CSUSM Co-Teaching

About Co-Teaching

What is Co-Teaching?

Co-teaching is two or more people (i.e., cooperating teacher and credential candidate) sharing responsibility in planning for, teaching and assesing the students assigned to them for instruction. In a co-teaching clinical practice approach, a cooperating teacher and credential candidate have an ongoing partnership in planning for and practicing four co-teaching approaches to collaboratively teach all students throughout the clinical experience.

Why Co-Teach in Clinical Practice?

1. Improved student achievement...the stakes are high.

2. Improved teacher preparation...scaffolding and training the brains of beginning teachers.

3. Collaboration is crucial to the changing culture of education...isolation is not the most effective process in a constantly changing environment and world.

4. Increased confidence and competence building to solo teaching for the Teacher Candidate.

Resources for Planning, Teaching and Reflecting

This section contains resources for Cooperating Teachers and Teacher Candidates to aid in their co-teaching planning conversations. As co-teachers, you will be spending a great deal of time together, planning, reflecting, and sharing space and resources. It is essential that you begin with something likened unto a "nuptual agreement." Subsequent conversations reiterate your agreement and the differentiated roles you will play when engaged in co-teaching. Resources are provided for you as you engage in the recursive nature of teaching: planning, teaching, and reflecting.

Resources for University Supervisors, Cooperating Teachers and On Site Liaisons

This section contains resources specifically designed for University Supervisors to aid in coaching co-teaching conversations and observing Teacher Candidates in co-teaching experiences. These resources also are very useful for Cooperating Teachers and On Site Liaisons to review and use, as deemed appropriate. Note the newest resource added is the "Getting the Partnership Started" conversation guide for co-teaching partners and their supervisors to use to initiate getting to know one another, the curriculum, and co-teaching planning and teaching processes.

Research-Based Co-Teaching Practice

Co-Teaching in clinical practice is supported by the National Accreditation for Teacher Education (NCATE) Blue Ribbon Panel Report. The California State University System has embraced Co-Teaching in Clinical Practice in a system-wide initiative to improve clinical practice and K-12 student learning. St. Cloud University was awarded a United States Department of Education Teacher Quality grant to pilot co-teaching in cinical practice. In their four year longitudinal study, student achievement results in classes with co-teaching was significantly higher than in clinical practice classrooms without co-teaching and classrooms without teacher candidates. Preliminary results from CSUSM's ongoing research indicate that ..........

Chapter 11

Co-Teaching in Teacher Preparation Clinical Practice

Jacqueline Thousand with Elizabeth Garza, Pat Stall, and Jodi Robledo

This section is a chapter from the third edition of Co-Teaching by Jacqueline Thousand, Richard Villa, and Ann Nevin. It is specifically devoted to co-teaching in clinical practice and is included here with permission of the authors. Please use this as a resource regardless of whether you are a university supervisor, teacher candidate, cooperating teacher, onsite liaison, faculty member, or someone interested in co-teaching. The third edition will be out in early 2013 through Corwin Press.

Multiple Subject Co-Teaching in Clinical Practice Materials

Resources for On-Site Liaisions, University Supervisors, Cooperating Teachers & Teacher Candidates to support them with co-teaching in clinical practice in the Multiple Subject program.