Parallel Teaching
During Parallel Teaching, each teacher instructs half the students. The two teachers are addressing the same instructional material, using the same teaching strategies. The greatest benefit of this approach is the reduction of student-to-teacher ratio.
Ways that a team may use this strategy:
- Both teachers are leading a question and answer discussion on specific current events and the impact they have on our economy.
- Both teachers can co-plan a lesson sharing strategies and knowledge of learners and disciplinary knowledge.
- With both teachers in close proximity, one teacher can be a model for the other teacher as they can hear each other's lesson while teaching.
- After the lesson, both teachers can look at “documentation” of the learning experience to see how it was impacted by makeup of the two groups of learners.
- Support shared assessment of students
- Provides opportunities to compare/contrast lesson plans based on how the lessons unfolded. This reflective practice supports both teachers learning.
- Socratic seminars work well with the smaller groups created through parallel teaching.
- In bilingual setting, parallel teaching could take place in two different languages.