A classroom with two teachers may seem unusual to many parents, but investigate further and you’ll find good justification for the set-up. Two heads are better than one when it comes to designing and teaching lesson plans.
When a general educator is paired with a special educator, all students benefit. Not only does this duo allow for more inclusion of students with disabilities, but all students gain the insight and perspective of both professionals. One may be better at breaking up a complex idea like microeconomics into daily lessons, but the other may be better at designing tests. Often, having two teachers in a subject area is great for providing alternative perspectives. For example, if the first way algebraic expressions are explained seem to go into one ear and out the other, then there is another educator in the room to provide alternative methods of processing the information.
While some responsibilities will always fall on only the general educator or special educator, there is enough overlap in their respective fields to allow for a lot of flexibility to positively impact every child’s learning experience in the classroom. Students can access the knowledge of two professionals every school day, during their time, and with ease. Most will agree, that’s a great reason to embrace collaborative teaching with an open mind and enthusiasm.
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