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Co-teaching: collaboration at the middle level.

Article Excerpt
Abstract

Collaborative teaching, or co-teaching, is a teaching technique that may be used to provide services to students with special needs in the general education classroom. Co-teaching is a partnership that requires consistent communication and collaboration. The process of moving to a co-taught curriculum is described, followed by reflective reactions from both teachers. Although co-teaching takes additional time and effort, the benefits are great for students (those with and without special needs) as well as staff.

Introduction

Co-teaching, also known as collaborative teaching or cooperative teaching, is best described as the time when two education professionals share responsibilities for instruction. While college educators (Arnold & Jackson, 1996) are beginning to enter into collaborative teaching partnerships, co-teaching is more frequently used in elementary, middle, and secondary programs, as schools work to provide academic support to students with special needs in the mainstream setting (Cook & Friend, 1995; Murawski &Dieker, 2004; Walther-Thomas, 1997). In co-teaching, two professionals, often a general and special educator, instruct a classroom of both general and special education students. Instructional models for co-teaching may vary, (Cook & Friend, 1995; Vaughn, Schumm, & Arguelles, 1997; Walsh & Jones, 2004) but all emphasize the importance of the collaborative partnership and the communication and flexibility required to adjust instructional delivery based upon knowledge of both students and curriculum.

Walther-Thomas (1997) describes vibrant co-teachers as ones who share the responsibility for instruction and student discipline as well as student support. Researchers also suggest that common planning time for the teaching team plays an important role in the success of a co-teaching experience for both students and teachers (Cook & Friend, 1995; Dieker, 2001; Keefe, Moore, & Duff, 2004; Murawski & Dieker, 2004; Vaughn, Schumm, & Arguelles, 1997). External supports that may lead to successful collaborative teaching relationships include administrative support and administrative involvement in special education (Cook & Friend, 1995; Walther-Thomas, 1997).

A few challenges to using a co-taught curriculum have been identified. However, many benefits for both students and faculty still exist. An unequal partnership within the teaching dyad may lead to co-teaching failure (Murawski &Dieker, 2004; Walsh & Jones, 2004). In addition, scheduling students for support in the co-teaching model may lead to an imbalance of students with special needs in a specific general education classroom (Walsh & Jones, 2004). Studies have shown that through the use of co-teaching for academic support, students with special needs may benefit from increased self-concept/self-esteem as well as increased general academic outcomes (Dieker,...

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