The Effects of Common Planning Time on Co-Teaching Models Used in Inclusion Classrooms

Many special education students receive instruction in an inclusion setting, which is co-taught with one subject area teacher and one special education teacher. As a result, many subject area teachers and special education teachers meet for common planning time. The intent is for teachers to use this time to discuss appropriate co-teaching methods and lessons. In this study, special education and general education teachers at the middle school and high school level with any inclusion experience as a teacher participated in an anonymous survey. The survey measured the amount of common planning time the teachers have and what models of co-teaching they use in the classroom. The hypothesis was that there is a correlation between the amount of common planning time and the type and number of co-teaching models used in the inclusion setting. The study showed that the hypothesis was correct; co-teachers with more common planning time used a greater variety of co-teaching models.