The skills for effective teaching were investigated among elementary teachers working in inclusive classrooms to determine whether the appearance of "constructivist" skills are independent of, or follow from the mastery of teaching behaviours that are more transmissive in nature. The data were extracted from the Classroom Observation Scale (COS) (Stanovich, 1994; Stanovich & Jordan, 1998) based on half-day observations of 63 teachers. Using a canonical discriminant functions analysis, a set of COS items distinguishing effective from less effective teachers was identified. The sequence of instructional practices appears to be cumulative rather than differentiated. Patterns of teaching behaviours were consistent across the range of students in the classrooms, with some evidence that academically "at risk" students received less teacher attention and differentiated instruction than students with and without disabilities. (Contains 3 tables.)