Teamed to Teach: Integrating Teacher Training through Cooperative Teaching at an Urban Professional Development School

Abstract

One feature of current school reform efforts has been the formation of partnerships between schools and universities in the form of Professional Development Schools (PDS). In this article we describe a Professional Development School project at two schools in New York City that has resulted from collaborative efforts of staff members of Community School District #3, the United Federation of Teachers, and Teachers College, Columbia University. A major problem confronting teachers in urban schools is a pervasive sense of isolation. To combat this problem, a cooperative teaching approach was adopted as a focus of this PDS project. An outgrowth of this approach has been the joint preparation of special and regular education students enrolled in preservice programs.

Creating Collaborative Cultures for Educational Change

“…However, there have been but a handful of such studies in special education (Fager, Andrews, Shepherd, & Quinn, 1993;Paul, Duchnowski, & Danforth, 1993), which leaves much to be learned about the specific mechanisms by which collegial relations among teachers and researchers can operate to improve student learning (Little, 1990). A major concern in this research is how to transform traditional staff development programs-where teachers are viewed as the recipients of knowledge-into innovative "learning communities" where teachers are supported and guided by researchers to become producers of knowledge that improves student outcomes (Fullan, 1991(Fullan, , 1993.…”

Designing Effective Field Experiences For Nontraditional Preservice Special Educators

“…The unique provision of frequent university supervision and school-based mentoring by master teachers tied to competencies in the preparation program was possible because of the university's ties to the local school districts and the state department of education. Both Paul et al (1993) and Fagen, Andrews, Shepherd, and Quinn (1993) have described how partnerships can develop into professional development school arrangements, which are analogous to teaching hospitals in that master teachers join with university faculty to provide field experiences to preservice and inservice teacher candidates. Although there is much to learned regarding the economics and dynamics (see Goodman, 1994) of school-based partnerships, it is our belief that these new administrative arrangements are the cornerstone of innovative special education teacher preparation efforts.…”

The Roles of Bilingual Special Educators in Creating Inclusive Classrooms

“…Teaching teams have identified several issues that limit the effectiveness of cooperative teaching arrangements, including time for planning, resistance from colleagues, and increased workloads and responsibilities (Bauwens et al, 1989). Educators working in cooperative teaching teams also need to learn to work and teach together (Fager, Andrews, Shepherd, & Quinn, 1993). Frequently, this learning experience takes time.…”