Gately and Gately (2001) identify three stages in the co-teaching relationship: The Beginning Stage, The Compromising Stage, and The Collaborative Stage. Co-teachers can expect to experience these stages as they take on the challenge of delivering instruction to their students as a team.
Co-teaching is a developmental process and has stages: the beginning stage, the compromise stage, and the collaborative stage. At each stage in the co-teaching process, teachers demonstrate varying degrees of interaction and collaboration(Gately & Gately, 2001).
Are you a beginner, a compromiser or a collaborator? Gately and Gately (2001) identify three stages in the co-teaching relationship: The Beginning Stage, The Compromising Stage, and The Collaborative Stage.
Co-teachers can expect to experience these stages as they take on the challenge of delivering instruction to their students as a team. At the beginning of a co-teaching relationship, the interactions are of- ten polite and somewhat guarded. In the compromising stage, the teachers often feel that need to give up something in order to get what they need. Finally, in the collaboration stage, the teachers have open communication and mutual admiration. As teachers gain experience and trust with each other, they go through these predictable stages. Knowledge of these stages can help teachers avoid much of the frustration that may occur as teachers learn to truly collaborate.
Reference
Gately, S., & Gately, F. (2001). Understanding co-teaching components. Teaching Exceptional Children, 33(4), 40-47.
Resources
Following are several resources that will aid co-teaching partners as they progress through the three stages described above:
K8 Access Center: Download tips and strategies for co-teaching developed by Wendy Muraw and Lisa Deiker including a tool called S.H.A.R.E.: Sharing Hopes, Attitudes, Responsibilities, and Expectations as well as The Co-teaching Rating Scale. http://www.k8accesscenter.org/documents/AllHandouts_000.pdf
Special Connections: Connecting teachers to strategies that help students with special needs successfully access the curriculum. At this site you will find “Collaboration Modules” comprised of four components: Teacher Tools, Case Studies, Resources, and On-line Collaboration. (broken link) http://www.specialconnections.ku.edu/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/specconn/index.php
The Power of 2: Making a difference through co-teaching. The DVD and facilitators’ guide, developed by Marilyn Friend and A Forum on Education, provide a framework for establishing a co-teaching program, with video demonstrations in classrooms and teacher interviews. Available for check out from the T-TAC ODU Library.
