by Gordon L. Porter

Since 1985, schools in New Brunswick school districts 28 and 29 have been using an inclusive approach to educate students with disabilities (Porter, 1986). This has required a number of changes in policies and goals, organizational structures, instructional strategies, and support mechanisms. However, the single most significant change has been the redefinition of the school-based special education teacher.

For this new position, we adopted the term methods and resource teacher (M&R teacher), from the Wellington County Separate School Board in Guelph, Ontario (Forest, 1984). We have invested considerable effort in definig the role and in training people for the position.

Methods and resource teachers are primarily responsible for providing direct and effective support to classroom teachers, with the goal of enabling all students to be meaningfully included in learning activities in regular classrooms. M&R teachers have a secondary responsibility to “exceptional” students who require individualized supports and services to participate in and benefit from regular classroom instruction.

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