Teachers' and Students' Views of Team Teaching of General Education and Learning-Disabled Students in Two Fifth-Grade Classes

Abstract

Based on interviews with 9 learning-disabled (LD) students, 9 of their nondisabled peers, and their 3 teachers (2 regular, 1 LD), we describe their perceptions of life in 2 fifth-grade classrooms with a permanent teaching team. All 13 LD students in fifth grade were fully integrated into these classes for the entire year. Data are organized according to respondents' perspectives on 3 themes: classroom social climate; instructional effect, including provisions for small-group and individual assistance; and distribution of teachers' roles and tasks. Students reported that school was a highly positive experience, that their teachers provided motivating instruction, and that the social climate was one of relative unity and help for everyone. No evidence that general education students recognized that their peers were labeled LD was apparent, and LD students did not see being taken out of the regular classroom for assistance on an ad hoc basis as problematic, in contrast to these students' dislike of formal, permanently established groups that met in resource rooms in prior years. Teachers reported that they felt confident meeting the needs of nearly all students, including those who required enrichment. Results are interpreted by distinguishing the benefits of collaborative team teaching from other instances of good teaching. Collaborative team teaching appears to offer an important alternative to traditional models of special and compensatory education.