Collaborative teaching introduces both teachers and students to different instructional and disciplinary styles and methods. Some students may learn better under one teaching style or respond more obediently to a certain disciplinary strategy. Teachers themselves observe the effectiveness of other instructional styles, which they can supplement their own with.
Studies demonstrate that students learn more in small groups. The more teachers in an average-sized classroom, the fewer students there are per teacher to focus on. Co-teaching, where two teachers are always present, can spend more individual time with students. They can also break the class into two groups, either according to special needs or simply according to activity. In these environments, students receive more feedback from teachers and have more opportunity to ask questions.
Effective collaborative teaching does not entail one teacher performing all the work while the other teacher assists. Rather, effective collaborative teaching involves either team teaching, tag teaching, station teaching or parallel teaching. This ensures teachers handle an equal amount of lesson planning, teaching and marking. In this way, a co-teacher eases some of the burden of class prep.
Often collaborative teaching occurs in classes with students with special needs. Special needs could include learning disabilities or students whose native language is not English. Addressing the unique needs of these students is difficult for one teacher trying to balance that with meeting the needs of the rest of the class. Focusing on one group over another could result in one group falling behind or another becoming bored. Collaborative teaching ensures teachers can effectively instruct diverse groups of students.