Research shows that TA’s are heavily relied on by teachers for supporting the needs of SEN students. The role of the TA has evolved from being seen as a “helper” in the classroom to being viewed more as a professional because there has been an increase in responsibility given to TA’s in many aspects but particularly in regards to supporting SEN students. (Woods, Hammersley-Fletcher, and Cole, 2009). In fact, the “Professional Standards for Teaching Assistants” (2016) states that teaching assistants are expected to utilise relevant intervention strategies to support teachers and to help ensure the academic progression of all students including those with SEN (NAHT et al. 2016). Moreover, studies show that teachers assign TA’s to work with SEN students to ensure the needs of the student are met and to alleviate themselves of the stress and workload of routine tasks (Webster et al., 2010). …show more content…
Regarding supporting SEN students, the Schlapp et al. (2003) study also shows that TA’s help SEN students by providing eclectic learning experiences and developing their self-esteem, motivation, and confidence. As a result, TA’s have a significant influence on the academic achievements of SEN students (Lee, 2002; Butt and Lance, 2005), with some stating that it is perhaps the most important component that enables SEN students to continue attending mainstream schools (Clarke, Dyson, Millward &
Removing Barriers to Achievement: the Governments Strategy for SEN (2004) – This provides framework for schools in order for them to remove barriers and raise achievement of children with SEN. This sets out the government’s vision for
The special educational needs (SEN) team are supported by a very active group who make sure that they provide a range of activities to meet the needs of our ever growing community of special schools, as well as colleagues in mainstream primary and secondary schools.
Q6: List 5 ways in which you can demonstrate your ability to prioritise competing demands to achieve your team’s organisational goals.
Schroff and Tresniowski (2011) focused on relationships and all the qualities of mentorship. Laura demonstrated the core values of Viterbo by taking care of Maurice throughout his childhood. Maurice’s teacher lets her know her stewardship made a difference in his life. Villa and Thousand (2005) share the commitment of a community to Bob, a non-verbal student who used a communication board. He was provided with a team of teachers, specialists, assistants and students to develop and deliver supports. The students extended their hospitality and took it upon themselves to help Bob met his Individualized Education Plan goals. After Bob unexpectedly passed away, staff and peers contemplated how Bob impacted their lives. Two of Bob’s friends demonstrated integrity and service when they flew to another country to advocate for a student with the same disability to have the opportunity to attend school. As recommended by Fischer and Frey (2014) by utilizing differentiation and contemplating student progress, teachers can adapt content, processes and products through purposeful planning. This teaching model connects the learning material to each student instead of teaching to the middle. This plays directly with the co-teaching model Villa and Thousand (2005) examined. By combining formative assessment,
The modern classroom has many challenges that face it. Shrinking budgets, less parental involvement, higher expectations, and growing class sizes, just to name a few. If this list was not daunting enough you also have the special needs students that have an array problems in your classroom that need specialized attention, lessons and seating. There are many forms of diverse learners from students who suffer from ADHD to physical disabilities to students with autism to ones that are bullied in school. There are so many things going on in our students lives we sometimes forget they have lives, pressures and disabilities that affect their performance and attitude in our class that have a profound impact on how they learn. For this paper I
As a Special Education teacher, my role in the general education classroom is to assist inclusive learners with the skills needed to successfully contend with the demands of coursework and master the objectives of the general education classroom. However, some of my colleagues perceive my role in the school as an administrative assistant, substitute teacher, and behavior stabilizer/analyst. Nevertheless, in the professional learning community, I execute the duties consistent with that of a secretary by observing, listening, and recording minutes with a smile. Notably, awakening in my spirit, I can sense a revolutionary uprising of change. According to Samaras (2011), “Self-study teacher research began when researchers began to ask questions
The reason I have chosen to do this research is as a teaching assistant I have a view and opinion of inclusion and whether inclusion is right for pupils with and without SEN. I am also a parent of a child with SEN who is facing the decision whether to send my child to a mainstream secondary school, or whether a special school would be better suited to his needs.
Teachers have larger class sizes and this means they have less time to work with students individually. Tutors can greatly improve a student's experience, by augmenting the instruction and attention given in the classroom. Studies consistently illustrate that a one-size-fits-all system of learning is not going to work for all students, because there is widespread variance in the way that students learn. Even the best teacher may not be able to support the specific needs of each child, another reason why tutors can play a critical role in enabling a child to fully learn and apply coursework in the way that works best for them. This is even more so in the case of a student who has difficulty learning and or who may have a learning disability, diagnosed or not.
If a teacher of a special education classroom is working with 15 different students who have different learning styles and needs, that makes the teacher’s position very difficult, especially if they did not receive the needed training in order to do so (Petersen, 2016). It is essential to serve every single one of our students (whether they have a disability or not), however if a educational system is not properly training their teachers, who are then not providing the needed adjustments for the lesson, then the entire school system is providing insufficient educational support for their disabled students, and for every student for that matter.
Research by Lobosco & Newman (1992) linked to working with SWD has shown that “lack of adequate professional preparation of teachers for dealing with the challenges provided by children with learning disabilities” (p. 28) was attributed to diminished job satisfaction as a teacher. Studies by Custer & Panangos (1996) and Harvey (2000) focused on the perceptions of CTE teachers with a specific lens towards confidence and effectiveness of teaching. Each study employed surveys in which CTE teachers and other school-based personnel were involved to include administrators and counselors. CTE teachers were asked to rate themselves in terms of confidence and effectiveness with working with various special populations, while administrators and counselors were asked to rate CTE teacher’s degree of confidence and effectiveness in working with diverse populations. Interestingly, outcomes from both studies were similar in that results from each indicated that CTE teachers felt more self-assurance and thus more effective in working with disadvantaged students then with working with SWD. Conversely,
Marin (2014) discusses the issue of inclusion and how important it has become in today’s education system. Her study focuses on whether teachers are generally prepared to deal with students with SEN in mainstream schools, the advantages and disadvantages of inclusion in schools, and whether teachers need any additional training in the field of special education to respond to the needs of SEN children. Her report found (using a quantitative approach for her investigation) that 66.2% of teacher’s from the research had encountered students with SEN. This is a significantly high number and suggests that teachers have to be prepared to deal with, and respond to those kid’s needs, and diversity in the classroom.
Rujis and Peetsma (2009) reported on four studies focused on the impact of including students with SEN on the academic
The key to any successful school district is the administration. Teachers essentially provide structure, organization, and the background of a child’s future. To educate students with learning disabilities, it is essential that the staff has the training and resources needed for the appropriate people, place, and time (Lazarus) (What is Inclusion, 2001, n.p). It is unrealistic to expect that regular education teachers will always be aware of the latest research or be able to readily adapt the school's
In schools all around the country, teachers are helping children with special needs overcome pivotal obstacles that they are faced with almost everyday. They are implementing new strategies to encourage students to explore learning opportunities, and they have established procedures and rules for behavior to maintain order among their students.
When students with SEN are taught the same knowledge at the same time with typical students, teachers without professional training might take longer time to overcome their questions when they have difficulties in learning. Ms Ng suggested teacher in mainstreaming school should have a 30mins meeting or training about Integration each week to have better preparation for SEN.