Supporting Students in Content Area Classes Using an Outcome-Based System of Collaboration

Abstract

This study documents implementation of a collaborative model of consultation between general and special education teachers. The procedures we describe are designed to structure communication and create a shared responsibility for supporting students in content area classes. In this collaborative support system, we consider curriculum, instruction, assessment, and communication as means to facilitate positive student outcomes in content area classes. Furthermore, when the focus of communication is on specific content as opposed to interpersonal communication skills or to pre-implementation activities, teachers are more likely to utilize each others' expertise to deliver critical content information; positive student outcomes are, therefore, more likely to occur. Given the volume of information in most curricula, however, content information must be restructured and critical thinking tasks applied as an alternative means of assessing student success. In this article, we summarize these elements: a collaborative working relationship between special and general education (content) teachers, curriculum analysis and modification, and problem-solving assessments designed to focus teaching and learning.