We’re Co-Teaching….Now What?
Kevin Derocher
Brenda Goulette
derocherk@bcschools.net
gouletteb@bcschools.net
What Makes Co-Teaching Successful?
In this session, Kevin Derocher and Brenda Goulette focused on the tools and strategies
necessary for successful co-teaching. Derocher, a 9th grade physical science teacher, and
Goulette, a secondary special educator, have been successfully co-teaching together for the past
2 years at Bay City Central High School in Bay City, Michigan.
After much success and seeing multiple colleagues experience large amounts of
frustration with little success, Derocher and Goulette decided to investigate the causes for this
success and failure. They found that the key to successful co-teaching is in the relationships.
Teamwork, communication, and compromise are among the most important qualities required
for successful relationships, but most importantly, both teachers involved have to view the
classroom, the students, and the planning in light of the word ‘ours’ rather than ‘mine’.
Co-teaching has many benefits as well as a few barriers. The advantages of a quality coteaching relationship include higher self-esteem and least restrictive environment for students in
special education, and extra help for students in general education. Two teachers working
together also results in better lesson plans, a reduced work-load, and more expertise within the
classroom. The barriers to co-teaching are few, but if not confronted, can be devastating to the
environment. In order to successfully co-teach, both teachers must relinquish half of the control
(which can be difficult for teachers at times!), and coordinate all planning. The special education
teacher has to be an equal part of the team rather than a ‘glorified paraprofessional’, and the
students have to overcome the stigma related to special education teachers versus general
education teachers.
Where Do We Begin?
After discussing what co-teaching means, the benefits and barriers, and the importance of
a quality relationship, Deroucher and Goulette provided several steps for developing a successful
co-teaching relationship. The first step is to complete a teaching style inventory. The example
that was provided included 12 multiple choice questions that are used to determine where on a
spectrum a teacher falls regarding the issues of concept representation, learning, interaction, and
cognitive processing. These spectrums then fall easily onto a graph so that the teaching style of
each teacher can be viewed comparatively. Differences in teaching style are not necessarily bad,
but they must be recognized.
The second step is to have a preliminary discussion regarding hopes, attitudes,
responsibilities and expectations. Every aspect of the day should be discussed from bathroom
passes to personal strengths and weaknesses. The goal of each aspect of this discussion is to
either agree, compromise, or agree to disagree.
The third step was to complete a responsibility checklist. In this step, every
responsibility throughout the day should be listed, from assigning grades and calling parents to
making copies and scheduling meetings. Then for each task it should be decided who will be the
primary person responsible for the task or if the responsibility will be shared equally.
When time is taken early on to establish a quality relationship, co-teaching is rewarding
and beneficial to the students in both general education and special education as well as both of
the teachers.
Michigan Council for Exceptional Children Annual Conference 2009