Collaboration in the world of education has become an increasingly popular method of addressing a variety of school issues, such as curriculum design, behavioral plans, professional development and management of resources. One of the areas in which collaboration is becoming more popular is co-teaching in special education, where special education teachers and general education teachers share the planning and instruction responsibilities for inclusion classrooms (Friend & Cook, 2010). As academic standards for the education of students with disabilities are held to the same standards as their typical peers due to the No Child Left Behind Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the co-teaching model has been increasingly implemented to meet those needs. Most research has shown co-teaching to be effective in the inclusion classroom, though there are a few studies which have refuted its significance and identified reasons for problems in implementing a successful co-teaching program.
Co-teaching is the collaboration of two or more credentialed teaching professionals, most typically a general education teacher and a special education teacher. To truly qualify as a co-teaching model, each teacher must be actively involved in the teaching of the lessons. Each teacher contributes their own unique expertise to the planning, instruction, and managing of all students in the classroom. If executed in this way, co-teaching can enhance the learning environment and involve and engage all students in the classroom. All students, from the academically gifted to the academically challenged, can benefit from the increased engaged time and more diverse instruction which the co-teaching model offers.
Within the co-teaching model i...
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“From a holistic constructivist perspective all children simply engage in a process of learning as they can in a particular subject area; how much and exactly what they learn will depend upon their background, interest, and disabilities” (Stainback and Stainback, 1992, pg.72). Inclusion and Full Inclusion you’re getting the best of both worlds. With two teachers who collaborate. Which means” to work together with another person or group in order to achieve or do something”www.merriamwebster.com. Using teachers that are well qualified, understand the students, and meeting the needs of every student. Working together as one, to achieve and meet their goals and objectives. Romans 8:28 says” And we know that all things work for the good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose”wwwbiblegateway.com. We as educators are called for a high level of accountability to teach everyone. Whether its inclusion or full inclusion, giving them the right tools to succeed in life. By getting knowledge which is power to achieve and be successful to make it this life. As an instructional assistant in the public school system, working with students who have disabilities. We have days that are more trying and challenging than
Schools are beginning to adapt more to the variety of students needs in the classroom. Co-teaching is one of the methods schools and teachers are using to reach more students. It got originally noticed in 1960s but didn’t become popular and supported till 1990s (Villa). Co-teaching is when the general education teacher is working along side another professional. They could be a special education teacher, ESL teacher, a reading specialist, or any other professional that could assist in creating a coordinated curriculum for a diverse classroom. Both the general education teacher and the other professional will plan the coordinated curriculum and instructions that will be used in the general education classroom (Vaughn pg. 79).
What do we do with children with disabilities in the public school? Do we include them in the general education class with the “regular” learning population or do we separate them to learn in a special environment more suited to their needs? The problem is many people have argued what is most effective, full inclusion where students with all ranges of disabilities are included in regular education classes for the entire day, or partial inclusion where children spend part of their day in a regular education setting and the rest of the day in a special education or resource class for the opportunity to work in a smaller group setting on specific needs. The need for care for children with identified disabilities both physical and learning continues to grow and the controversy continues.
Educators can have strong feelings on the subject because having special needs students in a regular classroom can have a large impact on the classroom community. Those who believe in inclusive classrooms realize that, to be successful, it requires allot of classroom management and differentiated instruction, but feel the benefits are worth the work involved. Those who do not believe in inclusion feel that it leads to “l...
In order to help students develop these meaningful relationships there must first be a base of communication and collaboration between teachers, parents and paraeducators who all share a stake in supporting and empowering students with and without disabilities. Downing and Peckham-Hardin found that both teachers and parents cited communication and working as a team were essential for truly inclusive education. Some of the most important components of this communication and team work ...
Inclusion in the classroom is a topic that I did not fully understand when I first became a special education teacher. Studying inclusion and all the aspect that it encompasses has enlighten me to the complexities of inclusion in the classroom. Inclusion has expanded to every facet of school activities outside the classroom. I am going on my fifth year of being a special education teacher and continuously find the need for additional education and training among the staff and administration. I feel having a comprehensive understanding has made me a better educator and advocate for children with disabilities.
In order for inclusion to be implemented properly it is important that teachers, parents, and administrators to know the definition of inclusion. An inclusion program means that the student spends all or most of their school time in the general education classroom rather than a self-contained classroom. However, the students will still receive the support and interventions they would have received in a self-contained classroom. There are different types of inclusive classrooms where different types of teaching occur. There is co-teaching where there is both a general education teacher and a special education teacher that co teach. Both will work with students that have an individualized education plan (IEP) and the student will receive more support. In addition, an inclusive classroom can have a general education teacher but has the special education teacher as a resource or aid, which qualifies as a collaborative model of inclusion.
specific learning disabilities in the United States of America. The Journal of International Association of Special Education, 10(1), 21-26.
Inclusion 'mainstreams' physically, mentally, and multiply disabled children into regular classrooms. In the fifties and sixties, disabled children were not allowed in regular classrooms. In 1975 Congress passed the Education of all Handicapped Students Act, now called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA mandates that all children, regardless of disability, had the right to free, appropriate education in the least restrictive environment. Different states have different variations of the law. Some allow special needs students to be in a regular education classroom all day and for every subject, and others allow special education students to be in a regular education classroom for some subjects and in a separate classroom for the rest. There are many different views on inclusive education. In this paper I will address some of the positive and negative views on inclusion and ways to prepare educators for inclusive education.
Jorgensen, C. M. (1997 July). Curriculum and Its Impact on Inclusion and the Achievement of Students with Disabilities. Retrieved October 8, 2002 from http://www.asri.edu/CFSP/brochure/curricib.htm
Child A struggled the most with writing, including spelling and pronunciation of words as well as counting and recall of number facts in maths. Provisions that the class teacher and school put in place included intervention groups outside of the classroom, where the child would go with an adult to a separate room to complete the class task or to use online support programmes suc...
There are millions of children that are passing through the United States school system every day, not all children possess the same traits, and not all children can learn at the same rate, and do not perform at the same ability. The fact that all children learn differently and some have difficulties learning in general classrooms, special education was put into place to try and take care of these issues. Special education programs were put into place to help all students with disabilities. These children range from general disabilities to more complex and severe disabilities. There has been a revolution occurring in the past several years with education systems, and special education. There have now been several laws that have been passed that mandate changes in special education and the treatment that children, and parents receive, it also changes how the children are being taught, and how the teachers are to also change and conform to this idea called inclusion. Inclusion in the school system simply is stating that children who have learning disabilities, and more severe disabilities are to be included in the general education environment for as long as possible daily. There has been several different names other than inclusion that have been used, but in present times and since the 1990’s inclusion has been the most common term used. “The change in terminology was pushed in part by the philosophy that inclusion would mean more than only physical placement of children with disabilities in the same classroom, but rather it conveyed that children with disabilities would become a part of larger social, community, and societal systems” (Odom, Buysse, & Soukakou, 2011, para. 3). There has not been just one major law that was passed...
Special education has undergone immense changes through the years. Research and studies on the debate of whether or not inclusion is appropriate for special education students is just beginning to cultivate. The question has always been, what is best for these students? Schools and teachers are becoming leaders in the exploration of new paths, in search of new teaching styles and techniques. Mainstreaming or inclusion at the middle school and high school level, which is educating students with special needs in regular classes with their non-disabled peers, has proven to be beneficial for the special education students cognitive and social developmental needs. It can not only benefit the handicapped student but all students in the classroom.
Successful inclusion presumes that “no one teacher can or ought to be expected to have all the expertise required to meet the educational needs of all students in the classroom.” Therefore, collaboration, and cooperative teaching are recognized as essential for effective inclusion programs. (Leonard, L. & Leonard, P., 2003). Below discusses the importance of collaboration and cooperative t...
Collaborative and cooperative learning promotes student learning through group-oriented activities. Collaborative learning is a method of teaching and learning in which student teams will work together to create a meaningful multimedia project. Cooperative learning, which will be the primary focus of this paper, is a specific kind of collaborative learning. In cooperative learning, students work together in small groups on a structured activity. Cooperative groups will work face-to-face and will learn to work as a team. The multimedia project will allow all students to benefit from gaining a deeper knowledge of the multimedia matters through communication with their peers and building relationships among their peers of different ethnic, backgrounds, learning abilities and gender.