How We Support Teaching Teams
The core of Blue Engine’s work is co-teaching: amplifying talent and optimizing teaching teams to create the classroom conditions for students to achieve dramatic academic growth. Our model teaches frameworks and practices that allow teams to leverage their full capacity to meet the diverse learning needs of all students.
Critical Mindsets for Team Teaching
It’s critical for co-teachers to have mindsets and motivations that center student success in their work.
Students learn best when teachers believe that:
- Teams enable outcomes individuals can’t achieve on their own.
- Students are valuable members of the team, whose input is critical to designing instruction that works.
- With the right support, all students are capable of accessing grade-level content.
- All teachers are responsible for all students, and all teachers can be successful supporting students who learn and think differently.
98%
Students agreed: “If I don’t understand something, my teacher explains it another way.”
90%
Teachers cited they increased expectations of students as a result of working with Blue Engine
97%
Teachers agree that all teaching team members are responsible for meeting the needs of all students
Collaboration Approaches
In our work with schools and districts, these mindsets translate into three practical Collaboration Approaches:
1. Team Formation and Effectiveness
Co-teaching pairs must undertake intentional work, with regular cycles of feedback and reflection, to become a true team with a culture of “we” in their classroom. Consistent nurturing of the co-teaching relationship increases the effectiveness of collaboration and makes use of both teachers’ expertise.
2. Co-Planning
Co-teachers use weekly or daily lesson planning sessions to design their lessons together. Lessons are adapted to ensure that the daily learning environment provides all students with grade-level content and matching accommodations, accessibility, and supports and scaffolds.
3. Data and Reflection
Co-teachers review quantitative assessment data and qualitative student responses to reflect on student learning. By knowing how well their co-taught instruction met the needs of students, they can address unfinished learning and make adjustments to future lessons.
Sample Resources
Team Teaching Playbook
We have codified these Collaboration Approaches into our comprehensive Team Teaching Playbook, which includes over 100 individual tools and resources we use to support co-teachers across these three areas.
90%
Co-teaching teams reported that their partnership became more effective as a result of working with Blue Engine
91%
Teachers had increased expectations of their own work
Professional Development Offerings
Blue Engine uses targeted professional development sessions to ensure teams of teachers are fully optimized to meet the needs of all learners by supporting four key areas: building teacher mindsets, forming effective co-teaching teams, planning for effective co-taught instruction and capacity building.
