How I feel about Collaborative Teaching...

       I believe co-teaching is effective because I have seen first hand how this style of teaching can benefit both the students as well as the teachers who are involved. Through my field experiences I have observed a productive co-teaching environment where the general education teacher and collaborative teacher worked together to ensure that students with learning disabilities and general education students learn the course material thoroughly.
       When implemented properly, co-teaching can change lives and inspire students who often struggle. Test scores among students can rise and teachers skills within the classroom and thrive off of co-teaching. In the setting I observed, the collaborative teacher was aware of what the general education teacher planned to teach and helped facilitate learning in the classroom by monitoring student progress and helping students when necessary. Both teachers appeared comfortable in this setting and it was apparent that the students also felt comfortable with the instruction given by each teacher.
       I believe that this easy flow of learning would not have been possible if those co-teachers did not meet and conduct extensive planning and preparation. While talking to my mentor teacher (the general education teacher) she informed me that working with a collaborative teacher was a blessing. She explained how they would meet to discuss the needs of each student who had a learning disability. In their planning meetings they worked to create strategies that would effectively teach the students without demeaning them or drawing attention to his or her disability. My mentor teacher stated that by working with a collaborative teacher she has learned several new skills and now feels more comfortable about inclusion and the No Child Left Behind Act.
          I am definitely a supporter of co-teaching and I will implement this teaching pedagogy in my classroom. I realize that I am only one person who cannot meet the needs of each student daily alone. I value the help of a collaborative teacher and appreciate his or her passion for helping students with learning disabilities. Although I have had training in special education, my classes are nowhere near as extensive as the course collaborative teachers take on teaching students with special needs. I plan to draw knowledge and strategies for teaching based off their expertise to help make my classroom’s learning environment one that will be life changing and beneficial to both the student as well as me, the instructor.