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How individuals get together to help students succeed

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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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Special Education in Collaborative Classrooms

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Special Education in Collaborative Classrooms

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In special education, the term "collaboration" refers to a team teaching approach. In addition to the regular classroom teacher and the special education teacher, a collaborative team may also include speech, occupational, and/or physical therapists. Today, more special education students are taught in regular classrooms, and collaboration is increasing. Collaboration helps to ensure children with learning disabilities get a free appropriate public education, including specialized instruction, in a regular classroom.﻿﻿

There are several ways to ensure students get the instructional support they need. Collaboration provides options to allow students to be educated (as required by American law) in the least restrictive environment.﻿﻿

The Lead Teacher Collaboration Model

In classrooms with a lead teacher, often the regular classroom teacher delivers the instruction in the subject area. The special education teacher is an observer who works with children after instruction to provide specially designed instruction, ensure understanding, and to provide adaptations and modifications.

The Learning Centers Collaboration Model

Each teacher is responsible for instruction in a specific area of the room. Students are assembled into groups that rotate through the centers for instruction. Special education teachers may deliver instruction in areas of their certifications and may also serve as support to other teachers without a special education background.﻿﻿

The learning center collaboration approach is particularly appropriate for younger students, for whom center-based education is more typical.

Pull-Out Collaboration Model

In some settings, rather than having special education teachers or therapists "push into" general education classrooms, students are "pulled out" for services. In such situations, students might leave the classroom for therapies or particular subjects, and then return to the general education classroom.﻿﻿ When this occurs, the general education teacher collaborates with the special needs professional to be sure the student's needs are being met.

Alternative Collaborative Setting

Partially or entirely separate educational settings are relatively rare, even for students with significant learning or developmental challenges. A substantially separate setting is designed specifically for students with particular disabilities; for example, some classrooms are set up to serve students with autism while others are set up for students with speech and language disabilities, etc.

Students work one-on-one or in small groups with a special education teacher and possibly with instructional assistants for all or part of the instructional day. Even when students are placed full time in special education classrooms, teachers may communicate with each other to ensure students' programs include appropriate instruction.

Separate settings are typically used with students who have a more significant need for direct instruction.

Team Teaching

Team teaching involves general education and special needs teachers working together simultaneously to teach a classroom of students. Either teacher who has the necessary background knowledge in the subject introduces new concepts and materials to the class. Both teachers work as a team to reinforce learning and provide assistance to students as needed. Special education teachers provide specially designed instruction to students with IEPs, and regular education teachers can assist with this as well.

Consultation Models of Collaboration

A special education teacher may provide some instruction to students, but the majority of service is indirect. The special education teacher mostly provides guidance to the regular education teacher on how to modify instruction to meet the student's needs.

By Ann Logsdon
Ann Logsdon is a school psychologist specializing in helping parents and teachers support students with a range of educational and developmental disabilities.

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Models of Collaborative Teaching for Special Education Students

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In special education, the term "collaboration" refers to a team teaching approach. In addition to the regular classroom teacher and the special education teacher, a collaborative team may also include speech, occupational, and/or physical therapists. Today, more special education students are taught in regular classrooms, and collaboration is increasing.

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Advantages of Co-teaching in a Classroom with Special Needs Students

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Advantages of Co-teaching in a Classroom with Special Needs Students

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Co-teaching is an inclusive education model in which students with special education needs are provided the opportunity to learn in a mainstream classroom with the additional support of a special education teacher who co-teaches with the general education teacher. This model has proven successful in many school districts for several reasons.
Benefits for students with special education requirements
First of all, the co-teaching model ensures that students with special needs have access to the general education curriculum. By law students with disabilities must be provided access to learning opportunities that do not restrict their ability to progress in a subject or grade level. In a co-taught class, special education students have the opportunity to move from modified assignments to typical assignments as they develop skills and confidence. As a result, co-taught special education students are generally more likely to meet grade-level standards.

While they have access to the mainstream curriculum, co-taught students also continue to receive specialized instruction. Special education teachers within the mainstream classroom can coach students individually, or in small groups, providing them the additional coaching and guidance necessary for them to complete activities and assignments.
Differentiated instruction
In addition to in-class support for mainstream assignments, co-taught students also have the opportunity to grow within the curriculum through differentiated instruction. Since there are two teachers in the class, the same material can be taught in two or more different ways. The special education teacher can anticipate student needs and, in planning lessons with the mainstream teacher, prepare alternative lesson materials and assessments to help special education students reach the grade-level learning goals.

Although the special education teacher in a co-taught class often delivers content, he or she sometimes spends class time observing students with special needs. In observing how the student responds to class assignments the special education teacher can develop new ways to revise materials or reteach concepts to ensure every student remains on-task and on-topic. In addition, in large or difficult to manage classes, either of the co-teachers can circulate during a lesson to ensure every student is on-task and attentive, and answer questions or redirection where necessary.

One teaches/one observes: In one model, one teacher delivers a lesson while the other observes and assists students. This model is particularly valuable for topics that are detailed or require the delivery of extensive content such as dates, names, and timeline events. As one teacher explains new ideas, the other reviews student notes to ensure all students are capturing the most important information.

Parallel teaching: Students are divided into two groups and each teacher delivers the same content in similar or dissimilar lessons to their groups. This model is valuable when co-teachers have identified different learning needs in a classroom that can be addressed through different types of lessons. So, for example, one group may read passages or listen to a teacher lecture, while the other watches a video and copies notes from a board. At the end of the class period, both groups will have received the same information.

Station teaching: Station teaching tends to be very popular with students, as it gives them the opportunity to move around the classroom and work with different peers. During station teaching class desks are grouped into four or five different areas. Two will be "staffed" by the co-teachers who deliver content directly to students or check their progress on assignments. The other stations call for independent or group work. At the end of the class, students have the opportunity to meet with one or both teachers to review what they've learned.

Team teaching: This model gives all students to learn from two different teachers, who may have different perspectives, methods, or information to share. In team-taught lessons, the entire class is in one group. However, if students fall behind or seem to struggle with the content, one of the teachers can pull a small group away to reteach and review material.

Disadvantages of co-teaching
Obviously, there are many advantages to co-teaching. Students have more opportunities to learn, seek clarification, and receive remediation when there are two qualified educators present during class time. There are, however, some disadvantages to co-teaching environments.

Concerns for typical students: While co-teaching is well suited to meet the needs of students who require extra support, or those who may need enrichment, there is always the possibility that typical students with average ability and average engagement can be neglected. When a class includes students with special needs, it can be challenging to address the needs of students who meet but do not exceed grade-level requirements. Students who find the content accessible may not seek attention and may develop unrealistic impressions of their own abilities. This model can, potentially, stifle the most typical student who does not seek opportunities to excel.

Distractions: Some students may be distracted by having two teachers in the classroom, especially if the co-teachers follow a model when just one teacher presents content at a time. A teacher circulating around the classroom during a lesson can capture the attention of easily-distracted students or cause self-conscious students to withdraw from class discussions.

Student impressions of teachers: If co-teachers follow the model of having one teacher circulate while the other teaches the lesson, students may develop the opinion that one teacher, the one presenting the lesson, has more authority or is more competent than the other. This attitude can be an obstacle to using other co-teaching models, as students may feel slighted if assigned to the less-active teacher during station or parallel teaching.

Student expectations: Students may react so positively to the benefits of having a circulating teacher available to respond to questions that they may come to expect one-on-one tutoring or re-teaching during class time. This expectation interferes with students' ability to become independent learners and can lead to them becoming insecure and second-guessing their work, as they are accustomed to having a teacher suggest that they review certain questions or responses.

Classroom noise: When two teachers are working with students simultaneously, the room will be unavoidably loud. Some students may find it difficult to concentrate and work independently while others are working with teachers. Effective co-teachers work to develop procedures that allow independent students to migrate to a quiet area of the room while others work with teachers. However, being separated from other students can cause students to feel anxious or left out of class activities.

This video explains the co-teaching model for special education.

Despite these manageable drawbacks, co-teaching has proven an effective strategy for integrating students with special needs into mainstream classrooms, and for providing typical students with additional support and enrichment activities. Since co-teaching is a relatively new approach to meeting the needs of special education students, no broad studies have been completed on the effectiveness of this method. However, limited studies show that teachers and students report that co-teaching is effective. Students report that they are able to garner and retain more content in a co-taught course than in a typical mainstream course or in a modified curriculum course. Teachers report that they are better able to assess and meet the needs of all students in a co-taught class and that working with a co-teacher enhances the creativity of lessons.

As schools continue to develop new and more effective ways to meet the learning requirements of students with special needs it is likely that co-teaching will remain one approach. Collegial teaching that takes advantage of the skills and strengths of two teachers is well suited to mixed-ability classrooms and to helping all students reach grade-level proficiency.

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Co-teaching Offers New Opportunities for Students with Special Needs - PublicSchoolReview.com

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Co-teaching is an inclusive education model in which students with special education needs are provided the opportunity to learn in a mainstream classroom with the additional support of a special education teacher who co-teaches with the general education teacher. This model has proven successful in many school districts for several reasons.

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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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