Giving students a choice of whether to take a written test or have it read out to them may improve their performance, make them feel more included in the class, and even empower them. This teaching strategy is especially effective with students on an IEP, who can sometimes feel they’re not fully part of an integrated classroom.
Want to take your co-teaching up another level? Try using the “one teach and one interpret” co-teaching model.
In co-teaching, the “one teach, one support” co-teaching model is pretty familiar. Yet, the same teacher tends to take on one of those roles permanently, while the other teacher takes the other role. Often, the subject matter expert or general education teacher handles “one teach” while the support teacher who is working with the students who are on an IEP handles “one support.”
A frequently used co-teaching model is “One Teach, One Support” or, by another name, “One Teach, One Observe.” This is one of several effective ways to co-teach that allows for flexibility in teaching methods: it can help teachers learn to work together smoothly as they observe each other’s teaching styles; teachers can switch quickly between the teacher and support/observer roles; and they can transition quickly into the next chunk of the class period, such as moving from direct instruction to student implementation.
In a class with students at different levels, the traditional model of station teaching is one way to do it, where you split the class into two different activities to learn the same standards. But co-teachers can also individualize while doing station teaching, or mix other co-teaching models like “one teach, one support.” You can do this when chunking lessons.