Co-teaching Lesson Plan two – Station Teaching 2 Research Review The passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) as well as the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 2004 has led to more and more children with disabilities being educated in general education classrooms. Rather than simply being “included” in a general education setting, students are now being co-taught with their general education peers to improve their educational outcomes. Co-teaching can be defined as two or more professionals delivering substantive instruction to a diverse, or blended, group of students in a single physical space (Cook and Friend, 1995). The six types of co-teaching are team-teaching, parallel teaching, alternative teaching, one teach, one observe, one teach one assist, and station teaching. According to Friend, 2008 the benefits for co-teaching include increased educational opportunities for all students, less fragmentation in student’s education; a reduction in the stigma associated with being identified with having a disability and stronger and more collegial relationship between teachers. One co-teaching strategy that is recommended for frequent use is station teaching. With this method students are divided into three inter-connected but independent groups that rotate across instructional activities, two led by the teachers and one completed independently (Friend and Cook, 2007). Station teaching has many benefits. For example, by putting students in to smaller groups teachers are able to assess which students have grasped the concepts and which ones require remediation. This is particularly important for students with disabilities who often take more time to learn concepts. The multiple groupings and discussions occurring at the three stations increases student participation as well (Friend, 2008).
Co-teaching Lesson Plan two – Station Teaching 2 Research Review The passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) as well as the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 2004 has led to more and more children with disabilities being educated in general education classrooms. Rather than simply being “included” in a general education setting, students are now being co-taught with their general education peers to improve their educational outcomes. Co-teaching can be defined as two or more professionals delivering substantive instruction to a diverse, or blended, group of students in a single physical space (Cook and Friend, 1995). The six types of co-teaching are team-teaching, parallel teaching, alternative teaching, one teach, one observe, one teach one assist, and station teaching. According to Friend, 2008 the benefits for co-teaching include increased educational opportunities for all students, less fragmentation in student’s education; a reduction in the stigma associated with being identified with having a disability and stronger and more collegial relationship between teachers. One co-teaching strategy that is recommended for frequent use is station teaching. With this method students are divided into three inter-connected but independent groups that rotate across instructional activities, two led by the teachers and one completed independently (Friend and Cook, 2007). Station teaching has many benefits. For example, by putting students in to smaller groups teachers are able to assess which students have grasped the concepts and which ones require remediation. This is particularly important for students with disabilities who often take more time to learn concepts. The multiple groupings and discussions occurring at the three stations increases student participation as well (Friend, 2008).