Collaboration Between General Education and Special Education Teachers by Erin Howard https://padlet.com/erinhoward45/v2jj7mp6bk41nrka en-us 2022-08-31 13:39:50 UTC 2025-09-24 06:12:02 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.com/erinhoward45/v2jj7mp6bk41nrka/wish/2281870591 Collaborative planning plays a vital role in ensuring lessons run as smoothly as possible. Firstly, General Education teachers and Special Education teachers need to decide how frequently they need to meet to plan out their classes together. According to studies, co-planning must take place at least once a week to maximise effectiveness ("Collaboration Between General and Special Education Teachers", 2022). Planning also needs to be ongoing to allow both teachers to review the progress of their students and to decide on whether or not the accommodations they have implemented are effective.  If there are any issues, this regular discussion allows scheduled time to develop strategies to address the problems. Participants in collaborative planning programs agreed that the time required for planning should not decrease during the year, and as planning continues, the quality of instruction will continue to improve.

When co-planning, both parties need to also consider assessment. The General Education teacher will have deep knowledge of content and curriculum, but may not have experience designing assessments for students with special needs. These students may require specific accommodations which the SEN teacher will be able to individualise. These accommodations could come in the form of extended time or the student could be prescribed a scribe or a verbal reader.

Collaboration Between General and Special Education Teachers. TeacherVision. (2022). Retrieved 4 September 2022, from https://www.teachervision.com/teaching-strategies/collaboration-between-general-and-special-education-teachers.]]> 2022-09-04 09:56:14 UTC https://padlet.com/erinhoward45/v2jj7mp6bk41nrka/wish/2281870591 vale_alvarez_c https://padlet.com/erinhoward45/v2jj7mp6bk41nrka/wish/2285309092 The most traditional conception of teaching imagines one teacher in front of the class. However, as special education awareness and legislation has increased over the past hundred years or so, schools have introduced special education teachers into the mix. However, there is no one-size-fits-all model for how general education and special education teachers should work together to meet the needs of their students. The roles, responsibilities, classroom expectations, and planning required to have a harmonious and fruitful relationship are usually not prescribed – that is, teachers and school administrators usually have to figure out what students need and would benefit from most. For example, which co-teaching model should they use? Should they push-in or pull-out students from the classroom? Who addresses the class and when? These, among others, are crucial questions that general and special education teachers must confer, agree, and reflect upon before, during, and after their joint teaching experience. ]]> 2022-09-06 20:23:52 UTC https://padlet.com/erinhoward45/v2jj7mp6bk41nrka/wish/2285309092 There are 6 common models of co-teaching. The goal of co-teaching is to provide special education services in the general education classroom. In all of the following models, it is the general education teacher’s primary responsibility to determine the academic standards being taught and the special education teacher’s responsibility to determine the accommodation required. The best results in co-teaching result from teachers who are provided time and training and have support from administrators. (Sharpe & Hawes, 2003) 1)One teaching/One Observing: One teacher teaches and the other observes/records data. 2)One teaching/One Assisting: One teacher teaches and the other assists students as needed. 3)Parallel teaching:Two teachers split the class and teach similar content to different levels 4)Station Teaching: Teachers each teach a different skill multiple times to different groups. Sometimes independent stations are also available 5)Alternative Teaching: One teacher teaches most of the students and the second teaches a small group 6)Team Teaching: Both teachers are familiar with content and accommodations and take turns teaching the whole class and assisting all students as needed. The model requires the most collaboration and planning and skill, but also provides the most benefit to the students. (Cassel, 2019) References Cassel, S. (2019). How to Choose a Co-Teaching Model. Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://www.edutopia.org/article/how-choose-co-teaching-modelSharpe, M., & Hawes, M. (2003). Collaboration Between General and Special Education: Making it Work. National Center on Secondary Education and Transition, 2(1). Retrieved from http://www.ncset.org/publications/printresource.asp?id=1097 susancollins3 https://padlet.com/erinhoward45/v2jj7mp6bk41nrka/wish/2285849300




]]> 2022-09-07 05:26:07 UTC https://padlet.com/erinhoward45/v2jj7mp6bk41nrka/wish/2285849300 erinhoward45 https://padlet.com/erinhoward45/v2jj7mp6bk41nrka/wish/2285907415 When general education and special education teachers begin collaborating to manage a classroom and students, it can be a challenging adjustment for them. Every teacher has their own way of setting classroom routines, boundaries and expectations with their students. For classroom success, general and special education teachers will need to use clear communication with each other and mutually agree upon rules and routines for the classroom (Hofferber, n.d.) These may vary between the students who are typically developing and those who have special needs. For example, a student with significant ADHD may not have the same routines as typically developing student.
The general education and special education teacher must agree on what kind of behavior management and consequences are appropriate based on the student's background and their needs. They will need to share what strategies they use to manage behaviors and make a list for reference. 
The teachers should create a list of classroom rules that they believe are appropriate and effective.
Another form of collaboration is for the teachers to express how they like their classroom environment so they can create a space that is comfortable for both of them. This includes discussing what their own triggers are in the classroom. This allows their co-teacher to support them when they are overwhelmed or frustrated in a challenging situation.

Hofferber, Jennifer. “Special Education and General Education: 8 Ways to Collaborate.” Sped Prep Academy, https://www.spedprepacademy.com/blog/special-education-and-general-education-collaborating-together. ]]> 2022-09-07 06:22:48 UTC https://padlet.com/erinhoward45/v2jj7mp6bk41nrka/wish/2285907415