First Year Co-teaching: Disclosed Through Focus Group and Individual Interviews

Authors

  • Robert Isherwood
  • Rachel Barger-Anderson
  • Joseph Merhaut
  • Rebecca Badgett
  • Jodi Katsafanas

Abstract

 Focus group interviews and individual interviews were conducted with 47 faculty members and administrators in a rural school district in Western Pennsylvania to determine strategies for consideration when attempting to establish and implement a co-teaching program. Participants were part of a school district in its second year of adopting a co-teaching program. They shared some of the common socio-technical problems experienced in the first year of the co-teaching program and offered suggestions to avoid these problems in the future. Roadblocks identified in successful implementation included: dysfunctional co-teaching relationships, lack of common planning time, skewed classroom composition, lack of curriculum familiarity, and non-compatibility with the school management information system. A description of potential solutions to these roadblocks was also provided.

Issue

Section

Articles