Team Teaching

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Team Teaching
By Erica

I didn't want to respond previously because my school seems to be piloting a Team Teaching program without giving us guidance.
My Team Teaching experience has gone well. I am a fifth grade teacher with 22 students.
There are 2 other fifth grade classes with close to 25 students each. The school hired a fourth teacher as a Team Teacher to justify the numbers.
The other 2 posts, in my opinion, described what seems to be a departmentalized program. The way I Team Teach with my colleagues is diifferent. The Team Teacher spends two days in myclass, two days in another, and one day with the third

(the third being the seasoned teacher). We all seemed to be in agreement with her teaching Science exclusively. The days that she is with me, she teaches Writing Workshop or we Team Teach it. We haven't had the time to plan together as we should, so that both of us have created the lesson and have the same lesson in our plans. She gives me a copy of the lessons that she teaches. The way we interact when Team Teaching is natural for us. We interject whenever we feel it is necessary. I might start the lesson and she writes any information on the white board and might conclude it. Either of us will orchestrate the closure (Author's Chair).
Due to the lack of too much guidance, we have somewhat constructed our own ideal of what Team Teaching is. What we do in my class isn't necessarily what she does with the other 2 fifth grades. I hope this didn't confuse you anymore, but I just wanted to show another way that Team Teaching is done. Good Luck- Erica