceprofile?resource_id=c6fdebb1c867415a:79c5e66d:1229ba037b3:-73d6

Another example of a co-teaching lesson planning template:
http://www.tfanet.org/wps/myportal/teachinglearningcenter/resourceexchange/resour
ceprofile?resource_id=58c2446fda58af7f:392e4a21:11bc3902a56:-7c82

Example of a co-taught lesson plan (describes what each teacher will do during the
lesson, and how the work will be differentiated for students at varying ability levels):
http://www.tfanet.org/wps/myportal/teachinglearningcenter/resourceexchange/resour
ceprofile?resource_id=c6fdebb1c867415a:40e65296:12137223e1d:3149