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Specially Designed Instruction in Middle and High School Co-Taught Classrooms

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Title: Specially Designed Instruction in Middle and High School Co-Taught Classrooms
Language: English
Authors: Hedin, Laura R., Conderman, Greg, Gerzel-Short, Lydia (ORCID 0000-0003-3292-549X), Liberty, Lisa
Source: Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas. 2020 93(6):298-305.
Availability: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 8
Publication Date: 2020
Intended Audience: Teachers
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Junior High Schools
Middle Schools
Secondary Education
High Schools
Descriptors: Team Teaching, Middle School Teachers, High School Teachers, Teacher Collaboration, Students with Disabilities, Regular and Special Education Relationship, Inclusion, Teaching Methods, Cooperative Planning, Special Education Teachers
DOI: 10.1080/00098655.2020.1812492
ISSN: 0009-8655
Abstract: Students with disabilities are increasingly participating in co-taught classes where they have access to the general curriculum. However, researchers have discovered that co-teaching often resembles solo teaching and does not include specially designed instruction shown to be effective for students with disabilities. How can middle and secondary co-teachers improve their instructional effectiveness? This article describes specially designed instruction, associated with high leverage practices, and provides ways middle and high school co-teachers can improve their co-teaching effectiveness.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2020
Accession Number: EJ1274545
Database: ERIC
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  Value: <anid>AN0146677123;clh01nov.20;2020Oct30.02:57;v2.2.500</anid> <title id="AN0146677123-1">Specially Designed Instruction in Middle and High School Co-taught Classrooms </title> <p>Students with disabilities are increasingly participating in co-taught classes where they have access to the general curriculum. However, researchers have discovered that co-teaching often resembles solo teaching and does not include specially designed instruction shown to be effective for students with disabilities. How can middle and secondary co-teachers improve their instructional effectiveness? This article describes specially designed instruction, associated with high leverage practices, and provides ways middle and high school co-teachers can improve their co-teaching effectiveness.</p> <p>Keywords: Co-teaching; inclusion; differentiation; specially designed instruction</p> <p>Co-teaching has become a common approach for providing instruction for students with disabilities in the general education classroom (Graziano and Navarrete [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref1">9</reflink>]). In co-taught classrooms, students with disabilities learn alongside their peers, complete assignments associated with the general education curriculum, and receive instruction from a general education subject-area specialist and a special educator or other licensed professional such as a speech-language pathologist. Students also receive more and prompt teacher assistance, thus reducing wait time, frustration, and error learning. In a co-taught classroom, each licensed teacher can provide initial instruction to large or small groups which provides a great deal of instructional flexibility. Sometimes, a co-teacher can present a concept in a different way which helps students who need an alternative instructional approach. Also, co-teachers can share or divide various tasks such as implementing classroom management, communicating with parents, administering assessments, and connecting with individual students (Conderman, [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref2">5</reflink>]). Students with Section 504 Plans or Individualized Educational Programs (IEPs) often require more frequent academic or behavior monitoring within the context of the general education curriculum (Lembke et al. [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref3">13</reflink>]) which would be challenging for a general educator to do while also attending to the other students in the class.</p> <p>However, in many co-taught classes, instruction does not differ substantially from solo taught classes, with little differentiation based on learners' unique characteristics (Harbourt et al. [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref4">10</reflink>]). Therefore, the advantages of having two professionals in the classroom are not realized, and students with disabilities do not receive specially designed instruction per their Individualized Education Program (IEP). Due to these issues, this article, written for co-teaching teams and their administrators, provides strategies to increase the effectiveness of co-teaching at the middle and high school levels.</p> <hd id="AN0146677123-2">What is co-teaching?</hd> <p>In co-teaching, two professionals with different academic backgrounds collaboratively co-plan, co-instruct, and co-assess a diverse group of students to offer substantive instruction (Friend and Cook [<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref5">8</reflink>]). Teacher-partners co-plan and then jointly deliver content, flexibly shifting among co-instruction models: one teach–one assist, one teach–one observe, team teaching, station teaching, alternative teaching, or parallel teaching (Friend and Barron [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref6">7</reflink>]). Table 1 reviews these co-teaching models with a definition and high school or middle level example.</p> <p>Table 1. Common co-teaching models with examples.</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><thead><tr><td>Model</td><td>Definition</td><td>Example</td></tr></thead><tbody valign="top"><tr><td><italic>One teach, one assist</italic></td><td>One teacher provides large group instruction while the other circulates and provides student support, as needed.</td><td>The middle school math teacher models how to identify the perimeter of a shape while the co-teacher (special educator) circulates to ensure students are taking notes on this process, as instructed.</td></tr><tr><td><italic>One teach, one observe</italic></td><td>One teacher provides large group instruction while the other collects observational data on a student, a group of students, the co-teacher, or the whole class.</td><td>The high school social studies teacher leads a discussion while the co-teacher (special educator) collects data regarding the on and off task behavior of a student with attention issues.</td></tr><tr><td><italic>Team teaching</italic></td><td>Both teachers provide instruction, typically at the front of the room, alternating ideas and examples and co-facilitating class discussion.</td><td>Both teachers co-lead a discussion and provide examples of issues in today's politics in a high school political science course.</td></tr><tr><td><italic>Station teaching</italic></td><td>Teachers develop several centers that small groups of students circulate through for a pre-determined amount of time with each co-teacher leading a center.</td><td>To prepare the middle level social studies class for a quiz, one teacher reviews geographical features at a center, the other reviews historical events at a different center, and students work independently at two other centers. Students rotate among all centers, spending 10 minutes at each center.</td></tr><tr><td><italic>Alternative teaching</italic></td><td>One teacher provides whole group instruction while the other works with a small group for a short amount of time for re-teaching, review, assessment, or enrichment.</td><td>While the science teacher completes a review graphic organizer with the class, the co-teacher (special educator) meets with three students who were absent yesterday to catch them up reviewing yesterday's graphic organizer.</td></tr><tr><td><italic>Parallel teaching</italic></td><td>Each co-teacher provides instruction for his or her half of the class, both teaching toward the same student learning outcomes.</td><td>The English teacher and the co-teacher (special educator) split the class, each taking half, and review content to prepare students for tomorrow's test.</td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>Although co-teachers may choose among these six main co-teaching models (and numerous versions of them), researchers have determined that they most frequently implement the one teach-one assist model. That is, co-teachers over-rely on whole group instruction led by the general educator with the special educator or special service provider assuming an assist role (Scruggs, Mastropieri, and McDuffie [<reflink idref="bib18" id="ref7">18</reflink>]). This is a concern because co-taught classes where all students use the same materials, participate in whole-group instruction led by the general educator, complete the same activities, and take the same assessments without adaptations are unlikely to address the individual learning needs of students with IEPs, even when co-teachers are present to provide support. Further, when one professional consistently assumes the support role, their role closely resembles that of a para-professional rather than an equal. Co-teaching assumes that teaching partners provide different but equal contributions to instruction, so an observer would find it challenging to discern who the general educator is and who the special educator is.</p> <p>To frequently rely on whole-group instruction likely accounts for some of the less than optimal learning outcomes for students with disabilities in co-taught classrooms. Whole-group instruction does not allow for differentiation because all students are receiving the same instruction and completing the same task. Other reasons for less than optimal co-teaching outcomes are due to lack of co-teaching professional development, misconceptions about co-teaching, teacher differences in teaching philosophies or instructional approaches, and contrasting personality styles (Conderman and Liberty [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref8">2</reflink>]). Therefore, co-teaching should be approached with care. Professional development involving co-teaching partners can emphasize the importance of instructional parity, conflict resolution, interpersonal communication skills, grade level standards, and instructional adaptations (Conderman and Liberty [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref9">2</reflink>]).</p> <p>To address these some of issues, especially those focusing on maximizing instructional outcomes, co-teachers can implement some general—and specific— methods in their co-taught classrooms.</p> <hd id="AN0146677123-3">General effective methods</hd> <p>First, co-teachers can implement some general practices to increase their co-teaching effectiveness. Addressing these general methods first facilitates the specific instructional methods, which we describe later. Five general ways to increase the effectiveness of middle and high school co-teaching include:</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> <emph>Engage in co-planning</emph>. Co-planning can take place in person or electronically. Co-teachers who do share a common planning time during the week can use Zoom, Google Classroom, Google Docs, Microsoft Teams, or the electronic platform recommended for school employees to engage in co-planning. Murawski ([<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref10">16</reflink>]) provided ten time-saving tips for co-planning. Four of these included: (a) have a regular time for co-planning, (b) use that time wisely, (c) decide what can be accomplished outside of the planning time, and (d) use a form to document your plan. Murawski maintained that co-teachers need at least 20 minutes per week to co-plan. Having routines also helps with co-planning efficiency. For example, maybe every Monday, the class begins with a pretest which the general educator will administer or the first 10 minutes of every Tuesday and Thursday begins with a mini study skills lesson led by the special educator. These routines do not need to be planned with the same amount of detail as new content or new instructional approaches. Without co-planning, one teacher will clearly be at a disadvantage, and most likely, that will be the special educator. Both teachers need to know their instructional roles and responsibilities every day as well as the short and long-term student outcomes for the unit of instruction. To assist with short and long-term planning, Pratt et al. ([<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref11">17</reflink>]) described a co-planning framework that helps co-teachers plan course goals, biweekly units, and daily lessons. These authors suggested that co-teachers pose questions such as, "What is the target for the course, for the month, or for the class session?" Co-teachers also use co-planning to discuss and plan ways to differentiate instruction for individual students or small groups of students (Friend and Cook [<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref12">8</reflink>]). Heacox ([<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref13">11</reflink>]) emphasized that such discussion begins by looking at the appropriate learning standards and then finding flexible ways for students to demonstrate their knowledge or understanding of these standards. These discussions best occur during co-planning.</item> <p></p> <item> <emph>Respect the special educator's co-teaching schedule.</emph> Sometimes, special educators co-teach with several general educators in several different subjects every semester. Spreading the special educator so thin makes his or her co-planning and co-teaching responsibilities extremely difficult to implement, resulting in an overreliance on the one teach–one assist model. Therefore, when possible, limit the number of different general education co-teachers and subjects assigned to special educators during each grading period. Also, when possible, match their co-teaching responsibilities to their preferred subjects based on their knowledge base and teacher preparation coursework (Conderman and Liberty [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref14">2</reflink>]).</item> <p></p> <item> <emph>Help the special educator learn the content knowledge.</emph> Special educators are not content area experts, but they need to know the subject matter to achieve instructional parity in the general education classroom. Sharing resources well ahead of time is critical for them to contribute meaningfully to classroom instruction and differentiate assignments for students. Therefore, as soon as the co-teaching assignment is scheduled, general education teachers can share texts, syllabi, assessments, rubrics, pacing guides, and the overall course schedule to provide the co-teacher with the course perspective. To support instructional parity, special educators can be responsible for teaching vocabulary, study skills, and learning strategies, which are skills within their repertoire, regardless of the subject matter content (Conderman [<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref15">3</reflink>]).</item> <p></p> <item> <emph>Minimally use the one teach–one assist and one teach–one observe models.</emph> As noted in Table 1, these two approaches focus on large group instruction and consequently do not easily allow for differentiation or teacher instructional parity. Therefore, emphasize other models and alternate instructional roles, so the special educator equally assumes the primary instructional role.</item> <p></p> <item> <emph>Familiarize yourself with students' IEPs.</emph> In a co-taught classroom, both teachers are responsible for every student's learning. Consequently, both teachers need to be aware of every student's Section 504 Plan or IEP. Further, teachers should prepare student accommodations well in advance, so students can display their knowledge without penalty or embarrassment.</item> </ulist> <p>In addition to these five general approaches, co-teachers can implement several specific methods to improve student outcomes. These more specific methods are associated with specially designed instruction (SDI) and high leverage practices (HLPs). The following sections describe these terms and suggest ways middle and high school co-teachers can incorporate these approaches into their co-taught classrooms.</p> <hd id="AN0146677123-4">Specific effective methods: specially designed instruction</hd> <p>According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2004, [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref16">12</reflink>]), special education refers to as "specially-designed instruction" (SDI) and related services. To provide SDI, teachers adapt "as appropriate to the needs of an eligible child ... the content, methodology, or delivery of instruction (i) to address the unique needs of the child that result from the child's disability and (ii) to ensure access of the child to the general curriculum" (34 C.F.R. 300.39[b][<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref17">3</reflink>]). IDEA further indicates that teachers deliver SDI when educationally appropriate and in any setting where the student receives instruction, including co-taught settings. In other words, co-teaching in itself is not SDI; rather, the co-taught setting is the least restrictive environment where co-teachers deliver SDI. What, then, are specific examples of SDI that can guide co-teachers? Examining high leverage practices (HLPs) provides ideas for co-teachers to consider.</p> <hd id="AN0146677123-5">High leverage practices</hd> <p>In fall 2014, the Board of Directors of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) approved a proposal to develop a list of high-leverage practices (HLPs) for special education teachers. Representatives from various professional groups collaborated to develop the final list of 22 HLPS, that is, specially designed approaches that make a positive difference for students who struggle in school. Researchers organized the HLPs around the four broad areas of collaboration, assessment, social/emotional/behavioral practices, and instruction (McLeskey et al. [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref18">13</reflink>]). Although all 22 are relevant for co-teachers, for purposes here, we focus on those 12 within the instruction area. Table 2 lists and explains these instructional HLPS within a co-taught context.</p> <p>Table 2. Instructional-related High Leverage Practices (HLPs) and Co-teaching Examples.</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><thead><tr><td /><td>HLP</td><td>Connection to Co-teaching</td><td>Co-teaching Example</td></tr></thead><tbody valign="top"><tr><td /><td>Identify and prioritize long-term and short-term learning goals.</td><td>Co-teachers determine the most important outcomes for all students, particularly those with disabilities and provide access to the general education curriculum and rigorous grade level standards.</td><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>During co-planning, co-teachers identify daily student outcomes and the overall unit goal.</p></list-item><list-item><p>Co-teachers note what all students (including those with disabilities) will be held accountable for learning.</p></list-item><list-item><p>Each day, co-teachers explicitly share the daily objective, so students can self-assess individual progress toward the goal.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td /><td>Systematically design instruction toward a specific learning goal</td><td>Co-teachers sequence lessons, activate prior knowledge, and ensure students have prerequisite skills (or accommodations for missing skills), so they can be successful.</td><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>Co-teachers discuss the scope and sequence of the unit during co-planning.</p></list-item><list-item><p>Co-teachers brainstorm instructional strategies that can support students who lack pre skills (e.g., explicitly teach vocabulary)</p></list-item><list-item><p>Co-teachers plan, implement, and use daily formative assessments (e.g. bell-ringers, unison responses, response cards) to determine if all students are making progress and follow-up with students who need additional support.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td /><td>Adapt curriculum tasks and materials for specific learning goals</td><td>Co-teachers provide a variety of materials at different reading levels or presentation formats (i.e., audio, visual, primary language, etc.) for students in order to meet rigorous standards.</td><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>Co-teachers discuss students who need adaptations (i.e., adjusted materials, audio versions of texts, visuals, materials presented in a different language) and who is responsible for finding or making those adaptations.</p></list-item><list-item><p>Teachers implement those adaptations within the co-teaching model(s).</p></list-item><list-item><p>Differentiation is an ongoing feature of the co-taught classroom based on student readiness, preferred student learning modality, and flexible grouping strategies.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td /><td>Teach cognitive and metacognitive strategies to support learning and independence</td><td>Co-teachers model and infuse study skills within the lesson and teach students how to use rubrics, checklists, and other self-monitoring tools.</td><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>At the beginning of class, the special educator teaches a mini lesson three times a week on topics such as study skills, homework organization, and mnemonics.</p></list-item><list-item><p>Teachers model how to use an assignment notebook, review for a quiz, and edit one's paper.</p></list-item><list-item><p>Students set goals and self-monitor progress toward their individualized goals.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td /><td>Provide scaffold supports</td><td>Co-teachers plan and provide temporary support to students and gradually remove those supports as students acquire skill independence.</td><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>Co-teachers differentiate by using word banks, sentence starters, color-coding, cue cards, checklists, prompts, practice quizzes, and study guides for those who need additional support.</p></list-item><list-item><p>Teachers monitor student progress and slowly remove supports as students gain more skill mastery and independence.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td /><td>Use explicit instruction</td><td>Co-teachers carefully sequence their instruction and teach in smaller and detailed segments.</td><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>Whenever possible, co-teachers model the skill and use a think-aloud procedure.</p></list-item><list-item><p>Teachers provide examples and non-examples of concepts and immediately check students for understanding before continuing the lesson.</p></list-item><list-item><p>Teachers use station, parallel, and alternative teaching models to provide additional small group practice.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td /><td>Use flexible grouping</td><td>Co-teachers use different student groups for different purposes. Students work as a large group, in pairs, small groups, and independently.</td><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>Co-teachers change groupings frequently based on student interest, learning preference, and skill level.</p></list-item><list-item><p>Teachers alternate among groups, so that both get to know all students in the class.</p></list-item><list-item><p>Teachers incorporate station teaching and alternative teaching to intensify instruction for students who need additional skill practice.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td /><td>Use strategies to promote active student engagement</td><td>Co-teachers use a variety of instructional strategies that result in active student responding.</td><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>Co-teachers frequently incorporate e-response systems (e.g., <ext-link ext-link-type="url" href="https://socrative.com" />, <ext-link ext-link-type="url" href="https://kahoot.com" />), response cards, and individual white boards during instruction.</p></list-item><list-item><p>Co-teachers elicit unison responses from all students.</p></list-item><list-item><p>Teacher-led learning segments are followed with a student activity.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td /><td>Use assistive and instructional technologies</td><td>Co-teachers select and implement assistive and instructional technologies to support their instruction.</td><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>Co-teachers pre-prepare documents that students retrieve electronically (e.g., Google classroom, Chromebooks).</p></list-item><list-item><p>Students with disabilities use assistive technologies, per their IEP.</p></list-item><list-item><p>All students can view prerecorded instructional videos to support their learning.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td /><td>Provide intensive instruction</td><td>Co-teachers work with students with similar needs on clearly defined skills or concepts, frequently monitor students' progress, and adjust instruction accordingly.</td><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>Co-teachers frequently use small groups (e.g., station teaching and alternative teaching) to intensify instruction by re-teaching and providing specific feedback.</p></list-item><list-item><p>Co-teachers rotate responsibilities, and small groups change frequently based on formative assessment results.</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td /><td>Teach students to maintain and generalize new learning across time and settings</td><td>Co-teachers help students generalize and maintain newly acquired knowledge and skills. They explicitly share where students can apply the skill, and they ask students how and where they can apply the skills.</td><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>Co-teachers collaborate with other grade-level teachers to identify skills that students can use across classes.</p></list-item><list-item><p>Teachers provide instruction using the same procedures for assignment planners, homework expectations, and make connections across disciplines (e.g., all 8th grade teachers incorporate and require Cornell notes).</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td /><td>Provide positive and constructive feedback to guide students' learning and behavior</td><td>Co-teachers provide students with feedback to inform students of skills that need improvement and encourage motivation and goal setting for future performance.</td><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>Both teachers monitor their use of feedback and provide specific verbal and written feedback (e.g., "I see that you followed the first five steps correctly, but you forgot to reduce these two fractions to lowest terms. Check your cue card as a reminder of when you can reduce. If you reduce these, you will have a perfect paper, and you will be ready for the next lesson.")</p></list-item></list></td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>1 <emph>Note.</emph>Table 2 presents a crosswalk between High Leverage Practices (HLP) and co-teaching models with specific examples. The HLPs are adapted from McLeskey et al. [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref19">13</reflink>].</p> <p>As noted in Table 2, co-teachers can incorporate these HLPS into their practice in numerous ways. Administrators would not expect co-teachers to incorporate all of these within in a single lesson. Rather, teachers should plan implementation of the HLPS purposefully, so students receive maximum benefit from the co-teaching structure. A shared lesson plan notation can include that which HLPs teachers plan to target each day. During co-planning, co-teachers can ask themselves questions such as: Can we incorporate any of the HLPs during this lesson? Which one or ones fit well within the lesson instructional outcomes? Which ones fit well within this instructional unit? Analyzing students' IEPs, which HLPS should we include more frequently? Do we need professional development on any of the HLPs, so we use them with fidelity? What data will we collect that will provide evidence that we used them correctly? Co-teachers should reflect on their use of these practices after the lesson.</p> <p>As noted in Table 2, co-teachers can address many of the HLPS during co-planning. For example, during co-planning, co-teachers can discuss details about the unit of instruction, formative and summative assessments that correspond with learning outcomes, how daily lessons build on each other, and adaptations students with disabilities will need to be successful without sacrificing grade-level standards. Co-teachers may need to locate and use alternative resources, such as web-based materials, alternative texts that meet grade-level standards written at an adjusted reading level, or assistive technologies that support student learning. Discussions and decisions made during co-planning impact clarity of instruction and student success. Clearly, co-teaching should look different from solo teaching. Co-planning helps to ensure this.</p> <p>Effective co-planning leads to effective instruction. This is important because students with disabilities typically need more explicit instruction than their peers without disabilities. Among other factors, researchers have noted that explicit instruction involves systematically sequencing content and tasks, delivering content with clear and concise language, incorporating multiple examples and non-examples, using high levels of student engagement, and closely monitoring student performance with appropriate and timely feedback (Archer and Hughes [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref20">1</reflink>]). These instructional components are difficult to provide with whole group instruction, which is typically associated with the one teach–one assist and one teach–one observe models.</p> <p>Rather than the one teach–one assist and one teach–one observe models, co-teachers can use station, parallel, alternative, and to some degree, team teaching models to provide intensive instruction for students whose background knowledge, skill level, or learning preference indicates that they need extra opportunities for content mastery. For example, students can receive differentiated learning opportunities during station teaching. To illustrate, not all students need to rotate through the same four or five stations. Teachers can assign some students to only teacher-led stations where teachers reteach and review skills using precise language, detailed teacher modeling, and a systematic instructional procedure rather than spend time at independent stations. Similarly, some students could attend the same station more than once to master content due to limited background knowledge or language processing issues. Station teaching differentiates instruction using small groups and provides more opportunities for students to ask questions, receive teacher support, and respond.</p> <p>Parallel teaching also allows students to receive instruction in a smaller group. This approach lends itself well for teachers to incorporate HLPs and differentiate instruction. Even though both teachers in parallel teaching cover the same material, each teacher can tailor the approach to students in his or her group. For example, one teacher might have students work in partners to locate answers to a vocabulary activity while the co-teacher in the other group completes the same vocabulary activity with additional supports. These supports could include more explicit teacher modeling, frequent checks for student understanding, and use of cue cards that remind students about the meaning of prefixes and suffixes (Conderman [<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref21">3</reflink>]). In this situation, both groups are working toward grade-level language arts standards, but co-teachers are differentiating instruction for each group. Further, each co-teacher has an important instructional role.</p> <p>Alternative teaching also provides co-teachers with opportunities to use HLPs. This approach can provide students with an extra boost of instruction, personalized feedback or encouragement, or an opportunity to practice using technologies that other students do not use or do not need. Teachers can also use alternative teaching to complete a short assessment to determine if a student understands a concept or skill. Additionally, co-teachers can use alternative teaching to follow-up with students who have an individualized behavioral plan or those who are self-monitoring their behavior (Codding et al. [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref22">4</reflink>]). Other students may have a daily report card (Mires and Lee [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref23">14</reflink>]) or a check-in, check-out system (Filter et al. [<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref24">6</reflink>]) that co-teachers can address during a brief alternative teaching session. Sometimes students just need to connect with a caring teacher. This short session can provide them with the necessary encouragement and motivation to keep working toward their goals.</p> <p>Co-teachers can also use HLPS during team teaching. However, as noted in Table 1, team teaching is a whole-group instructional model, so co-teachers need to be purposeful in their delivery to maximize the effectiveness of this option. As they jointly provide instruction through team teaching to reflect explicit instructional delivery, for example, one co-teacher can use a think aloud to model a new skill while the other checks off modeled steps displayed on the screen. Alternatively, one teacher can model the learning task while the other provides specific feedback; one can provide examples of the new concept while the other provides non-examples; or the two can model partner or small group social skill or cooperative learning activities. In these ways, each co-teacher assumes a purposeful role that reflects HLPS, which leads to improved learning outcomes.</p> <p>In short, co-teachers can incorporate HLPS within these co-teaching models with some pre-planning and creativity. It is important to vary the purpose, student composition, and teacher leading these groups to avoid perceptions that only one teacher works with students who need support. Clearly, both teachers need to work closely with all students in a co-taught classroom.</p> <hd id="AN0146677123-6">Concluding thoughts</hd> <p>Co-teaching is a popular instructional approach, but student outcomes associated with co-teaching have been less than optimal. This is because many co-taught classrooms resemble solo taught classes with the special educator assuming a passive role. However, co-teaching offers the unique opportunity of blending the expertise of both teachers to create instructional opportunities that could not otherwise exist. For this to occur, both teachers need to have the mindset that they are both responsible for every child's learning. When co-teachers engage in purposeful and creative planning, they can ensure that all students receive optimal instruction. SDI, associated with HLPS, benefits all students and helps co-teaching realize its potential as a rigorous, inclusive, and collaborative instructional approach.</p> <ref id="AN0146677123-7"> <title> References </title> <blist> <bibl id="bib1" idref="ref20" type="bt">1</bibl> <bibtext> Archer, A. L., and C. A. Hughes. 2010. Explicit instruction: Effective and efficient teaching. NY : Guilford Press.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib2" idref="ref8" type="bt">2</bibl> <bibtext> Conderman, G. (2013). The learning strategy infused classroom. The Teacher Advocate 20 (3):4–5.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib3" idref="ref15" type="bt">3</bibl> <bibtext> Conderman, G., and Liberty, L. (2018). Establishing parity in middle and secondary co-taught classrooms. The Clearing House 91 (6):222–8. doi: 10.1080/00098655.2018.1524358.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib4" idref="ref22" type="bt">4</bibl> <bibtext> Codding, R., A. Feinberg, E. Dunn, and G. Pace. 2005. Effects of immediate performance feedback on implementation of behavior support plans. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis 38 (2): 205 – 19. doi: 10.1901/jaba.2005.98-04.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib5" idref="ref2" type="bt">5</bibl> <bibtext> Conderman, G. 2011. Methods for addressing conflict in cotaught classrooms. Intervention in School and Clinic 46 (4): 221 – 9. doi: 10.1177/1053451210389034.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib6" idref="ref24" type="bt">6</bibl> <bibtext> Filter, K., M. McKenna, E. Benedict, R. Horner, A. Todd, and J. Watson. 2007. Check in/Check out: A post-hoc evaluation of an efficient, secondary-level targeted intervention for reducing problem behaviors in schools. Education and Treatment of Children 30 (1): 69 – 84. doi: 10.1353/etc.2007.0000.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib7" idref="ref6" type="bt">7</bibl> <bibtext> Friend, M., and T. Barron. 2016. Co-teaching as a special education service: Is classroom collaboration a sustainable practice? Educational Practice and Reform 2 : 1 – 12.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib8" idref="ref5" type="bt">8</bibl> <bibtext> Friend, M., and L. Cook. 2017. Interactions: Collaboration skills for school professionals (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ : Pearson.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib9" idref="ref1" type="bt">9</bibl> <bibtext> Graziano, K., and L. Navarrete. 2012. Co-teaching in a teacher education classroom: Collaboration, compromise, and creativity. Issues in Teacher Education 21 (1): 109 – 26.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Harbourt, G., P. L. Gunter, K. Hull, Q. Brown, M. L. Venn, L. P. Wiley, and E. W. Wiley. 2007. Behaviors of teachers in co-taught classes in a secondary school. Teacher Education and Special Education 30 : 13 – 23.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Heacox, D. 2017. Making differentiation a habit: How to ensure success in academically diverse classrooms. Minneapolis, MN : Free Spirit.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. §§ 1400 et seq. 2006. (& Supp. V. 2011).</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Lembke, E., A. Allen, D. Cohen, C. Hubbuch, D. Landon, J. Bess, and H. Bruns. 2017. Progress monitoring in social studies using vocabulary matching curriculum-based measurement. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice 32 (2): 112 – 20. doi: 10.1111/ldrp.12130.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> McLeskey, J., M. D. Barringer, B. Billingsley, M. Brownell, D. Jackson, M. Kennedy, T. Lewis, L. Maheady, J. Rodriguez, M. C. Scheeler, et al. (2017, January). High-leverage practices in special education. Arlington, VA : Council for Exceptional Children & CEEDAR Center.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Mires, C., and D. Lee. 2017. Calvin won't sit down! The daily behavior report card: A practical technique to change student behavior and increase school-home communication. Beyond Behavior 26 (2): 89 – 95. doi: 10.1177/1074295617711716.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Murawski, W. 2012. Ten tips for using co-planning time more efficiently. Teaching Exceptional Children 44 (4): 8 – 15. doi: 10.1177/004005991204400401.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Pratt, S. M., S. M. Imbody, L. D. Wolf, and A. L. Patterson. 2017. Co-planning in co-teaching: A practical solution. Intervention in School and Clinic 52 (4): 243 – 9. doi: 10.1177/1053451216659474.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Scruggs, T., M. A. Mastropieri, and K. A. McDuffie. 2007. Co-teaching in inclusive classrooms: A meta-synthesis of qualitative research. Exceptional Children 73 (4): 392 – 416. doi: 10.1177/001440290707300401.</bibtext> </blist> </ref> <aug> <p>By Laura R. Hedin; Greg Conderman; Lydia Gerzel-Short and Lisa Liberty</p> <p>Reported by Author; Author; Author; Author</p> </aug> <nolink nlid="nl1" bibid="bib13" firstref="ref3"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl2" bibid="bib10" firstref="ref4"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl3" bibid="bib18" firstref="ref7"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl4" bibid="bib16" firstref="ref10"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl5" bibid="bib17" firstref="ref11"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl6" bibid="bib11" firstref="ref13"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl7" bibid="bib12" firstref="ref16"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl8" bibid="bib14" firstref="ref23"></nolink>
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  Data: Specially Designed Instruction in Middle and High School Co-Taught Classrooms
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Clearing+House%3A+A+Journal+of+Educational+Strategies%2C+Issues+and+Ideas%22"><i>Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas</i></searchLink>. 2020 93(6):298-305.
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  Data: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
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  Data: 10.1080/00098655.2020.1812492
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  Data: Students with disabilities are increasingly participating in co-taught classes where they have access to the general curriculum. However, researchers have discovered that co-teaching often resembles solo teaching and does not include specially designed instruction shown to be effective for students with disabilities. How can middle and secondary co-teachers improve their instructional effectiveness? This article describes specially designed instruction, associated with high leverage practices, and provides ways middle and high school co-teachers can improve their co-teaching effectiveness.
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