To the left, you will see a diagram of all the co-teaching strategies that can be utilized in the classroom. One teach, one observe happens when both teachers create the lesson plan, but only one teacher presents the lesson while the other teacher observes and finds ways to improve the teacher's delivery as well as the actions and attitudes displayed by the student. It is not exactly the same as one teach, one assist, in which one teacher assists individual students in a timely matter. Station teaching happens when the teachers put students into stations and walk around during group work and give constructive criticism to help students learn, but differs from parallel teaching in which both teachers split the classroom and teach the same information at the same time. In alternative teaching, one teacher manages most of the class while the other teacher works in a small group inside or outside the classroom. Team teaching is when both teachers are responsible for creating lessons and they share instructions to all of the students. In my opinion, this strategy is the best way to effectively utilize co-teaching. One teach, one assist and one teach, one observe can cause distractions for the students during instruction. Station teaching should be utilized, but not as the core of a lesson. Parallel teaching is too complicated and can result in confusion between students if teachers present content differently. Alternative students can isolate students, and make them feel left out. All co-teaching strategies can be used in the classroom depending on different types of lessons, but team teaching should be the base of the classroom if two teachers decide to co-teach.
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