Running Head: CO-TEACHING
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Academic Achievement as the Result of the Co-Teaching Model
Audrey Taylor
University of New England
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This study explores the effectiveness of the co-taught model within different classroom
settings. Specifically, the effects of co-teaching on academic achievement will be analyzed. The
research included in this study provides examples of both the positive and negative effects coteaching can have on students with and without special needs. This study will answer the following
questions:
1. What effect does the co-taught model have on standardized testing scores of students with
and without special needs?
2. How does the co-teaching model effectively contribute to academic achievement?
3. What are the negative effects of co-teaching on academic development for students with
and without special needs?
It was a challenge to find authentic data that truly measured the effectiveness of the coteaching model. Using ERICEBSCO I was able to locate five pieces of useful research that
included genuine data which would support this study. The following resources were located on
October 1, 2013. First I looked up articles, written between 2000 and 2013, using the search term
“effects of co-teaching” and I located “Co-Teaching as a School System Strategy for Continuous
Improvement” from Preventing School Failure. The following is the abstract from this article: “Coteaching has increasingly been implemented over the past 20 years as a shared responsibility
alternative to more restrictive special education models for providing service to students with
disabilities. Results of local school system research in Maryland during this 20-year period are
reviewed suggesting that improved special education student performance is associated with
increased access to general education classrooms through co-teaching support. System-level coteaching implementation strategies are identified that result in successful participation by students
with disabilities in co-taught general education classrooms and accelerated outcomes on state
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reading and mathematics assessments. The specific effect of co-teaching as a system-level strategy
to close achievement gaps and promote continuous improvement for students with disabilities in
Howard County, Maryland, over the past 6 years is described.”
Next, I utilized the search term “co-teaching special needs students” and I located a
resource titled “Co-Teaching and Students with Emotional and Behavior Disorders” from Beyond
Behavior which included the following abstract: “In the past decade, increased emphasis on
academic instruction for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) has replaced the
misguided notion that teachers must focus exclusively or primarily on behavior problems before
they can effectively teach students with EBD. Numerous scholars have noted that academic
instruction should be the first line of defense in dealing with the prevention, amelioration, and
treatment of EBD. Although the shift to an academic focus represents a positive step, it is important
to examine the contexts in which students with EBD receive instruction. A number of strategies
have been proposed to enhance the participation and success of students with disabilities in regular
classes. One of these is co-teaching, which generally refers to any arrangement in which a special
education teacher and general education teacher work together in the same physical environment
to provide instruction to a group that includes students with and without disabilities. This article
discusses a number of different models of co-teaching and explores the impact of co-teaching
arrangements on a broad array of student outcomes.”
To continue my research, I searched for articles about “co-teaching and disabilities” and
located “Co-Teaching in Middle School Classrooms under Routine Conditions: Does the
Instructional Experience Differ for Students with Disabilities in Co-Taught and Solo-Taught
Classes?” from Learning Disabilities Research and Practice. Please note the abstract: “Co-teaching
is a popular strategy for implementing the inclusion of students with disabilities within secondary
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general education classrooms. However, we have little data regarding its effectiveness under
routine conditions of educational practice. This study examined whether there was an additive
effect of the special education teacher on the instructional experiences of students with disabilities
as compared with the experiences of the same students taught by only the general education teacher
under routine conditions. Observers used time sampling methods to document how students with
disabilities spent their time in 11 middle school co-taught classes. Statistically significant
differences were found for targeted students in terms of general education teacher interaction and
individual instruction. General education teachers spent significantly less time with students with
disabilities when the special education teacher was present. In addition, students with disabilities
received significantly more individual instruction when the special education teacher was present.
However, these differences were of limited practical significance.”
I then searched “co-teaching RTI” and found “Response to Intervention, Collaboration,
and Co-Teaching: A Logical Combination for Successful Systemic Change”, another resource
from Preventing School Failure which includes the following abstract: “Response to intervention
(RTI) is a new method of identifying students with learning disabilities. RTI's increasing
implementation affects all teachers and students, in both general and special education. The authors
provide educators with a practical understanding of what RTI may look like in the classroom and
how co-teaching as an instructional service delivery model can make RTI more efficient, effective,
and realistic. After introducing the RTI model and its role in supporting a paradigm shift for the
identification of students with learning disabilities and the support of at-risk learners, the authors
then highlight the important components of collaboration and review the key tenets of effective
co-teaching. They provide specific examples to demonstrate how co-teaching and collaboration
are critical to the systemic change required for schools interested in supporting an RTI model.”
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Lastly I used the search term “co-teaching NCLB” and located a resource titled “CoTeaching: An Educational Promise for Children with Disabilities or a Quick Fix to Meet the
Mandates of No Child Left Behind?” from Project Inovation. The following is the article’s
abstract: “As educational leaders continue to struggle with the "Highly Qualified Teacher"
mandate of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation, many are turning to co-teaching models
that are designed to incorporate regular education and special education teachers into the same
classroom to deliver instruction. This model appears to address the issue of inclusion of students
with disabilities into the regular classroom while simultaneously eliminating the NCLB mandate
that all teachers must be highly qualified in the subjects in which they instruct. Two issues that
could significantly impact students with disabilities in relation Co-teaching's implementation are
concerns regarding proper staff development and concerns of it becoming a "quick-fix" for
educational leaders struggling to meet NCLB's mandates.”
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References
Magiera, K., & Zigmond, N. (2005). Co-Teaching in Middle School Classrooms under Routine
Conditions: Does the Instructional Experience Differ for Students with Disabilities in CoTaught and Solo-Taught Classes. Learning Disabilities Research And Practice, 20(2),
79-85.
McDuffie, K. A., Landrum, T. J., & Gelman, J. A. (2008). Co-Teaching and Students with
Emotional and Behavioral Disorders. Beyond Behavior, 17(2), 11-16.
Murawski, W. W., & Hughes, C. E. (2009). Response to Intervention, Collaboration, and CoTeaching: A
Logical Combination for Successful Systemic Change. Preventing School
Failure, 53(4), 267-277.
Nichols, J., Dowdy, A., & Nichols, C. (2010). Co-Teaching: An Educational Promise for
Children with Disabilities or a Quick Fix to Meet the Mandates of No Child Left
Behind?. Education, 130(4), 647-651.
Walsh, J. M. (2012). Co-Teaching as a School System Strategy for Continuous Improvement.
Preventing School Failure, 56(1), 29-36.