Specially Designed Instruction for Co-Teachers

Co-teaching has evolved over the past four decades. Today, it is conceptualized as a service delivery option designed to accomplish three goals: (1) access to the general curriculum; (2) education in the least restrictive environment (LRE); and (3) improved student outcomes (Friend & Barron, 2021; King-Sears, et al., 2021; Losinski et al., 2019). In co-taught classes, attention is focused on the quality of instruction for students with disabilities in co-taught classes. The expectation is that co-teachers provide research-based specialized instruction because doing so enables students to reach state academic standards and prepares them for adult life.

This guide is a roadmap to help teachers, administrators, other school staff, and parents understand the requirements for specially designed instruction (SDI). It outlines versatile and validated strategies and techniques well-suited to co-teaching, although it is a small sample of the many SDI interventions available. 

Sections include:

• SDI Fundamentals
• Co-Teaching Approaches
• Repeated Reading with Station Teaching
• Concrete-Representational-Abstract in Parallel Teaching
• Modeling with Alternative Teaching
• Planning for SDI Implementation
• Tips for Incorporating SDI into Co-Taught Lessons

Dr. Tammy Barron is an associate professor and program coordinator of the inclusive education program in the College of Education and Allied Professions at Western Carolina University in North Carolina. She also serves as special education administrator of the The Catamount School, a laboratory school operated by Western Carolina University in North Carolina. She earned her Ph.D. in specialized educational services with a concentration in educational leadership from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2015. She has published articles and co-authored a book on specially designed instruction (SDI) in co-taught classrooms. Dr. Barron has co-taught in a variety of settings in preschool, elementary, secondary, and higher education in the areas of general and special education. Her research interests relate to collaboration and policies and organizational behaviors. She strives to improve outcomes for students through increasing understanding and advocating for the inclusive practices that support children, families, paraprofessionals, teachers, and administrators through collaboration.