March/April 1999

A Dialogue on Co-Teaching

Special education teacher Greg Philippsen, 50, and math department chairman Andy Strawn, 51, co-teach Algebra I at Bloomington High School North in Bloomington, IN. The class enrolls both regular education and special education students. The teachers have been working together in the same classroom for nearly a decade and were one of the first two pairs of teachers to introduce co-teaching to the 1,300-student school. Philippsen and Strawn, each with more than 20 years of teaching experience, spoke about their co-teaching practices with writer Millicent Lawton. The telephone interviews were conducted separately.

HEL: How would you describe your style of teaching? How do you divide classroom duties? Does one of you focus on curriculum delivery?

Greg: I think we split the curriculum right down the middle, in that because we're both certified in mathematics that helps a whole lot. Often that's not the case with the special ed teacher coming into the regular classroom…Andy doesn't have to double-check my math and I don’t have to double-check his.

We run what we call a basketball referee style. When one teacher is in the front of the room, the other teacher is in the back of he room. We do it so that the students' attention is not split if both of us are up front. The only time we'll deviate from that is when one of us becomes Vanna White and points at information on the blackboard when one of us is talking about [that] information…Our goal then is to really get the students to zero in on the particular sequence, the particular equation, the particular mathematical term that we're talking about on the blackboard. Other than that, we're usually front-and-back. The teacher in the back also serves to catch the student who's drifting off, falling asleep or doing something else, maybe writing a note. In a classroom of 32, the teacher up front may not see. It's not a police-like approach. It's more a humorous 'Hey, we're all in this together…give yourself a chance to learn.'

Andy: I think because Greg is a certified math teacher and he doesn't consider himself a teacher of only special ed students--and I don’t consider myself a teacher of only regular ed students--we share all the duties in the classroom. This has a distinct advantage if, for example, one of us is called from the room or can't come [that day] or something of that sort, there's no break in the routine. We think, more importantly, that it is important for students to perceive that they have two teachers-- not those kids in the corner have their teacher and the rest of the students in the room have another teacher. I think [our teaching style] would seem a little bit like a newscast, where two anchor people are sharing the presentation duty, you know. So, for example, if there's a major topic to be presented, one of us will start and the other one will feel free to chime in anytime. Sometimes it's very spontaneous. He and I know each other well enough that one can interrupt the other and nobody gets upset about that, that’s considered a way of making sure things are moving along smoothly and clearly.

HEL: Greg, explain what you mean by 'become Vanna White,' because some people use that term to criticize the relegation of one co-teacher, often the special needs teacher, to a role of glorified aide.

Greg: We say it [to the students] more for a sense of humor. Right from the get-go, from the first day of class, we present ourselves as equals in the classroom…From the first minutes giving out class rules, we always use the plural pronoun, 'we.' We don’t even introduce myself as the special ed teacher and Andy as the math teacher. We simply introduce ourselves as math teachers…That’s important that right from the start that we present ourselves as partners. We refer to it as 'our' classroom.

Paradoxically, I have no desk in either of the classrooms I [co-]teach in. It's Andy's desk, [but] we spend zero time at the classroom desk. Whereas in other classrooms, the desk may be an indication of who's in charge here, in our classroom the desk is meaningless. Andy and I are up and around constantly. It's our whole modus operandi of teaching. So in our case the way we teach makes that meaningless. I think co-teachers have to deal with that--if the co-teacher thinks a desk is important [or] one of them is going to be perceived as an adjunct to what's going on.

The Vanna White thing -- it’s a time when we really want students focused [and say] 'Follow my hands.' If a classroom is run that way, if the Vanna White system is the whole philosophy of the class, that’s not co-teaching. I use it humorously to describe a situation when we really want the kids to pay attention to an exact term, if we want them to see the term '3x2'.

HEL: Do you really feel like equals?

Greg: Oh, you bet.

Andy: Oh, yeah. I wouldn't have it any other way. There are other successful models, I think, of collaborative teaching that don’t count on that, but I think it's important for the kids not to see the special educator as an add-on or an aide. And it's certainly not a good idea for the regular ed teacher to think of the special educator as an aide. One of my colleagues once asked [me], 'When am I going to have an aide?', and I had to spend some time explaining that’s not the case, that's not the idea of inclusion.

HEL: Is that something you had to work on initially?

Greg: Number one, Andy and I were friends [before teaching together.] Number two, I had had my resource [room] students in his general math class, so we knew each other as teachers. I respected the fact that the department chair would take on a general math class, and I think he appreciated the support, as a resource teacher, I gave him. I think he appreciated the fact I had a math background , that I was certified in math.

Andy: No, we didn’t work at it very hard. I had known Greg for some period of time and knew he was a good math instructor. So, he and I have always been able to talk…with great ease. I never have for a minute thought that I was schooling someone in math. He was trained as an engineer, went to the Air Force Academy. He's a smart guy. That really helps a lot. So I'm spoiled, and I know it.

HEL: Was there much battle over turf early on?

Andy: No, I don't think so at all. That is an issue we prepared for in the discussions that we had prior to beginning inclusion, because we could see where the class was going to be held in a classroom that was going to be regarded as my classroom, not his. I didn't want that to happen.

Greg: None whatsoever. That doesn't mean there can't be and there shouldn't be. I always say to teachers to make a list of what's important to you and those are the things you’ve got to discuss with your co-teacher -- like the desk thing, or a place to put your cup of coffee…Turf's not important to me, but I have special ed colleagues for whom it is important.

HEL: What do you do when you disagree about how to teach content or how to discipline a student?

Greg: When it happens, when we disagree, I will let Andy go on with the content he's teaching or the discipline he's administering. Then, after class, Andy and I will talk. I will simply offer my opinion on how the students were getting the math concepts, ask him if there's a different way, and if it's with discipline, could we have handled it this way…I do believe disagreements should be handled discretely and professionally, not necessarily in front of the students…When we talk about it, we usually reach common ground.

One thing I have learned from team teaching, just about myself, is I can't just expect it to be my way all the time. Inherent in team teaching is some compromise, some modification, some awareness of another person's input that has to be honored.

Andy: I don’t know that we disagree much, so it's hard to answer… We know that not talking about something is a way to let it fester, to let the problem fester, whether it be curricular or disciplinary. We have had some times when we see discipline a little differently, but I think we handle it as good parents ought to. We take the disagreement outside the classroom, out of the view of the kids, out of earshot. We stand united in front of students. Then, if we need to, we'll discuss it further at another time and then maybe go back to the student and say we've discussed this and make some change. But that way, we appear to be of one mind all the time, even though we might not be. I think that’s important.

HEL: Do you feel, Greg, that co-teaching leaves you time to do your other teaching duties, such as pullout work?

Greg: The more time I put into the co-taught class, the less time I can put into my resource room. I have to be careful that I don’t neglect my resource room planning, preparing, things that students are going to need. It’s a give-and-take. You take from one to give to the other.

HEL: Andy, does co-teaching a class leave you adequate time for your other responsibilities? Are your duties as math department head compromised at all?

Andy: No, I wouldn't say that they are at all. In fact, I still have energy left over as a result [of co-teaching.] I've got more enthusiasm for that [co-taught] class and energy left at end of the day, it kinds of helps with other stuff that saps my time.

HEL: Andy, is it easier than teaching alone?

Andy: For Greg and me, I think it has been. We didn't have to work so hard as others did to come to terms with the working partnership. …I think it’s a better way of teaching any class, because teaching right now is a very lonely enterprise.

HEL: Greg, do you feel tied to paying attention to the special ed students or, conversely, that you don't get to pay enough attention to the special ed kids?

Greg: I consider myself a teacher of all the students in the classroom. Right off, early on, it doesn't take long to find the students who are going to need additional attention. I keep a list on my clipboard of who's having trouble, who's going to need additional attention and time. The way I teach, I get down on my knees or one knee. I work with them until they get it… I always kind of keep a list of those students, then in back of my mind I'm aware of who the special ed students are. I always make sure I get to them whether they ask me or not.

The nice thing about team teaching is individual attention to a student is such a common thing…The individual attention is so much a part of the class, that it doesn’t stick out that I just spent 15 minutes with one student. To me, that is the number one benefit of co-teaching: the students just get more attention. It's just a common thing in the classroom. No even thinks anything of it.

When we get written evaluations back from the students at the end of the year, there are always comments that say, 'There was always a teacher there to help me.' I have to be careful that I don’t forget the special ed students, because very often they may not be the ones saying, 'I need help, please.' I'm really conscientious on that.

HEL: Andy, do you feel the regular education students are held back in this class at all?

Andy: No, I don’t think so. In fact, by virtue of [two teachers'] four eyes and four ears, everybody's attention is more focused on the subject at hand… Help is on the way quicker. There's a lot more attention to be spread around.

HEL: Do you feel that you are supposed to pay more attention to the regular ed students?

Andy: No. [Greg] knows who the identified kids are because he's involved in the [individualized education plan] process, but I don’t know who the labeled kids are. I don't want to know. I tried guessing once, but I was wrong more often than I was right.

HEL: Andy, how much of the success of co-teaching is dependent on the participants' personalities?

Andy: I think I would know more about that if we didn’t get along as well as we do. I don’t think a careful match is required. I think professionals with a common goal, who are both dedicated to teaching, can work out a lot of the nitty-gritty details. We heard some stories from schools where a teacher perceived as good by an administrator was paired with a teacher who was perceived as bad by that same administrator, with the hopes of improving the bad. What happened was the good one became demoralized. That’s rare, I hope…. While some of the relationships here [at North] have gone easily…others have been more problematic…But they've all been nicely functional. Some [co-teachers] are close friends, and some are close colleagues. I imagine it’s a bit like an arranged marriage; it can work.

HEL: Greg, do you and Andy abide by a set of co-teaching ground rules?

Greg: We came to an agreement on the routine stuff: attendance, passes, rest room, makeup work… We came to an agreement on the presentation of subject matter, in that we would make the presentation concrete, use language that was simplified and bare-bones, we would present math concepts in a sequential, step-by-step manner. We would invent and implement the math manual.

HEL: What is the math manual and when and why did you develop it?

Greg: Several years back [before co-teaching together], Andy and I participated in a program where teachers went out and worked [during a two-week summer internship] at major firms and factories in our city with the intent to get some alignment between what our students were learning in the classroom and what they would be required to do as workers in our community once they left the classroom.

The common theme we found was that students, as employees, were not being asked to memorize things. What they were being asked to do was to solve problems by being able to refer to some sort of operator's manual, a safety manual, machine manual. Even in restaurants, they were being asked to refer to how a certain food order should look, as opposed to memorizing a job sequence. This coincided with my background as special ed teacher. I was having problems [with] learning defined as, memorize it, forget it, and then put up your hand and say how do I do this -- as opposed to what seems to work with student with special needs: giving a set of steps in concrete language that they could refer to again and again. And this would make up for deficiencies, if you will, in things such as short-term memory, long term memory, recall, organization, sequencing.

[Andy] found that that step-by-step presentation of material worked with his calculus students, his advanced algebra students, his geometry students. It seemed like everybody had bought into learning as memorize it to forget it as opposed to being able to go somewhere to get yourself unstuck. What inevitably happens, when they refer to the manual again and again is they start to memorize and internalize the steps. It's just like if I cook chocolate chip cookies every day, I'm going to get it.

HEL: Explain what the math manual looks like.

Andy: It's essentially a how-to instruction sheet. We keep the math at a level of language that kids can understand, and we do that by [writing] a kind of rough draft on the chalkboard and going around the room sort of field-testing the instructions. So we can say, 'Susie, read step one. Johnny, what does step one say to do?' If there are hang-ups, if there are places where the wording needs to be changed, we'll do it on the spot. At some point it stabilizes, so we'll put into paper form and hand it out to the entire class… [These are] step-by-step instructions to go with model problems…These are models to follow that show not only how the instructions come into play, but how the problem is to be shown on their paper, because in most classes 'show your work' is pretty vague. We have a tendency to be very detailed: 'It must look like this.' We're pretty prescriptive; the results are worth it. 

Greg: Every manual page has model problems on it, because what we try to do is hit the learner who likes to see the words, and the learner who likes to see the problem.

HEL: All students can use this all the time?

Andy: Everybody uses it. They're not aware of somebody getting a benefit that's not available to the others. It doesn’t slow down the fast learners; the fast ones don’t need it. Or, maybe they typically don’t need it, but sometimes you'll see one reaching for that sheet. But there are others that can't live without it.

HEL: Do you think the manual helps the regular ed kids as well as the special ed kids?

Greg: That’s where Andy was surprised…Yeah, it helps all students a whole, whole lot.

HEL: Why?

Greg: Because I think a lot of students struggle with how to approach actually solving a problem. There are a lot of students who think guessing is a valid way, who think skipping is a valid approach…I think our students become pleasantly surprised with their capabilities when they thoughtfully apply a step-by-step process. That holds whether the student is a student identified with special needs or not.

HEL: Do the students say they appreciate the manual or this method?

Greg: Yes, early on [in the semester] they balk at it. To them learning was take this home and do it whether you understand it or not [and come back the next day and] ask the same question you asked yesterday. …A whole lot of our students aren't too fired up about math.[But] there are too many students coming to us and saying, 'This is the first time I've ever passed math'...that kind of feedback. As a teacher, I'm observing students reach a level of math I never thought they could. I think based on that, we must be doing something helpful.

[For] the students we're teaching…algebra is a minimum requirement for gradation from school. I think that’s important [to note]. We're teaching a student who's only taking the math they have to, so our intent is to help them learn a process to approach math, as opposed to the student who's going to take higher-level math for college entrance. What could very well happen is the student is stimulated by their success in class and they go on [to take more] math, but by and large this is the minimum math they're going to take. The manual is used for everything. There's nothing they can't use it on--final exam, quiz.

HEL: Has the manual been controversial with other teachers or with parents?

Andy: No. If there was any of that in the early days, we're well past it. Some other teachers are using similar techniques in other classes, particularly as a motivation for note taking and for improving that skill.

HEL: How much planning do you do together?

Andy: Not much now. For the first two years, we had the same planning period. Now, we don’t have that. I think it's more important that that happen in the first year. I think it's an absolute must, when you're organizing things together.

HEL: How has your support from administrators been?

Andy: Fantastic. In the early days, when we were just beginning… we held informal sort of discussion meetings. This was for the entire group [of regular education and special education teachers examining how to improve inclusion practices]. That was on school time, and it was held during somebody's prep period…Administrators took over the other people's classes. This raises eyebrows…Greg and I have done workshops and people look at each other and they’ll ask us, 'What planet is your administrator from?' But, really, that was the support, because that meant it was so important that we talk that an assistant principal would take over a class for a while, or a principal would take it. That happened. I was there.

HEL: How about now?

Andy: I think it's still solid, but the whole program is much more self-sufficient than it once was.

HEL: How about assistance getting professional development?

Greg: Same thing. When there are workshops available, other inclusion programs to go look at, we've always been able to get subs, professional leave days.

HEL: Greg, do you meet at all outside of class now if a student is having a problem?

Greg: Yes. The nice thing is Andy and I have lunch [period] prior to when we teach our class, so if there's any academic or behavioral things that we need to talk about, lunch gives us time to do that.

HEL: Andy, what hasn't worked that you've had to change, either in your own partnership or in other co-teaching teams you've seen?

Andy: I don’t get to see other teams much at all…nothing springs to mind. It's not nirvana, but it's close. It's not a panacea for a lot of things. There are still a lot of things that are frustrating and go awry during a class period. Kids are kids, and these days are these days. At least whatever pops up in class, we don't have to deal with it by ourselves. Just as in any teaching situation, there are things that, in retrospect, we say, 'Gosh that wasn't very good or…make a note next year, don’t do this.' That happens anyway, or should. [Co-teaching] does give us a chance to be a bit more reflective. It’s a little like being evaluated every day. Someone you care about is watching you teach. ...I think that's good, it keeps us on our toes. You don’t want to let somebody down.

HEL: Should every high school classroom be co-taught?

Andy: I would certainly not be opposed to that. It is kind of an arranged marriage. You have to have people who are committed to making the partnership work, as opposed to saying, 'I'll let that other teacher do it all and sit back and relax.' That's a recipe for disaster. I think the kids benefit so much from having two voices, two eyes, two ears, and two minds working for them.

Greg: I've been teaching 22 years. I've seen a lot of things come and go. This is the one thing where I think the students really get a good deal. I would like to see more co-taught classes…The last time I checked, our reason for being here was for the students, and this team-teaching, it is for the students. It just gives them some wonderful opportunities to be successful.

We would like to hear from you. Do you have any questions to ask or comments to add about co-teaching? Please send email to: hepg@harvard.edu. We will post questions periodically and keep an archive of them for your review.