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Different co-teaching situation but still a good example of the collaboration

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Different co-teaching situation but still a good example of the collaboration

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In Lauren Eisinger and Kara Houppert's co-taught 5th grade classroom, every instructional choice requires a lot of planning.

When Eisinger, a special education teacher at Naples Elementary School in upstate New York, and Houppert, a 5th grade teacher, wanted to start a class book club last year, they knew they would have to think creatively to accommodate reading levels spanning 2nd to 6th grades.

So they did a "book tasting," giving students a choice among several different, appropriately-leveled texts. Once they grouped students, teachers ran the activity like "more of a guided reading," said Houppert, with both of them reading aloud to different groups to support special education students who struggled with fluency and decoding.

"You need to be very flexible, and underneath everything, you need to trust each other," said Eisinger, who co-teaches 1st and 5th grade classes at Naples Elementary. "If you don't have that kind of mindset-that you're both there to do the best that you can for your kids-I think it would be really difficult."

Co-teaching, in which a special educator and a general educator share the responsibility of instructing and assessing students, has long been a standby in inclusion classrooms, which encompass both general education students and those with disabilities.

When done well, co-teaching should enable students with disabilities to receive the general education curriculum and special services that they need in the same setting, said Sara Cook, an assistant professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, who researches special education.

But for it to work, teachers need the time, training, and resources to effectively integrate their distinct instructional expertise, said Marilyn Friend, a co-teaching expert and professor emerita of education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

"Co-teaching used to be called a professional marriage, and I'm kind of tired of that metaphor," she said. "It really needs to be more like a business partnership."

Research Is Mixed

Co-teachers should have parity in the classroom, Friend said. And in Eisinger and Houppert's 5th grade class, they co-sign all emails to parents; both of their names and pictures are displayed in the classroom.

But even though they're equals, co-teachers shouldn't perform the same roles, Friend said. While general educators are the experts in the curriculum and content, special educators devise and implement a plan for addressing students' individualized education programs.

It's difficult to determine how many students are in co-taught classrooms nationally or how popular co-teaching is in comparison with other inclusion models.

The federal government collects data on special education students' instructional environment: In 2015, a little more than 60 percent of students spent 80 percent or more of their day in a general education classroom. But there's no information included on how students are receiving services, Friend said.

Still, she said, there's evidence that co-teaching is becoming more popular. "A lot of states with high populations are really actively encouraging this as a service model," said Friend, citing Texas, which revised its co-teaching guidance this year, and California, which has scaled up its co-teaching efforts over the past several years.

Findings on co-teaching's effect on student outcomes are mixed, said the University of Hawaii's Cook. (The Center for Exceptional Children's 2018 practice recommendations for co-teaching, which Cook co-authored, suggests that educators proceed with caution.)

"It is hard to determine, from current research, what may make some co-taught classrooms more effective than others as co-teaching is not always clearly described in studies," Cook said. The strategies and interventions used aren't always explained, she said.

"Research should look at what's happening in the co-taught classroom," Cook said. "Are teachers using evidenced-based practices in the classroom to meet the individual needs of students?"

Time: The Key Component

The Naples school system, where Eisinger teaches, doesn't yet have comprehensive results regarding whether co-teaching has raised student achievement, said Katie Piedici, the director of pupil-personnel services in the nearly 700-student district. But the model has helped the district put more students in the least-restrictive environment, she said.

To meet student needs in their classes, Eisinger, Houppert, and 1st grade teacher Brittany Ritz use different strategies from day to day and lesson to lesson.

In the 1st grade classroom, for example, one teacher sometimes leads whole-group instruction while the other provides support, or students will break into teacher-led math and reading groups.

"I have some kids right now who struggle with just knowing that they have five fingers on each hand," said Ritz. Still, she's able to keep the pacing of the general curriculum consistent, she said, as Eisinger can work with students who need modifications to master foundational skills.

To do this kind of collaboration, all three teachers said, they need time-to plan together, to debrief lessons, to talk about how they want the classroom to run.

Eisinger shares one 40-minute planning period a week each with Houppert and Ritz, a scheduling triumph she attributes to her school leaders intentionally making time for co-teachers to work together.

The district has communicated the expectation to building leaders that co-teachers need this time, Piedici said. Pairs also have a half day they can take during the year to catch up on planning, and new co-teaching partners undergo summer professional development.

It's important that school systems have a plan for how to prepare, schedule, and set norms for co-teachers, said Friend. "It doesn't matter how good the teachers are: If there's not an administrator really actively supporting [co-teaching], it's really difficult to implement and sustain."

District-sponsored training was Ritz's main introduction to co-teaching-she doesn't remember her general education preservice program covering the model in any detail.

Source: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
Some general education programs offer courses that address co-teaching, like Syracuse University, which requires all elementary teacher-candidates to get dual certification in special education. But many programs at the middle and high school levels don't cover the method, Friend said. "It varies wildly."

The Naples district sent Ritz and two other co-teachers to a conference, and she also attended workshops in the district. She learned how to use different co-teaching methods-parallel teaching, team teaching, small-group instruction. "Before then, I really had no idea what those even meant or would look like," said Ritz, who has taught for eight years at the school.

As the sole classroom teacher, "You don't really need to communicate to someone else what you're doing or how you're thinking," Ritz said. "You just do it." Looping in a co-teacher on all her plans was a hard adjustment to make at first, she said, and something she still struggles with occasionally.

During especially busy weeks, co-planning periods can get taken up by other tasks-like prepping for parent-teacher conferences, Houppert said. In those instances, she and Eisinger rely on the professional relationship that they've built. It's important, said Houppert, that she knows Eisinger will be able to jump right into a math lesson with just a two-minute briefing about what they're doing that day.

"It takes a lot of communication, and realistically, it does take a lot of trust in one another," Houppert said.

Related Video

Two Baltimore-area school teachers explore what it's like to share a classroom every day:

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Published in Print: December 5, 2018, as Co-Teachers Combine Forces on Strengths and Specialties

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In Lauren Eisinger and Kara Houppert's co-taught 5th grade classroom, every instructional choice requires a lot of planning. When Eisinger, a special education teacher at Naples Elementary School in upstate New York, and Houppert, a 5th grade teacher, wanted to start a class book club last year, they knew they would have to think creatively to accommodate reading levels spanning 2nd to 6th grades.

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In their book, Interactions: Collaboration Skills for School Professionals, Marilyn Friend and Lynne Cook identify "co-teaching as a specific service delivery option that is based on collaboration." As a service delivery option, co-teaching is designed to meet the educational needs of students with diverse learning options.

Students at all academic levels benefit from alternative assignments and greater teacher attention in small-group activities that co-teaching makes possible. Co-teaching allows for more intense and individualized instruction in the general education setting increasing access to the general education curriculum while decreasing stigma for students with special needs. Students have an opportunity to increase their understanding and respect for students with special needs. Students with special needs have a greater opportunity for continuity of instruction as the teachers benefit from the professional support and exchange of teaching practices as they work collaboratively.

Co-teaching involves two or more certified professionals who contract to share instructional responsibility for a single group of students primarily in a single classroom or workspace for specific content or objectives with mutual ownership, pooled resources and joint accountability. (Friend & Cook 2016)

Six Approaches to Co-Teaching

1. One Teach, One Observe. One of the advantages in co-teaching is that more detailed observation of students engaged in the learning process can occur. With this approach, for example, co-teachers can decide in advance what types of specific observational information to gather during instruction and can agree on a system for gathering the data. Afterward, the teachers should analyze the information together.

2. One Teach, One Assist. In a second approach to co-teaching, one person would keep primary responsibility for teaching while the other professional circulated through the room providing unobtrusive assistance to students as needed.

3. Parallel Teaching. On occasion, student learning would be greatly facilitated if they just had more supervision by the teacher or more opportunity to respond. In parallel teaching, the teachers are both covering the same information, but they divide the class into two groups and teach simultaneously.

4. Station Teaching. In this co-teaching approach, teachers divide content and students. Each teacher then teaches the content to one group and subsequently repeats the instruction for the other group. If appropriate, a third station could give students an opportunity to work independently.

5. Alternative Teaching: In most class groups, occasions arise in which several students need specialized attention. In alternative teaching, one teacher takes responsibility for the large group while the other works with a smaller group.

6. Team Teaching: In team teaching, both teachers are delivering the same instruction at the same time. Some teachers refer to this as having one brain in two bodies. Others call it tag team teaching. Most co-teachers consider this approach the most complex but satisfying way to co-teach, but the approach that is most dependent on teachers' styles.

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Six Approaches to Co-Teaching - State Education Resource Center

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In their book, Interactions: Collaboration Skills for School Professionals, Marilyn Friend and Lynne Cook identify "co-teaching as a specific service delivery option that is based on collaboration." As a service delivery option, co-teaching is designed to meet the educational needs of studen...

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Importance of Collaboration in Special Education

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Importance of Collaboration in Special Education

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When you hear about collaboration in school, typically you might think of general education teachers collaborating in the development of their lesson plans. However, it is equally important for special education teachers to collaborate with general education teachers when it comes to planning for the year and helping students succeed in school. A master's degree in special education can teach you strategies and spark ideas about how to collaborate with other teachers, students and even parents.

As a special education teacher, you are responsible for every student on your caseload. This includes the responsibility to implement accommodations for students as well as the responsibility to ensure the achievement of the students' goals. This goal is made easier through special education collaboration. Even though you keep up with the paperwork for the student, you and your general education collaborator are both responsible for the student in the classroom. Working as a team, developing a plan for the student and keeping communication open are ways to collaborate and help the student succeed. A master's degree in special education could give you different ideas and strategies that you can implement with a general education teacher to help these students succeed in class.

Sometimes you might be an inclusion teacher with a general education teacher, which involves going into his or her classroom and helping with the special education students. This is the perfect time to work as a team and help the whole class be more successful. For example, you might teach a small group of students while the general education teacher concentrates on the rest of the class. This technique might depend on the general education teacher's comfort level with your collaboration, but if you communicate and work together, this approach can result in two teachers bringing the whole class together instead of isolating the special education students.

Each school year, new students will arrive at your school, and new students will join your caseload. Some schools let special education teachers keep the same students each year until the students leave the school because the special education teacher develops a close relationship with the special education students and their parents. However, some schools might assign a different caseload each year. It is important to get to know not only your students' needs but also their personalities as well. Special education students in higher grades will be part of their education decisions in individualized education program (IEP) meetings and have a say in discussions about accommodations and future planning. This special education collaboration with these older students is important because it can give them a chance to have some responsibility for their education and as well as their goals and actions.

Collaborating and understanding special education students is also important when it comes to behavior. If you are working with a particularly difficult student, then learning their triggers and developing a plan to help keep their behavior in check is important. This often takes time and requires talking with the student to develop a plan so the student can remain in the classroom and stay focused.

Even if everything seems to be going well at school, a special education student's parents can sometimes be a challenge. These parents can be intimidating, but it is important from the beginning to assure the parents that you are here to help their student succeed. This requires collaboration and constant communication. The parents must agree to the IEP for their student, but this shouldn't be the only time in the year you talk about the student's progress in school. Collaborating with parents is also a way to get ideas about what could help the student in the classroom, and you can share strategies for success that they can use in the student's broader life.

Special education collaboration may not make a visible difference overnight, and many general education teachers enjoy the autonomy of making their own decisions in their classroom. However, if all parties, including the students and parents, are on board to share ideas and strategies, then the student could be on the road to a successful education.
Learn more about the A-State MSE Special Ed Instructional Specialist online program.
Sources:
http://www.ncset.org/publications/viewdesc.asp?id=1097 http://www.parentcenterhub.org

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Importance of Collaboration in Special Education

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When you hear about collaboration in school, typically you might think of general education teachers collaborating in the development of their lesson plans. However, it is equally important for special education teachers to collaborate with general education teachers when it comes to planning for the year and helping students succeed in school.

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Impossible. That was my first thought when I saw the class roster. In one of my ninth grade English classes, 13 of my 27 students had IEPs. Additionally, about one-third of the students had failed the class the previous year. I dreaded the first day of school. But then something wonderful happened: The principal assigned me a co-teacher, a special education expert to serve as another set of hands (and eyes and ears!) during this class every day. I was thrilled.

My co-teacher Sandie was a joy to collaborate with, but our relationship was by no means perfect, especially at the beginning. We often struggled to find planning time. Sometimes we disagreed about how to best help a particular student. However, we nurtured the co-teaching relationship and, in time, found a rhythm that worked for us-and for the students we served.

In the years since I co-taught with Sandie and other teachers, I've coached and consulted with dozens of successful and not-so-successful teams. Co-teaching, when done well, offers benefits for both students and teachers. When not done well, it can be confusing or downright frustrating for all involved. If you are or will be part of a co-teaching partnership, this post will show you some ways to make your partnership work beautifully.

What is Co-Teaching?

In a co-teaching relationship, also known as a "push-in" arrangement, a general education teacher partners with a specialist who may be certified in teaching English Language Learners (ELLs), students with learning disabilities, or some other special population. A co-teaching team works in the general ed classroom; for the majority of the time, students with special needs are not pulled out to receive services in another location.

For instance, a middle school social studies teacher may have an ELL teacher co-teaching with him during one class period because five students in that class are newcomers to the United States and speak only Arabic fluently. A high school teacher may have one or two sections of biology to which many students with IEPs for reading are channeled; a co-teacher who specializes in reading disabilities co-teaches in these classes. A 4th grade teacher may have two students with 504 plans and another three who have specific learning disabilities in her class; she works alongside a special education teacher daily during lessons in the four core academic subject areas.

For more background, download this Brief History of Co-Teaching.

Co-Teaching Structures

General education teachers working with specialists in a "push-in" model often work in one of the following structures described by Friend and Cook (1996):

One teach, one observe: One teacher delivers instruction while the other observes student learning. Usually the observer collects data on student understanding so that the co-teaching team can better plan future instruction. Sometimes, specific students are watched closely so that the teachers can determine new strategies to use with them.

One teach, one assist: One teacher takes the lead in providing instruction while the other moves around the classroom, assisting struggling students. This help is not limited to students with special needs; the assisting professional is there to serve whomever needs support.

Parallel teaching: The class is divided in two groups and the same material is presented simultaneously by both teachers. The teachers plan the two groups deliberately to maximize the success of all students; this is not simply a "pull-out" or intervention group sitting in the same room.

Station teaching: Both teachers are actively involved in instruction as students are divided into groups and rotate from one station to the next. There may be stations where students work independently or with a paraprofessional in addition to the two stations the co-teachers facilitate.

Alternative teaching: One teacher takes a small group of students and provides them more intensive or specialized instruction that is different than what the large group receives from the other teacher.

Team teaching: Both teachers teach the content at the same time in tandem or "tag team" fashion.

It is important to note that both teachers have equal status and equal responsibility in all six of these arrangements. In the co-teaching relationships that work best, at no time is one teacher seen as subordinate to the other. Both professionals are credentialed professionals, although each may have his or her specific areas of expertise.

How to Make the Most of a Co-Teaching Partnership

Researchers and practitioners have tons of advice about how to co-teach effectively, and as a person who has been "in the trenches" with several different co-teachers, so do I. The advice below sums up the most common recommendations.

1. Respect each other.

Not surprisingly, mutual respect is critical to the co-teaching relationship. You'll have to share ideas openly and do much of your work facing students together, so respecting each other is paramount. Sometimes you'll disagree, and that's to be expected. As co-teacher and ELL specialist Melissa Eddington says, it's fine to disagree with someone's ideas, but don't make the disagreement about the person.

Teachers in co-teaching situations that don't work well often report feeling disrespected. Amy* is an ELL specialist paired with a middle school social studies teacher. When they collaborate, Amy feels her suggestions for tweaking whole-class lessons are not taken seriously by her partner. "She respects me as a professional," Amy says of her co-teacher, "but I think because I'm not experienced in her content, she doesn't see my input as valuable."

Susan*, who is licensed in both secondary science and learning disabilities, works with two physical science teachers and one biology teacher. The physical science teachers welcome her ideas and eagerly adjust their lessons based on her suggestions. They are seeing a steady increase of students mastering the required standards in the classes Susan supports. The biology teacher, however, dismisses many of Susan's ideas and accuses her of "dumbing down" his content. Susan feels disrespected and finds it hard to even be in the room with the biology teacher because he constantly positions himself as "the expert" and places her in a subordinate role.

Words and gestures speak volumes. Take care to show respect for your partner in all you do.

2. Clearly define roles and responsibilities.

Co-teaching works better when the partners agree on who does what, when. Clearly defined roles and responsibilities prevent either partner from feeling the other has overstepped a boundary or shirked responsibilities.

Natalie Marston (2002-2015), an elementary special ed teacher, recommends co-teachers reach agreement on scheduling, classroom procedures and behaviors, classwork and homework policies, grading, and school/home communication together so they present a united front at all times.

Obviously this type of planning requires a great deal of time, ideally before school starts. If extended time is not available prior to the beginning of the school year, then the co-teaching team should expect to put in extra hours before and after school in the first few weeks so things get off to a good start.

My co-teacher Sandie and I did not have advance warning of our assignment. We found out about it on the first teacher workday, leaving us only a few days before the students arrived. For weeks, we both felt like we were playing "catch up and keep up," but found that having lunch together (and some happy hours together) helped us stay in sync.

3. Be flexible.

Innovation is difficult. That's why so many teachers find themselves falling back on comfortable (and even tired) activities and strategies. Co-teaching allows you to gain another person's perspective on how instruction might be improved, how students might be best assessed, what resources to use, and so much more. Sometimes this means one person has to put aside his or her favorite tried-and-true strategy and try something different.

When Susan suggested a tactile, quiz-like method for reviewing the periodic table to her physical science co-teaching partners, they were skeptical about the time and materials it might require. They initially felt it would be more efficient to simply give additional notes to their students and then pair students to quiz each other. However, they agreed to try the review Susan's way. The students loved the activity, and almost every student with special needs passed the chapter test two days later. All three teachers were thrilled and committed to using the activity in future years.

4. Plan together.

The co-teaching relationship brings together two people with wonderfully rich expertise and experiences. Special educators are typically skilled in individualizing curriculum and instruction based on children's needs (Dettmer et al., 2005; Volonino & Zigmond, 2007). General educators, on the other hand, tend to have broad knowledge of the curriculum, standards, and desired outcomes for the larger group. Therefore, when general educators plan lessons, they tend to aim for the masses (Dettmer et al., 2005). Both perspectives are important, and co-teaching teams need ample planning time to work through how to best utilize each one.

Lack of planning time can lead to territorialism. Without time to plan for a good balance of content and individualization, a general ed teacher may become protective of his subject matter, or a specialist may become protective of his students. Emma*, a high school special ed teacher partnered with two geometry teachers, has experienced this. One teacher often asks Emma to pull aside the five or six students with specific disabilities within his class and work only with them. He sometimes says to her, "You worry about your kids. I'll worry about geometry." The principal is now providing an additional hour of planning time for Emma and this teacher. An assistant principal who oversees the math department facilitates the meetings so Emma feels supported and the geometry teacher has another content-area expert to hash things out with.

Keep in mind that planning must include both instruction and assessment. Considering many students with special needs have legal accommodations for assessment (like being provided translation, extended time, or oral reading), it's best to include both partners fully in designing quizzes, tests, papers, and other high-stakes assessment tasks.

How much time is ideal? One study found that co-teachers desired, on average, 15 minutes to an hour each day for planning (Dieker & Murawski, 2003). This figure corresponds to what worked for my co-teacher and me, and it also confirms what I hear from many co-teachers in the field. Strive to find that time any way you can.

5. Don't take yourself too seriously.

Innovation requires failure. Many times, teachers feel they've failed somehow during instruction, and in reality, the students haven't even noticed. We are often our own worst critics. Revisiting or correcting something later in the day (or the next day) doesn't mean you failed earlier. It means you've learned something since. This is the kind of ongoing learning we want to model for our students.

And, as in most situations in life, a little bit of humor goes a long way. Laugh with your co-teacher. Allow students to see both of you laughing with each other and with them when something is surprising, silly, or just doesn't go the way you planned. In the words of Jennifer Wolf who co-teaches with Melissa Eddington, "Take the work seriously, but don't take yourself too seriously."

Eddington adds, "You gotta laugh at each other! Our job is hard, and if you're not laughing and making light of some things, then it's just not going to be a good place to be."

6. Communicate, communicate, communicate.

Planning time is one thing; constant communication is another. Not only should co-teachers frequently plan for what standards will be covered, how material will be taught, and how students will be assessed, they should also regularly communicate in less formal ways.

Co-teaching teams have different methods to create and sustain that communication:

Eddington and Wolf use the Voxer app throughout the school day and on their drives home to send messages back and forth. Voxer works like a walkie-talkie and allows back-and-forth conversation in real time when two people are not physically close to each other. Melissa says, "We're constantly communicating. We're talking about specific students. We're looking at assessments to see what areas are lacking...different things we want to bring to the classroom, things we don't want to do..."

Some other teams I've worked with use texting and emails throughout each day to share updates. Voxer, texts, and emails can all work well, especially if one teacher has urgent information or an urgent question about a particular student.

Teams can use Google Docs or other shared documents to keep track of lesson planning and to share feedback with each other on how lessons went. Collaborative documents can also be used to provide each other with information about targeted students.

In addition to ongoing communication, Ariel Sacks (2014) reminds us to periodically check in with our co-teacher about how we are doing in general. She recommends asking your partner the following:

Are there management items we should clarify, such as when are students allowed to go to the bathroom?

Are we sharing airtime well?

Are we dividing grading in an equitable way?

Would different teaching formats better utilize the two of us in the classroom?

Finally, co-teachers need to present a united front when dealing with parents. Some partners go as far as to create a shared email address from which all communication flows. This may or may not be practical in your situation. At the very least, important parent communication about a student's progress should be drafted by both parties.

For more in-depth information about communicating and collaborating with your co-teacher, see Communicating and Collaborating in Co-Taught Classrooms (Conderman et al., 2009).

7. Seek administrative support.

Sometimes, teachers have been scheduled to co-teach by administrators but didn't have much advance notice. This is what happened with Sandie and me. We were able to find snippets of time during the school day to use for planning and checking in with each other, but we had no common planning period. If you and your partner don't have a common planning time when you can frequently collaborate, ask for it. Go to your principal with a couple of proposals about how this can work without too much disruption to the rest of the schedule.

Sometimes co-teachers may not understand fully why they are being asked to team. If this is the case, ask for a meeting with the principal and any others responsible for the assignment. Ask them why they thought the two of you would be a good fit and what they hope you will accomplish with students.

If you're already in a co-teaching partnership that's not working well, and you've tried to address this with your partner, turn to a trusted administrator next for advice. If you and your co-teacher have not recently been observed, ask the administrator to come sit in on part of a lesson. Tell him or her what you'd like feedback on or what feels like it's not working well. Debrief with the administrator, ideally with your co-teaching partner. When an observer offers data and feedback to both of you, it may feel different for your partner than when you share things from your perspective. (This co-teaching observation form can help.)

It's important not to go to other teachers with your concerns. Respect the collegial relationship you have with your co-teacher and don't do anything that might undermine it. And it should go without saying that you don't want students to perceive any problems within the co-teaching relationship. Be cognizant of your demeanor, tone, and body language. Students are quite perceptive and can easily spot trouble. They are also experts at "good cop/bad cop." Don't let students play you and your partner against each other. If your colleagues or students give you any evidence that they know the co-teaching arrangement is ineffective, head straight for that trusted administrator to support you. ♦

*These names have been changed.
References:
Conderman, G., Johnston-Rodriguez, S., & Hartman, P. (2009). Communicating and collaborating in co-taught classrooms. Teaching Exceptional Children Plus,5(5). Retrieved January 26, 2017, from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ967751.pdf

Dettmer, P., Thurston, L., Knackendoffel, A., & Dyck, N. (2009). Collaboration, consultation, and teamwork (6th ed.). Columbus, OH: Pearson.

Dieker, Lisa A., Murawski, W. M. (2003). "Co-teaching at the Secondary Level: Unique Issues, Current Trends, and Suggestions for Success." The High School Journal, 86(4). Retrieved January 26, 2017, from http://search.proquest.com/docview/220220652/13494E2D48D1DB506F0/8

Friend, M. & Cook, L. (1996). Interactions: Collaboration skills for school professionals. White Plains, NY: Longman.

Marston, N. (2002-2015). Six steps to successful co-teaching: Helping special and regular education teachers work together. National Education Association. Retrieved January 26, 2017 from http://www.nea.org/tools/6-steps-to-successful-co-teaching.html

Sacks, A. (2014, October 15). Blog post. Eight tips for making the most of co-teaching. Retrieved January 26, 2017, from http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2014/10/15/ctq_sacks_coteaching.html

Volonino, V. & Zigmond, N. (2007). Promoting research-based practices through inclusion. Theory into Practice, 46(4), 291-300.

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Angela Peery is the author of The Co-Teacher's Playbook, which will be available in September 2019.

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When done well, co-teaching offers benefits for both students and teachers. When not done well, it can be confusing or downright frustrating for all involved.

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Collaboration Between General and Special Education Teachers

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Collaboration Between General and Special Education Teachers

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From: The ERIC Digests ERIC EC Digest #ED4093171997 by Suzanne Ripley

INTRODUCTION

Historically, teachers have worked in isolation--one teacher to a classroom. As children with disabilities entered the public schools in the 1970s, they were taught in separate classrooms with their own teachers. Over the past 25 years, these students have slowly moved into the flow of the regular classroom, thus the use of the term "mainstreaming." However, students were mainstreamed for selected subjects or parts of the day; they were not considered part of the typical class. Now the philosophy is to include all students in the same class, which has brought about teams of general education and special education teachers working collaboratively or cooperatively to combine their professional knowledge, perspectives, and skills.

The biggest change for educators is in deciding to share the role that has traditionally been individual: to share the goals, decisions, classroom instruction, responsibility for students, assessment of student learning, problem solving, and classroom management. The teachers must begin to think of it as "our" class. This Digest explores the facets of this new collaboration between general and special education teachers.
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WHAT IS COOPERATIVE TEACHING?
Cooperative teaching was described in the late 1980s as "an educational approach in which general and special educators work in co-active and coordinated fashion to jointly teach heterogeneous groups of students in educationally integrated settings....In cooperative teaching both general and special educators are simultaneously present in the general classroom, maintaining joint responsibilities for specified education instruction that is to occur within that setting" (Bauwens, Hourcade, & Friend, 1989, p. 36).

The distinctive feature of cooperative teaching, which differs from earlier approaches, is that it is direct collaboration with the general education and special education teachers working together in the same classroom most of the day.

An effective team of teachers will work together as equal partners in interactive relationships, with both involved in all aspects of planning, teaching, and assessment. Areas for this collaboration will include curricula and instruction, assessment and evaluation, and classroom management and behavior. As one team teacher says, "the key to making co- teaching work is joint planning. You must both know all the curriculum so that you can switch back and forth and support each others efforts. If you don't know the curriculum you are not a co-teacher, you are just an assistant" (Crutchfield, M. in press).

"In developing and implementing cooperative teaching, school professionals experience great changes in the way they go about their daily work. To overcome the inevitable fears and stresses associated with change, the educators involved must feel that they are responsible for the change and that its success or failure lies directly with them" (Bauwens & Hourcade, 1995, p. 189).

WHAT ROLE DOES EACH TEACHER PLAY?
In a collaborative model the general education and special education teachers each bring their skills, training, and perspectives to the team. Resources are combined to strengthen teaching and learning opportunities, methods, and effectiveness. "The one point that clearly developed from this relationship was that both of us had expertise in many areas, and combining these skills made both teachers more effective in meeting the needs of all students" (Dieker & Barnett, 1996, p. 7).

Typically the primary responsibility of general education teachers is to use their skills to instruct students in curricula dictated by the school system. Typically the primary responsibility of special education teachers is to provide instruction by adapting and developing materials to match the learning styles, strengths, and special needs of each of their students. In special education situations, individual learners' needs often dictate the curricula.

General educators bring content specialization, special education teachers bring assessment and adaptation specializations. Both bring training and experience in teaching techniques and learning processes. Their collaborative goal is that all students in their class are provided with appropriate classroom and homework assignments so that each is learning, is challenged, and is participating in the classroom process.
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PLANNING FOR EFFECTIVE COLLABORATION
Collaboration involves commitment by the teachers who will be working together, by their school administrators, by the school system, and by the community. It involves time, support, resources, monitoring, and, above all, persistence. However, the biggest issue is time--time for planning, time for development, and time for evaluating. Planning should take place at the district and the building levels, as well as at the classroom level.

District planning helps ensure that all resources will be available, including time, money, and professional assistance. District-level planning will take into consideration the effect change in one place will have on other settings. Building-level planning will assist the teams in being sure adequate support is in place to sustain new initiatives. Principals play an extremely important leadership role in facilitating collaborative efforts by instructional personnel.

Both district- and building-level planning should provide staff development opportunities to encourage teachers and administrators to participate in classes, workshops, seminars, and/or professional conferences on cooperative teaching. Motivation is an important ingredient for success, but additional skills will be needed to realize the goals teachers set for themselves and their classes.

Planning also is a factor in selecting the students who will be part of the collaborative process. It is important to keep natural proportions of typical students, students identified as being at risk, and students who have been found to have disabilities. Achieving a balanced classroom is easier at the elementary and middle school levels than at the secondary level, where a certain amount of grouping takes place with course selection.

A major consideration is in arranging planning times for co-teachers. Co- planning must take place at least once a week, according to studies. "Planning sessions were viewed as priorities by both teachers; they refused to let other competing responsibilities interfere with their planning sessions" (Walther-Thomas, Bryant, & Land, 1996, p. 260). The planning must be ongoing to allow teachers to review progress on a regular basis, make adjustments, evaluate students, and develop strategies to address problems either in discipline or learning.

Walther-Thomas and her colleagues (1996) found that five planning themes were identified by co-teachers who considered themselves to be effective co- planners:

*confidence in partner's skills;

*design of learning environments for both the educators and students that require active involvement;

*creation of learning and teaching environments in which each person's contributions are valued;

*development of effective routines to facilitate in-depth planning; and

*increased productivity, creativity, and collaboration over time. Participants in collaborative programs agreed that the time required for planning does not decrease during the year, but the quality of instruction continues to improve.

TEACHER EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Collaboration should also be part of teacher preparation programs. This begins with the understanding that all teachers will be working with both typical and special needs students. Every teacher needs to study teaching techniques, subject area(s), disability, individualization, accommodation, and skills for collaboration in the classroom.

Time away from the classroom for consultation, professional conferences, and additional training is vital to the success of any program. Teachers, related service providers, and administrators will benefit from research findings on collaborative teaching, inclusion, and related subjects.
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RESULTS
Research findings on schools where collaborative teaching has been practiced indicate student benefits for both special education students and their typical peers. Walther-Thomas and others conducted a study of inclusion and teaming in 1996 to assess collaboration between general education and special education staff. Improvements were attributed to more teacher time and attention, reduced pupil-teacher ratios generally, and more opportunities for individual assistance.

Students with disabilities developed better self images, became less critical and more motivated, and recognized their own academic and social strengths. Their social skills improved and positive peer relationships developed.

Low-achieving students showed academic and social skills improvements. All students gained a greater understanding of differences and acceptance of others. All developed a stronger sense of self, a new appreciation of their own skills and accomplishments, and all learned to value themselves and others as unique individuals.

Staff reported professional growth, personal support, and enhanced teaching motivation. Collaboration brought complementary professional skills to planning, preparation, and delivery of classroom instruction.

CONCLUSION
The concepts of individualized instruction, multiple learning styles, team teaching, weekly evaluation, and detailed planning are all of direct benefit to students. The purpose of the collaboration is to combine expertise and meet the needs of all learners.

It is important that teachers receive preparation and classroom support. It is also important that planning time continues to be available throughout the school year. "Most important, all students win by being challenged by collaborating teachers who believe that they are responsible for all children in the classroom" (Angle, 1996, p.10).
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REFERENCES
References identified with an EJ or ED number have been abstracted and are in the ERIC database. Journal articles (EJ) should be available at most research libraries; most documents (ED) are available in microfiche collections at more than 900 locations. Documents can also be ordered through the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (800-443-ERIC).

Angle, B. (1996). Five steps to collaborative teaching and enrichment remediation. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 29(1), 8-10. EJ 529 434

Bauwens, J., & Hourcade, J. J. (1995). Cooperative teaching: Rebuilding the schoolhouse for all students. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed. ED 383 130

Bauwens, J., Hourcade, J. J., & Friend, M. (1989). Cooperative teaching: A model for general and special education integration. Remedial and Special Education, 10(2), 17-22. EJ 390 640

Crutchfield, M. (in press). Who's teaching our children? NICHCY News Digest.

Dieker, L. A., & Barnett, C. A. (1996). Effective co-teaching. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 29(1), 5-7. EJ 529 433 Friend, M. & Cook, L. (1996). Interactions. White Plains, NY: Longman.

Walther-Thomas, C. S., Bryant, M., & Land, S. (1996). Planning for effective co-teaching: The key to successful inclusion. Remedial and Special Education, 17(4), 255-264. EJ 527 660

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This publication was prepared with funding from the Office of Education Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, under contract number RR93002015. The opinions expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of OERI or the Department
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Collaboration Between General and Special Education Teachers

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Communication and collaboration between general and special education teachers is vital to the success of special needs students Use this resource to establish or update collaboration and planning techniques and explore the key elements in collaborations between general educators and special educators. Looking for more inclusive classroom and special needs resources?

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Just as when you're working on your own, planning is an essential part of teaching. Planning is a little more complicated, though, when you're doing it collaboratively. How will you divide up the work? Who will take the lead when? What exactly are you going to teach and how will you teach and assess student learning?

Here are a few general tips for collaborative planning when co-teaching:

Schedule your planning time - do not leave it to chance (see more about this in the call-out box on this page).

As a rule of thumb, experienced co-teachers need about 45-60 minutes of collaborative planning time each week, plus 10 minutes or so to plan each individual lesson; less experienced co-teachers may need even more time.

Trade off as much as possible in taking the lead around planning; this helps to build equality into your co-teaching partnership.

Use the same questions to drive all of your planning - What are the content goals? Who are the learners? How can we teach the students most effectively? How will we know the learners mastered the content?

In terms of specific roles around collaborative planning, it might break down like this:

The general educator, as the content specialist, collects the curriculum indicators, objectives and assessment limits, as well as the texts and other resources needed for the concepts to be taught; the general educator also breaks down the objectives into their relevant component parts.

The special educator, as the behavioral and instructional specialist, makes a list of the needs of the students who have IEPs, so accommodations, modifications and behavior plans can be considered; likewise the special educator thinks about teaching and learning strategies that can help all of the students achieve the content standards.

Both teachers use their knowledge of how the students learn to determine how instruction can be differentiated to meet everyone's needs and to promote active engagement of learning including grouping, room arrangements, and instructional strategies.

Both teachers decide which co-teaching approach they will use for the lesson and what their respective roles will be (before, during and after the lesson); likewise, they work out the logistics of any grouping that will be a part of the lesson.

Both teachers develop a response to the formative assessment (how they will measure student success) and devise multiple ways students can demonstrate their learning and the criteria upon which products will be evaluated.

Both teachers reflect upon the needs of individual students throughout each step of the planning process.

The teachers divide up the other lesson preparation tasks and trade off on developing the actual written version of the plan.

The teachers plan to debrief the lesson to make instructional decisions regarding student learning and make recommendations for the next lesson's design.

Co-planning time is key when it comes to co-teaching. It's an area where you need the ongoing support of your school administrators, especially to:

Schedule specific blocks of time before or after school

Schedule "specials" in such a way as to give co-teachers time to plan

Use staff development days and faculty meeting times for collaborative planning

Effective co-teaching requires that both teachers are involved in all parts of the instructional process.

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Collaborative Planning - Maryland Learning Links

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Just as when you're working on your own, planning is an essential part of teaching. Planning is a little more complicated, though, when you're doing it collaboratively . How will you divide up the work? Who will take the lead when? What exactly are you going to teach and how will you teach and assess student learning?

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Questions to consider in preparation

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Co-Teaching State of Mind - Collaborate to Co-Teach - Curry School of Education

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Not all teachers get to state a preference as to whether they would like to work within a traditional classroom arrangement or in a co-teaching format--administrative needs may make that decision for them. A cooperating teacher might be expected to adopt co-teaching or a student teacher may be placed into a co-teaching setting, for example.

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Great examples of collaboration and how both teachers can play an active role in the lesson.

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Collaborative Team Teaching: Challenges and Rewards

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Veteran special ed teacher Marisa Kaplan shares the challenges and rewards of co-teaching, including the fun of having another adult in the classroom.

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Great example of team teaching with shared responsibility.