This qualitative study examined two classrooms that used a coteaching approach to provide services to students who were deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing. It used extensive observations and interviews with teachers, students, parents, and administrators. Results support coteaching's effectiveness as a service-delivery model. Seven themes about…

This article reports the results of a descriptive analysis of team teaching in two classrooms. The study used formative experiments to conduct summative evaluation procedures. Performance of typical students and students with learning disabilities on curriculum-based assessment measures indicate academic gains in reading and spelling for all…

Describes one special education teacher's experiences with inclusionary practices and with establishing an inclusive classroom with second and third graders from general and special education classes. Relates how a shy, withdrawn student was changed for the better as a result of shared values and trust among teachers involved in the inclusion…

Discusses basic assumptions about schools and about children that make the shift to inclusive practices difficult. Describes how school teams can have productive conversations (focusing on children's and teacher's needs) organized around advocacy, as they examine student work to determine effective instruction. Discusses organizational structures…

General educators offer their perspective on inclusion of students with disabilities. They point out the advantages of ongoing collaboration among regular and special educators, paraprofessionals, and specialists. They note that general education classes are already highly diverse but the single teacher lacks the advantages of collaborative…

This paper discusses the benefits of the team approach to teaching mathematics to elementary children with visual impairments in inclusive settings and offers strategies for classroom teachers and team teaching. Strategies for classroom teachers include: (1) avoiding the use of words such as "this", "that", and "there", that will be meaningless to…

This article describes an inclusion model called MELD (Mainstreaming Experiences for Learning Disabled) implemented at an elementary school in Pennsylvania and the educational experiences of a second grader and a fifth grader, both with learning disabilities (LD). The model is a schoolwide effort with special education teachers providing in-class…

A study that examined social outcomes of 59 elementary school students with learning disabilities, 72 low- to average-achieving students, and 54 high-achieving students, found that students in the consultation/collaborative-teaching setting demonstrated more positive outcomes than students in the co-teaching setting on friendship quality and peer…

The co-enrollment model serves deaf and hard-of-hearing (d/hh) students within a classroom composed of d/hh and hearing students and team-taught by a teacher of the deaf and a regular education teacher. This article describes the development of one such program, the social and academic performances of the seven d/hh students, and the social…

Collaborative teaching helped a fourth-grade teacher and a special education teacher enhance their professional and personal lives. The paper discusses their philosophy, describing how they created and implemented an inclusive education program. The collaboration benefitted everyone involved. Teachers learned new practices, parents and colleagues…

Steps for effective coteaching by special education and regular education teachers are identified. Examples of coteaching in elementary and junior high schools are given. The need for communication between teachers is emphasized as the key ingredient to successful coteaching. (CR)

This manual is a guide to Project MESH (Making Effective Schools Happen), a project which blends the "effective schools" research and change process with the values of the movement to include all students with disabilities in general education programs. The manual is based on the experience of two elementary schools in Washington State.…

Describes one elementary school's experimental, inclusive, fifth-grade class that was team-taught by a special and a regular educator, focusing on: shared decision making, curriculum development, how the teachers changed, how the students grew, and the school support system (which included the teachers, the students, the principal, other faculty…

This paper describes the efforts of a team of parents, educators, and related personnel to promote successful classroom inclusion of Erin, a girl with Downs Syndrome, during grades K-4. Erin's parents were pioneers in the inclusion movement in rural Mecosta-Osceola Intermediate School District (Michigan), and when Erin was 5, they insisted that…

This study compared perceived peer and teacher acceptance as well as self-esteem of 16 elementary students with learning disabilities (LD) who receive services in traditional resource rooms, 16 LD students taught in regular classrooms through collaborative consultation and cooperative teaching, and 16 regular education students. Results showed…