When team teaching with another Teaching Artist, discuss how you want to work together in the Integrated Co-Teaching (ICT) classroom. This resource contains different team teaching models. Keep in mind that you may want to use multiple models in one lesson plan.

Collaborating Teaching Artists

When team teaching with another Teaching Artist, discuss how you want to work together in the classroom. Keep in mind that you may want to use multiple means of team teaching in one lesson plan.

Once you figure out how you want to work with your partner, then consider how to incorporate the 课堂专业人员 (General Education Teacher, Special Education Teacher, 辅助专业人员， 和 相关服务提供商).

Top Three Styles for Working in ICT

These collaborative teaching models are more conducive for differentiating instruction and giving additional attention.

Other Styles of Co-Teaching

Here are some additional co-teaching options that may work for you and your partner.

Best Practices for Planning and Teaching with a Collaborating Teaching Artist

When planning, ask helpful questions of your partner:

• What about this lesson plan excites you?
• Is there anything that you are nervous about in this lesson plan?
• Do you have any team teaching pet peeves?
• What do you need from your teaching partner to feel successful and supported?
• Do you have any teaching goals you are working on right now?
• Do you have any artistic goals you are working on right now?
• Do you have any specific needs that could be accommodated?

Be honest with your partner about how you are feeling, and where you are at.

• e.g, “I am worried about having enough time to feel fully prepared to teach this” OR “I don’t feel very comfortable with this content” OR “Sometimes I have a tendency to take over if I feel like something isn’t going the way I planned and I forget to check in with my partner, if I do that, please feel free to make me aware,” etc.

Be understanding and graceful if something goes wrong.

• Move forward in the moment and reflect on how you could have collaborated better after the fact. Try to let go of what came before.

Make eye contact while teaching.

• Be transparent with your partner if your plan isn’t going the way you expected.
• Say “I would like to try something new, is that ok?” OR “I wonder if we need to change course, let’s check in.” Don’t feel like you can’t do this in front of students or Classroom Professionals—this models positive collaboration and interaction for your students.

Celebrate and lift up your partner’s artistry and successful teaching moments.

Decide in advance who will be in charge, and share tasks equally.

• logistical/administrative/teaching tasks

Breathe together, especially if things don’t go as planned.

Be kind, generous, and assume good intent.

Reflecting with your partner

Especially when team teaching, it’s important to make time to reflect on how things went. If this is built into your planning and post-teaching schedule, it can easily become a part of your routine.

• Check in prior to teaching to make sure each Teaching Artist has time to reflect immediately following their classes. If there is no time, schedule a phone call or coffee date for the future.
• When planning, share your goals. Start your reflection by checking in on whether those goals were met.
• Give feedback by sharing one positive, one question and one suggestion.
• Tell your partner one thing that you noticed about their facilitation that you loved.
• Give specific praise instead of general.
• Ask, “How could I have supported you more?”
• Listen deeply.
• Reflect on a moment in the classroom with inquiry.
• If you think something is important to talk about, it probably is.
• Use an “I” statement: “I felt this way when…”
• Ask, “Was there a sticky moment?” or “Was there a moment that felt funky, strange?”
• Ask, “If that happened again, how would we do it better/differently?”
• Realize the reality of different “vibes” and personalities; it might not be a totally congruent fit with your teaching partner. How do you make the best of it and play to each other’s strengths?
• Recognize and appreciate difference versus right/wrong.
• Hold space for questions around culture and prior knowledge.