Responsibilities and Preparation for Collaborative Teaching: Co-Teachers' Perspectives

Special education and general education co-teachers currently involved in collaborative teaching responded to a survey of their team responsibilities and their preparation for collaborative teaching. Opinions of collaborative teaching were very positive. Respondents agreed that co-teachers' responsibilities in collaborative classes are similar to those expected in separate general education and special education settings. Co-teachers had little scheduled mutual planning time, though they considered it important. Special education and general education teachers agreed about who takes responsibility for planning and evaluation, but each group believed itself more responsible than the other for instruction and behavior management. Few teachers experienced the preparations rated most useful: mentoring by a co-teacher, student teaching in a collaborative class, and release time. For collaborative teachers to make classes inclusive, they need mutual planning time, as well as sufficient professional preparation prior to their collaborative teaching assignment.