I chose the video Co-Teaching Strategies because it was the only one I could find that had student testimonies. I was shocked at how hard these testimonies were to find. I looked for almost two hours and only found this one. The entire video is good and part of a trilogy. The team teachers say they base their philosophy on that of Bruce Tuckman. Bruce Tuckman’s mantra for team teaching is forming, storming, norming and performing. This video discusses the first two mantras of forming and storming.
Forming encompasses the preteaching phase of team teaching. This is when the teachers organize their classroom and make rules about what is and is not permitted in their classroom. The teachers formulate structures and routines and get to know each other better. This is an especially important step for teachers who have never team taught together before. Imagine a prearranged marriage, you would want to get to know your partner a bit and set some rules before you tie the knot.
The storming phase is when the teachers regroup to reflect on how they are doing. They fine tune their machine making any and all necessary changes. This should happen periodically with even the most experienced team teachers. New students, lessons and other variables always bring new challenges to be addressed.
The unique aspect of this video is that we actually get student testimonials from the Brooklyn Preparatory School about how students feel about team teaching. One boy says he likes that, "while one of the teachers is teaching, the other one is always available for help". Indeed this is a great advantage to team teaching. Another boy says he likes team teaching, "because it helps with discipline and classroom management". Once again a student has picked up on another great advantage. A girl remarks that she particularly enjoys class with these two teachers because they are seen as equals by the students. Keeping up on this notion a boy says that he prefers team teaching because the great rapport and witty banter betwixt the teachers makes the class more fun and engaging. This is my own favourite aspect of team teaching. When the teachers are having fun it is contagious. The students are drawn into the dialogue, and learning takes place in authentic ways of which children are often unaware.
Forming encompasses the preteaching phase of team teaching. This is when the teachers organize their classroom and make rules about what is and is not permitted in their classroom. The teachers formulate structures and routines and get to know each other better. This is an especially important step for teachers who have never team taught together before. Imagine a prearranged marriage, you would want to get to know your partner a bit and set some rules before you tie the knot.
The storming phase is when the teachers regroup to reflect on how they are doing. They fine tune their machine making any and all necessary changes. This should happen periodically with even the most experienced team teachers. New students, lessons and other variables always bring new challenges to be addressed.
The unique aspect of this video is that we actually get student testimonials from the Brooklyn Preparatory School about how students feel about team teaching. One boy says he likes that, "while one of the teachers is teaching, the other one is always available for help". Indeed this is a great advantage to team teaching. Another boy says he likes team teaching, "because it helps with discipline and classroom management". Once again a student has picked up on another great advantage. A girl remarks that she particularly enjoys class with these two teachers because they are seen as equals by the students. Keeping up on this notion a boy says that he prefers team teaching because the great rapport and witty banter betwixt the teachers makes the class more fun and engaging. This is my own favourite aspect of team teaching. When the teachers are having fun it is contagious. The students are drawn into the dialogue, and learning takes place in authentic ways of which children are often unaware.
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