Enhancing Teacher Competency through Co-Teaching and Embedded Professional Development

Abstract

The ongoing professional development of general education and special education teachers is vital to the success of students with disabilities. As more classrooms transition to a co-teaching model, the professional development that teachers engage in must transition to meet the needs of both groups of professionals. This study used a qualitative approach to examine the practical foundations of a pedagogical style that amalgamates co-teaching and embedded professional development within two inclusive classrooms to theorize the Co-teaching Professional Development (CoPD) Approach. The research findings indicate that within the context of two general education social studies classrooms CoPD offers a suitable approach to supporting teachers and students with disabilities. This piece also points to the existence of reciprocity of content knowledge gains of the special educator and the corresponding gains to the pedagogical repertoire of general educators are presented.