The Impact on Pre-service Teachers’ Perceptions toward Co-Teaching from Being a Learner in Co-taught College Courses

ABSTRACT

This qualitative study investigated pre-service teachers’ perceptions toward co-teaching after experiencing co-taught sessions within a special education methods class and literacy methods class. For two semesters, participants included cohort groups in a dual teacher license program in elementary and special education. We gathered information through surveys, exit notes, and focus-group interviews about pre-service teachers’ perceptions of six different types of co-teaching approaches and the impact of co-teaching on students’ learning. After participating in the co-taught lessons, pre-service teachers expressed more positive perceptions toward co-teaching’s impact on student learning, and a greater willingness to implement co-teaching in their future teaching. The results also suggest that a co-teaching instructional approach used within a university classroom affects pre-service teachers’ perceptions of the benefit and intended future use of that co-teaching instructional approach.

KEYWORDS:

• Pre-service teacher
• special education training
• co-teaching

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Eunjoo Kim

Eunjoo Kim is an Clinical Assistant Professor of Special Education at Indiana University Northwest. Her research interests involve parent-teacher partnership in special education, co-teaching, and international comparisons of special education history.

Sharon M. Pratt

Sharon M. Pratt is an Assistant Professor of Elementary and Literacy Education at Indiana University Northwest. Her research interests involve literacy strategies for reading, think-alouds in literacy instruction, and co-teaching.