When co-teachers have a strategy in place, the entire classroom experience can go smoothly. Creating a co-teaching model strategy takes time, something teachers have precious little of.
As opposed to co-teaching, where teaching responsibilities are often shared between two colleagues, the teacher-paraprofessional relationship is a bit different, with the teacher taking more of a supervisory role. This can influence attitudes that are reflected in phrases like “just a paraprofessional,” when paras actually play a much more important role in the classroom than many realize.
As part of the classroom team, paraprofessionals often must deal with student behavioral issues just as their teacher does. Since it’s a question of when a behavioral issue will arise, not if, the teacher-paraprofessional team should develop a plan of action to manage behavioral issues and refocus students on learning.
I recently received this study skills question from a concerned parent looking for teaching strategies. My answer to her question may apply or help others, so I chose to include it as a blog article.
Co-teaching Models succeed with coaching. My initial training on how to coach co-teachers came from my mentor, the late Dr. Mike Mezzocchi. There are three truisms that he shared with me that I never forgot and have carried with me through every coaching relationship.