Preliminary Discussion Questions

The questions below are designed to serve as a starting point for co-teaching discussion. Depending on previous
experiences working together, some questions may not be relevant. Remember that differences of opinion are
inevitable; differences are okay and perfectly normal. Effective co-teachers learn and grow professionally from their
work together. Competent professional skills, openness, and interest in working together are more important than
perfect agreement on classroom rules.

1. What are your expectations for students regarding:

a. Participation?
i. Both teachers agree that all students can and should actively participate in
classes. All students should have a safe learning environment in which
they feel safe asking questions, making mistakes and participating in all
activities. Both teachers agree that work needs to be appropriately
modified to allow access to all activities by all students.
b. Daily preparation?
i. Both the general education and special education teacher agree that all
students should come to class prepared with their lab notebook, paper on
which to take notes and both a pen and pencil.
c. Written assignments and/or homework completion?
i. Both the special education teacher and general education teacher agree
that students should have weekly homework. Homework is passed out
each Monday for the week and is due the following Monday. This allows
students to work at their own pace, work during class when they complete
in class activities and work and balance work from this class with work
from other classes and their other activities.
2. What are your basic classroom rules? What are the consequences?
a. Students need to respect themselves and others
b. Students remain in the classroom and do not leave without consent
c. Students arrive on time and prepared for class
d. Students follow all lab safety procedures at all times
e. Students who do not follow these rules are redirected for minor infractions. If
issues persist, communication home, removal from the class, loss of lab privileges
and school disciplinary process are the consequences. Students who lose lab
privileges receive a 0 for the lab and are not allowed extra credit or make up work
for that activity.
3. Typically, how are students grouped for instruction in your classroom?
a. The general education teacher believes that students should always be grouped
based on ability. Students of higher abilities should always be grouped together
and students requiring additional support should always be grouped together.
b. The special education teacher believes that groups should be mixed up. During
direct instruction, homogeneous groups work best to allow students to work at a
pace that is comfortable for the group. During labs and other activities, students
should be placed in groups of mixed abilities so that they can

Adapted from Walter-Thomas, C. & Bryant, M. (1996). Planning for effective co-teaching. Remedial and Special Education, 17(4).

4. What instructional methods do you like to use (i.e. lectures, class discussions, stations,
etc)?
a. Instructional methods include a combination of direct instruction, online learning,
labs and question and answer sessions.
5. What practice activities do you like to use (i.e. cooperative learning groups, labs, etc)?
a. Both the special education teacher and general education teacher like hands on
activities, virtual and real live labs and small group activities as ways to practice
learning.
6. How do you monitor and evaluate student progress?
a. Students are evaluated daily by both warm-ups and exit tickets. This allows us to
monitor both understanding of previous lessons and pre-assessment in the
warmup and a check for understanding in the exit ticket.
b. Students are given unit tests at the end of each unit and weekly quizzes/writing
assignments to measure progress and understanding.
c. Students are evaluated weekly on labs---both the practical execution and the write
up as a check for understanding.
7. Describe your typical tests and quizzes.
a. Quizzes are generally matching or fill in the blank. Students with disabilities are
provided with word banks.
b. Tests are a combination of multiple choice, fill in the blank and short answer.
Students with disabilities are given less choices, a word bank and the start of
sentences to answer short answer questions.
8. Describe other typical projects and assignments.
a. Students participate in weekly lab activities that include a reflection/lab report to
show an understanding of the process and the outcomes.
9. Do you differentiate instruction for students with special needs? If so, how?
a. Students with disabilities are provided with guided notes to follow along with direct
instruction.
b. Students with disabilities are provided with guided lab reports that allow students
to fill in the blanks, demonstrate understanding through pictures and modeling.
c. Students with disabilities are provided with small group pull out assistance to
ensure understanding and to provide additional support and clarification in a small
group setting.
10. Is any special assistance given to students with disabilities during class? On written
assignments? On tests and quizzes?

Adapted from Walter-Thomas, C. & Bryant, M. (1996). Planning for effective co-teaching. Remedial and Special Education, 17(4).

a. Students with disabilities are provided the opportunity to have extended testing
time, word banks, guided notes and lab reports and additional assistance with
completion.
b. Students with disabilities are provided modified tests and quizzes that chunk the
reading and reduce the number of choices on any multiple choice questions.
c. Lab activities are modified to allow extended time or a shorter activity so that
students with disabilities have enough time to complete the process.
11. How and when do you communicate with families?
a. Communication with families occurs on a weekly basis. We work hard to make a
combination of positive phone calls home as well as phone calls home to students
who are struggling with either behavior or academic achievement. Primary
communication occurs via phone, text or email.
12. What are your strengths as a teacher? What are your areas of challenge? How about
your pet peeves?
a. As a special education teacher, I am able to work effectively with students of
differing abilities and to modify and accommodate for different learning styles. I
am also strong in working with students with challenging behaviors and finding
ways to reach those students and work on behavior modification. My challenges
include letting go of the power struggle when I feel as though I am being treated as
a classroom assistant
13. What do you see as our potential roles and responsibilities as co-teachers?
a. Co-planning is essential. The general education teacher should not be the only
one accountable to lesson plans, preparing labs, assessments, and other work.
b. Both teachers should be comfortable taking the lead in the classroom and working
with all students.
c. Both teachers should feel comfortable modifying and accommodating students
with disabilities.
d. Both teachers should communicate with all families over the course of the class.
e. Both teachers should be responsible for grading assignments. Rubrics help to
keep the grading consistent between teachers.
14. If we co-teach together, what are your biggest hopes for our work as a team? What are
your biggest concerns?
a. Our biggest hope is that students will view us both as fully competent and qualified
teachers and that students will have the same respect and participation for both of
us.
b. Concerns include different teaching styles---I tend to use less lecture and more
discussion and hands on activities. General education teacher provides more
worksheets, notes and lecture style instruction. The power struggle is also a
challenge as general education teacher tends to consider it her class as opposed
to our class.

Adapted from Walter-Thomas, C. & Bryant, M. (1996). Planning for effective co-teaching. Remedial and Special Education, 17(4).

Adapted from Walter-Thomas, C. & Bryant, M. (1996). Planning for effective co-teaching. Remedial and Special Education, 17(4).