The education of students with disabilities has been subject to consistent growth and reform within the United States. Federal acts and initiatives continue to pave the way towards increasingly inclusive educational programs. Mainstreaming, the process of providing students in special education access to the same resources as their similar-grade…

This research study was designed to examine the impact of the incorporation of vocabulary instruction and various teacher strategies by a middle school science teachers team on student science achievement. The researcher focused on the teacher preparation of vocabulary word walls and the inclusion of specific words within individual units of study…

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to describe the lived experiences of 6th grade students with learning disabilities educated in their least restrictive environment (LRE) to the maximum extent appropriate sitting next to their non-disabled peers. Two theories guided this study, social identity theory and the social model of disability.…

Student achievement in education and inclusive support for students with special needs has been a deliberated topic at the federal, state, and local levels of government. The co-teaching approach aims to provide ways for two teachers to work together to create a more inclusive classroom. The co-teaching approach is also known as co-teaching models…

Researchers have shown that restorative processes in middle school improve adolescents' social and emotional skills during a critical time in their academic development, and educational systems worldwide have developed multitiered systems of support to ensure that restorative processes are integrated into the learning culture. This narrative study…

Research has highlighted the significant decline in teachers' implementation of newly acquired teaching practices following professional development (PD), primarily attributed to the absence of follow-up support. Even science teachers who have participated in intensive PD programs often encounter challenges in integrating new teaching practices…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act mandates that all school districts provide a free appropriate public education to students with Individualized Education Plans in their least restrictive environment. Co-teaching in inclusion classrooms is a collaborative effort, with a general education teacher and a special education teacher, to…

The 2018 STEM Summer Camp was held on the campuses of a middle school in the Southeast. Students from Title I schools across the district were invited to take part in the month-long STEM program, focused on advancing content competency through Mathematics, Science, Language Arts, and STEM (Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics) Inquiry.…

Resilience, as defined by the literature, deals with the relationship between individuals and their environment. This capstone project followed elementary students over a three-year period to investigate and determine the impact a co-teaching intervention model has on resilience, grade-point average (GPA), state testing scores in English language…

The purpose of this quantitative comparative study was to determine the existence or nonexistence of performance pass rate differences of special education middle school students on standardized assessments between pre and post co-teaching eras disaggregated by subject area and school. Co-teaching has altered classroom environments in many ways.…

Integrating unfamiliar technology in the classroom often requires ample technological resources and professional development. However, these resources are often not available. This case study of qualitative data combined with pretest or posttest student data illustrates how one pair of coteachers autonomously planned for and implemented a digital…

English Learners (ELs) represent one of the fastest-growing groups among the school-age population in the United States. However, there have been significant achievement gaps between ELs and native English-speaking students in all grades and content areas. The gap only widens when EL students with a disability are considered. This study built on…

The impetus for this study occurred when the principal of a secondary Professional Development School (PDS) questioned the traditional teacher education model utilized by the university partner. This principal asked the university to consider a model that better utilized both the teacher candidate and supervising teacher collaboratively to promote…

High-stakes testing and federal accountability requirements have raised the bar for increased academic achievement for all students. The co-teaching model was introduced as a response to the initiatives and provides students with disabilities access to general education and grade-level standards while addressing the unique individual learning…

In response to numerous mandates in the field of education, schools have found it imperative to ensure that teachers are incorporating effective instructional methods which meet the diverse needs of student populations within a single classroom. The co-teaching model of instruction is just one way educators have chosen to lead classroom…