How to Co-Teach in an Inclusion Classroom
Discover the best ways for general education and special education teachers to co-teach in inclusion classrooms and maximize learning. The No Child Left Behind Law’s push to include all students in enrolled grade level instruction, while still providing legally required accommodations and modifications for students with disabilities, has led to an increased use of the co-teaching model of inclusion where the special education teach goes into the general education classroom. So how do teachers who are used to having their own classroom co-teach in a class full of very diverse learners and make it work?
Defining Roles in Co-Teach Classrooms with Inclusion Students
Pull from each other's strengths and weaknesses. While both teachers will be highly qualified in the content area, they will each have unique skill sets. The general education teacher is going to be a master of the grade level curriculum, while the special education teacher will have expert knowledge of how different disabilities impact learning and how to best accommodate for them.
Both teachers should be active throughout every lesson. Co-teaching does not mean that teachers take turns and one watches and waits or does paperwork while the other teaches. Co-teaching works best when instruction is shared and one teacher can use good co-teaching strategies to enhance the instruction of the other.
Strategies for Lesson Planning in Co-Teach Classrooms
Planning time together is essential for co-teachers in the inclusion classroom. Lessons that will involve the instructional support of both teachers will require precise coordination. For example, who will teach what portions of or all of each lesson? While one teacher is teaching, what supports might be used by the other teacher to enhance the instruction and learning process?
Incorporate teaching strategies known to be successful for students with learning difficulties into each lesson plan. Those same strategies will also enhance learning for all students, even those without learning struggles. Basic strategies include:
• Limit lecture and providing increased interactive learning with hands-on activities.
• Provide plenty of visual supports.
• Introduce new skills ahead of time and also reinforce material previously taught, rather than teaching skills in isolation.
• Teach skills in the context of real life situations as much as possible.
• Capture student’s interest in a topic right away with strategies such as introducing novelty or posing a puzzling question.
• Be attentive to when some students might need extra time to grasp a concept, while others might use the same time to do more advanced work on the same concept.
Co-Teaching Roles
Co-teaching can take on a variety of roles in an inclusion classroom. Part of what guides how the teacher roles are defined depends on the student makeup of the classroom. In classrooms with less variance between student ability levels, it will be easier to teach an entire lesson and work with students as a whole group, while still differentiating instruction for those who need accommodations. Co-teach roles in a classroom with less variability could include:
• One teacher provides instruction while one checks for student learning, provides feedback, and guides individual students who might need assistance.
• One teaches and one provides instructional supports to enhance learning for all students
In a classroom with a wider range of student abilities, instruction may take on different roles. Within class grouping of students, based on student need, can be beneficial for all students. Small groups can allow for reteaching for one group of students while pushing another group towards more advanced investigation of what was taught.
The groups may vary, depending on what is being taught. For example, a specific student may struggle with one concept and need to be part of a group that is being given additional instruction. That same student may not need any additional teaching on other objectives. In that way, the groups may change on a regular basis. Allowing the makeup of the group to change will also prevent any negative stigmatization of a particular student from fellow students.
Co-Teaching and Inclusion
Co-teaching is a great method of merging the best of both special education and general education in inclusion classrooms. Students can benefit from the best instruction and accommodations possible from both teachers. However, planning instruction together, using strategies for grouping students, and knowing how to work together are essential to help make co-teaching a positive and successful experience.