Coteaching Becomes Collaboration

Glenn Marsala SEC501 Instructor: Annette Minarcin 09.25.08

Coteaching Becomes Collaboration

The teachers who visited our classrooms impressed me greatly with their ability to communicate, and with something interesting in the article, “Understanding Coteaching Components,” by Susan E. Gately and Frank J. Gately, Jr.: use of humor. This makes sense to me, because when a person feels comfortable, the ability to let go of some seriousness, even laugh at oneself, with good-natured ease seems conducive to enjoyment of work, flexibility, and acceptance of suggestions. The three women who visited our classroom showed something interesting with the contrast between the two more experienced teachers and the new teacher. She was much quieter and even seemed embarrassed. When she started talking about her work, her confidence level seemed to increase, and she was able to relate her experiences and address our class. The other two, in contrast, showed an easy rapport with each other, and a confidence in themselves, right from the start.

The idea of evaluating one’s experience of a coteaching situation seems a very simple way to compare individual outlooks. The article suggests that differences in this area, or mutual concerns, can open up channels of communication. It’s heartening to see that collaborative relationships, even very positive ones, take time developing. I can imagine being in a situation where a conflict in teaching styles could lead to friction if both parties had difficulty working things out.

Another issue raised by both the article and our guest speakers was male/female coteaching situations. All our speakers were female, and they shared their experience of an inappropriate and uncomfortable interaction with a male colleague. This seems even more critical considering the notion mentioned by Gately and Gately that “when the coteaching partners are male and female, …students have the opportunity to observe effective communication between the sexes” (42). If the behavior of the classroom adults models behavior that strays from polite or cooperative, and even becomes disrespectful or harassing and insensitive, students’ educational interests could suffer greatly. Especially because “students with disabilities in the cotaught classroom often need to develop more effective social interaction skills” (41), positive and mutually affirming collaborative partnerships can teach more than the content of the curriculum. These professional relationships can exemplify “effective ways to listen, communicate, solve problems, and negotiate with each other” (42).

The Gatelys’ three-stage model of coteaching, with beginning, compromising, and collaborative relationships in the classroom, seems very apt to me, not because I have cotaught, but because I can see myself in collaborative groups—in school, work, friendships, and even family—negotiating that “give and take” in all kinds of situations. I can identify examples of the first stage very often in the early days in a new job. I think that many people find compromise easiest when working on small group presentations, because that familiarity does not have the six or more weeks needed to gain and give trust. Collaboration, blending one’s own skills into a powerful team effort, with unselfishness, unself-consciousness, humor, joy, and an exchange of mutual appreciation can be a very beautiful thing.

As the article and our guest speakers attest, such successful collaboration does not always happen on the first attempt, or easily, or quickly. To risk sounding cliché, I feel empowered with this knowledge to risk open communication. Our guests repeatedly sounded the gospel of forthrightness, honesty, and what looks to me like courage in their dealings with colleagues. After all, building a strong coteaching classroom is not just about liking a coworker, but also, when achieved, seems to be a powerful teaching force.