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Preparing Preservice Teachers to Work in Inclusive Classrooms
 From the November 2002 Education newsletter."I think teacher education programs are recognizing that the merging of the two fields is necessary," says Mariann Tillery, an assistant professor of education at High Point University, referring to the integration of special and general education methods. To this end, education students at High Point are required to take classes in both general and special education, regardless of the area in which they are seeking certification. Dr. Tillery emphasizes that the mixing of students from both fields is essential to preparing them to be teaching partners in inclusive classrooms down the road. Co-Teaching and Collaboration Aside from placing general and special education majors in classes together, methods classes are co-taught by general and special education faculty, ensuring that meeting the needs of students with disabilities is addressed for each content area. "It models best practice for our students," Dr. Tillery explains. Aside from making students more prepared to teach in diverse classrooms, this model also gives students more instruction without requiring the program to add another course. Special education students are required to spend a semester in a general education environment, assisting general education teachers and observing classes to give recommendations to teachers on meeting the needs of their students with disabilities. The program discourages special education majors from doing their student-teaching in self-contained schools. Part of the student-teaching experience at High Point for students in both fields includes a day-long seminar on behavior management, held halfway through the semester. A panel discussion features both general and special education majors and faculty. Preliminary Results Dr. Tillery says that a main motivating factor for her and her colleagues in creating the co-teaching model was the lack of knowledge general education majors had about inclusion. "Not having knowledge translates into not having confidence," notes Dr. Tillery. In the two years that High Point has used the new model, they have placed half the students in co-taught courses and half in courses taught only by faculty in the student's area of concentration. Dr. Tillery says results from surveys with the students indicate that those who took the co-taught classes exhibited more knowledge and enthusiasm about inclusion and teaching students with special needs than the others.
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