Through a mixed-methods study, teacher education faculty members investigated the implementation of a new block of courses and an associated secondary clinical experience designed to prepare preservice secondary special educators. Seventy-three preservice candidates (a) completed then-and-now surveys assessing their confidence implementing 25…

With pressures from NCLB intensifying due to low test scores in subgroups including special education, the authors' district, like many others, approached students not as individuals but as rigid categories: "poor," "Hispanic," "African American," "disabled," or "regular"--a category particularly insulting to any student not included in it by…

Any given year, general and special education teachers may find themselves managing and supervising one or more paraprofessionals within their classrooms. Paraprofessionals represent a growing and important segment of personnel used to provide support for students with severe learning or behavioral needs in self-contained and inclusive settings.…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) have influenced an increase in the numbers of students who receive special education services in general education classrooms. The (IDEA) emphasizes the general education setting as the initial and natural setting for all students to be educated in the…

Adolescents with learning disabilities are not educated in a vacuum. Successful programming for these students involves many school professionals working together to integrate their programs for the benefit of students with learning disabilities. Collaborative teaming probably can best be described as an attitude rather than a certain way of…

This article explains principles of cooperative teaching using the analogy of a "team effort" to include special needs students within the general education classroom. Columns contrast "what it isn't" and "what it is" for the following aspects of cooperative teaching: (1) establishing the ground rules (e.g., it's not…

Discussions with exemplary Colorado general and special education coteachers led to development of three metaphors for the coteaching process: (1) yin and yang (the uniqueness and unity of the two teachers); (2) the dance (the rhythm, fluidity, and automaticity of effective collaboration); and (3) the particle and the stream (the thriving of…

The collaborative teaching/learning model encompasses peer and cross age tutoring, as well as team teaching, consulting, and professional pairing on the part of teachers, and focuses on learning as a cooperative rather than competitive process for nondisabled and disabled students. Rewards accrue to the tutee (such as increased individualized…

This article describes cooperative teaching involving general and special educators as an approach to serving students with special needs. The article provides an overview of the types of cooperative teaching and discusses implementation considerations, methods of problem solving, and the importance of interpersonal skills. (JDD)

Provides an overview of cooperative teaching, in which a general educator and a special services provider teach together simultaneously in a general education classroom composed of academically heterogeneous students. It identifies problems sometimes experienced and offers practical suggestions for enhancing this method's effectiveness. (Author/DB)