Equal Partners In Special Education

addition there is a big attitude change. People look at special education in a more positive light.

Special education teachers no longer may identify themselves as teachers of just a specific category of students. Rather, they must identify themselves as teachers of all students and be willing to provide whatever support is needed to meet the varied needs of students. Likewise, students should not be identified as self-contained or resource, but as students needing specialized instruction and supports for specific skills/subject areas for specific amounts of time in either a special education setting or a general education setting.

The article goes into great detail over the fact that co-teaching, when implemented correctly, has the potential of really enhancing the learning of all students (Conderman & Hedin, 2014, p.359). Before any co-teaching can happen though the article elaborates on the fact that a teacher needs to know who their students are. And when differentiating instruction a teacher needs to be able to address a “students’ unique strengths, interest, skills, and readiness” (Conderman & Hedin, 2014, p. 353). After all helping each child learn, whatever that looks like, is the ultimate goal, and this article shows how teachers can do this with a co-teacher.

Preparing regular education teachers to address the diverse needs of children with special needs in inclusive set up.

Students with special needs need deserve the same education general education students are presented with. The philosophy of “ Disability Inclusion” concentrates on creating a safe, loving, and effective learning environment for students who suffer from physical, learning, and behavioral disabilities. When a student with disabilities is placed in the same environment as a non-disabled student, the results show wonderful improvement. When we are able to discover the strength of the student we are able to see just how much the student can improve in an inclusion classroom. Disability Inclusion not only sets a new beginning for an equal education of special education students, but it allows for more interaction with the child, and a more hands-on assessment.

This paper includes a literature review of literature relating to the topic Long Term Effects of Separate Classrooms for Special Needs Students. In general, the literature seems to indicate that, while special education is not something new to education, It has been around for a very long time. What the schools would do is basically take the children with special learning needs and place them in one classroom separate from the children without disabilities. There has been a very mixed outcome within the articles that I have chosen to research. Some of the articles suggest that it is better for the children to be separated from the general education classes, so that they can better take advantage of what is being taught. Then, the majority of the other articles suggest that the children shouldn’t be removed but be included in the classroom with limited pullouts for interventions. This is considered as the method of inclusion.

Collaboration between the two teachers begins with a mutual goal. Co-teaching is defined as a "service delivery model in which two educators . . . combine their expertise to jointly teach a heterogeneous group of students" (Friend 118). Team teaching is one way to co-teach. In teaming, the two teachers need to have built a strong collaborative relationship. In doing this they will share the instructional responsibilities of the entire class. Teaming has the potential to influence and include all the students and does not categorize the students into groups based on their ability. Teaming is a great method but generally needs to be combined with another co-teaching method. In some cases teaming could be paired with the One Teach, One Observe method. These can be paired because the teaching could go either way depending on the population of children with special needs in that specific classroom. In the one teach, one observe method of co-teaching, the general education teacher will be able to take control of the entire class, while the special education teacher takes notes and documents what is going right and what is going wrong. In doing this each teacher can hold the other accountable and work together in deciding how to better educate the class as a

Co-teaching is exactly what it sounds like, it is a team of two teachers who use their combined efforts to better the education of their students. We are a team, and as such we will share the

Within the past decades and a big discussion has occurred regarding the most appropriate setting within which to provide education for students in special education. Although the change in the educational environment is significant for handicapped student the concepts of inclusion also bring up new issues for the regular education classroom teachers.

Orr (2009) conducted interviews with special education teachers and the attitudes they have seen in their schools since inclusion was implemented in their schools. Orr (2009) chose fifteen teachers, which included fourteen female and one male teacher who agreed to participate in the study so it was a purposive criterion sample. Twelve of the fifteen teachers taught in a suburban area, two in a rural area, and one in an urban area; but they varied in the age they taught and school. Seven of the fifteen teachers taught in a self-contained classroom while the remaining eight taught in a resource room, where they only saw a student for less than an hour or two a day. Another pattern that showed was that many teachers found that they did not receive any classes that focused on differentiation or inclusion while completing their undergraduate work (Orr 2009). These results are important when considering the implementation of inclusion because it may mean that there is a need to reteach teachers. It is important to consider professional development classes district-wide before implementing inclusion in the classroom.

Co-teaching is an effective strategy used by many teachers and has many added benefits. Co-teaching is often used in a general education setting (Towson University, 2012). Co-teaching involves special education and general education teachers working together (Towson University, 2012). These teachers will work together to plan curriculum and instruction for their students to create a cohesive education for their students (Towson University, 2012). Co-teaching includes working with other teachers to develop curriculum for a diverse population of students (Towson University, 2012).

Collaboration in the world of education has become an increasingly popular method of addressing a variety of school issues, such as curriculum design, behavioral plans, professional development and management of resources. One of the areas in which collaboration is becoming more popular is co-teaching in special education, where special education teachers and general education teachers share the planning and instruction responsibilities for inclusion classrooms (Friend & Cook, 2010). As academic standards for the education of students with disabilities are held to the same standards as their typical peers due to the No Child Left Behind Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the co-teaching model has been increasingly

Many children have had learning disabilities for many years. Each year more and more of these children are being helped. Schools are working to improve their special education programs and to have all kinds of students work together in the same classroom. The practice of inclusion was started because educators felt that special needs students would achieve more in traditional classrooms with non-learning disabled students than they would in special education classes. However, research findings suggest that there really is no difference in academic achievement levels for special needs students when they are placed in regular classrooms.

Separate special education provides no guarantee of success for children who need special attention. Students with special needs may fail to conform to the expectations of school and society, (Carter, Lewis, & Wheeler 2017) Inclusion may present issues for teachers that do not possess the skills to make it work. Teachers must collaborate with a team of professional to plan and implement instruction for students in an inclusive environment. Students without disabilities could begin to see the students with disabilities as a distraction in the class depending on the needs of the student with disabilities.

Over the past twenty years, there has been a strong movement within schools around the United States to integrate students with disabilities in to general education classrooms. Schools have been making more efforts to increase educational opportunities for students with disabilities, and while there are many benefits to inclusion, there are also many challenges. Inclusion of special education students in a regular education classroom continues to be the center of debate amongst administrators and teachers. Everyone has their own ideas and attitudes towards inclusion, and research studies have revealed that there are many things that contribute to those positive or negative attitudes.