Team teaching is a term used widely and over many years in the field of education. It can mean different things; however, at its core it is when a team of teachers work with a group of students and share responsibility for their overall learning growth. Currently, in the elementary school at ISB, it means two homeroom teachers share a group of students. The physical structure is typically two full-sized classrooms with part of a separating wall removed for greater flexibility and student movement. Both currently and in the past, we have used several examples of team teaching throughout the elementary school.
Team teaching provides the same high quality learning, exposure to the same curriculum, access to resources, and individualized attention given to other students in that grade level. We have found that among other positive results, team teaching can support a greater variety of structures to enable more targeted learning instruction at all levels. For example, one of our current team taught classrooms has two homeroom teachers, two support teachers, and two instructional aides working with small groups throughout the day based on specific student needs matched to targeted instruction. While the number of instructors in a classroom does vary from grade to grade, the ability to create more specific, flexible group structures based on the needs of students is increased in a team taught classroom.
Furthermore, educational literature and research suggests that when two teachers work together in the same space, they improve their pedagogy, which translates to many positive results for students. Team teaching has been a model that educators have successfully used for many years in schools, and is considered a researched-based “best practice” when implemented well. Additionally, it reflects current configurations in many international and national classrooms across the globe.
This year we have gathered survey data from teachers, parents, and students in the homeroom team taught environment, and the data has been overwhelmingly positive and supportive. Next school year, we are excited to expand our successful models to create a few more team taught classrooms throughout elementary.
The class placement process will not change as a result of having more team taught classrooms. A group of counselors, teachers, and admin will work together to carefully place each child in a “best fit” situation, and all classrooms will continue to have outstanding teachers and exceptional environments for learning
