Estimated reading time: 18 minutes
Co-teaching models are the ways a general education teacher and a special education teacher, or another specialist, share instruction of one class that includes students with disabilities. A widely used set of six comes from Marilyn Friend and Lynne Cook: one teach, one observe; station teaching; parallel teaching; alternative teaching; teaming; and one teach, one assist. This guide explains each model, compares them in one table, shows how specially designed instruction is still delivered and documented in the IEP of a co-taught class, covers planning time and roles, and summarizes what the research says, including the place of co-teaching in the high-leverage practices.
Table of contents
Executive Summary
Most students with IEPs learn in general classes: in fall 2024, 68% of students ages 5 (in kindergarten) through 21 served under IDEA were inside the regular class 80% or more of the day, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Co-teaching is one of the main ways districts bring special education expertise into those rooms.
Meta-analyses published in 2021 and 2024 found positive effects of co-teaching on achievement, yet a review of 32 qualitative studies found “one teach, one assist” dominant, with the special educator often in a subordinate role. The model chosen, and the instruction delivered in it, is what districts can control.
Key Takeaways
- Six models, one purpose: each arrangement exists to give students more targeted instruction than one teacher could provide alone.
- Match the model to the lesson, not to habit; no model is better in every situation.
- One teach, one assist is the default trap: it is the most common model in research and the one that uses the special educator least.
- A co-taught class is a setting, not a service: the IEP still has to say what specially designed instruction the student receives, for how long and from whom.
- Planning time is the precondition: co-teachers need common time built into the master schedule.
- HLP 1 frames the work: collaboration with professionals is a pillar practice in the 2024 second edition of the high-leverage practices.
What Is Co-Teaching?
Co-teaching is the partnering of a general education teacher and a special education teacher or another specialist to deliver instruction jointly to a diverse class that includes students with disabilities, in a general education setting.
The definition by Friend, Cook, Hurley-Chamberlain and Shamberger (2010), reproduced in the 2024 high-leverage practices book from CEC and the CEEDAR Center, adds that instruction happens “in a way that flexibly and deliberately meets their learning needs.” Three features follow:
- Two professionals. A paraprofessional provides support, not co-teaching; IDEA allows trained and supervised paraprofessionals to assist in providing special education (34 CFR 300.156(b)(2)(iii)); see our paraprofessional training guide.
- One room. Co-teaching happens in the general education class, which helps districts educate students with disabilities with nondisabled peers “to the maximum extent appropriate” (34 CFR 300.114(a)(2)); see our inclusion classroom guide.
- Deliberate instruction. The second teacher’s time is planned around students’ needs and IEP goals.
IDEA does not define co-teaching; it is a way of delivering special education and supplementary aids and services in the regular class. ESL and content teachers also co-teach English learners; for students with an IEP who are also learning English, see dually identified students.
The Six Co-Teaching Models
The descriptions below follow the six approaches as summarized by Brendle, Lock and Piazza (2017) from Friend and Bursuck’s textbook. The classroom examples are original, written for this guide, and are meant to be adapted.
One Teach, One Observe
One teacher leads the whole class while the other gathers academic, behavioral or social data on specific students or on the group. Example: during a fourth-grade math discussion, the special educator records how often Mia and two classmates respond and which errors they make, data the team needs for her next progress report.
Station Teaching
Students rotate through stations: each teacher leads one, and students work independently at a third. Example: in seventh-grade science, one teacher runs a lab station, the other teaches vocabulary explicitly, and the third station is an independent review task.
Parallel Teaching
Each teacher teaches the same lesson to half the class at the same time, which lowers the group size and increases each student’s chances to respond. Example: two halves of a ninth-grade English class discuss the same chapter, and each student gets more speaking turns.
Alternative Teaching
One teacher instructs most of the class while the other works with a small group for remediation, enrichment or assessment. Example: while the class starts a writing task, the special educator preteaches the paragraph frame to a group of five, including Jordan, whose IEP targets written organization.
Teaming
Both teachers lead large-group instruction together, for example by modeling two ways to solve a problem. Example: in a high school history class, the teachers argue two readings of a primary source and students judge which uses the evidence better.
One Teach, One Assist
One teacher leads while the other circulates and gives individual help; it is also called supportive teaching. Example: during independent practice, the special educator prompts students who struggle to start. Used every day, it turns a certified special educator into an aide.
Co-Teaching Models Compared
| Model | What it looks like | When it fits | Risks to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| One teach, one observe | One leads; one records data on targeted students | Progress monitoring, behavior data, checking whether an accommodation works | Observation with no follow-up; the same teacher always observing |
| Station teaching | Groups rotate through two teacher-led stations and one independent station | Content that splits into parts; practice that needs small groups | Weak independent station; transitions that eat the period |
| Parallel teaching | Each teacher teaches the same lesson to half the class | Discussion, review, test preparation, anything that needs more student responses | Two halves that drift apart in content or pace; noise |
| Alternative teaching | One teaches the large group; one teaches a small group | Preteaching, reteaching, enrichment, quick assessment | The same students pulled every day, which recreates a pull-out inside the room |
| Teaming | Both teachers lead the whole class together | Modeling thinking, showing two methods, debates | Requires shared content knowledge and trust; little individualized instruction |
| One teach, one assist | One leads; one circulates and helps | Short independent work, new routines, occasional support | Becomes the daily default; the special educator’s expertise goes unused |
Supportive and parallel teaching are the most widely used because they require less organization and collaboration (Friend and Bursuck, cited by Brendle and colleagues). The University of Kansas Special Connections project adds that approaches closer to team teaching need more shared planning and content knowledge.
Choosing a Model for Each Lesson
The research does not rank the six approaches: teachers are advised to pick the one that suits the content and the students. A simple rule:
- Need data? One teach, one observe, with a specific question and a recording sheet.
- Need more responses per student? Parallel or station teaching.
- Need targeted instruction for a few students? Alternative teaching, rotating who joins the group.
- Need to model complex thinking? Teaming.
- Use one teach, one assist last, for part of a period at most.
Specially Designed Instruction in a Co-Taught Class
Specially designed instruction (SDI) means adapting “the content, methodology, or delivery of instruction” to address the student’s unique needs and to ensure access to the general curriculum (34 CFR 300.39(b)(3)). A co-taught class can be where SDI happens, but sitting in it is not SDI. Examples by area are in our guide to specially designed instruction examples.
Researchers keep finding the gap. In the studies reviewed by Scruggs, Mastropieri and McDuffie (2007), strategy instruction, mnemonics and self-monitoring were infrequently observed in co-taught classes. In a 2022 survey of secondary special education co-teachers, half were concerned that students needed more specialized reading instruction than co-taught classes provided, and almost one-third were concerned it did not occur at any time during the school day (King-Sears, 2022).
How the IEP Describes Services in a Co-Taught Class
The IEP must state the special education, related services and supplementary aids and services the student will receive, plus any program modifications or supports for school personnel (34 CFR 300.320(a)(4)), with their frequency, location and duration (34 CFR 300.320(a)(7)). The Michigan Department of Education’s May 2026 SDI guidance adds a useful rule: SDI time is “determined by the amount of time needed to deliver the necessary instruction, not by the student’s general class schedule.”
| IEP element | Weak entry | Clearer entry |
|---|---|---|
| Service | “Co-taught English, daily” | “SDI in reading comprehension strategies (summarizing, self-questioning), delivered by the special education teacher” |
| Frequency and duration | “55 minutes, 5 times a week,” the length of the class | “20 minutes, 4 times a week, within the co-taught English period” |
| Location | “Inclusion” | “General education classroom” |
| Supplementary aids and services | “Support as needed” | “Graphic organizer for each extended reading task; directions given in numbered steps” |
| Supports for school personnel | Blank | “Consultation between the general and special education teachers, 30 minutes a week, on Jordan’s writing accommodations” |
These entries illustrate a fictional student’s IEP; follow your state’s IEP format. Each teacher responsible for the IEP must be informed of their specific responsibilities and of the accommodations and supports they provide (34 CFR 300.323(d)); see IEP accommodations.
Documenting the Instruction Delivered
Michigan’s guidance asks teams to clarify roles, link instruction to goals, record participation and progress, and document collaboration. A short log per student (date, model, SDI delivered, minutes, data point) plus IEP data collection sheets covers it. If the log shows the special educator mostly circulating, the IEP is probably not being implemented as written.
Integrated Co-Teaching in New York
Integrated co-teaching (ICT) is New York’s regulatory name for a co-taught class: “the provision of specially designed instruction and academic instruction provided to a group of students with disabilities and nondisabled students” (8 NYCRR 200.6(g)). A district may include it in its continuum of services, and the committee on special education recommends it in a student’s IEP.
- At most 12 students with disabilities per class, counting every student with a disability on the roster, even those whose IEPs do not call for ICT. A district may temporarily add a 13th by notifying the Commissioner, then a 14th with the Commissioner’s approval, for the rest of the school year (200.6(g)(1)); a January 2011 NYSED memo reserves this for exceptional circumstances, with the class back to 12 by the next September.
- Two teachers at minimum: a special education teacher and a general education teacher. Additional staff, including teaching assistants, may not serve as the special education teacher (200.6(g)(2)-(3)).
- Integration with nondisabled peers. No rule caps the number of nondisabled students, but NYSED’s continuum guidance says they should equal or outnumber students with disabilities, so the class does not become a de facto segregated class.
- The IEP names the classes and days. NYSED’s example reads “integrated co-teaching, three days a week, for math and English classes.” Days when only a teaching assistant supports the class are written as supplementary aids and services, not as ICT.
Other states use other names and rules for co-taught classes; check your state’s regulations.
Planning Time and Roles
In the studies reviewed by Scruggs and colleagues, co-teachers named planning time, training and students’ skill levels among their needs, and many of these needs were linked to administrative support. The HLP 1 leadership guide from CEC and the CEEDAR Center asks school leaders to ensure “sufficient, common time” for co-planning, account for co-teaching in the master schedule, and treat both co-teachers as equal contributors.
Co-Teaching Roles and Responsibilities
In a co-taught class, both teachers share responsibility for planning, teaching and assessing all students, and each brings different expertise. New York’s guidance on integrated co-teaching says the two teachers “share responsibility for the delivery of primary instruction, planning and evaluation for all students”; the 2024 high-leverage practices book describes the general educator contributing curriculum content and grade-level expectations, and the special educator expertise “in learning and error analysis.”
The split below is an example to adapt; both teachers should agree on it in writing at the start of the year.
| Task | General education teacher | Special education teacher |
|---|---|---|
| Unit goals and pacing | Leads, from grade-level standards | Flags prerequisite skills and IEP goals that apply |
| Lesson design | Content, examples, assessments | Explicit strategy steps, scaffolds, accommodations |
| Choosing the model | Shared | Shared |
| Small-group instruction | Rotates with the special educator | Delivers the SDI written in the IEP |
| Data and progress reports | Shares grades and work samples | Collects goal data and writes IEP progress reports |
Before, during and after the lesson. The checklist below, written for this guide, turns co-planning, co-instruction and co-assessment, the purposes of co-teaching in the HLP book, into tasks for each lesson.
| When | General education teacher | Special education teacher | Both teachers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before: co-plan | Shares the standards, content, pacing and assessment for the lesson | Names the IEP goals and accommodations that apply; plans the SDI and prepares scaffolds | Choose the model, who leads each part, the groups and the data to collect |
| During: co-instruct | Leads or teaches a group, as planned | Delivers the SDI for the minutes the IEP states | Provide the accommodations each is responsible for; support behavior for every student |
| After: co-assess | Reviews work against grade-level expectations; enters grades | Analyzes errors; logs goal data and the SDI delivered | Decide next steps, such as reteaching or extra practice, and the next model |
A Weekly Co-Planning Agenda
- Review last week’s goal data (5 minutes).
- Preview next week’s hardest tasks (10 minutes).
- Choose a model per lesson and who leads (10 minutes).
- Plan the SDI: students, goal, minutes, strategy (10 minutes).
- Prepare accommodations and materials (5 minutes).
Co-Teaching and HLP 1: Collaborate With Professionals
In High-Leverage Practices for Students with Disabilities, second edition (CEC and the CEEDAR Center, February 2024), HLP 1, “Collaborate with Professionals to Increase Student Success,” is a pillar practice, one of the most essential to master first. Its description names co-taught settings and calls for behaviors such as active listening, planning and problem solving to adjust plans based on student data. The book lists co-teaching as a type of collaboration whose purpose is “to co-plan, co-instruct, and co-assess” and to deliver specially designed instruction. See our guide to high-leverage practices.
What the Research Says About Co-Teaching
- The early evidence was thin. Friend and colleagues (2010) called it “admittedly equivocal”: most studies looked at roles and logistics, not student outcomes.
- Co-taught versus special education settings. King-Sears and colleagues (2021) analyzed 26 studies with 3,714 students and found a moderate advantage for co-taught classes (g = 0.47), with a caution: studies gave little information about the instruction, so schools should confirm students receive the SDI in their IEPs.
- Collaborative versus single-taught classes. Vembye, Weiss and Hamilton Bhat (2024) meta-analyzed 76 studies and found a positive, statistically significant effect (g = 0.11); many studies were nonrandomized.
- Practice lags behind the models. Scruggs and colleagues (2007) found one teach, one assist dominant, “even though this method is not highly recommended in the literature.”
The model name on the schedule says little; what the two teachers do in the period is what leaders should check.
Funding and Staffing
| Source | What it can support | Note |
|---|---|---|
| IDEA Part B | Special education teachers’ time and supplementary aids and services in the regular class | Allowed even if nondisabled classmates also benefit (34 CFR 300.208(a)(1)) |
| IDEA CEIS (up to 15% of Part B) | Professional development for teachers on scientifically based academic and behavioral interventions | For K-12 students not identified for special education (34 CFR 300.226) |
| Local funds | Common planning time, substitute coverage for co-planning days | A scheduling decision as much as a budget line |
Staffing is the harder constraint: 45 states reported special education teacher shortages in 2024-25 (Learning Policy Institute, 2026). One special educator spread across too many sections cannot co-plan with any of them.
Common Mistakes District Leaders Make
- Scheduling co-teachers without common planning time.
- Accepting one teach, one assist as the model. It is a fallback, not a plan.
- Writing “co-taught class” as the service. The IEP must state the SDI, its minutes and its location.
- Matching service minutes to the bell schedule instead of to the instruction needed.
- Calling paraprofessional support co-teaching.
- Assigning one special educator to too many sections.
- Observing co-taught classes like solo classes. Ask what the second teacher did, and for whom.
Recommended Actions
- Build common planning time into the master schedule before assigning co-teaching pairs.
- Cap the number of co-taught sections per special educator so each pair can plan weekly.
- Train pairs together on all six models and on writing SDI into co-taught lessons.
- Adopt a one-page co-teaching log that records the model used and the SDI delivered.
- Audit a sample of IEPs for co-taught services with clear minutes, providers and locations.
- Observe with a co-teaching lens and give feedback to both teachers together.
Questions District Leaders Should Ask
- How many co-taught sections does each special educator carry, and when does each pair plan?
- Which models do our walkthroughs actually record, and how often is it one teach, one assist?
- Can each co-teacher name the SDI their students with IEPs received this week?
- Do our IEPs separate co-taught SDI minutes from the length of the class period?
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the 6 co-teaching models?
The six approaches associated with Marilyn Friend and Lynne Cook are one teach, one observe; station teaching; parallel teaching; alternative teaching; teaming; and one teach, one assist. They differ in who leads, how the class is grouped and what the second teacher does, and co-teachers are advised to vary them with the content rather than use one all year.
Which co-teaching model is most effective?
No study shows one model is best in every situation; the literature recommends choosing the model that fits the lesson. Station, parallel and alternative teaching create more small-group instruction. One teach, one assist is the most common in research but “not highly recommended,” because it underuses the special educator. Effectiveness depends on the instruction delivered, not the label.
What are the 5 models of co-teaching?
An earlier framework by Friend, Reising and Cook (1993) described five options: lead and support, station teaching, parallel teaching, alternative teaching and team teaching. The later six-model list separates the second teacher’s supporting role into one teach, one observe and one teach, one assist. Both lists describe the same choices about grouping and who leads.
Which model of co-teaching takes the most amount of planning?
Team teaching usually takes the most, because both teachers deliver the whole lesson together and need shared content knowledge and trust; the University of Kansas Special Connections project notes that teams can move to it over time when they work together across two to three years. Alternative teaching also needs more planning, since the small-group lesson must fit the large-group one. Supportive and parallel teaching need less coordination.
What is the team teaching model?
Team teaching, or teaming, is the model in which both teachers lead the whole class together and share the delivery of one lesson: one explains while the other models, or the two present different methods or viewpoints for students to compare. It needs the most shared planning and trust, and it offers less individualized instruction than the grouping models.
Can AI help co-teachers plan lessons?
An AI tool can speed up the routine parts of co-planning, such as drafting a station rotation, three versions of a practice set or a blank planning template, which the teachers then check against the standards and the IEPs. It should not receive student names, IEP content or other identifiable data unless the district has approved it for that use. See our ChatGPT for teachers guide.
Related Resources
- High-Leverage Practices for Students With Disabilities
- Specially Designed Instruction Examples
- Autism Classroom Setup
- IEP Accommodations
- IEP Data Collection Sheets
- Dually Identified Students
Conclusion
Co-teaching models are a menu, not a label. The six approaches give two teachers different ways to split a class, collect data and teach small groups, and co-taught classes help students with disabilities when that time goes to real instruction. Districts that protect planning time, vary the models, write the specially designed instruction into the IEP and check that it happens get far more from two teachers.
Sources: Friend, Cook, Hurley-Chamberlain and Shamberger, Co-Teaching: An Illustration of the Complexity of Collaboration in Special Education, Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation (2010), ERIC record; Brendle, Lock and Piazza, A Study of Co-Teaching Identifying Effective Implementation Strategies, International Journal of Special Education (2017); Scruggs, Mastropieri and McDuffie, Co-Teaching in Inclusive Classrooms: A Metasynthesis of Qualitative Research, Exceptional Children (2007), ERIC record; King-Sears, Stefanidis, Berkeley and Strogilos, Does Co-Teaching Improve Academic Achievement for Students with Disabilities? A Meta-Analysis, Educational Research Review (2021); Vembye, Weiss and Hamilton Bhat, The Effects of Co-Teaching and Related Collaborative Models of Instruction on Student Achievement, Review of Educational Research (2024), ERIC record; King-Sears, Secondary Special Education Co-Teachers in the United States and Specialised Reading Instruction for Adolescents with Disabilities, Educational Review (2022), ERIC record; Aceves and Kennedy (Eds.), High-Leverage Practices for Students with Disabilities, 2nd edition, CEC and CEEDAR Center (February 2024); CEEDAR Center and CEC, HLP 1 Leadership Guide; Michigan Department of Education, Specially Designed Instruction guidance (May 2026); University of Kansas, Special Connections, Types of Co-Teaching; U.S. Department of Education, OSEP, 2024-25 Static Tables (Part B Child Count & Educational Environments). Sections of 34 CFR Part 300 are linked where they are cited.
Join the 2027 Special Education Pilot
Even in a well-run co-taught class, small-group time for each student is limited, and the skills behind IEP goals need many more repetitions than two teachers can supply in one period. Telo AI is being adapted for students with IEPs: patient, 1-on-1 practice aligned to each student’s IEP goals, so teachers can spend their time on small-group and individual instruction. We are inviting districts to shape it with us in a 2027 pilot.
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