We examined co-teaching in secondary classrooms by interviewing and observing special education teachers in co-taught and special education classrooms. Using qualitative methods and a grounded theory (constant—comparative) method of data analysis, we identified salient, recurrent patterns that suggested a description of co-teaching definitions, roles, and instructional actions and then compared this description to roles and actions in special education classrooms. We found that special educators take on various roles when co-teaching that are different from the roles that they reportedly assume when they are teaching in special education classrooms; the differences between these roles are influenced by personal definitions of co-teaching and perceived pressures from the classroom, administration, and professional community. During co-taught classes, special educators may simply provide support for students in the general education classroom, teach the same content in a separate classroom, teach a separate part of the content in the same classroom, or teach as a team with the general educator. In co-teaching situations, teachers engaged in actions that helped students get through assignments and instruction given to the entire class. In special education classrooms, however, special educators engaged in different strategic and explicit forms of these actions.
Internships are central to teacher preparation, but many novice teachers do not feel such student teaching experiences prepared them for teaching realities. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to understand the effects of guiding teacher candidates through common video-recording and self-reflection activities during student teaching internships to determine whether such activities improve teacher candidates’ reflective abilities and instructional skills. Thirty-six teacher candidates with similar prior experience were divided into two groups. Both groups participated in semester long internships where candidates video-recorded their instruction 4 times and wrote four corresponding reflections. Treatment group candidates ( n = 17) also received directed guidance and feedback to supplement video analysis procedures. Both groups self-reported significant improvements in their teaching ability, but only the treatment group demonstrated significant growth in reflective ability and instructional skills over time. Addressing challenges in special education teacher preparation research as well as possible future directions are discussed.
In this exploratory study, students in four co-taught high school chemistry classes were randomly assigned to a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) treatment or a comparison condition. Each co-teaching team taught one comparison and treatment class. UDL principles were operationalized for treatment: (a) a self-management strategy (using a mnemonic, IDEAS) for the multi-step mole conversion process; (b) multi-media lessons with narration, visuals, and animations; (c) procedural facilitators with IDEAS for conversion support; and (d) student workbooks mirroring video content and containing scaffolded practice problems. All students completed a pre-test, post-test, and a 4-week delayed post-test. There were no significant differences between conditions; however, there was an interaction effect between students with and without disabilities for post-tests. Social validity indicated students found IDEAS helpful. Implications for future research include continued focus on disaggregated learning outcomes for students with and without disabilities for UDL interventions, and refinements for UDL interventions that benefit students with and without disabilities.
Nearly nine million students attend public schools in rural areas but limited research has examined the aspirations of rural youth in the early years of the 21st century. This study presents a contemporary profile of rural youth's educational and vocational aspirations and examines the educational alignment of reported aspirations. Using multinomial regression procedures, the study also examines the role of multiple contexts (family, individual, and school) in explaining variations in rural youth's aspirations. The results indicated a majority of rural youth wanted to obtain a two-or four-year college degree, and they aspired to adulthood occupations requiring college degrees. More than half of the sample reported misaligned educational and vocational aspirations and patterns of alignment were predicted by family income, student background, geographic isolation, and school-related experiences. The results highlight the need for additional research on high school programs to prepare rural youth for the transition to adulthood.
This study examined the school adjustment of adolescents with disabilities and their nondisabled peers in a national sample of rural high school students. The total sample consisted of 7,376 students: 6,704 nondisabled students, 70 students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD), 512 students with learning disabilities (LD), and 90 students identified as English language learners (ELL). Teacher ratings on the Interpersonal Competence Scale-Teacher (ICS-T) were used to assess students' adjustment on seven factors: academic, affiliative, aggressive, internalizing, popular, Olympian, and shy. Cluster analyses were used to identify distinct configurations of competence and risk separately for boys and girls. Differences between educational classifications were identified for the ICS-T factors and for the interpersonal competence configurations. Students with EBD were overrepresented in Multi-risk configurations (aggressive high-risk profiles), students with LD were overrepresented in both the Multirisk and Disengaged (non-aggressive high-risk profiles) configurations, and students identified as ELL were overrepresented in Disengaged configurations.
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