Two Teachers, One Classroom
Guests: Leana Malinowsky and Paul Garcia
In this episode, Dr. Beth and Dr. Anna introduce a conversation between Leana Malinowsky and Paul Garcia, two experienced co-teachers, about what it actually takes to make a shared classroom work. Leana, a teacher since 2008 and a structured literacy dyslexia specialist, and Paul, a 32-year special education veteran, built their partnership over five years of trial, error, and a dragon puppet named Furny. They break down the practical framework behind it: roles, routines, and respect.
In this episode:
- How Leana and Paul's partnership began: a transfer to second grade, a full day co-teacher, and an adjustment neither had made before
- The mindset shift that makes co-teaching work: "not your kids and my kids, but our kids"
- Why Paul wasn't there just to serve special education students, and how that changed the way the classroom ran
- The pandemic pivot: how a disengaged Zoom class led to Furny the dragon, and how that improvisation grew into a full classroom theme
- The six co-teaching models from Marilyn Friend and Wendy Murawski: one teach one observe, one teach one assist, station teaching, parallel teaching, team teaching, and alternative teaching
- Why "one teach, one assist" is often the default and why it quietly wastes a co-teacher's expertise
- How alternative and station teaching let Leana and Paul group students by need instead of by IEP status
- Paul's honest take on parallel teaching, including the real logistics of managing his own distractibility in a shared space
- Why clear routines for transitions, materials, and cleanup make or break a co-teaching model
- What general education teachers can do to welcome a co-teacher as a true partner, not an extra pair of hands
- Why building a strong co-teaching partnership takes time, patience, and forgiveness, and why five years in, Leana and Paul are still refining theirs
Key takeaway
Co-teaching isn't about dividing a classroom in half. It's about two teachers sharing every student, building routines that make collaboration visible, and respecting what each partner brings, so students get more than either teacher could offer alone.
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