I'm wondering if anyone has experience with co-teaching/team teaching. It's something that I'm considering next year.
There was team-teaching when I worked in a pre-school. The teachers loved it. Everybody had input and each teacher only had to make lesson plans once a month. But I imagine this is easier to do in a pre-k environment. I'm not sure how it would work in older grades.
The teacher that I am looking to team teach with is a good friend of mine. We already work together alot, and rely on each other for advice. I think it would be a very easy or "smooth" transition.
It sounds like you have the worst of the hurdles already covered. The relationship you have with your co-teacher will set the tone for the entire class.
Our district is looking at this for next year. I dread it, as I have witnessed a past attempt at this (pairing a special ed teacher with another high school science teacher-who had to plan everything, modify everything, teach everything).
I pm'ed you. I love team teaching, and I think if there's a current member of the team who's returning and a member of the team who's leaving, interviewing and trusting your gut instincts about the potential replacement is a must.
There is a potential of "team-teaching" next year... The current Resource & Methods teacher will be out on a full year mat-leave, and she works 0.5 time as a Resource teacher and then one day a week (0.2 time) as a job-share with a Kindergarten teacher who is just coming back from a mat-leave this year. I am in line for that job next year, and depending on the Resource allotment, I may be doing that one day a week as well.
It is true -- team teaching is wonderful, especially if you have a good relationship with your teaching partner.
I have team taught the past 3 years with a bunch of different partners with many different teaching styles. While it can be great I've found that it is just as important that your styles match up as it is that you like one another. I've worked in partnerships where our styles did not match up and it was tough to have to sacrifice some of my style for the betterment of the partnership. However, when the two teachers work well together it is great for the students because they have two teachers focusing on their needs. I think team teaching is often a mix between balancing the individual styles of the teachers with the collective success of the class. That can be a tricky balancing act but if you get it right, it is a very positive experience.
I agree. I have done it twice. 1st time a mistake. 2nd great! My advice: 1. Both teachers must want to do it. 2. There has to be ground rules into effect that divide things up. 3. It helps if both of you don't have the same strengths or the same weaknesses. 4. Think about arranging space. Are you each going to have a desk? I don't use a desk, but is there going to be room for you each to have a table? I like tables for the kids. Some teachers hate tables and only want desks. Does mess bother you? 5. Think about supplies. Are you sharing? Does one need more space? What is your style of storing? 6. What is your feeling on free choice play? Do you think that students have to have every minute scheduled? 7. Would one of you be the lead teacher? 8. What is your discipline style? That was a big problem in my first situation. I was a very strict disciplinarian. She let a lot slide. She wanted me to handle the discipline. I got tired of being the "meany" or the "tough one". She would lose control during a lesson and expected me to rescue her. Then I would discipline a child and she would take them in her lap and say, "Mrs. M didn't mean to be mean to you! She just expects better." I felt that we both should expect better. (For the record, so did the principal. My team teacher failed her entry year...twice. Only once at my school. :woot: She doesn't teach now.) 9. Can you give up control? That was the hardest for me. Especially when I disagreed with the teaching style or thought that the expectations were not high enough. When both parties are together and they mesh, it is a wonderful situation for the children, parents, and teachers. These are just some of my thoughts.
The last two posts hit it dead-on... I co-teach with a resource teacher who initially taught with the other fifth grade teacher on my team. They fought like cats and dogs and have completely opposite personalities. He and I got along great though, and we proposed working together to our principal. This is our second year working together and we continue to have a strong personal and professional relationship - and he swears that our friendship and respect for each other are evident to all our students and make us better teachers. We have a lot of common ground in terms of our expectations for students' academics and behavior and often work together to determine major projects and meet with parents, yet we also trust each other to try out projects and ideas that we wouldn't necessarily do ourselves. All that said... If he were to leave, I would not team-teach with anyone unless we established a good relationship beforehand and had several discussions about our goals and expectations for our classroom.
