Introduction
Coteaching is a shared responsibility concept that enables expert cooperation during lesson preparation, instruction, and student evaluation. Any classroom environment may benefit from co-teaching, which fosters inclusiveness and a feeling of community among a particular group of people striving for the same achievement and progress. Coteaching exposes students and instructors to a wide variety of learning styles, teaching methods, and data-driven education. Teachers from general education and special education collaborate in preparing lessons, delivering instruction, tracking student development, and overseeing the class in a co-taught setting (Wherfel et al., 2022). It is a strategy that makes it simpler to impart the same knowledge to each individual and hold them to the same academic standards. This work is to develop the basis for future research on the effects of co-teaching; the paper considers the thematic literature and the process of collecting and analyzing data and also analyzes the research questions in an expanded manner.
Research on the co-teaching instructional paradigm is crucial for determining if children receiving special education services in general education classes may accomplish highly in both academics and conduct. The main goal of co-teaching is to give disabled children access to the general education curriculum while also ensuring that they get specific instructional practices to match their unique requirements in the classroom (Wherfel et al., 2022). As a result of improved communication among instructors, students receive more personalized help, and teachers may broaden their use of instructional methodologies to differentiate their education better.
Research Questions and Hypotheses
During the development of the research plan, four research questions were derived, which will also be discussed in this paper:
- Does receiving formal training in co-teaching make a difference in the amount of success that general education teachers and special education teachers have when they combine their teaching efforts in the classroom?
- Are co-teaching partners affected by the random selection or mandate to co-teach?
- How many teachers in general education and special education co-teaching have had formal training in how to work together in the classroom?
- What factors contribute to the success of co-teaching models for all parties involved, including general education teachers, special education teachers, and students in both general and education?
During the analysis of the literature on the study, several hypotheses were derived:
- It is presumable that teachers with more experienced co-teaching have greater expectations for their own abilities than do those with less experience.
- As opposed to their colleagues with less extensive teaching experience, it is expected that instructors with more general teaching experience exhibit more significant levels of self-efficacy expectations.
- Teams of co-teachers who work in smaller classrooms will have greater levels of general self-efficacy expectations than those who work in courses with a more significant proportion of pupils.
- The collective self-efficacy requirements of certified teachers in Co-teaching teams with the implementation of co-teaching skills and who can easily listen to their concerns to the school administration were higher than those of their colleagues in co-teaching teams without these qualities.
Literature Review
Special education children have access to the degree curriculum and resources in the least intrusive setting practicable. According to the early findings covered in this chapter, co-teaching has a lot of enticing qualities (Iacono et al., 2021). The criteria for providing the least restrictive atmosphere for these varied students is that children with disabilities have frequent access to an education curriculum and are placed right with peers of the same age who are not impaired (Iacono et al., 2021). Additionally, having two trained and highly experienced instructors in a single classroom allows teachers additional possibilities to assist and differentiate education for all students, as well as the freedom to use more teaching styles in both whole-group and small-group settings. As a result, there may be a greater sense of community and involvement in the classroom.
Special education programs have traditionally been offered primarily outside of the regular classroom. In order to obtain these services, students were frequently taken out of their classes throughout the day (Weiss et al., 2020). When they returned, they were unaware of what had happened in their class while they were gone. Although kids got the resources necessary to fulfill their unique requirements, they were losing out on crucial opportunities to interact with classmates their own age who were not impaired (Weiss et al., 2020). There has been a drive to keep children in their classes and provides services inside the classroom or school environment as new ways are developed to alter how special education services are given.
Special education students are usually taken out of their familiar educational environment to get services. This isolates this group of pupils and limits their exposure to grade-level material and the ability to study with classmates who are not impaired and the same age (Wherfel et al., 2022). This has an effect on academic accomplishment rates, but it may also have social effects on pupils. One educational method that may be utilized to satisfy the needs of all students in the classroom, not just those with disabilities, is co-teaching (Wherfel et al., 2022). Additionally, co-teaching is intended to give general education teachers who lack the same degree of special education teacher competence in disabilities additional help.
Data Analysis
This in-depth research study includes a variety of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods studies focusing on co-teaching as a form of special education service delivery. There are three themes included in this research study. The first theme examines the effectiveness of co-teaching. This includes specific components that impact the overall effect, such as the most used teaching approaches and the quality of modifications in this setting. The second theme reviews common barriers to co-teaching. Throughout all the research surrounding co-teaching, common barriers continued to surface, which prevented a positive outcome for both teachers and students. This information will help districts combat these barriers and develop a more established foundation before implementing this unique instructional strategy. Lastly, the third and final theme examines the impact co-teaching has on students both academically and behaviorally. This information can help staff and administrators determine if the efforts required to implement this strategy are worth the overall impact it has on students directly.
The majority of the data came from questionnaires, surveys, and observations, which drastically restricted the results. A number of factors affect the efficacy and pose a challenge to getting a better result. The significance of teacher preparation, teamwork, and co-planning time was the most prevalent pattern across all the research. Although the research involved determining the factors that contribute to co-effectiveness, teaching in the end, administrative assistance is needed to put co-teaching on a firmer footing. The administration must take the appropriate actions to boost efficacy because most front-end requirements are beyond the control of instructors.
Discussion
Does receiving formal training in co-teaching make a difference in the amount of success that general education teachers and special education teachers have when they combine their teaching efforts in the classroom?
Many instructors do not want to participate in co-teaching since it necessitates more hours for them and more preparation, and it also necessitates more classes to train teachers for this new method of instruction. When one can simply stick to what they know and prepare their class in the way they want instead of attempting to mold two distinct ways, it actually discourages many teachers from becoming put into a co-teaching position because of all of the additional courses, effort, and preparation that they must do (Iacono et al., 2021). When a professor opts to teach by themselves, they may miss out on the opportunity to engage with students who may be struggling with the subject matter. One instructor can only accomplish so much by themself because classrooms typically contain thirty students. In this circumstance, having a second helping hand would be beneficial.
Additionally, training is beneficial in offering both general education and particular education teachers’ strategies on how to plan meetings, co-manage a class, implement co-teaching strategies, and co-manage student behaviors. Without having access to adequate pieces of training, responsibilities between subject teachers and special education teachers or teaching assistants may become unclear and may lead to a barrier to collaboration, communication, and problem-solving (Weiss et al., 2020). Due to a lack of preparation in working with students with disabilities, general education instructors might provide the most significant barrier in educating students with disabilities. Teachers in general education are ill-equipped to work with pupils with impairments. To instruct and satisfy the requirements of children with special needs, it is essential that instructors have ongoing, adequate assistance for professional development.
Are co-teaching partners affected by the random selection or mandate to co-teach?
Some co-teachers start by agreeing to work together on planning to differentiate instruction for children who are having difficulty learning. Due to the success of their planning, they decided to co-teach for a longer length of time. It is possible for other co-teachers to offer to work with people for an academic year. Additionally, some co-teachers are given a partner and informed that they will be working together. The most effective co-teaching teams take their time, in the beginning, to discuss and come to an understanding of common objectives or results, such as improving student entrance to the curriculum and their capacity to modify instruction for their various learners (Iacono et al., 2021). These co-teachers discover that pooling their unique knowledge, abilities, and resources enables them to accomplish their objectives, be they improved learning outcomes for the students in the co-taught classes or increased efficacy in their own teaching.
Another issue with co-teaching is that there is little time for instructors to collaborate because there is so much more planning and preparation needed for the next day’s session. It can be challenging for instructors to find time during or after school to coordinate what to accomplish for the following day or week of the school year, particularly with teachers who are interested in other after-school activities like coaching or tutoring (Weiss et al., 2020). Teachers are forced to sacrifice more of their spare time as a result in order to prepare for class with a different co-worker. Teachers could experience exhaustion or overload after a year of this due to the long hours they put in and the meager remuneration they receive.
How many teachers in general education and special education co-teaching have had formal training in how to work together in the classroom?
One of the numerous reasons why instructors quit their jobs is because they become too busy to plan for the following class or to get ready for another activity in class. There is a simple cure for the sense of being overburdened and exhausted: co-teaching. Some instructors find it exciting to teach alongside a co-worker, while others find it to be quite unpleasant. Teaching students should not be complicated by this. Every instructor ought to be able to co-teach in any circumstance or operate in a collaborative atmosphere. Numerous research has been conducted on co-teaching, and several have identified both its advantages and disadvantages. Co-teaching may be a beneficial technique for teachers to communicate with one another and provide each student with greater one-on-one attention.
The problems and obstacles associated with co-teaching are similar to those associated with any substantial shift in the educational system. Although co-teaching may be a successful delivery model, it is essential to understand that there are various obstacles that may prevent co-teaching from being successfully implemented. Lack of teacher preparation and availability of training courses is one obstacle that might prevent co-teaching (Weiss et al., 2020). Professional development is thought to be a crucial instrument for advancing inclusion in schools. The key to providing co-teachers with approaches to learn how to co-plan lessons, include approaches and strategies to meet the needs of students with impairments, and share joint responsibility for organizing for all classmates are emphasized by the availability of leadership learning for co-teachers to witness co-teaching training programs.
Regular professional development in the areas of understanding disability, conduct, and federal regulations and mandates should be made available to general education instructors. A teacher’s confidence in helping and instructing children with disabilities can be significantly impacted by having them attend more comprehensive, continuous training and professional development sessions. The rules and obligations of educating children with disabilities may not be adequately understood by teachers who get little professional development. This indicates that teachers often limit themselves to primary education without thought of considering development in co-teaching.
What factors contribute to the success of co-teaching models for all parties involved, including general education teachers, special education teachers, and students in both general and special education?
Monitoring is the practice of routinely discussing the advantages and disadvantages of co-teaching classes. The co-teachers check in with one another to see whether the students are meeting the learning objectives for the session, if they are communicating effectively with one another and if the learning activities need to be changed. Monitoring techniques might be straightforward or highly sophisticated. Some co-teachers, for instance, utilize a checklist on which they each figuratively cross off the tasks that they have been assigned (Iacono et al., 2021). Some co-teachers schedule a quick, 15-minute meeting each day at recess to talk about the three components of monitoring. The members of a co-teaching team can alternately share their successes, discuss how they each contributed to the lesson’s success, and offer recommendations for possible revisions.
The co-teaching process is driven by individual accountability; the effectiveness of co-teaching depends on how each co-teacher imparts information and skills, as well as how effectively they both adhere to the promises they made when they first started working together, such as creating differentiated resources for a class. A way to acknowledge the significance of each co-activity’s teacher is through individual accountability. Each partner is held individually accountable when co-teaching, and this entails taking the time to evaluate their performance for one or more of the following four goals (Iacono et al., 2021). One goal is to improve the perception of partners’ contributions to the co-teaching project. The acknowledgment of partners’ efforts is a secondary goal. Another is to assess whether any alterations to the partners’ co-teaching responsibilities and behaviors are required. Finding out when one or more of the partners might require help in order to fulfill their allocated duties and responsibilities more effectively is the end goal.
Conclusion
In summary, to thoroughly comprehend how instructors might utilize the data from various assessments to make various sorts of decisions to promote student learning, a substantial amount of additional study is required. Student outcomes are better when instructors are proficient in assessment practice and know how to apply the data to plan, adapt, and alter teaching while ensuring smooth progression through the curriculum. There are still questions about whether co-teaching results in improved student accomplishment. It might be recommended that the instructors who will employ a co-teaching strategy be creative, enthusiastic, and have enough preparation and evaluation expertise.
Although there are some drawbacks to co-teaching, there are much more advantages. Students receive more attention with co-teaching, teachers are allowed to collaborate with a colleague, and not all the responsibility is placed on one person. Teachers are hesitant to collaborate right now, but with time and more visibility across school districts, they will realize the benefits of this teaching method for all students. The main reason why significant development may happen when a special education teacher and a general education teacher are combined is that every single kid can receive the individual attention they require to succeed in school. As a result, pupils will feel more at ease when taking any necessary tests. Because there are so many new ways to co-teach and many opportunities to create more effective teaching methods, co-teaching might evolve into a lifetime learning experience for teachers and students.
References
Iacono, T., Landry, O., Garcia-Melgar, A., Spong, J., Hyett, N., Bagley, K., & McKinstry, C. (2021). A systematized review of co-teaching efficacy in enhancing inclusive education for students with disability. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 1-15.
Weiss, M. P., Glaser, H., & Lloyd, J. W. (2020). An Exploratory Study of an Instructional Model for Co-Teaching. Exceptionality, 1-14.
Wherfel, Q. M., Monda-Amaya, L., & Shriner, J. G. (2022). General education teacher practices: Assessment, decision-making and the influence of co-teaching. Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth, 66(1), 42-51.