Educational Support Services Team : Problem Solving Meetings

By implementing this idea in Area Two schools to support special education students, we will create a more data driven approach to increasing student achievement. By following this idea the team will also do a better job of implementing professional development and mentorships that greatly increase teacher effectiveness. The idea will also increase understanding of the diversity of the schools and promote community involvement by establishing more open communication with the parents and the community to support their students’ needs. The leadership teams will work together to set goals and objectives to support achievement in all grade levels. They will develop a framework for good communication between teachers and leaders so there is

Intermediate stage: An evaluation will be conducted at the end of session two in the program to identify strengths and weaknesses and enhance quality and effectiveness (Bredehoft & Walcheski, 2009). Collecting information during a program helps determine adjustments that are needed (Bredehoft & Walcheski, 2009).

None of the schools were able to achieve full inclusion for students with EBD. Several schools attempted full inclusion but reported having to remove the students and place them into “remedial” classes due to their distributive behaviors. Every school that participated in the study reported the classes for inclusion were chosen based on the individual teacher personalities. All of the teachers reported some communication between the special and general education teachers, however they noted that the communication was not consistent and thinned out throughout the school year. Special education teachers and support personnel were available on an as needed basis or after the fact during a crisis situation. The participants of the study reported various roles of the special education teacher, from team teacher to inclusion consultant. Only two of the nine schools had general education teachers attend Individual Education Plan (IEP) meetings. Teachers responded with a willingness to provide inclusion services but express they were skeptical of the support they would receive. A number of general education teachers refused to use behavior charts in their classroom even as student behavior escalated

b. The other two Professional Development Workshops were Developing and Using a Grading Rubric and Pre-Assessment Strategies dt Workshop. The Developing and Using a Grading Rubric workshop reinforced my knowledge of rubrics and how they can be employed in the course. The training also provided me with a new outlook into how to create an effect rubric. The Pre-Assessment Strategies dL Workshop reinforced my belief that we should still employ pre-assessment in this course. That being said, I can still incorporate informal pre-assessments in the course. With these pre-assessments I can improve my training and better identify my student's

A Student Study Team (SST) can be the first step a teacher or parent can take if they have a concern about the child’s educational progress in school. Different names are also common for SST’s such as Student Success Teams, Student Intervention teams, School Assistance Team, Student/Staff Support Team, etc. The school-level intervention team first emerged in the late 1970’s (Chalfant, Pysh & Moultrie, 1979) and has steadily grown as an effective tool. An SST can occur based on parent concern or teacher concern. The purpose of an SST meeting is to create a support system for the student having difficulty in the general education classroom. The SST team is formed by the school psychologist, school principal, general education teacher, resource specialist, speech and language pathologist, school counselor, and the parent and student. Either the teacher or parent can make a referral for the SST process. They can be for academic or behavioral concerns. The SST process highlights that early intervention in students that are struggling is a role of the general education program and not the special education program. The SST is a school-based problem solving technique to help struggling students. “The SST should not be viewed as a gatekeeper to the special education process” (DoDEA).

In this case, to ensure diffusion of responsibility is not present, school administrators must be held accountable for the training and conduct of their teachers. Training and accountability without prejudice, preconceived ideas and stigmatization will ensure no child is left behind, socially isolated and guaranteed a proper education. As predicted, the increase of knowledge received by general education teachers in managing special needs students will dramatically reduce the risk of stress, undesirable behavior, suspension, and seclusion from the classroom and obtaining formal education. In return, the risk of a special needs student being verbally or physically abused, suspended and withdrawn from public school will be reduced if not

When I entered into the education field 18 years ago, I started off as an Early Child Special Education Assistant in a segregated special education classroom. This article was quite described all too well what we experienced in our environment. We encounter many parents requesting full-time one on one para support and also, general education teachers requesting students remain in the special education classroom and or provided with a one to one para with the student in their classrooms. Often times, teachers had very little to no information and or input on the students due to the limited/lack of time they spend with the student.

Education is challenging profession, which requires continual professional learning and development focused on effective instruction practices to increase student achievement. New special education teachers are faced with managing continually evolving models of delivering instruction and support, diverse student needs, paperwork, and high expectations of collaborating with multiple stakeholders such as parents, administrators, paraprofessionals, general education teachers, and/or community agencies. Researchers continue to identify

Butterflies fluttered around in my stomach as I took the final steps to enter into our high school's special education room. The sharp smells of cleanser met my nose as I put my backpack down in Ms. Arsenault's office. As I walked in, I noticed that the room was positioned differently. There were desks in neat rows, computers pushed to the far back, a half circle desk in the middle, and all of the helpers clustered around a desk at the back left side. Being a teacher's assistant taught me how passionate I am about those students, what it really means to be a special education teacher, and how much those kids can change my life.

Action: If they cannot write down 3 steps, I will review that again. Then, I will walk around to listen to pair works. I will give feedback if needs, and if I think I need to go over that again as a class, I will take times.

As a Special Education Inclusion teacher, I serve my students in the role of a mentor. Special needs children struggle with additional social and emotional challenges when compared to students in the general education classroom because of different defining disabilities. With honesty, sincerity, and compassion, I guide students and encourage them to look deeper than the surface when making decisions. My primary goal is to equip students with academic and social support by teaching skills and strategies to succeed in life by developing dispositions such as resilience, perseverance, and determination. As an educator, I believe it is essential to be able to problem solve, work through problems, and take ownership of decisions and accept the

Effective instructional approaches are designed to look at how a student learns and how a teacher delivers the information to the student. When a teacher identifies the learning style of their students, they can effectively plan the instruction. The learning style approach to teaching requires the teacher to build lessons to include students different learning styles. A student with special needs will thrive in this teaching environment; they will be taught at their level of strength. Also, the special needs student will need additional accommodations and modifications in order for them to access the curriculum. Anderson (2007) states that “differentiated thinking empowers teachers to be responsive rather than reactive to the unique individual personalities, backgrounds, and abilities found within the students” (para. 3). In other words, an effective teacher is one who thinks about the student as an individual, with unique strengths and weakness, and uses this information in the design and plan of their instruction. They are effective because the build their lesson on the specifics of their students and not a one size fits all lesson plan.

The Special education process is an intensive and carefully planned process that requires collaborative leadership, critical thinking, and extensive professional and ethical practices amongst other core values to execute. These qualities are inculcated in student teachers and teachers during pre and in service trainings respectively, so as to produce professionals who understand what special education is and the implications of having or not having the aforementioned qualities. Special education teacher training programs have trainees undergo intense field experiences that enable them to acquire knowledge and apply skills learnt in order to be effective teachers. A lot is at stake in special education should a teacher be lacking any of the qualities or dispositions. The implications range from legal matters, better school and family relations, and the overall wellbeing of the student. Documents such as the Individualized Education Plans, and the Functional Behavior Analysis etc., require utmost confidentiality for the sake of the student and their families. Relationships with colleagues, the administration and the parents require a high level of collaboration and leadership so as to come to leveled, and well-thought conclusions and decisions regarding the student’s well being in school, be it socio emotional, intellectual, or physical aspects. The

Teachers have the challenge of providing the best education for all of the students in their classrooms. Students in the classroom are increasingly diverse and differ in language, culture, social backgrounds, talents and cognitive skills. As the movement grows to include special educational needs students in the general education classroom; teachers need to carefully structure the classroom and curriculum to meet the needs of these students.

The purpose of this workshop is to explore the vision of and values placed on inclusion of special needs students in a general education classroom by special education teachers as well as general education teachers and how they both can work together to create a shared sense of purpose. “Although scholars have long considered how leaders communicate visions and values to establish a sense of purpose, they have overlooked how these messages can be used to establish a shared sense of purpose, which is achieved when multiple employees possess the same understanding of the purpose of work” (Carton, Murphy, & Clark, 2014). Thus the workshop is recommended for special education teachers and general education teachers, however, special education supervisors and administrators are also invited to participate. “These workshops or clinics are most effective when they are in the teacher's subject area” (Professional Development for Teachers,” n.d.).