Global

Co-teaching and working with teaching assistants: Role clarity and collaboration for educators

A ready-made course you customise for your organisation, with a live session deck and two surveys. You only add the 12 details that are specific to your organisation.

See the live deckSee the full outline
Try the coursePreview the survey
Length
35 min
Lessons
6 lessons
Frequency
When pairs are formed at the start of a term or programme
Last reviewed
21 Oct 2026
Grey areas: disagreement, overreach and unequal workload
What would you do?

During a session, the lead gives an instruction and the assistant thinks it will confuse the group

Try it: this is one of 18 interactive activities in the course.

What's included

Three pieces that work together

Copy once, get everything. Learners prepare on their own, you answer questions live, and the surveys tell you what stuck.

Self-paced course

Short lessons with real workplace scenarios, not walls of text.

  • 6 lessons, about 35 minutes
  • Scenario, process, sorting activity, tabs and quizzes

Live session deck

An AhaSlides presentation to run after the course, in person or online.

  • 10 slides
  • Quiz, word cloud, poll, scale slides
  • A closing slide for your contacts

Two surveys

Find out what landed, and whether people use it on the job.

  • Post-course feedback, about 2 minutes
  • 30-day check-in
  • Anonymous by default
  • Results feed your next refresher

Learning objectives

At the end of this course, learners can

Each objective and the lesson that covers it.

IDObjectiveSourceWhere it's covered
TO 420.0Achieve ≥ 80% on the final assessmentNoneWhole course
SO 420.1Explain why a clear partnership matters and name the costs of an unclear oneBest practiceWhole course
SO 420.2Describe the common co-teaching models and choose one to fit a sessionPublished co-teaching models (see verification list)Whole course
SO 420.3Agree who leads, who supports and who decides for each part of a session, in writingBest practiceWhole course
SO 420.4Run a short joint planning cycle and a quick in-the-moment signal systemBest practiceWhole course
SO 420.5Handle a disagreement calmly, review the partnership, and know your local role rules and titles + your infoEmployer's role rules your assistant role rules; IDEA and ESSA paraprofessional requirements named only as examples (see Notes)Whole course

Your part: what a template can't do for you

  • Your workplace details: fill in the 12 highlighted fields so the course describes your own policies, contacts and locations.
  • Records: record completion in your own LMS or record system.

Course outline

6 lessons, about 35 minutes

Minutes per lesson are an estimate, shared out by page count.

ContentInteractiveVideoYou customise
1

Why two adults in the room can still feel like one overloaded one

3 pages

7 min
Before you beginNoteList
Two pairs, one workshopTextImage
What do you expect?ChecklistKey factQuiz
2

Models, roles and the rules in brief

3 pages

6 min
Common co-teaching modelsTabs
Roles and rulesAccordionYour infoYour info
CheckFlashcardsMatching quiz
3

A joint planning cycle

3 pages

6 min
Five stepsProcess
Put the steps in orderSorting activity
A ten-minute planChecklistQuiz
4

Grey areas: disagreement, overreach and unequal workload

3 pages

6 min
In the momentScenario
Stepping over the lineScenarioSorting activity
CheckScenarioMatching quiz
5

Speak up and review the partnership

3 pages

6 min
Who to askProcessYour infoYour infoYour infoYour infoYour info
The review conversationScenarioNoteYour info
Your one agreementTextQuiz
6

Final assessment and completion

2 pages

4 min
Your next stepsProcessYour infoNote
PracticeQuizKey factNoteButtonYour info

Live deck and surveys

10 slides to run live, two surveys to close the loop

Pink slides are interactive. Both surveys are anonymous; pink questions are written for this course.

ContentTitle, agenda, "leave with an agreed role for your next session
Word cloudOne word for a good working partnership
PollHow often do you plan together before a session?
ContentThe five co-teaching models and the five-step planning cycle on one diagram
QuizA mixed practical needs groups to rotate between tasks. Which model? (Station teaching ✔ / One leads, one supports / Team teaching / Parallel teaching)
QuizYou think your partner's instruction will confuse the group. What first? (Use the agreed signal or wait for a pause ✔ / Contradict them / Stay silent / Change the plan)
Content · customiseCustomise: "Our role rules, titles and contacts" with {{ASSISTANT_ROLE_RULES}}, {{ASSISTANT_ROLE_TITLE}}, {{LD_CONTACT}}, {{CONCERN_ROUTE}}
ScaleHow clear are the roles in your partnership?
Open-endedOne thing your partner does that makes your session better
Content · customiseClosing {{LD_CONTACT}}, {{SURVEY_2_URL}}, {{COURSE_URL}}, {{LIVE_SESSION_URL}}
Post-course feedback: 11 questions, about 2 min
  1. Overall rating 5 stars
  2. Relevant, realistic, right length, helpful activities agree/disagree grid
  3. What was most useful? multi-select
  4. Confidence before this course, and now 1-5 scale
  5. How clear are the roles in your partnership? 1-5 scale
  6. How often do you have shared planning time? multiple choice
  7. Rank what would help your partnership most ranking
  8. I feel safe telling my partner when something is not working. 1-5 scale
  9. One thing we should change or add open text
  10. Would you recommend this course? NPS
30-day check-in
  1. Have you used what you learned since the course? multiple choice
  2. How confident are you today? Compare with day 1 1-5 scale
  3. Do you know where to find the organisation's role rules for assistants? yes / no / not sure
  4. A moment where the training helped, or where you weren't sure open text
  5. Which topics should the next refresher focus on? ranking

Results show whether people use the training on the job, not just whether they finished it.

Make it yours

12 fields to fill in, and you're ready

Everything else is done. These are the details only your organisation knows; each one is highlighted inside the course.

  • Ld contact{{LD_CONTACT}}
  • Training standards link{{TRAINING_STANDARDS_LINK}}
  • Concern route{{CONCERN_ROUTE}}
  • Support and adjustments route{{SUPPORT_AND_ADJUSTMENTS_ROUTE}}
  • Assistant role rules{{ASSISTANT_ROLE_RULES}}
  • Assistant role title{{ASSISTANT_ROLE_TITLE}}
Show all 12 fields
  • LMS or record system{{LMS_OR_RECORD_SYSTEM}}
  • Next course link{{NEXT_COURSE_LINK}}
  • Survey 1 URL{{SURVEY_1_URL}}
  • Survey 2 URL{{SURVEY_2_URL}}
  • Course URL{{COURSE_URL}}
  • Live session URL{{LIVE_SESSION_URL}}

FAQ

Common questions

Can I run co-teaching and working with teaching assistants: Role clarity and collaboration for educators training online?

Yes. The course is self-paced and online, and the live deck lets you add a live session in the room or online.

How often is this training needed?

When pairs are formed at the start of a term or programme, when a new assistant joins, and at a mid-year partnership review.

Who needs this training?

Lead teachers, tutors and trainers, teaching or learning assistants and paraprofessionals who work in pairs, plus the mentors and staff-development leads who support them; run by a staff-development lead or L&D manager. Assigned by an employer (school group, academy trust, college or training provider) to the adults in the partnership.

What records should I keep?

Record completion in your own LMS or record system, so you can show who finished the course and when.

Can I edit the content?

Yes, everything. Change the wording, swap scenarios for ones from your workplace, add your logo, or remove parts that don't apply.

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Ready to run it?

Open the live deck to see how the session runs alongside the course and both surveys.

See the live deck