This article reviewed a method for increasing teachers' use of behavior-specific praise, which is especially important for students with emotional and behavioral disabilities. The use of performance feedback has been researched fairly extensively and has yielded positive outcomes when compared with other forms of consultation. This article…

Practicum experiences, a crucial component of preservice teacher preparation, help establish the foundational knowledge and skills necessary for beginning special education teachers (SETs). Preservice SETs need cooperating teachers (CTs) who support preservice SETs in proper emotional development (i.e., feeling like a teacher), who can model and…

Tier 2 supplemental instruction within a response to intervention framework provides a unique opportunity for developing partnerships between speech-language pathologists and classroom teachers. Speech-language pathologists may participate in Tier 2 instruction via a consultative or collaborative service delivery model depending on district needs.…

As increasing numbers of students with disabilities are taught in general education classrooms, co-teaching has become an established method of special education service provision. No longer viewed by education professionals as a collaborative model-come-lately, this shared approach of working side by side with a colleague in a classroom can be a…

In this article, an interview with paraeducator Joyce Hinckley is presented. Hinckley discusses her 15-year career as a paraeducator, how she became involved with the field, and gives advice to teachers working with paraeducators. She is the mother of five children and grandmother of eight. She has lived in farming communities for most of her life.

Factors that make teacher collaboration difficult include teachers' beliefs about themselves and others, professional isolation, and weak collaboration skills. These barriers can be overcome if teachers develop relationships with their teaching partners, develop their collaboration skills, and focus on students and their needs as a shared goal.…

Twenty suggestions are provided for helping teachers to become more effective managers of paraprofessionals and to improve the ways paraprofessionals work with students with learning disabilities. These include: provide orientation; find out what the paraprofessionals' work-style preferences are; assess the skills of the paraprofessional; observe…

In this interview, Dr. Marilyn Friend discusses why collaboration is important in schools, what it takes to make collaboration work effectively in schools, what teachers need to learn about working with others, the biggest challenges that collaborators face, how school leaders can facilitate collaboration, and resources on teacher collaboration.…

An educational diagnostician who served as mentor to a first-year special education teacher describes her experiences, focusing on her overwhelming sense of responsibility, mentorship training, and critical incidents. The mentor's role in providing guidance without being evaluative is stressed, and development of the mentor/protege relationship…

This article shares procedures that were used to establish coaching partnerships across disciplines in an early childhood setting for children at risk. The procedures were effective in facilitating collaboration among personnel that resulted in an increase in effective teacher behaviors and a decrease in ineffective teacher behaviors. (JDD)

This article suggests strategies and ideas to help build collaborative partnerships among all teachers who work with students who are gifted and have learning disabilities. It discusses the collaborative consultative process, establishing relationships with collaborative partners, and making collaboration run smoothly. Several relevant forms are…

A first-year special education teacher describes the guidance received from the school's educational diagnostician who served as her mentor in conjunction with an internship program of Texas A & M University. The article discusses mentor selection, the internship program, teacher and principal roles, the mentoring process, and its positive…

In this article, a special education teacher who started a much-needed collaboration program at a mid-sized parochial school reflects on her experiences in serving students with a wide variety of disabilities and discusses several different types of service delivery models and some of the problems she encountered with each model. (Author/CR)

This article reviews the assessment procedures, treatment procedures, and the advantages and disadvantages of three professional-family team models: multidisciplinary teams, interdisciplinary teams, and transdisciplinary teams. Guidelines for optimal team participation are provided. The importance of mission statements, communication, trust,…