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The effect of teacher collaboration and co-teaching on the response to reading intervention of elementary-aged students with learning disabilities

Jennifer Brinker McCammon, University of Massachusetts - Amherst

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of teacher collaboration and co-teaching on the response to literacy intervention of elementary-aged students with learning disabilities. The study utilized a multiple-baseline approach. The participants in this study included three second-grade students identified with learning disabilities, their special education teachers, and their classroom teachers from a north metro school district in Colorado. During the baseline phase, students received traditional pull-out literacy interventions and classroom instruction. During the intervention phase, the general education teacher and special education teacher collaboratively planned and co-taught the student's small group reading lesson. Students' literacy skills were monitored weekly using a variety of progress monitoring assessments. Students' oral reading fluency was monitored using the DIBELS Test of Oral Reading Fluency (Good & Kaminski, 2002). Sight word fluency was monitored using the Easy CBM word reading assessment (Alonzo & Tindal, 2007). Decoding fluency was measured using the DIBELS Test of Nonsense Word Fluency (Good & Kaminski, 2002). Overall reading levels were assessed using the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS; Invernizzi et al., 2003). Results were analyzed based on a visual analysis and the percentage exceeding the median (PEM). Results varied among participants. Overall results for oral reading fluency indicated that two students had a moderate response while the third student had a questionable response. The EasyCBM Word Reading assessment results resulted in two of the three students falling in the questionable range while the third student demonstrated a high effect size. A higher level of response was illustrated on the DIBELS Nonsense Word Fluency assessment with two out of three students falling in the high range and one student falling in the moderate range. Overall changes in reading level varied for each student. Student One regressed, Student Two increased his reading level, and Student Three remained the same. Teachers filled out a post-study Intervention Rating Profile (IRP) and participated in a teacher interview to measure the social validity of the intervention. The teacher interview and IRP indicated that teachers perceived the use of the co-planning and co-teaching intervention as beneficial for students with academic difficulties. Benefits of the co-planning and co-teaching intervention included the opportunity to learn from each other and the ability to create a bridge from the classroom to intervention setting. Teachers identified scheduling co-teaching opportunities and finding time to co-plan as barriers to the co-planning and co-teaching intervention.^

Subject Area

Education, Elementary|Education, Special

Recommended Citation

Brinker McCammon, Jennifer, "The effect of teacher collaboration and co-teaching on the response to reading intervention of elementary-aged students with learning disabilities" (2011). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI3498434.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI3498434

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