ESE 633 – Week 3 – DQ 2 – Collaborative Consultation Model

Collaborative Consultation Model

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Collaborative Consultation Model

There are different ways in which students with disabilities can be assisted to benefit in the general education classroom. Some of the models that can be used include; collaborative consultation model and co-teaching model. These two models are important as they allow the all the students to learn in an inclusive classroom regardless of abilities and personalities.

Collaborative consultation model is an interactive process that enables people with diverse expertise to generate creative solution to mutually defined problems. Collaborative consultation model involve the general educator and the special educator working together withy the aim of benefiting students with special needs. Collaborative consultation model differs from co-teaching model of inclusive education in that, in collaborative consultation model, despite the special educator and the general educator working together, the special educator acts as a consultant for the general educator for the various programs including IEP, provides strategies and skills instructions to the students as well as providing remedial instruction, pre-teach subjects, or re-teaching subjects when necessary. In this, the general educator provides content in the general classroom setting (Fiedler, 2000). On the other hand, co-teaching model involves special educator and the general educator working together in delivering instructions to the students. That is, the special educator and the general educator act as instructors in an inclusive classroom.

Collaborative consultation model has strengths that include; it provides the target students with appropriate and effective instructions, students with special needs. Also, by using collaborative consultation model in an inclusive classroom setting, fewer students need to be pulled out for specific special education programs. Collaborative consultation reduces the number of mislabeled students who have academic or behavioral challenges (Brigman, 2005). On the other hand, some of the weaknesses include; there is indirect instruction from the special educator since special educator who has expertise and knowledge about students with special needs only provides guidance and act as a consultant to the general educator. This may not fully benefit the students with special needs since right instructions may fail to be delivered to the students. Another weakness is that, since students are put together in an inclusive classroom setting regardless of their abilities and special needs, students with specific special needs may fail to get the right instruction that fits their needs because special educator will only provide general instructions.

References

Brigman, G. (2005). School counselor consultation: Developing skills for working effectively with parents, teachers, and other school personnel. Hoboken, N.J: J. Wiley & Sons.

Fiedler, C. R. (2000). Making a difference: Advocacy competencies for special education professionals. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.