Preparing Professionals for Educational Partnerships: An Interdisciplinary Approach

An interdisciplinary course was developed in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Utah, team taught by faculty members from the Departments of Educational Administration, Educational Psychology, Educational Studies, and Special Education. This unique course was designed to provide prospective teachers, special educators, school psychologists, counselors, and administrators insights into conceptual and practical components of collaborative problem solving and conflict management. This article describes the initial development and implementation, as well as content, activities, assignments, and evaluation procedures of this course. The education of all youth is the shared responsibility of classroom teachers, special educators, administrators, related professionals, and parents. When parents and educators pool their knowledge, efforts, and resources, they are able to achieve outcomes they could not achieve alone. (Hudson, Correa, Morsink, & Dykes, 1987, pp. 192-193