Integrating Effective Practices Into Co-Teaching: Increasing Outcomes for Students With Disabilities

Abstract

Co-teaching is the most popular model for supporting students with disabilities in the general education setting. However, the limited research that supports this framework as effective for increasing outcomes for students with disabilities may indicate co-teachers have difficulty providing students with specialized instruction to meet individual learning needs. In this article, co-teachers are provided a model for integrating effective practices strategically within various co-teaching models to increase educational outcomes for students with disabilities.

Coaching Co-Teachers: Increasing Specialized Instruction in Inclusive Settings

“…One way to support co-teachers in delivering specialized instruction is through a guided planning approach that is focused on content area learning outcomes and student needs. S. Cook and McDuffie-Landrum (2020) developed a five-step approach for co-teachers to use when planning for the implementation of specialized instruction in an inclusion setting. Specifically, co-teachers do the following:…”

“…Co-teachers should make decisions deliberately and, when implementing a practice for specialized instruction, consider which model makes the most sense based on (a) outcomes the practice is targeting and (b) students who need the targeted instruction. S. Cook and McDuffie-Landrum (2020) developed a decision-making flowchart to guide teachers' decisions. This flowchart should be used as teachers plan for implementation and can be used as necessary when building lessons (see Figure 1).…”

“…On the other hand, if the practice selected is appropriate for only some of the students in the classroom, the co-teachers may select either station or alternative teaching depending on whether they determine it is appropriate to separate the small group. When using alternative teaching, co-teachers should not separate students if this would result in students missing out on core instruction (S. Cook & McDuffie-Landrum, 2020).…”

“…Co-teaching is a service delivery model used by schools that allows students with disabilities to receive access to the general education curriculum as well as specialized instruction necessary to meet their individual needs. Whereas the general education teacher has expertise in content area instruction, the special education teacher has expertise in adapting curriculum and providing targeted instruction to meet the functional, behavioral, and academic needs of students with disabilities (S. Cook & McDuffie-Landrum, 2020). In a co-taught classroom, both teachers are responsible for delivering instruction.…”

“…To provide both access to grade-level content and targeted instruction to meet the individual needs of students with disabilities, co-teachers rely on the five co-teaching models initially described by L. Cook and Friend (1995): (a) team teaching, (b) parallel teaching, (c) alternative teaching, (d) station teaching, and (e) one teach, one assist (or observe). In the classroom, co-teachers should make purposeful decisions to use these models based on the learning goals and individual needs (S. Cook & McDuffie-Landrum, 2020). The variety of instructional models provides co-teachers with a unique opportunity to meet the needs of all students, especially students with disabilities, whose needs often extend beyond what can be met in a traditional classroom setting.…”