Successful Inclusion through Effective Collaborative Teaching

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Successful Inclusion through Effective
Collaborative Teaching

• By
• Debbie Archer

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The Issue

• Under IDEA, FAPE for all students in the LRE.
• Inclusion- Instruction of all students (G.E.
  S.E) in the G.E. classroom.
• Two teachers in the classroom-(G.E S.E)
• Co-teacher frustrations in how to teach, plan,
  and manage classroom duties and students.
• Direction, guidance, and roles, and strategies
  are being questioned.

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Purpose of the Study

• To examine the perceptions that collaborative
  teachers (in the inclusionary classroom) have of
  themselves, their co-teachers, and their success
  or failures of their collaborative teaching
  practices.

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Research Questions

• How do co-teachers perceive their current
  experience in the classroom?
• What teaching practices do collaborative
  educators find effective?
• What concerns do co-teachers have?
• What school-based supports are essential to
  collaborative teaching?

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Method

• Survey of all middle school co-teachers in Warren
  County, New Jersey. (Northwest N.J.)
• Survey consisted of 3 parts
• Demographic data- short answer.
• Co-teacher perceptions-Likert Scale rating
• Short answer questions.
• Surveys were dispersed either through Directors
  of the S.S. Department or Child Study Team
  Supervisors.

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Data Collection Procedure/Research Design

• A qualitative and quantitative study analyzing
  teacher responses to survey questions.
• Demographic info. used comparatively (charts,
  s)
• Comparison of G.E. S.E. co-teachers survey
  questions (s, tables, and graphs.)

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Results and Findings

• Question1
• How do co-teachers perceive their current
  experience?
• -46 of teachers agreed that the G.E. co-teacher
  did
• the most in the classroom.
• -Consensus that both populations worked well
  together,
• positive experience, co-teaching contrib.
  academically.
• -65 of S.E. teachers- their role was defined in
  classroom
• -85 of G.E. teachers- their role was defined.

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Question 1 continued

• -55 of S.E. teachers and 56 of G.E. did not
  think that either groups of teachers shared
  instructional duties
• Both groups agreed that students were
  academically and socially benefiting from the
  inclusive classroom.
• 40 of S.E. and 32 of G.E. felt that their
  school district was following a specific
  collaborative teaching model.

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Discussion- Question1

• 45 of teachers had at least an MA yet only 20.5
  of G.E and 45 of S.E recently took course work
  in inclusion. Points to lack of training in
  collaborative techniques.
• A majority of co-teachers did not volunteer for
  co-teaching. Concerns and frustrations that
  teachers share could be attributed to this.
  Teachers attitudes toward inclusion can effect
  the implementation of inclusion.
• A low percentage of teachers felt their school
  district was
• following a specific collaborative teaching
  model. The teachers were feeling that there is
  not a definitive format that they should be
  following in their teaching practices- leaves
  teachers feeling unsupported and without
  direction.

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Question 2 What are some concerns? -More
planning time amongst themselves. -Support was
greatly needed from the S.E. perspective -G.E.
felt that there were too many S.E. students in
the class, they always had to reinforce to the
students that the S.E teacher was not an aide,
they felt like they did most of the work, their
co-teachers were seldom with them the next year
so there was a feeling of re-training of S.E.
co-teachers, and difficulties in differentiating
instruction.
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Discussion- Question 2

• -Concerns were numerous and accentuates the
  points that a school based inclusion model needs
  to be defined along with administrative support
  that will help to provide workshops and
  pre-service instruction in collaborative
  teaching.
• -Despite concerns both groups remained optimistic
  and believed it contributed positively to
  students academic development.

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Question 3- School Based Supports that
facilitate collaborative teaching. -Majority
felt not enough planning time (75 S.E, 73.5
G.E.) -Many felt not enough workshops offered on
inclusion or collaborative teaching (65 S.E.,
58 G.E.) -50 of G.E. felt they had access to
many supports, practices, and preparations
concerning collaborative teaching while 80 of
S.E. felt they had support accesses.
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Discussion- Question 3

• - School-based supports are lacking- only half of
  G.E. felt that they had support when needed .
  S.E. may be relying on their S.E. background when
  trying to fill in the holes and gaps in the
  class.
• - Administrators need to help guide their staff
  with sufficient course work and in developing
  their own inclusion (teaming) model. Without a
  solid framework and background many of the
  co-teaching teams will become frustrated and
  unsupportive concerning the education of special
  needs students in the classroom.

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• Question 4
• What teaching practices are effective in the
• collaborative classroom?
• Too numerous to list all- the most prominent were
  chosen.
• Mutual planning time with co-teachers
• Collaborative teaching (with training)
• Modifications made jointly
• Collaboratively, create alternate assignments
• Mutual respect
• Keep communication open at all times
• Target students learning styles and teach to them
• Use of visual, kinesthetic, auditory, and tactile
  learning styles
• Differentiated instruction
• Cooperative learning/hands-on activities

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Discussion- Question 4

• Despite the teachers lack of co-teaching
  expertise, training and supports they have
  developed a sizeable list of effective practices.
  The teachers now need the instructional tools and
  school based supports to help facilitate the
  inclusionary process.

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Implications/Recommendations

• Offering feedback, sharing classroom management,
  providing daily mutual planning time using
  cooperative learning techniques were perceived as
  important co-teaching practices.
• Teacher preparation programs relevant to
  collaborative teaching were essential.

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Implications/Recommendations

• Commitment of administration, faculty, staff, and
  parents is critical for inclusion to work.
• Further research needed in inclusive
  effectiveness based on students test scores
  report cards.
• School districts should provide proper training,
  practices, and supports to prepare teachers.

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The End