Teachers Analyzing Co-Teaching (TAC-T) is based on the Inclusion Team Teaching Analysis Protocol (ITTAP) , developed by Rick Welsh in 1997. The ITTAP was designed to provide a data-based analysis of teachers’ perception of their relationships with their co-teaching partners.

Informal research conducted from 1991 to 1998, provided the initial foundation for the ITTAP. After providing 11 years of resource based services as a speech language pathologist , Rick changed the service delivery model for students with Language Impairments and Auditory Processing from pull‐out to in‐class support. From 1991 to 1994, he collaborated with approximately 30 classroom teachers at his pre‐K‐5 elementary school to provide curriculum‐based intervention for these students.  This collaboration took the form of interacting with students and teachers during instruction, identifying and removing obstacles to learning and surveying the responses of the teaching staff to the new model of classroom‐based intervention.  From 1997 to 1998, operating as an independent consultant, Rick conducted 50 observations and 49 post‐observation conferences with co‐teaching teams in IL, NJ and PA. 

As a result of this work, 20 behaviors were identified that appeared to be present in teams that were satisfied with their teaming relationship and who demonstrated synergistic teaching while being observed. Conversely, observations and debriefing of teams who were not functioning well pointed to weaknesses that could be explained in terms of the 20 behaviors.

From 1998 to 2002, Rick performed 264 ITTAP team analyses in school systems in CA, GA, IL, OH, PA, NC and NY. The ITTAP analyses were shared with both members of the co-teaching teams and their administrators. In some cases, the analysis was used as a structure for pre and post co-teaching observation conferences. In other cases it was provided as information to teams and administrators to assess perceptions of present levels of performance. Unfortunately, the analysis of the ITTAP data was unwieldy, required a significant amount of labor, and its use was discontinued.

The 20 Co-teaching behaviors as outlined by the ITTAP have become become an integral part of Co-Teaching training provided by Rick Welsh. From 1999 to the present, Rick has conducted 958 co-teaching observations and has met with 909 of these co-teaching teams to discuss their observations. The 20 co-teaching behaviors serve as an organizational schema for the observation and debriefing process. In that time period, he has also co-taught 358 model lessons in inclusion classrooms. These lessons were observed by other teachers and their administrators. Following 324 of those lessons, a structured debriefing session was conducted. During the debriefings, the general education teacher who co-taught the lesson provided feedback to the observers and then received feedback from them. The 20 co-teaching behaviors continue to be a relevant and useful basis for planning, implementing and evaluating these model lessons.

In June 2013, work began to convert the ITTAP to a web-based instrument. The new instrument was named Teachers Analyzing Co-Teaching, (TAC-T) It reflects advances in classroom technology, changes in curriculum and a more wide-spread acceptance of co-teaching as a viable model for service delivery. The TAC-T also enables administrators to see group data for their co-teaching staff.

In January 2014, the TAC-T became available as a free instrument.

Rick Welsh
VP, NOBOX Inc.
Director, Co-Teach America