One initiative in the Highlands School District is to utilize the concept of co-teaching. According to Marilyn Friend, a leading researcher in the area of co-teaching, an accurate description of co-teaching includes the following elements:
- Co-teaching is a service delivery mechanism.
- Two or more professionals are the participants in co-teaching.
- Co-teachers share instructional responsibility and accountability for a single group of students for whom they both have ownership.
- Co-teaching occurs primarily in a shared classroom or workspace.
- Co-teachers’ specific level of participation may vary based on their skills and the instructional needs of the student group.