Answer

The Effectiveness of Co-operative Teaching in Inclusive Classroom or Inclusive Setting

Introduction

Co-operative teaching in an inclusive classroom is basically an equal partnership between a general education teacher and a special education teacher (Li, & Lam, 2013). These two share the same classroom as well as the responsibilities for teaching all the students in that classroom. The purpose of this paper is to assess the research topic of: the effectiveness of co-operative teaching in an inclusive classroom or setting. Some of the aspects that will be addressed are: research problem, research rationale and significance, literature review, research questions, and research design.

Research Problem

With the progressive need to make the school curriculum available and accessible to students who have special needs, there has been advancement in the inclusion of special education students who have significant learning disabilities when placed in the general education context (Wilson, & Blednick, 2011). Primarily, this means that students with special needs are placed within the same learning context as general needs students. These students are required to learn together despite the fact that some have substantial learning disabilities. It is therefore the responsibilities of their teachers, both general needs teachers and special needs teachers, to cooperate with one another to ensure that the needs of each student are met despite their vast distinction in their capabilities. The primary challenge that many teachers face in inclusive classrooms is the use of instructional strategies that are capable of accommodating the academic and social needs of special education students (Mulholland, & O’Connor, 2016). The research problem, therefore, is the effective implementation of co-operative teaching in inclusive classrooms or inclusive settings. While co-operative teaching may be implemented, ascertaining its effectiveness is an entirely different matter that may not be accomplished easily. This research paper seeks to address the problem of ascertaining this effectiveness in co-operative teaching in inclusive classrooms or inclusive settings.

Research Rationale and Significance

School teams today are investing a lot of time to create the foundations for inclusive programs that will incorporate the students who have disabilities in the classroom. The implementation of inclusive classrooms requires meticulous consideration. Essentially, thorough planning is required to schedule co-taught classes, provide suitable support for students with special needs, develop collaborative relationships among the teachers, train co-teaching partners, and create balanced classroom rosters (In Zhang et al., 2014).

In the contemporary educational system, the incorporation of inclusive has become a technique of teaching that is increasingly adopted and performed in various classrooms. Hence, the significance of this topic is predicated on the fact that inclusion has become an undeniably progressive trend in classrooms today. It is unlikely that the system will change and completely eradicate inclusion, thus, the need to adjust and make the current system productive enough for the benefit of both the students and the teachers (In Bishop et al., 2014). Furthermore, co-operative teaching has become an essential element of inclusive classrooms. Consequently, this topic is significant because it addresses a concept that is highly relevant to the modern education system; a concept that is only likely to continue developing.

In terms of rationale, it has become clear that while more and more schools are adopting inclusive classrooms, the system is rarely implemented effectively. In essence, co-operative teaching is mostly a mere theoretical concept that is hardly ever realized in the practical sense. If one should adopt such a system, it is imperative to ensure its success. The effective implementation of co-operative teaching in inclusive classrooms will ensure that more students learn better than in classrooms that are individually taught. Regardless, even with suitable plans for inclusion, the general education teachers usually struggle with how to efficiently and effectively teach students with special needs in general education classrooms (Saluja, 2015). The rationale for this therefore is to establish a system that will ensure the effectiveness of co-operative teaching in inclusive classrooms. Fundamentally, the general education teacher and the special education teacher must work cooperatively to establish an environment that is conductive to learn for all the students with or without special needs.

Literature Review

The key to success of an inclusion classroom system is to establish a cooperative relationship between the special education teacher and the general education teacher. In order to develop a conducive learning environment for all the students, it is important for the two sets of classroom teachers to work together in a cooperative manner. They must develop a relationship amongst themselves whereby they cooperate effectively for the benefit of their students. “Collaboration is where two or more people create an outcome for a student that no one of them could have created alone” (Eccleston, 2010, p. 40). The teachers collaborate with one another to explore the strengths of every child in a particular inclusive classroom. In the event that one student is having difficulties, they combine their efforts to aid the student to thrive and subdue whatever detriments that may be impeding one’s studies.

Co-teaching is considered to be one of the most effective techniques in teaching an inclusive classroom. It is perceived to be a viable alternative for ascertaining that students, both special needs students and general needs students, have their needs met in an inclusive environment. “Co-teaching is not seen as an instructional strategy, it is a method by which educators can work collaboratively to deliver quality instruction (Holliday, 2011, p. 5).

Special education teachers and general education teachers should work collaborative to determine the most optimal way to help the students in their inclusive classroom. To achieve effectiveness, these teachers should make thorough observations of every student in the classroom to determine what each individual student requires and subsequently, the best way to teach them. By conducting information observations on the students, the teachers of inclusive classrooms are able to gather information on the best way to teach a student (Graham, & Scott, 2016). In addition, this may also aid in the planning and implementation of lessons in the inclusive classroom.

Furthermore, in co-operative teaching, the general educators and special educators should take up equal roles and responsibilities for all the students in the classroom. This means that, simply because the students with disabilities require more attention and work than the general needs students does not mean that the special needs educator has more roles and responsibilities than the general educator. Both teachers are equally responsible for all the students in the inclusive classroom and must work together to educate every student to ensure the effectiveness of the inclusive system. In many cases, the co-operative relationship between the general educators and special educators is viewed as a professional marriage (Honigsfeld, & Dove, 2014). “Collaboration between the general classroom teachers and the special education specialist teacher has become critically important and is the most common method for planning for the success of students with exceptionalities in inclusive settings” (Eccleston, 2010, p. 40). If the co-operative teaching method is successful, it will undoubtedly reflect in the students’ performances. Essentially, the students’ grades may improve or the students may attain the outcomes and objectives that the teachers have established in their mutual lesson planning.

There are various approaches and activities involved in effective co-operative teaching in an inclusive classroom. Firstly, a teacher should graze the classroom. In the process, the co-teacher who is not currently teaching the class is able to make observations of the classroom and take mental notes. By grazing the classroom, the teacher helps with classroom management as well as supervising student performance. Through observation, the co-teacher is able to create an assignment on the basis of the lesson that is being taught to ascertain that the students are actually grasping the data and fulfilling the lesson’s objectives as stipulated in the lesson plan.

An addition inference is for co-teachers to keep students focused on the lesson and assignment. This can be accomplished by using silent cues to enable the students understand where to focus their attention during a lesson. Furthermore, a co-teacher can examine the students’ works while in progress to make any clarifications and corrections that every individual student may be making in any given assignment. In this case, the teacher may focus on one particular student for a few minutes to model the procedures, clarify examples, or reteach concepts. Another suggestion is for the opposite teacher to form a graphic organizer whereas the co-teacher leads a lesson (Gargiulo, & Metcalf, 2017). The use of graphic organizers can aid students visually to view the data that is being presented.

Briefly, in order to accomplish effectiveness in co-operative teaching of an inclusive classroom, it is essential for both the general educator and the special educator to collaborate in everything that involves the classroom. They cannot distribute roles in accordance with the abilities and disabilities of the students; rather they should consider themselves in charge of all the students despite their varied learning requirements. Their lesson plans should coincide in which case the roles and responsibilities should be distributed equally and clearly stated. Furthermore, they should have matching schedules and practice evidence-based practice. While inclusive classrooms have become a current educational trend, it is vastly difficult to accomplish effectiveness. Co-operative teaching between the general educator and the special educator is the first step towards ensuring the success of the program.

Research Questions

In order to conduct this research study, there are certain research questions that will guide the entire process.

Primary research question

1. How can effectiveness in co-operative teaching in inclusive classroom or inclusive setting be attained?

Secondary research questions

1. What is co-operative teaching in inclusive classroom or inclusive setting?
2. How effective is co-operative teaching in inclusive classroom or inclusive setting?
3. What are the practical examples of effective co-operative teaching in inclusive classroom or inclusive setting?
4. What is the prevalence of co-operative teaching in inclusive classroom or inclusive setting?
5. What are the likely benefits of co-operative teaching in inclusive classroom or inclusive setting?
6. What are the challenges of co-operative teaching in inclusive classroom or inclusive setting?

Research aims and objectives

The research study aims to provide basic information on the effectiveness of co-operative teaching in inclusive classroom or inclusive setting. Essentially, this research study supports the use of co-operative teaching to in inclusive classrooms. However, it recognizes the prevalent problem of effective implementation and seeks to provide information on the most optimal ways to implement co-operative teaching in this setting. The objective is to provide information to all the educational programs that have adopted inclusive classroom system to enable them to improve the effectiveness of their co-operative teaching.

Research Design

The research method that will be used to conduct this research study is qualitative research. Fundamentally, the research study will seek to fulfill an exploratory and descriptive purpose. This means that the research will explore the matter of effectiveness of co-operative teaching in inclusive classroom or inclusive setting. Subsequently, a description of the most suitable approaches to co-operative teaching will also be provided.

With regards to data collection, secondary sources will be utilized. Fundamentally, there are several scholars and researchers who have conducted extensive research studies on inclusive classrooms and inclusive settings. Many of these research studies address the issue of the effectiveness of co-operative teaching within inclusive classrooms and inclusive settings. The researcher will examine a diversity of academic articles that reflect some of these research studies and select the most suitable studies that will serve as sources of information for the current research study. The selection criteria will depend on the credibility of the author(s) and the relevance of the article in the contemporary education system, which means that it should not be more than ten years old. Many of these secondary sources will be obtained from the online platform whereas others will be acquired from books. Websites like Google Scholar and Jstor will serve as key online sources.

Conclusion

Conclusively, the research topic of effectiveness of co-operative teaching in inclusive classrooms or inclusive settings is significant because it is currently a problem for many institutions that have adopted this system. By studying this topic, this paper aims to clarify how best to accomplish effectiveness in co-operative teaching between general educators and special educators.