Concerning the effectiveness of using wikis for project-based learning in higher education, this study compared the perceptions and actions among students in three undergraduate courses of different disciplines, English Language Studies, Information Management, and Mechanical Engineering, who used wikis in their course assignments. Using a triangulation methodology, the study shows that students mostly hold positive attitudes towards the use of wikis for project-based learning. However, significant differences exist in 5 aspects, such as “Motivation” and “Knowledge Management”, in the questionnaire among all participants. Additionally, the level of participation and core actions on the wikis vary among students of the three disciplines. These findings can be explained by the variations in participants' previous learning experiences, their technical backgrounds and the relationship between learning goals and collaborative learning. A series of insights are offered in the context of the use of wikis in project-based learning in higher education.

The effectiveness of wikis for project-based learning in different disciplines in higher education

"In this class, I get more attention and more help." "I get more time with both teachers." "They have different stories to tell, so it seems more interesting with two teachers in the class." "I get help whenever I need it." "I understand the subject more." These comments from seventh grade students in co-taught language arts and social studies classes suggest some of the potential benefits of co-teaching. These benefits did not occur by accident; the teachers of these classes spent considerable time co-planning, implementing evidencebased practices, and reflecting on their instruction. This article provides an overview of co-teaching, highlights effective practices used by a middle school co-teaching team, and presents reflections from students in their classroom. What is co-teaching? One way to meet the unique challenges in diverse classrooms is co-teaching. Friend and Cook (2010) described co-teaching as an approach that provides specialized services to individual students in a general education classroom. Specifically, co-teaching involves two or more educators working collaboratively to deliver instruction to a heterogeneous group of students in a shared instructional space. In this environment, teachers blend their expertise, share materials, and develop common instructional goals (Friend & Cook, 2010). Generally, co-teaching team consists of a general educator and another licensed professional such as a special educator, speech/language pathologist, reading specialist, language specialist, or other general educator. Villa, Thousand, and Nevin (2008) noted that co-teaching assumes teachers agree on a goal, share a common belief system, demonstrate parity, share leadership roles while completing tasks, and practice effective communication skills. These principles provide the foundation for creating a fulfilling, professional co-teaching relationship. Co-teaching has gained popularity for a number of reasons. First, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) encourages schools to hold high expectations for all students and ensure students have access to the curriculum in general education classrooms to the maximum extent possible. Most professional educators acknowledge that, given appropriate supports and services, most students should be held to the same academic standards (McLeskey & Waldron, 2007). Coteaching is one viable, effective strategy to serve the needs of all students in general education settings, as required by IDEA (Villa, Thousand, & Nevin, 2008). Similarly, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) includes provisions that all students receive instruction from highly qualified teachers. Because some middle and high school special educators are not highly qualified in all academic subjects as defined by NCLB (Rice, Drame, Owens, & Frattura, 2007), this mandate has caused school administrators to reconceptualize how to best use the skills and expertise of all instructional and support faculty (Carpenter & Dyal, 2007). Co-teaching can help schools comply with the spirit of these NCLB provisions by arranging for teachers with content expertise to jointly plan and deliver instruction with special educators to ensure the success of all students. Such efforts may increase academic outcomes for all students while ensuring that students with disabilities receive necessary adaptations (Murawski & Dieker, 2004). Finally, teacher roles have become more collaborative than in the past. No longer do teachers work in isolation as they did just a few decades ago. For example, general educators now assume a more active role in developing individualized education plans (IEPs) by helping determine the appropriate accommodations and modifications students need to access the general education curriculum (Turnbull, Huerta, & Stowe, 2006). Consequently, general and special educators now collaboratively discuss students' needs, solve problems, demonstrate instructional techniques, lead or participate in professional development initiatives, share resources, and network with other professionals and outside agencies (Dettmer, Thurston, Knackendoffel, & Dyck, 2009). …

Middle School Co-Teaching: Effective Practices and Student Reflections.

The results of 123 elementary- to secondary-level teacher surveys and 14 in-depth qualitative interviews examining the teachers’ perspectives regarding inclusion in a rural school district are reported. Four features of inclusive education from the perspective of teachers are revealed: (1) attitudes toward inclusion; (2) supportive communication and cooperation; (3) classroom community; and (4) support and training. The results of this study corroborate existing research and indicate significant differences between elementary and secondary teachers’ perceptions for some of the factors. Future research in this study will examine teachers’ instructional practices providing a more complete picture of inclusive teaching in rural Alberta, Canada.

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Teacher perspectives on inclusive education in rural Alberta, Canada

Aim: The aim of this article is to present a critical review of available health and education literature to ascertain how collaboration is defined, what the barriers to collaboration are, how effective collaboration between occupational therapists and teachers is, and to determine implications for research and future practice in Australia.

Methods:  A comprehensive electronic search process was undertaken, identifying studies from health and education databases. Manual searching of reference lists was then conducted for retrieved articles. Studies were reviewed to determine quality and relevance to the review question.

Results:  Nine research articles were reviewed, which included six qualitative and three quantitative articles. An additional seven discussion papers and three literature reviews were also included. It is apparent that the available literature is predominantly written about USA and UK contexts, and empirical evidence is limited. Definitions of collaboration differ, and although professionals agree that it is important to collaborate, the evidence of effectiveness is scant.

Conclusions:  Although there is much anecdotal desire for collaboration, empirical evidence is limited, but positive. Professionals express desire for collaboration, but the implementation appears inconsistent, and poorly researched. The literature outlines factors, which support collaboration in practice including interactional, organisational and systemic factors. Using this model, strategies for successful collaboration can be formulated. Results indicate a need for research into appropriate models of practice for an Australian context, and particularly for states, where the health and education systems are not well integrated.

Collaboration between occupational therapists and teachers: definitions, implementation and efficacy.

Margaux and her husband were active at their children's school. They volunteered at book sales, attended PTA meetings, and helped in the classrooms when needed. They also spent significant amounts of time working on school related projects outside of school. So Margaux was shocked when she received her daughter's report card with low scores in math and reading fluency. She had just spoken with the teacher informally, and no mention was made that the child was struggling. The couple requested a face-to-face meeting with their daughter's teacher. During the meeting, Margaux and her husband expressed their surprise that they had not been informed of the teacher's concerns about their daughter. They were further frustrated when they realized that information they had shared with the teacher regarding the child's learning styles and strengths was not being used. They left the meeting confused and distrustful of the teacher and the school.Margaux and her husband are not the only Black parents with negative experiences with their children's school. Black families often feel their efforts to engage with their children's education are largely ignored by schools and in literature. This may be due in part to schools operating on an outdated and culture-ignorant model. One of the most commonly used models for parental involvement is Epstein's Framework for Six Types of Parental Involvement (Epstein et al., 1997). This framework offers ways for schools to identify parental involvement and specific areas to target for improved involvement. In practice, however, Epstein's model has become a checklist for schools and lacks a cultural lens by which the intersections of race, ability, disability, income, and education can be examined (Harry, Kalyanpur, & Day, 1999). Furthermore, when the conversation about the achievement gap between Black students and others is loosely tied to the topic of parenting, schools imply that students are victims of parental apathy to the goals of education.The topic of parental involvement is of particular significance for families with Black children because Black students lag behind their peers on major academic indices (Delpit, 2012; Jeynes, 2005; Kunjufu, 2012). Black students continue to experience harsher punishments, more suspensions, and expulsions at three times the rate of their peers who engage in similar behaviors (Delpit, 2012; Kunjufu, 2012), although Black parents strive to be a part of the school community. In addition to the punishments, Black students continue to be over-identified for special education and under-identified for gifted and talented and advanced placement programs (Boone & KingBerry, 2006; Harry & Klingner, 2005; Kunjufu, 2012). Disparities in educational outcomes and inequitable treatment have strained the relationship between Black families and schools (Delpit, 2012; Louque & Latunde, 2014).Like most parents, parents of Black students actively support their children's education. They advocate, engage in family literacy exercises, expand on concepts taught at school, and expose children to educational opportunities in the community (Brandon, 2007; Thompson, 2004; Williams, 2007). In a meta-analysis of parental involvement, Jeynes (2005) concluded that Black parents held high academic aspirations for their children and the parents' involvement in their children's education contributed positively to student achievement. However, their involvement has not always been effective in closing the achievement gap. For some time, Black parents have voiced their frustration with the interactions and communication between home and school (Latunde, 2009; Thompson, 2004).This study examined the engagement strategies of Black parents of children in K-12 schools in the U.S. by first addressing the complexities of defining parental involvement. The definition has great implications for strategies and assessments. Next, the research describes the benefits of home-school collaboration, explores issues related to current practices for involving Black families, and details specific strategies Black parents use to support their children's learning. …

https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7709/jnegroeducation.85.1.0072

Untapped Resources: Black Parent Engagement That Contributes to Learning.

PART 1 focuses on contexts of collaboration, consultation, and teamwork. o Chapter 1 describes collaborative consultation and co-teaching and introduces key elements in the collaborative environment. o Chapter 2 emphasizes the array of differences in professional perspectives and personal preferences among educators, and highlights variables that create these differences. o Chapter 3 provides a brief overview of school improvement issues and collaborative school consultation history, theory, and research. PART 2 features processes that facilitate collaborative school consultation and working in teams. o Chapter 4 develops co-educators' verbal and nonverbal communication skills. o Chapter 5 presents a format for finding the problems that affect student learning and behavior, and then planning ways to address those problems so that students with special needs can succeed. o Chapter 6 focuses on avoiding stress that can lead to burnout from the profession. PART 3 provides content needed by co-educators to work effectively in partnerships for students' special needs. o Chapter 7 introduces co-teaching as a way of addressing all students' special needs collaboratively. o Chapter 8 features family partnerships as the focus of collaborative consultation between home-based co-educators and school-based. o Chapter 9 addresses needs of many diverse populations, including culturally and linguistically diverse students, those in rural and isolated areas, military dependent students, students who more frequently, those who are home schooled, and more. PART 4 addresses the collaborative roles among a variety of co-educators in the schools and communities, the place of technology in collaborative consultation and team efforts, and advocacy and leadership among educators for the future. o Chapter 10 involves school administrators as partners in collaborative activities and addresses the paraeducator role and supervising teachers of paras. o Chapter 11 explores the electronic role of technology as it relates to collaborative communication and networking. o Chapter 12 concludes the text with attention to mentorships among veteran teachers and novice teachers, leadership development for effective schools, and resource acquisition through grants and other funded projects.

Peggy Dettmer

Papers

Collaboration, Consultation and Teamwork for Students with Special Needs