Determining the effects of co-teaching for students with disabilities: an examination of student learning and classroom instruction

Over 61% of students with disabilities ages 6 through 21 are educated in general education settings for more than 80% of the school day (U.S. Department of Education, 2017). In light of this, collaborative models of teaching between general and special educators are being utilized to meet the diverse needs of learners, including those with disabilities. Evidence supporting the influence of co-teaching for increasing student performance is inconclusive and most studies have used pre/posttest designs, discipline records, attendance and course grades as dependent measures for examining outcomes. It also is important to compare student performance in co-taught and solo-taught settings, in particular by direct observation of how students respond to teaching practices in classrooms. The purpose of this exploratory observational study was to investigate levels of student engagement, occurrence of challenging behaviors and verbal interactions for 9 students with high-incidence disabilities in co-taught and solo-taught settings. In addition the supports classroom teachers provided were examined. Over 2300 minutes or 7022 intervals of observation data were gathered on the target students using the Student Observation Instrument (SOI), a web-based observation tool. Initial analysis indicated statistically significant results for engagement, challenging behavior and teacher supports. Follow-up analyses using multilevel modeling indicated that co-taught settings were a predictor of higher levels of student engagement and teacher supports, and lower levels of challenging behaviors. Differences in the occurrence and duration of interactions were not found. This study has direct implications for teachers and administrators about the implementation of co-teaching and the importance of student response (engagement, interactions and behavior) and teacher support for instruction. It also has implications for researchers interested in studying student response to instruction in co-taught settings. Recommendations for future research are discussed.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Special Education

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2018

Author dc:creator

• Wherfel, Quentin M

Contributors dc:contributor

• Monda-Amaya, Lisa E.
• Lubienski, Sarah
• Israel, Maya
• Shriner, James G.

• Co-teaching
• Student performance
• Student engagement
• Verbal interactions, Teacher supports
• Direct observation

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2018 Quentin M. Wherfel

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/101702

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/101702