Special Education Collaboration: Inclusion and Co-Teaching

Students with disabilities are being taught more than ever in general education classrooms. This provides unique opportunities for special and general education teachers to work together to support these students in general education classrooms. However, general and special education teachers run the risk of falling short of their potential to impact students’ success unless they know how to effectively collaborate.

When the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandated that children with disabilities be educated with children who do not have disabilities, education in the United States changed. Education World writer Wesley Sharpe, Ed.D., wrote an article that looks at the characteristics of effective inclusion. Making inclusion work can be challenging, but with planning and effective collaboration, it can be successful for both the teacher and the student. Below are four ways inclusion benefits students with disabilities:

• Inclusion improves learning for both classified and unclassified students
• Children learn to accept individual differences.
• Children develop new friendships.
• Parent participation improves.

Sharpe believes that there is still work to be done in order to make all inclusion settings successful, including more research, better training for educators, and improved teacher education programs. Ultimately, the goal for effective inclusion classrooms is that inclusion be invisible.

Another popular inclusion practice is co-teaching. According to Dr. Richard Villa's article, Effective Co-Teaching Strategies, “a co-teaching team typically includes a general and a special educator who teach the general education curriculum to all students as well as implement Individual Education Programs (IEPs) for students with disabilities. Both educators on the co-teaching team are responsible for differentiating the instructional planning and delivery, assessment of student achievement, and classroom management.”

Pepper provides several Special Education Courses that focus on Inclusion and Co-Teaching. The Collaborative Practices that Support Inclusive Education course will provide special and general education teacher teams with tools and practices designed to support their teaming so all students can be successful in general education, inclusive classrooms. The Co-Teaching: Special Education Differentiation course is intended to guide and enhance special education and general education teachers understanding of co-teaching as a special education service delivery in the core classroom across all grade levels. The course offers clear and concise information, resources, and practical tools to considering co-teaching as a model of instructional delivery, and an opportunity to provide highly scaffolded differentiation of the core in the inclusive setting. Both of these courses, and others, are available for Special Education teachers K-12.

So, whether you’re a new Special Education teacher or a seasoned veteran, Pepper Courses and your Pepper Learning Community can be a great resource for implementing new ideas. Utilizing the experience and skills of teachers from around the country can provide unique opportunities for networking and sharing lesson ideas and classroom management tips.