The effects of coteaching instruction used by speech language pathologists (SLP) and 1st grade teachers on students' early literacy skills have not been widely examined in current literature. This lack of research may hinder the efforts of SLPs to provide support services for students with and without disabilities who struggle with early literacy skills. Guided by the ecological systems theory, this quasi-experimental study examined the impact of coteaching instruction on students' literacy skills by comparing scores of 2 groups, experimental group who received coteaching and control group who did not receive coteaching instruction. The scores were measured by the final Test of Early Literacy Nonsense Word Fluency Subtest (TELNWFS). A purposeful sampling method was used to select 166 1st grade students as participants. The SLP and 1st grade classroom teachers' use of coteaching instruction served as the treatment or independent variable. The covariate was the scores of the initial TELNWF scores, which was used to control for preexisting reading skills of the participants. The dependent variable was the scores of the final TELNWF. The results of ANCOVA test revealed that there was no significant difference between TELNWF scores of experimental and control group. Implications for positive social change include modifying or reevaluating the use of coteaching instruction between the SLP and 1st grade classroom teachers. This study will help the faculty at the treatment school make informed decisions about instructional models that should or should not be used to address early literacy skills of 1st grade students within the treatment school.

The purpose of this study was to describe the lived experiences of the learners in a fifth-grade coteaching classroom. Because the practice of coteaching is gaining popularity in schools, there is increasing use of this teaching method in general education classrooms. If learning in a coteaching classroom is to be meaningful for students, it is important to have their perspective of this instructional delivery option. Through careful listening, observation, and interpretation of the students’ lived experience, a better understanding of the students’ perspective in a coteaching classroom was gained. Data for this qualitative study were triangulated using classroom observations, student drawn images, and interviews with selected students and the coteachers. Findings indicate that (1) students can give voice to their lived experience when given the opportunity to use images to do so; (2) the ability of coteachers to get along with each other is an important aspect of students lived experience in the coteaching classroom; (3) another aspect of the lived experience of students in the coteaching classroom is learning the ethics of the caring classroom from their coteachers. The findings support the literature, which suggests coteaching can be an effective teaching delivery option and that the voices of the learners in the classroom are an important source of information about what works in schools. These results are significant because they help to inform future decisions about the practice of coteaching. The results of this study also clarify ways the coteaching model can be strengthened or improved for greater success and benefit for both the teachers and the students.

Co-teaching is defined as a general education teacher and special education teacher, who may or may not have the same area of expertise, jointly delivering instruction to a group of students with special needs in a special education classroom. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the perceptions of general and special education teachers in regard to forming coteaching relationships in a school setting organized to serve special education students through coteaching models. Participants were purposefully sampled following the typical case sampling strategy and included two public schools. Of the two schools, there were five special education teachers and two general education teachers who participated in in-depth interviews based on open-ended questions from a predetermined interview guide. Analysis of transcripts from the interviews helped identify the findings for this study. Through the analysis of the transcripts the data revealed becoming a coteacher, communication, coplanning, continuity of teachers, and roles and responsibilities of coteachers were factors of forming a cohesive coteaching relationship.

From 2014 to 2015, full inclusion through coteaching practices (2 or more professionals providing instruction in the same classroom environment) was implemented at a rural southeastern middle school in Georgia to improve the low academic achievement of students with disabilities (SWDs). The problem is that 8th-grade SWDs score low on the reading and mathematics sections of the Standardized Assessment for Reading and Mathematics (STAR). The purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental study was to examine the effect of coteaching on the achievement of 8th-grade SWDs in reading and mathematics as measured by the STAR. Vygotsky's zone of proximal development was the theoretical framework for this study because cognitive development can be enhanced with adult guidance and peer collaboration. The research questions focused on the difference in STAR gain scores between the coteaching SWDs participants and the SWDs with no coteaching. The sample was 96 8th-grade SWDs. A t test was used to compare the reading and mathematics gain scores between the academic years 2012 and 2014 (without inclusion/coteaching),46 SWDs and 2015-2017 (with inclusion/coteaching), 50 SWDs. Results showed that there were significant differences in the STAR performance after coteaching implementation in reading and mathematics, p = .045 and p = .004, respectively. This study may lead to positive social change by providing data to the local educational agency leaders, administrators, teachers, and the educational community to make informed decisions about the implementation of coteaching practices, to enhance instructional practices and teaching strategies, and to improve the academic achievement of SWDs allowing them the opportunity to become college and career ready, thus enhancing their postsecondary options.

This autobiographical narrative inquiry explores the teaching, learning and leadership experiences of a middle school teacher in Manitoba. My early experiences as a classroom teacher reflect my uncertainty and unpreparedness of a teacher who struggled to meet the needs of the English as an Additional Language (EAL) students who entered my classroom. As the EAL student population increased within my middle school, I began the journey of a Masters program to seek knowledge in order to support my EAL students and to help guide my colleagues towards an inclusive environment. As I explored how my experiences as a graduate student had influenced my classroom practices, and then how my experiences as an EAL specialist and school leader had influenced the school community, five main themes emerged: The use of the iPad in a mainstream classroom, the use of effective instructional strategies, the role of culture in the classroom, co-teaching practices and collaboration in a Middle School setting. Through narrative inquiry I investigated these themes and discovered new pathways to support EAL students and guide my colleagues while moving toward a more inclusive classroom and school environment.

During 2012-2016, students with disabilities (SWDs) in Grades 3-5 in an urban elementary school in New York City did not meet the New York State English Language Arts (ELA) standards. The scores had been consistently low for SWDs when compared to their nondisabled peers. SWDs are placed in the inclusion classrooms with an Individual Education Plan that consists of the necessary accommodations that each student requires to access the general education curriculum. The purpose of this case study was to determine if the low ELA test scores for SWDs relate to lack of collaborative practices between coteachers in the inclusion classroom, and to answer the primary research question of how coteachers collaborate to implement students' Individual Educational Plans and devise instructional strategies to accommodate SWDs. Cook and Friend's conceptual framework was used for this study because it directly supports collaboration and coteaching. A purposeful sampling was used to select 4 coteacher pairs (1 special education teacher and 1 general education teacher) from Grades 3-5. Qualitative data were collected from open-ended interviews and lesson plans were analyzed by using provisional and pattern coding. Four major themes emerged from the analysis: coteachers' strategies used when planning lessons for SWDs, classroom accommodation for SWDs, coteachers' instructional strategies, and collaborative relationship in inclusion classroom. The study findings positively influence social change by showing coteachers' need for ongoing professional development that provides effective instructional strategies and collaborative practices for teaching SWDs, with the goal of increasing the percentage of SWDs who meet the ELA state standards.

Since leaders of a Central New York school implemented integrated cotaught (ICT) classrooms, no local investigation of ICT has taken place, leaving district administrators without empirical evidence of the value and effectiveness of the ICT services. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between ICT services and student academic achievement in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics, as measured by the New York State ELA and mathematics assessments for 4th and 5th graders. Vygotsky's paradigm of cognitive development, which states that learners acquire knowledge through collaborative interactions with other students, guided this study because ICT classrooms emphasize social learning for students of all abilities. Research questions were used to determine the differences in ELA and mathematics performance between students with disabilities (SWD) in ICT and non-ICT classroom settings. An analysis of covariance compared math and ELA achievement of 4th and 5th grade classes from the 2008-2009 academic year (AY), 1 year prior to ICT implementation, to 4th and 5th grade classes from the 2009-2010 AY, 1 year after ICT implementation. With a census sample of 103 students, both 4th and 5th grade ICT classes scored significantly higher on the ELA than the non-ICT classes, p = .011 and p = .001, respectively. Also, both 4th and 5th grade ICT classes outperformed their non-ICT counterparts significantly in mathematics, p < .001 and p < .001, respectively. This study contributes to social change by informing administrators, teachers, and the educational community that the provision of special education services (ICT) in general education classrooms is associated with increased academic achievement for SWD.

À partir du constat, issu de l’analyse de la littérature internationale, d’une efficacité relative des dispositifs traditionnels de formation initiale des enseignants novices (EN) fondés sur le postulat de l’alternance intégrative, cette étude a pour objet de questionner les modalités d’une activité conjointe, collaborative et située de formation. Plus précisément, cette thèse développe des études de cas menées dans le cadre d’un dispositif de formation de terrain ancré sur le « coteaching » en Éducation Physique et Sportive (EPS). Elle étudie les conditions du développement de l’activité professionnelle des EN et, au-delà, de la construction du sujet enseignant. S’inscrivant dans un programme de recherche technologique en formation d’adultes dont les fondements théoriques sont issus d’une anthropologie culturaliste (Bertone, 2011 ; Chaliès, 2012), et inspirée de la philosophie analytique de Wittgenstein (2004), cette étude a été menée dans le cadre de quatre dispositifs. Pour chacun d’entre eux, le tuteur (TU) et EN ont réalisé une activité conjointe dans le cadre de (i) la préparation de leçon, (ii) de la leçon, et (iii) du bilan suivant cette leçon. Ces phases ont été complétées par des dialogues de formation intégrant délibérément la présence du chercheur et un guide d’entretien permettant aux acteurs d’instruire en détail leur activité. Des données d’autoconfrontation ont également été recueillies, celles-ci ont permis de formaliser les raisonnements pratiques des acteurs en formation et d’identifier la téléologie des actions de formation et d’enseignement réalisées. Les résultats montrent que le dispositif technologique proposé a permis l’enseignement d’expériences normatives situées (ENS) par TU à partir d’un dressage ostensif et ostensible. Associé à des explications délibérément entreprises par TU, cet enseignement a contribué au développement du sujet enseignant. Un double processus de subjectivisation (Chaliès, 2012) a été documenté, tant sur le plan dialogique et réflexif en formation post leçon, qu’au niveau de la réalisation d’actions réglées en classe. Les résultats ont permis (i) de discuter le postulat traditionnel de l’alternance dans la formation initiale des enseignants, et (ii) d’ouvrir des perspectives de conception de dispositifs de formation initiale des enseignants. / Based on the analysis of international reviews and articles of a relative efficiency of the traditional system of initial training for preservice teachers (PST), which is based on the postulate of integrative alternance, this study aims to question the modalities of joint, collaborative and situated training working. More precisely, this study develops case studies in the context of the training system anchored in coteaching in Physical Education. It studies the conditions of the professional activity of PST, and beyond the teaching subject construction. As part of a technological research program in adult education whose theoretical foundations are the culturalist anthropology (Bertone, 2011 ; Chaliès, 2012), and inspired by the analytical philosophy of Wittgenstein (2004), this study was carried out by four systems. For each of them, the mentor and the PST carried out a joint activity during (i) the planning of the lesson, (i) the lesson, and (iii) the reflection after this lesson. These phases were supplemented by training dialogue which deliberately integrated the researchers’ presence, and an interview guide allowing actors to learn in detail their work. Self-confrontation data were also collected, which helped to formalize the practical reasoning of the actors during the training and to identify the teleology of the training and teaching actions carried out. The results show that the technological system allowed the teaching from the mentor of normative experiments located (NEL) by giving orders and/or showing by example. These teaching methods were associated with explanations deliberately given by the mentor which contributed to the development of the teaching subject. A double process of subject construction (Chaliès, 2012) has been documented, both on a dialogical and reflexive level in post-lesson training, as well as the implementation of actions set in the class. The results allowed (i) to discuss the traditional postulate of integrative alternance in the initial training of teachers, and (ii) to open perspectives to develop initial teacher training systems.

Thesis advisor: Curt Dudley-Marling / As a result of the standards and accountability reforms of the past two decades, heightened attention has been focused upon student learning in the K-12 classrooms, classroom teacher practice, and teacher preparation. This has led to the acknowledgement of limitations of traditional field practicum and that these learning experiences are not well understood (Bullough et al., 2003; Clift & Brady, 2005). Alternative models for student teaching, including those that foster social learning experiences, have been developed. However, research is necessary to understand the implications of these models for preservice teacher learning. Drawing on sociocultural theoretical frameworks and ethnographic perspectives (Gee and Green, 1998), this qualitative research study examined the learning experiences of a cohort of eight undergraduate preservice secondary science teachers who cotaught with eight cooperating teachers for their full practicum semester. In this model, interns planned and taught alongside multiple cooperating teachers and other interns. This study centers on the social and cultural learning that occurred within this networked model and the ways that the interns developed as high school science teachers within a coteaching community of practice (Wenger, 1998). This study utilized the following data sources: Intern and cooperating teachers interviews, field observations, meeting recordings, and program documentation. Analysis focused on community and interpersonal planes of development (Rogoff, 1995) in order understand of the nature of the learning experiences and the learning that was afforded through participant interactions. Several conclusions were made after the data were analyzed. On a daily basis, the interns participated in a wide range of cultural practices and in the activities of the community. The coteaching model challenged the idiosyncratic nature of traditional student teaching models by creating opportunities to learn across various classroom contexts. In different classrooms, there were markedly different constructions of teacher practice and participant roles. The implementation of the coteaching model also resulted in the creation of an interconnected network of colleagues. In the resulting learning community, coteachers supported one another's developing practice and critically examined their shared practice. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

Researchers have described how a missing element in instructional services for English language learners is effective collaboration between general education and English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) teachers. This collaboration is vital to the success of English language learners. This multisite case study was designed to gain insight into current practices and how to improve collaboration between educators in a way that improves instructional services for English language learners. Knowles' theory of andragogy, the transfer of learning theory, and constructivism were used as a basis for analyzing educators' perspectives and instructional practices. Two sites were selected for the study-one that implemented pull-out services for ESOL students and one that implemented coteaching. Data included individual interviews with 24 educators and 17 observations of lessons within the classroom. Data were open coded and thematically analyzed. Results from the interviews indicated that coteaching was perceived by teachers as beneficial in improving instructional practices for English language learners when educators participate in structured planning with face-to-face communication. Observation findings included similarities between the content, delivery, and format of instruction between schools, which indicated the potential success of implementing coteaching in the school that initially implemented pull-out services. This study may be beneficial to schools and districts seeking to transition from the format of pull-out instructional services to more inclusive models.