TEAM TEACHING

Different Styles, Different Impacts Advantages and Challenges

Team Teaching
is a process and it takes time for a relationship to develop between teachers. offers rewards to both teachers and students.

Team Teachers share responsibility both in and out of the classroom

Planning

Assessing

Teaching

Team Teaching benefits educators

Both teachers.
have an opportunity to improve their teaching skills and expand their teaching portfolios learn how to share responsibility for lessons

Team Teachers
enhance each others creativity share the work load, which makes it easier to teach and help students become part of a collaborative to plan, learn, observe, reflect and grow

Team Teaching provides significant advantages for your students

Students benefit because they learn from two teachers rather than one there is twice as much expertise, knowledge, time, energy and teaching strengths in the classroom they can see new dimensions of the language and practice the language in new ways
Host teachers bring a full understanding of the culture and education system. Volunteers bring different perspectives and energy.

THE 5 TEAM TEACHING MODELS

Features Advantages & Challenges

Traditional Team Teaching

Teachers share class time. Both present content and guide learning activities. Advantages focus on learners to identify their strengths/weaknesses observe the teaching style of teammate

Challenges requires careful planning to coordinate the content and timing of lessons

Supportive
One teacher teaches the majority of the content and the other provides supplementary activities and learner support.
Advantages Requires less joint planning time. Provides opportunity for one teacher to circulate and assess students level of understanding. Can offer timely individualized assistance for some students.

Challenges Circulating teacher might get distracted or feel less engaged Students might become dependent and wait for individual help Requires planning to assure that supplementary activities and materials are aligned with the content and skill level of the lesson

Parallel Instruction
Teachers divide class and each one teaches the same lesson with of the class Advantages Lower teacher-student ratio Teachers work with different level students separately Challenges Both teachers must be knowledgeable and confident in teaching the content and skills Need to prepare materials at 2 levels of difficult Classroom may become very noisy Timing issues - one group may finish more quickly

Differentiated Split Class

The teachers divide the class and each teacher works with one group of students.
(Note: Consider switching groups to avoid favoritism)

Advantages
Lower teacher-student ratio Each teacher adapts instruction for group level Reduces inequality among students; all students are provided appropriate instructional support

Challenges
Groups doing different tasks can be distracting Additional preparation time for materials/activities Risk of labeling groups high or low

Monitoring Teacher
One teacher teaches the lesson while the other circulates to monitor students and to assist those who need special attention.

Advantages
Accommodates students who dont learn at the same rate as others Offers teachers an opportunity to help students who have been absent or to work with a few students on special

Challenges
Might stigmatize students who receive special instruction Need to clarify teachers roles so that neither one is not viewed as an assistant

Words of wisdom
Team teaching isnt something that you can just start doing tomorrow. It should be a careful, thoughtful, gradual process that continues to grow over time. What does this mean? Simply, dont give up and dont worry. It is going to take time, and no one does it perfectly.

Team Teaching is rewarding, but requires effort & commitment Key words to remember: Communication Dedication Respect