Co-teaching with a colleague is great! You get to know each other’s teaching style, you take turns teaching your content and give directions, and because there are two of you in the same classroom, teaching the same thing, the students benefit. I have learned a lot about literacy, math and science material through my fabulous colleagues. And they have said they have learned some art tricks and tips from me.
The first question I usually ask is, “What are you working on right now that your students are having trouble with?” Every classroom teacher has a different answer to that. It could be a difficult math concept, some sight words, the phases of the moon (that was the most difficult one this year) or 3-D shapes.
Sometimes the classroom teacher already has a great idea of what she or he wants. Other times, like the moon phases, it takes us a while to wrap our brains around the concept we are trying to teach and figure out the best medium for the students to learn with.
Do you teach arts-integrated lessons? Do you co-teach? Let’s have a discussion in the comments below!
First Posted on Education Closet, February 18th, 2016