Collaborative Math Classrooms: Co-teaching Tips and Strategies
Communication
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Communicate early! Schedule a time to meet with your co-teacher.
Talk about classroom management strategies, grading practices, roles, use of calculator.
Make joint decisions with respect to plans/scheduling.
Ex: Are students ready for assessment? Who “gets it”, who needs more support? What do
“balanced” groups or partner pairings (peer remediation?) look like?
Bring learning strategies and instructional methods to the table- support the general ed. teacher by
brainstorming ways to present things according to student preferences.
 Visual supports, multisensory teaching, task analysis, use of cues or prompts that fade
out, assistance with problem organization
Models of Co-teaching
Find a model that works best and capitalizes on both teachers’ strengths. The most important thing is
that both teachers are actively engaged and contributing to instruction.
Options:
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50/50 joint instruction- this can be divided by segments of a class period or by topic or unit
It is best if students see both teachers leading instruction.
One teach, one “float” to assist any students who are struggling, clarify directions, answer questions.
This person can also monitor and collect data- this is especially beneficial when preparing for the SOL
(use of ActivEngage).
Parallel Teaching- divide students into groups (random or leveled and run two concurrent lessons)
“Remediation Specialist”- monitor student work to pin point the “breakdown” in understanding;
offer alternative ways to arrive at a solution, etc. Be responsible for “re-teaching” material from the
previous class as a warm-up to fill in any gaps of understanding.
Small group - one teacher takes a small group of students to remediate or provide an enrichment
activity. This can be either teacher.
IEP Responsibilities (of the Exceptional Education teacher):
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Learn the content. Take advantage of all the resources available to you. If this is your first time with a
content, try to stay a chapter or unit “ahead.”
Identify the students with IEPs in your collaborative class as soon as rosters are available- work with
your ex. ed. dept. chair if there is a system established for this.
Verify that you and your co-teacher have received accommodations pages.
Coordinate accommodations and discuss with gen. ed. teacher. Things to consider:
 Use of calculator- how does this look?
 Small group vs. read aloud testing
Attend IEP meetings, back to school night, parent conferences, especially if there is an area of
concern. Communicate with the case manager and try to have one teacher representing your class
for at least part of the IEP meeting.