Coteaching in High School Classrooms

Baugess, Sasha

Sheehy, K. (2012, September 26). High school notes: Two high school teachers may be better than one. U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved from http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/high-school-notes/2012/09/26/two-high-school-teachers-may-be-better-than-one

Summary: Sheehy discusses the methods and benefits of collaboration within a high school classroom. In most cases, the team consists of a special education teacher and an instructor specializing in specific general education areas such as math or science. Within the classroom, students are grouped with others of similar learning paces, allowing the coaches to address each group at its own pace. This allows for students with learning disabilities to take the same classes as their peers, as well as for students who may have had difficulty understanding the main lesson and accelerated students all to excel within the same classroom. Moreover, having two teachers in the classroom eases the strain on both teachers and helps prevent burnout. Sheehy points out that some teachers have experienced difficulties giving up sole control of their classrooms, but that most overcome those difficulties when they see the benefits to be had.

Evaluation: Sheehy makes excellent arguments for the implementation of coteaching in high school classrooms. It makes perfect sense that students at all levels would perform better with more individualized attention. Additionally, it seems to me that students working more closely with their instructors--and in smaller groups--would feel more comfortable in their learning environment and therefore retain even more information. It's also nice that Sheehy addresses some of the problems associated with coteaching. However, the biggest question that comes to mind for me is how, in a time when most school districts are struggling to fill their schools with the bare minimum of teachers, can we implement this idea financially?