Teacher Development to Enhance Content Area Reading Instruction for Students With Disabilities

• In Event: Special Education Teachers and Service Delivery Models

Abstract

We report findings from a comprehensive professional development project focused on enhancing middle school teachers’ knowledge and implementation of content area reading strategies. Teachers from a large urban school district participated in an interactive program across one academic year by engaging in collaborative sessions designed to enhance their abilities to incorporate comprehension strategies into content area lessons to assist students with disabilities access the general education curriculum. Through observations, interviews, and teachers’ analyses of their student work samples, we found that teachers increased their abilities to understand students’ challenges in accessing content area reading material. Additionally they learned about different comprehension strategies and how to integrate strategies in their instruction to benefit all students.

Authors

• Michelle Parker-Katz, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Marie T. Hughes, University of Illinois

• Jennifer D. Olson, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Tiffany J. Ko, University of Illinois at Chicago