Refining the General Education Student Teaching Experience through the Use of Special Education Collaborative Teaching Models

Abstract

Reform efforts in teacher education have established school-university partnerships that link teachers' professional development with preservice preparation in order to merge more forcefully educational theory and practice. Collaborative approaches, developed to facilitate the work of classroom teachers and special education teachers can be of great help to general education student teachers and their mentors who teach in professional development school settings. These authors define specific collaborative teaching approaches for student teachers and mentors to enable them to make more informed decisions about how and when to use collaborative teaching experiences to better meet the needs of their P-12 students. We examine models of collaborative teaching and relate them to the shared roles of mentors and student teachers in designing, communicating, and monitoring instruction. We also include examples of how these models work in elementary and secondary classrooms.