Overcoming Co-Teaching Barriers

By Christopher Ratcliff

Inclusive schools provide the opportunity for all students to develop the attitudes, values, and skills needed to live and work alongside others in a diverse society. Co-teaching allows students and teachers to experience and benefit from a wide range of learning styles, teaching techniques, and data-driven instruction, while promoting inclusion and a sense of community among a unique group of people working toward the same goals of success and growth

The purpose of the book is to examine teachers` perceptions of the effectiveness of the co-teaching and highlight the perceived barriers to success. In examining the responses of teachers, this study will review the literature on co-teaching success, problems, and barriers to success. This research may be used to increase and highlight the problems, barriers, and needs for effective co-teaching programs and add to the body of research in this area. This book will also provide research based solutions to address the current barriers to successful inclusive classrooms. In addition, this book provides practical ideas for defining teacher roles, planning lessons, providing effective instruction, and maximizing the value of each team member.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christopher Ratcliff
• Release date: Apr 22, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223396550

Christopher Ratcliff

Christopher Ratcliff is a teacher with 17 years of experience working with students and teachers in a variety of settings. He has spent the last 6 years teaching in inclusive classrooms. During this time, he has co-taught with several different teachers.  Christopher earned his Master`s in Multi-Categorical Special Education in 2016. His master's research highlighted the barriers co-teachers faced in inclusive classrooms.  An Illinois native, Christopher earned his B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Biology at Governors State University and M.A. in Multi-Categorical Special Education from Governors State University. His professional licensures include secondary Biology, secondary Psychology, and K-12 Special Education.  Christopher has a deep devotion to working with struggling learners and students with diverse learning abilities.  Christopher makes his home in Steger, Illinois. When he is not working with students and teachers, he enjoys writing, traveling, dancing, singing karaoke, and relaxing in nature. 

Book preview

Chapter I

Introduction

T

he Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (PL 94-142) revised as The Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) of 1997 and 2004, mandated that all students with disabilities be provided a free appropriate public education (FAPE) within the least restrictive environment (LRE; IDEA, 2004). Another federal mandate, No Child Left Behind (NCLB, 2001) required that all students have access to highly qualified teachers. Under NCLB, a highly qualified teacher must meet federal and state standards of proficiency for certification in their content area. In addition, NCLB requires students with disabilities in secondary general education classrooms meet the same academic standards as their non-disabled peers. According to Voltz, Elliott, and Cobb (1994), Collaboration among general education and special education teachers is an imperative to the success of learners with disabilities educated in mainstream classrooms (p. 527). One model that has expanded in recent years is cooperative teaching or co-teaching for short. Bauwens, Hourcade, and Friend (1989) have defined cooperative teaching as

An educational approach in which general and special educators work in a coactive and coordinated fashion to jointly teach heterogeneous groups of students in educationally integrated settings (i.e., general classrooms). In cooperative teaching, both general and special education teachers are simultaneously present in the general classroom, maintaining joint responsibilities for specified education instruction that is to occur within that setting. (p. 18)

Although co-teaching has had success in schools, it has presented some teachers with problems over the years. Bauwens and Hourcade (1991) discussed four considerations for successful implementation of a cooperative teaching program. The first is a philosophical consideration. They noted the role and importance of the unity between general education and special education teacher`s core beliefs about students and schools. Second, they mentioned the theoretical considerations, which deal primarily with the unique and specific skills each teacher brings to the table. Third, they discussed how each teacher has to narrow his or her planning focus to utilize their skills effectively. Fourth, they give a list of procedural considerations that should be implemented for successful outcomes. Among them are (a) scheduling, (b) planning together, (c) classroom management, (d) rules, and (e) grading procedures.

Current problem

The current push for students with disabilities to be educated in general classes has caused many districts to change their special education service delivery (Walter-Thomas, 1997). Furthermore, since the 1980s, there has been an increase in the percentage of students who receive special education services using the co-teaching framework (Weiss, 2004). The problem identified in the literature involves (a) a lack of teacher training, (b) limited school support, and (c) lack of planning time (Scott, 1998; Walther-Thomas, 1997). In addition, co-teaching in the secondary classroom presents several challenges. According to Dieker (2001) many special education teachers in the secondary classroom reported that their role is no more than a teaching assistant. Dieker suggested that this was the case because most special education teacher preparation programs focus on differentiated teaching strategies rather than content knowledge in a specific subject area. He concluded that many general education co-teachers, who are also the content specialist, do not feel comfortable allowing the special education teacher to lead their class instruction.

Purpose of the Book

The purpose of the book is to examine teachers` perceptions of the effectiveness of the co-teaching and highlight the perceived barriers to success. In examining the responses of teachers, this study will review the literature on co-teaching success, problems, and barriers to success. This research may be used to increase and highlight the problems, barriers, and needs for effective co-teaching programs and add to