Collaboration Among Educators

Description:

Effective collaboration among general and special educators, related service personnel, and parents represents the hallmark of inclusive schools. Time and support must be provided to increase the success of inclusion.
Practices:
  1. Special education teachers are members of grade level or department teams and share planning times, professional development, and responsibility for all students.
  2. Common planning time is provided to support quality collaboration.
  3. General and special education co-teachers use a variety of instructional strategies and collaborative teaching approaches and equally share roles and responsibilities as appropriate.
  4. Special education teachers are welcomed in general education classrooms and are recognized as professionals of equal status.
  5. Teachers debrief successes and areas of concern in their practice on a regular basis.
Phases of Implementation:
Excellence Phase
  • Faculty members view themselves as members of a “seamless” system working together on behalf of all students.
  • General and special education co-teachers use a variety of instructional strategies and collaborative teaching approaches.
  • General and special education teachers providing in-class support equally share roles as appropriate.
  • Special education teachers are welcomed in the general classroom and are recognized as professionals of equal status.
  • Faculty members are comfortable with and use teacher-to-teacher coaching models.
Implementation Phase
  • Staff members accept role sharing. Teachers possess collaborative planning skills and use structured formats to guide their meetings.
  • The roles and responsibilities for each teaching partner (whether advanced, in-class, or specialized support) are clearly defined.
  • Collaborative teaching/in-class support options (i.e., co-teaching, consulting teacher) are increasing in amount and quality.
  • Scheduling of collaborative teaching partners is based on the needs of students – not on the needs of the system.
Initiation Phase
  • Special education personnel are assigned to grade-level or subject-area teams.
  • Schoolwide and grade-level teams meet on a regular basis to monitor student progress and plan instruction, enrichment, and interventions.
  • Common or protected planning time is provided to teaching partners.
  • Teachers have a basic understanding of the value of collaborative teaching.
  • Teachers who are new collaborative partners discuss potential roles, preferences, and the importance of equitable responsibilities.
Resources: (more to come)