Marilyn Friend

The State of the Art of Collaboration on Behalf of Students With Disabilities

The need for effective collaboration on behalf of students with disabilities has never been greater. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) and the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA) set two requirements that build a presumption of teacher and other professional collaboration: (a) that students with disabilities access the general curriculum and (b) that they do so in the least restrictive environment (LRE), increasingly determined to be the general education classroom. Other requirements of these laws, including those related to highly qualified teachers, team decision making for students with disabilities, general educator participation in most individualized education program (IEP) meetings, and parent participation reinforce an expectation for collaboration. The purpose of this article is to briefly overview collaboration as it pertains to special education. Topics include a summary of the evolution of collaboration, especially as it pertains to teachers working with students with disabilities as well as clarification of what collaboration is and is not and the dilemmas of research related to it. Finally, this article also functions as the introduction to the special issue and provides and orientation to the other articles.

Co-Teaching Versus Apprentice Teaching An Analysis of Similarities and Differences

Although the term co-teaching has for many years described a service delivery option for students with disabilities or other special needs, recently, it has been used as a label for an alternative approach to student teaching. In this article, the authors describe the essential characteristics of co-teaching and what is appropriately called apprentice teaching and outline the similarities and differences between these two collaborative practices, including overall program structure, the contributing characteristics of the participating individuals, and the nature of the professional relationships. The authors provide conclusions regarding the risks for teacher candidates and faculty members of using the same term for significantly different models.

BOOK AND MATERIAL REVIEWS: "Videotape 1: Collaborative Planning: Transforming Theory into Practice" and "Videotape 2: Collaborative Teaching: The Co-Teaching Model"

Collaboration continues to be a topic of interest for school professionals. In particular, as the mandates in the No Child Left Behind Act (2001) and the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (1997) increase the pressure for students with disabilities and other special needs to access the general education curriculum and to participate in high-stakes testing, the impetus for professionals to work together is growing. This two-videotape series, Collaborative Planning: Transforming Theory Into Practice (32 min) and Collaborative Teaching: The Co-Teaching Model (35 min), is designed to provide tools for moving collaboration from a concept to a reality for school personnel in elementary, middle, and high schools.