Integrated Co-Taught

Marion Elementary School

Marion Central School District is located in rural Marion, NY and services portions of seven towns. There are two schools within the district: Marion Elementary School and Marion Junior Senior High. Marion Elementary School services students from UPK (universal preschool, ages 4-5) through sixth grade (ages 11-12). Marion Junior Senior High services students from seventh grade (ages 12-13) to twelfth grade (ages 17-18). The average graduating class size is 60 students.

In the fall, I worked in the fourth grade math class at Marion Elementary School as a part of my student teaching. It is interesting to note that fourth grade was departmentalized, meaning one teacher taught the whole grade one subject and the students rotated through, because this is not common for elementary schools to be departmentalized in the USA.

My homeroom specifically was an integrated co-taught class. We had 13 students total and 5 of them had IEPs. Within the IEPs there was a range of classifications including, autism spectrum disorder, learning disability, and other health impairment. The special education teacher would travel with the students to their academic classes to support them throughout their day.

Some of the best ways the general education teachers and special education teacher worked together were through the resource room, visual reminders, and consistent visuals.

Resource Room

The Resource Room is a room where a small group can work with the special education teacher in a quiet setting. This space is not exclusive to just students with IEPs, in fact it is commonly used for students with IEPs and students who need additional academic support. They have even started using it as a study hall space for a small group of students, so that students with IEPs don't feel like they are being isolated from their peers.

Visual Reminders

Any visual reminders are good to have in a classroom to ensure students are following expectations. However, the inclusion of academic based visual reminders truly helps students with IEPs who may easily overlook a step or two. It helps them slow down and work step by step through a question, as well as provides them with a great checklist to use when reviewing their work. They also offer the same benefits to students without IEPs.

Consistent Visuals

Consistent visuals are a key to these students' success because it is their first time rotating to different classrooms. It can be difficult for students to remember what the schedule is if what it looks like changes in each classroom. It can also be difficult for students to utilize visual reminders if they differ from classroom to classroom. That is why it has been important for the resource room to have the same visual reminders as the classroom the students also go to. For example, in both their homeroom and resource room, the exact same schedule is used. This gives them the same visual reminders for each class.