Lessons Learned from an Interdisciplinary Approach to Educator Preparation

Abstract

In this article, the authors describe the benefits and challenges of an interdisciplinary preparation program involving students in special education and counseling graduate degree programs. Special Education teachers and related service personnel often lack ‘shared knowledge, skills, and expertise’ specific to the professional standards of each discipline (Quezada et al., 2021). Consequently, they tend to struggle when serving on school-based problem-solving teams faced with the challenge of planning, implementation, and monitoring of evidence-based practices (EBPs) for students with intensive disabilities and social emotional needs. One possible alternative to discrete discipline preparation programs is the possibilities of improving practice through interdisciplinary professional training models. Unlike traditional silo approaches to educator preparation, interdisciplinary preparation approaches provide opportunities for special education teachers and related service personnel to exchange expertise of discipline specific knowledge and skills through meaningful application in shared coursework and collaboration in clinical field experiences. In this article, we describe an example of an interdisciplinary preparation program titled, Intensive Needs Teacher and Counselor Training Program which originated in 2017. Lessons learned through implementation of our interdisciplinary preparation program suggest evidence of potential barriers and invaluable benefits to this unique approach to educator training, as well as recommendations for best practices are shared.