This unique special issue features five articles that provide guidance for middle school special education and general education content-area co-teachers on how to implement enhanced co-teaching models including specialized literacy instruction and best practices for co-teachers (e.g., co-planning; using station teaching to differentiate instruction). The authors of each article were part of a research team that conducted a 2015–2018 development and innovation professional development project funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, Project CALI (Content Area Literacy Instruction). Project CALI resulted in the development of the CALI professional development designed to provide co-teachers guidance on how to implement a set of evidence-based literacy practices (i.e., the CALI instructional framework) to improve outcomes for students with learning disabilities (LD) in co-taught classes. Authors in this special issue use examples from the CALI professional development to illustrate each practice.
ArguellesM. E.HughesM. T.SchummJ. S. (2000). Co-teaching: A different approach to inclusion. Principal, 79(4), 48, 50–51.
2.
BiancarosaG.SnowC. E. (2006). Reading next: A vision for action and research in middle and high school literacy: A report from Carnegie Corporation of New York. Alliance for Excellent Education.
3.
CookB. G.McDuffie-LandrumK. A.OshitaL.CookS. C. (2017). Co-teaching for students with disabilities. In KauffmanJ. M.HallahanD. P.PullenP. C. (Eds.), Handbook of special education (pp. 233–248). New York: Routledge.
4.
CookL.FriendM. (1995). Co-teaching: Guidelines for effective practice. Focus on Exceptional Children, 28, 1–12.
5.
Faggella-LubyM. N.GranerP. S.DeshlerD. D.DrewS. V. (2012). Building a house on sand: Why disciplinary literacy is not sufficient to replace general strategies for adolescent learners who struggle. Topics in Language Disorders, 32(1), 69–84.
6.
FriendM. (2015). Welcome to co-teaching 2.0. Educational Leadership, 73, 16–22.
7.
FriendM.CookL.Hurley-ChamberlainD.ShambergerC. (2010). Co-teaching: An illustration of the complexity of collaboration in special education. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 20, 9–27.
8.
HellerR.GreenleafC. L. (2007). Literacy instruction in the content areas: Getting to the core of middle and high school improvement. Alliance for Excellent Education.
9.
KamilM. L.BormanG. D.DoleJ.KralC. C.SalingerT.TorgesenJ. (2008). Improving adolescent literacy: Effective classroom and intervention practices. A practice guide (NCEE #2008-4027). National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.
10.
KlingnerJ. K.VaughnS.Tejero HughesM.ArguellesM. E. (1999). Sustaining research-based practices in reading: A 3-year follow-up. Remedial and Special Education, 20, 263–287.
11.
KlooA.ZigmondN. (2008). Coteaching revisited: Redrawing the blueprint. Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth, 52, 12–20.
12.
McFarlandJ.HussarB.de BreyC.SnyderT.WangX.Wilkinson-FlickerS.. . . Bullock MannF. (2017). The condition of education 2017 (NCES 2017-144). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.
13.
MurawskiW. W.SwansonH. L. (2001). A meta-analysis of co-teaching research: Where are the data?Remedial and Special Education, 22, 258–267.
14.
National Center on Educational Restructuring and Inclusion. (1994). National study of inclusive education. National Center on Educational Restructuring and Inclusion, The Graduate School and University Center, The City University of New York.
RiceD.ZigmondN. (2000). Co-teaching in secondary schools: Teacher reports of developments in Australian and American classrooms. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 15, 190–197.
17.
SinclairA. C.BrayL. E.WeiY.ClancyE. E.WexlerJ.KearnsD. M.LemonsC. J. (2018). Coteaching in content area classrooms: Lessons and guiding questions for administrators. NASSP Bulletin, 102, 303–322. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192636518812701
18.
SolisM.MiciakJ.VaughnS. (2014). Why intensive interventions matter: Longitudinal studies of adolescents with reading disabilities and poor reading comprehension. Learning Disability Quarterly, 37(4), 218–229. https://doi.org/10.1177/0731948714528806
19.
SwansonE.WanzekJ.McCulleyL.StillmanS.VaughnS.SimmonsD.. . . HairrellA. (2015). Literacy and text reading in middle and high school social studies and English language arts classrooms. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 32, 199–222.
20.
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2018). The condition of education, 2018 (NCES 2018-144). https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2018/2018144.pdf
21.
VaughnS.KlingnerJ. K.BryantD. P. (2001). Collaborative strategic reading as a means to enhance peer-mediated instruction for reading comprehension and content-area learning. Remedial and Special Education, 22, 66–75.
22.
WeissM. P.LloydJ. W. (2002). Congruence between roles and actions of secondary special educators in co-taught and special education settings. Journal of Special Education, 36(2), 58–68.
23.
WexlerJ.KearnsD. M.LemonsC. J.MitchellM.ClancyE.DavidsonK.SinclairA. C.WeiY. (2018). Reading comprehension and co-teaching practices in middle school English Language Arts classrooms. Exceptional Children, 84, 384–402.
24.
WexlerJ.KearnsD. M.LemonsC. J.StapletonL. M.PollackM. S.ClancyE.HoganE. K.LyonC.SheltonA. (2020, February). Improving instruction in co-taught middle school classrooms to support reading comprehension. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Pacific Coast Research Conference, San Diego, CA.
25.
YoonK. S.DuncanT.LeeW.-Y.ScarlossB.ShapleyK. (2007). Reviewing the evidence on how teacher professional development affects student achievement (Issues & Answers Report, REL 2007–No. 033). U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest.
26.
ZigmondN. (2006). Reading and writing in co-taught secondary school social studies classrooms: A reality check. Reading and Writing Quarterly, 22(3), 249–268.
