Team Teaching and Inclusion

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Team Teaching and Inclusion

• By
• Michelle Lefever

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Introduction

• Duties of regular education teacher
• Added duties when learning support students are
  assigned to your classroom
• Is the help of a special education teacher a help
  or hindrance?

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Help or Hindrance

• Efficient teacher
• Same teaching theories
• Compatible personalities
• Given a choice of teacher
• Time to plan
• Administrative support
• Good attitude by all

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Literature Review

• Team Teaching not always viewed as a positive
  idea
• 92.2 college students had negative perception
• By end of semester 87.5 had positive perceptions
• Further education or exposure may be needed to
  turn views around

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Lit. Review- Various Ideas of Team Teaching

• One lead teacher and one assistant
• Station teaching- two different lessons given at
  same time, then students switch to the second
  station

• Both teachers plan lesson, divide class in half
  and teach same lesson
• One teacher takes small group, other teacher
  takes the rest of the class

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Lit. Review- Why Team Teach?

• More students with learning disabilities are
  remaining in the regular education classroom
• A fear that regular education teachers are not
  able to meet the needs of learning support
  students
• Pressures to educate all students in the
  classroom
• Easier if the responsibility is shared

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Lit. Review- Quality Instruction

• Both teachers need to be prepared
• Collaboration
• Time
• Effort
• Be able to compromise
• Need to make an effective team in order for the
  quality of the education to remain high!

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Now when you and your partner have decided on all
of these factors- just start teaching!
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My Journey- Year 1

• Mrs. K.
• Second grade
• 25 students, 5 with IEPs
• 40 minutes of reading daily
• 30 minutes of writing 3 times a week
• NO math time

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Results of Year 1

• True inclusion- never pulled students out
• Mrs. K. took one reading group
• However
• Not organized
• At least 20 minutes late every day
• Copied my lesson plans
• Remind her of units/long term plans
• Guide her to complete IEPS/report cards
• Students had poor attitudes about receiving help
• She saw no problems

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Year 2

• Looped with my class to third grade
• Also looped with Mrs. K.
• Added 2 more students with IEPs
• Granted 2 1/2 hours of aide time a day with Mrs.
  C.
• Made it through the year, but with a very bad
  taste of inclusion

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Year 3

• Back to second grade
• Mrs. T. (fourth grade teacher for many years)
• Mrs. C. was assigned to Mrs. T.
• 25 students, 4 with IEPs, 1 SED
• 45 minutes daily for reading
• 30 minutes daily for math
• Mrs. T. pulls out at other times of the day as
  needed

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Year 4

• Looped with my class and Mrs. T.
• Still have Mrs. C. as our aide
• 26 students, 3 with IEPs
• Mrs. T. pulls out learning support students for
  reading group
• Students are mixed with second and third graders
  according to need for math

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Results of Years 3 and 4

• We are comfortable with each other
• Students are more confident
• Students are working specifically on items listed
  on their IEPs
• We do not meet once a week- we have the ability
  to talk daily and make decisions
• Open communication about grades and expectations
• Respect each other personally and professionally

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My Advice

• Find a way to work in an effective way with
  another teacher to help all the students in your
  classroom
• Do the best with what you are given
• Try to request a teacher with whom to team
• Keep the right attitude about inclusion