Post some of your questions about working with special education children in your classroom. You might include concerns about collaborating with educational specialists in your room.
In my classroom, there are three children who see specialists. Depending upon the day or the agenda, these specialists either work with the children in the classroom (assisting them during a lesson or activity) or pull them out for one-on-one instruction.
However, this question is making me realize that I really don’t know much about the specifics of what they do with these kids and I certainly don’t collaborate with them in any way. I assume they collaborate with the head teachers and that the head teachers know the specific methods or tactics the specialists employ. Perhaps as intern I am being overlooked? Surely, I should be brought into the fold? Especially since I am there for the entire school year. Early on I was planning to ask if I could meet with each specialist to learn about their roles but as each day is fast and fleeting with basically no down time, it just has never come to pass.
Ultimately, this question is reminding me that this would be a useful endeavor – not just to learn about what the educational specialists do but to see if there is a way that I can collaborate with them to enhance the children’s learning.
Your instincts are very good. It would be useful for both job interviews and when you have your own class to understand as much about supporting all your students as you are able. Nancy
I currently work in a room with 2 children on IEPs. They stay in the room and get support from specialists on occasion, and other times leave the room for 1-on-1 instruction. I see both experiences as being valuable for the students. It is important to spend time in the classroom with classmates. It is just as important to leave the classroom to hone the skills needed to participate and engage in the general ed. classroom.
I suppose my question(s) would be: When is it important to stay in the classroom? Should the curriculum change for the student in need, or should any outcomes or assessments be changed as a result of the student staying in the class.
I work with special education children often throughout the day. I often teach what I am advised to teach based on what the lead teacher or special education teachers suggest. I am learning more about this, but I'd like to know more about what types of testing is done to determine specific curriculum for students.
We have two students on IEP plans in the classroom I am in this year. One of the students has cerebral palsy; he is pulled out of the room multiple times a day to see the occupational therapist, physical therapist, speech therapist and special ed. teacher. Needless to say, he misses a lot of content being taught; he often has a pile of work to catch up on that grows until the unit is over and the lead teacher has to make a decision about what he really needs to make up and what he can skip learning. There doesn’t seem to be a perfect system for supporting students who are pulled out of the classroom to receive special education support. We do a lot to make sure he feels like he is a part of the class, and the specialists are very accommodating as they juggle their packed schedules and try to see all the students they need to without interrupting their classroom learning. A big question I have is about how to help special education students re-integrate into the classroom after they have been with a specialist. I usually meet with the students one-on-one to fill them in on what is going on in the classroom and bring them to join the group. We have the luxury of being able to do this because there are two teachers in the room, but I worry about how it would be if there was only one teacher. I found the readings about autism particularly interesting. We have a student in the class who, although has not been diagnosed with Asperger’s (and doesn't need to be labeled), seems to display many of the characteristic behaviors. He is extremely bright and fascinated by the New York City subway system and outer space. He is reading at a 4th grade level (he is in 2nd grade), is a prolific and detailed writer and also excels in math class. However, he has a lot of trouble participating during group discussions, often talking over peers and not following along. The volume of his voice is almost always very loud, and he struggles to lower it even after being asked repeatedly. I tend to ask him to, "match my voice" with his tone and praise him when he is able to do so, but more often than not, he is speaking at his normal, very loud tone soon after. He forms very strong beliefs about facts and has trouble shifting his perspective to understand that of others. He also has a tendency to become angry if he does something wrong or someone disagrees with him, demonstrating the rigid thinking often associated with spectrum disorders. I found it fascinating that there is evidence of neurological differences in people with autism spectrum disorders. While I believe that a holistic view is crucial to understand and support every student, getting a glimpse of the biology behind behavior can be helpful in understanding these students and not blaming them for their behavior. We often cue this student to, “Pay attention to your body in space,” when he seems to be confused, wandering around the classroom aimlessly during transition times. I wonder, though, what is really going on in his head during these times? Does tell him to pay attention to his body in space mean anything to him? It doesn’t seem to change his behavior or keep him on track. I guess my main question is how do you support students who are academically very strong but struggle with social interactions?
Between my two classrooms, I interact with 9 students on IEPs and 3 students on a 504. The students stay in the classroom for the most part, but they have an aid that comes in during certain subjects, such as writing and math. Like Judy has already stated, I do not feel like as an intern I play a big role with helping the students or collaborating with the aids. Thinking about this question makes me a little nervous about how much I actually do know for when I am in a classroom.
My biggest concern when I have my own classroom is whether or not the school I work for will have the same amount of special education support. If they do not have the same support: How much individual attention is appropriate for the students with IEPs? Is there a secret to balancing and pushing those higher students while keeping your lower students on track?
Because I do not have much experience with special education, I do feel like collaborating with special educators is going to be essential to my success. Do you have any tips on working with the special department and making them feel like they are comfortable in your classroom? What do you do if you feel like you are not given an appropriate amount of support in your classroom?
In our class, we have about 5 students with special needs who get pulled out during word study and receive individualized help throughout the day for writing and math (we have a math specialist come to our class to co-teach math Mon-Wed). Over the past week or so, I've realized I ought to ask my cooperating teacher if I can read their plans, as I certainly haven't gotten enough one-on-one interaction with them myself over the past month to determine anything besides what I personally think. And, just as Judy mentioned in her post above, I do think this is incredibly important, especially for future job interviews (I thought to myself, if someone asked me, "how did you individualize instruction for so and so," I would have no idea what to say--at least at this point).
Anyway, given all of that, what I personally think is that it is the general ed teacher's job to figure out a way to make all 5 of those children feel successful IN the general ed class. I keep looking for the stigma or shame of special ed to surface in the classroom, and it doesn't, which is awesome. No one makes fun of anyone for being pulled out. In fact, some of the special needs students ask me at various parts in the day, very excitedly, "is it time to go to Mrs. (specialist)' now?!?!" I love this, because maybe I think this is the one time in the day they get the individual help they need and thus feel successful.
My question, then, is how does a teacher make sure this happens, realistically? Today I was thinking about how often children who seem to have attention problems get called upon in class for an answer simply because they weren't paying attention (these usually are the kids who get pulled out). I hate it, because in my (perhaps way too idealistic/naive mind), I think, 'all that kid has learned is that the teacher (someone he's supposed to feel safe with) will throw me under the bus in front of everyone for doing something I have little (or no) control over." Are there better methods of tackling this? I know we're human and it may feel validating to do this, as a teacher, but I think it has little value long-term.
Today I thought maybe the best idea would be to talk to a student who doesn't pay attn (routinely) after school or something and simply say, "how can we get you to pay better attention?" But maybe that's too simple. One time, when I was subbing and decided to take on everything by myself for better or worse, I got so annoyed w this one student who kept coming up to me to ask a question (in person, while I was teaching math in front of the class!), that I said, "E, you can't keep doing this. It is so much easier for me if you just sit at your desk and raise your hand. I WILL come to you." His response was amazing! He said, "Well I've tried that but you take like 15 minutes to get here." I thought it was great--so I said, "ok, I will work on speeding up my services if you work on that." Anyway, I just think it's good to talk to the kid, not constantly berate him.
Also, how often do you get to talk to the parent of a special needs student? There is one girl on an IEP who is obsessed w celebrities. Every project or assignment features Justin Bieber or one of his girlfriends. It annoys me because this girl has so much attitude and I feel like it interferes w her ability to say yes to anything positive/challenging in the classroom. Like she's getting the message that attitude is the means to success from Hollywood. Just curious whether the general ed teacher gets to talk about this w the parents, because maybe the special ed teacher isn't getting the whole picture.
Over the past several years I have worked with many students on IEP’s. However, I still have many questions and concerns about how the students’ IEP services and objectives are being implemented and met in the general education classroom. What legal rules and guidelines do regular classroom teachers have to follow regarding the stipulations of the IEP? Sadly, I have seen many general education teachers push the special ed students off to aides or specialists. I believe in order for special education students to get the support and instruction the deserve, more general ed teachers need to be trained in supporting and providing students with strategies, support and proper materials to succeed. General ed teachers need to work seamless with the school staff to provide seamless integrated services and implement beneficial support.
Your legal questions are excellent. We use to give a couple of sessions on that for all el ed students. We probably should do it again. If you have a second SPED masters, you will be very employable Nancy
In my first grade class, there are two students with I.E.P.s, one student who will be having a meeting to establish whether she needs services on Monday, and a fourth student who is currently starting the process of getting tested. The first student with an I.E.P. simply needs hearing support, which is done by having microphone and speakers in the room. The other one was only recently put on a plan. He has Asperger's (school diagnosis, which many on staff find interesting, as most would expect the parents to want to get a formal diagnosis from Children's Hospital). Academically, he is suffering, as well as socially. The plan was offered to his parents in the middle of January, but one parent refused to sign it for two weeks, and only signed it after the child was suspended twice in one week for his unsafe behavior. He is being pulled out not as often as the IEP calls for, but that may be because we are all trying to figure out when it should occur. Currently, he misses two days of math, which is not ideal, but at the same time, alleviates the need to constantly supervise him during partner/group work. I do not know the specialists, and I only vaguely know what they work with him on (social/emotional behaviors). The first grade team does the academic RTI work. My lead teacher has him sitting at her table every day for writing and reading to ensure that he is able to focus, and the rest of us often send him to sit in his chair while all other students are at the rug so that he and the other students are able to concentrate on their learning, instead of on his distracting behaviors. Occasionally he is able to stand in line with the students when we are in the hallways; often he stands to the side nearer the teacher.
While we do not have many students on IEPs, we do have a lot of students who are ELL, or are lower level readers. They get pulled out during the morning meeting and the beginning of writer's workshop. Many of these students are supposed to get even more support during the week, but we have been unable to get the ball rolling on that. I am supposed to pull out two ELLs in the afternoons to look at a picture and simply talk with them about what they see, wonder, know, etc, but so far, our afternoons are so full that I'm never able to pull them aside to do this work. Additionally, some students are supposed to receive extra math support during two other afternoons, but again, we haven't consistently been able to get that going. I also feel that the students who get pulled in the afternoon are missing valuable lessons--we read books and explore making meaning, and it's the time when we talk about the monthly themes of Black History month, and Women's History month, etc. I definitely find difficulty in finding the right balance!
One aspect to my current placement that I haven't mentioned yet, is that the first grade team works really hard to be as collaborative as possible. There are 3 classes of about 20 students, and 7 teachers (myself included) working with these students. I feel that the students who are brought out of the class are still very well integrated with the rest of the grade. I do recognize that this situation is unique, and I do wonder how it works out in other schools.
In my classroom, we have one student on an IEP for developmental delay. This student struggles with focus and attention during whole class lessons, understanding social cues, and fine motor skills. He does well with one-on-one instruction and needs it in order to accomplish tasks.
Some of my questions center around what exactly is his diagnosis since the specialists have concluded that it is too early to determine if he is on the Autism spectrum so they have labeled him as developmental delay. Once it is determined if he falls on the spectrum, it would be much easier to approach his instruction for we would know what to expect as part of Autism. Of course I always strive to make sure this student understands a lesson and push him to work hard. Sometimes when my teacher is instructing the class, I sit next to this student on the rug and do as much as I can to help him pay attention. My question is there more that I can do during these whole group lessons where I can help him stay focused? I have tried asking him questions related to what my teacher is teaching during this time, but I’m worried that it is distracting to other students. Is this something that is an overall beneficial tactic or is there something else that would work better?
In terms of working with specialists, communication between individuals is strong. His main special education teacher speaks with us quite frequently with updates, questions, and concerns.
In my classroom, we have three students on IEPs. One of the biggest questions I have about working with these students is how to manage their pull-outs with the special educator, occupational therapist, speech therapist, etc. These pull-outs are crucial and necessary, and the students benefit greatly from such interventions. However, during these pull-outs, they often miss whole group instruction. Sometimes, if they enter the room after a whole group lesson, they understandably have difficulty getting focused on the work. They always get an explanation of what the activity is, but it's sometimes brief and doesn't provide the same experience that the other students received. In addition to missing out on the academic aspect of the lesson, they miss out on the social interactions that occur within it, which can also be a detriment. I wonder how to best serve these students, and make sure that they get the services they need but that I, as their classroom teacher, provide the most complete classroom experience.
I believe a large part of trying to meet this goal is consistent communication between the classroom teacher and specialists. The special educators and therapists at our school are extremely thorough and make every effort at communication between classroom teachers as well as families. Still, despite the best efforts and talented, committed teachers, these students sometimes miss out on instruction. Perhaps the answer is as simple as the services are more important, but I wonder if there's anything more that can be done to make the balance between pull-outs and in class instruction more balanced.
In my class there are two students on IEPs. Both students are with full time aides. They are part of a special program in which they earn time into the regular ed classroom through good behavior as part of their strict behavior plans. I have had the opportunity to see one student go from coming into the room for a few hours a day to now being in the regular ed classroom all day with his aide. I enjoy working with the aides to learn about the students behavior plans and what exactly is expected out of the students to earn more time in the classroom. My questions are really about the roles of the classroom teacher. What is the role of the classroom teacher with the student when the aide is present? In a classroom where there are students on IEPs but no aides how does the teacher ensure that the students needs are being met? If the needs of the student are not being met (on and IEP or not), what steps does the teacher take to help the student and get services they may really need? I would really like to see a classroom in which there are several students on IEPs with no aides present and how the classroom teacher must account for that.
In my classroom, there are three kids on IEPs. Most of the time, they're in the classroom, but sometimes they are pulled out for one-on-one instruction with specialists. During math, those teachers come in at least a few times a week to work with them in the classroom. Similar to what Melissa wrote, my biggest question is whether pulling them out may do more harm than good. I've never gone with them, so I don't know what they're learning during those times, but what I do know is that at least two of the kids regularly miss writing workshop and other valuable blocks, including science. When they come back, they're at a disadvantage because there usually isn't enough time for them to catch up, and the miss out on a lot of fun science projects. Their writing isn't improving because they don't have enough writing time; some days, they miss writing workshop entirely. I wonder if they would be making more progress if they remained in the classroom and the special-ed teachers worked with them in that setting.
I've read their IEPs but I don't feel I have a thorough understanding of how best to tackle their individual difficulties. I think it would be valuable to observe them with specialists who tailor their instruction to the students' needs to see how I can apply their strategies in the classroom. I also am curious about what goes on in IEP meetings and how these decisions get made. I definitely would like to sit in on at least one during the course of my practicum, to feel at least a little prepared for my own future IEP meetings. I am especially interested in seeing how much input parents have, and what their reactions are to these talks about their children.
Having worked with very limited numbers of special education students over the past three years, my questions are more basic. I am concerned that, when it becomes necessary, that the IEP program I develop will not be comprehensive enough due to both my lack of experience with special education students and the lack of resources at my disposal. I feel like staying on top of my regular classroom activities takes all of my concentration and energy as it is, and I have no idea how I would be able to help students with IEPs or 504s.
Furthermore, I am concerned with the safety of the students in the classroom. Not in the sense that one student would hurt the other, but instead that they would feel like the classroom created a comfortable and encouraging learning environment. In the one experience I have had with special needs students in my classroom, my school's inexperience with students of his caliber made us ill prepared to handle both mainstream students and students who required special needs. Should I be put into this situation again, and hopefully I will, I want to make sure that I am equipped not only with the right curriculum, but also the necessary support systems that benefit the child and his class as a whole.
In my classroom, there are three children who see specialists. Depending upon the day or the agenda, these specialists either work with the children in the classroom (assisting them during a lesson or activity) or pull them out for one-on-one instruction.
ReplyDeleteHowever, this question is making me realize that I really don’t know much about the specifics of what they do with these kids and I certainly don’t collaborate with them in any way. I assume they collaborate with the head teachers and that the head teachers know the specific methods or tactics the specialists employ. Perhaps as intern I am being overlooked? Surely, I should be brought into the fold? Especially since I am there for the entire school year. Early on I was planning to ask if I could meet with each specialist to learn about their roles but as each day is fast and fleeting with basically no down time, it just has never come to pass.
Ultimately, this question is reminding me that this would be a useful endeavor – not just to learn about what the educational specialists do but to see if there is a way that I can collaborate with them to enhance the children’s learning.
Stay tuned….
Your instincts are very good. It would be useful for both job interviews and when you have your own class to understand as much about supporting all your students as you are able.
DeleteNancy
I currently work in a room with 2 children on IEPs. They stay in the room and get support from specialists on occasion, and other times leave the room for 1-on-1 instruction. I see both experiences as being valuable for the students. It is important to spend time in the classroom with classmates. It is just as important to leave the classroom to hone the skills needed to participate and engage in the general ed. classroom.
ReplyDeleteI suppose my question(s) would be: When is it important to stay in the classroom? Should the curriculum change for the student in need, or should any outcomes or assessments be changed as a result of the student staying in the class.
I work with special education children often throughout the day. I often teach what I am advised to teach based on what the lead teacher or special education teachers suggest. I am learning more about this, but I'd like to know more about what types of testing is done to determine specific curriculum for students.
We have two students on IEP plans in the classroom I am in this year. One of the students has cerebral palsy; he is pulled out of the room multiple times a day to see the occupational therapist, physical therapist, speech therapist and special ed. teacher. Needless to say, he misses a lot of content being taught; he often has a pile of work to catch up on that grows until the unit is over and the lead teacher has to make a decision about what he really needs to make up and what he can skip learning. There doesn’t seem to be a perfect system for supporting students who are pulled out of the classroom to receive special education support. We do a lot to make sure he feels like he is a part of the class, and the specialists are very accommodating as they juggle their packed schedules and try to see all the students they need to without interrupting their classroom learning. A big question I have is about how to help special education students re-integrate into the classroom after they have been with a specialist. I usually meet with the students one-on-one to fill them in on what is going on in the classroom and bring them to join the group. We have the luxury of being able to do this because there are two teachers in the room, but I worry about how it would be if there was only one teacher.
ReplyDeleteI found the readings about autism particularly interesting. We have a student in the class who, although has not been diagnosed with Asperger’s (and doesn't need to be labeled), seems to display many of the characteristic behaviors. He is extremely bright and fascinated by the New York City subway system and outer space. He is reading at a 4th grade level (he is in 2nd grade), is a prolific and detailed writer and also excels in math class. However, he has a lot of trouble participating during group discussions, often talking over peers and not following along. The volume of his voice is almost always very loud, and he struggles to lower it even after being asked repeatedly. I tend to ask him to, "match my voice" with his tone and praise him when he is able to do so, but more often than not, he is speaking at his normal, very loud tone soon after. He forms very strong beliefs about facts and has trouble shifting his perspective to understand that of others. He also has a tendency to become angry if he does something wrong or someone disagrees with him, demonstrating the rigid thinking often associated with spectrum disorders. I found it fascinating that there is evidence of neurological differences in people with autism spectrum disorders. While I believe that a holistic view is crucial to understand and support every student, getting a glimpse of the biology behind behavior can be helpful in understanding these students and not blaming them for their behavior. We often cue this student to, “Pay attention to your body in space,” when he seems to be confused, wandering around the classroom aimlessly during transition times. I wonder, though, what is really going on in his head during these times? Does tell him to pay attention to his body in space mean anything to him? It doesn’t seem to change his behavior or keep him on track. I guess my main question is how do you support students who are academically very strong but struggle with social interactions?
Between my two classrooms, I interact with 9 students on IEPs and 3 students on a 504. The students stay in the classroom for the most part, but they have an aid that comes in during certain subjects, such as writing and math. Like Judy has already stated, I do not feel like as an intern I play a big role with helping the students or collaborating with the aids. Thinking about this question makes me a little nervous about how much I actually do know for when I am in a classroom.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest concern when I have my own classroom is whether or not the school I work for will have the same amount of special education support. If they do not have the same support: How much individual attention is appropriate for the students with IEPs? Is there a secret to balancing and pushing those higher students while keeping your lower students on track?
Because I do not have much experience with special education, I do feel like collaborating with special educators is going to be essential to my success. Do you have any tips on working with the special department and making them feel like they are comfortable in your classroom? What do you do if you feel like you are not given an appropriate amount of support in your classroom?
In our class, we have about 5 students with special needs who get pulled out during word study and receive individualized help throughout the day for writing and math (we have a math specialist come to our class to co-teach math Mon-Wed). Over the past week or so, I've realized I ought to ask my cooperating teacher if I can read their plans, as I certainly haven't gotten enough one-on-one interaction with them myself over the past month to determine anything besides what I personally think. And, just as Judy mentioned in her post above, I do think this is incredibly important, especially for future job interviews (I thought to myself, if someone asked me, "how did you individualize instruction for so and so," I would have no idea what to say--at least at this point).
ReplyDeleteAnyway, given all of that, what I personally think is that it is the general ed teacher's job to figure out a way to make all 5 of those children feel successful IN the general ed class. I keep looking for the stigma or shame of special ed to surface in the classroom, and it doesn't, which is awesome. No one makes fun of anyone for being pulled out. In fact, some of the special needs students ask me at various parts in the day, very excitedly, "is it time to go to Mrs. (specialist)' now?!?!" I love this, because maybe I think this is the one time in the day they get the individual help they need and thus feel successful.
My question, then, is how does a teacher make sure this happens, realistically? Today I was thinking about how often children who seem to have attention problems get called upon in class for an answer simply because they weren't paying attention (these usually are the kids who get pulled out). I hate it, because in my (perhaps way too idealistic/naive mind), I think, 'all that kid has learned is that the teacher (someone he's supposed to feel safe with) will throw me under the bus in front of everyone for doing something I have little (or no) control over." Are there better methods of tackling this? I know we're human and it may feel validating to do this, as a teacher, but I think it has little value long-term.
Today I thought maybe the best idea would be to talk to a student who doesn't pay attn (routinely) after school or something and simply say, "how can we get you to pay better attention?" But maybe that's too simple. One time, when I was subbing and decided to take on everything by myself for better or worse, I got so annoyed w this one student who kept coming up to me to ask a question (in person, while I was teaching math in front of the class!), that I said, "E, you can't keep doing this. It is so much easier for me if you just sit at your desk and raise your hand. I WILL come to you." His response was amazing! He said, "Well I've tried that but you take like 15 minutes to get here." I thought it was great--so I said, "ok, I will work on speeding up my services if you work on that." Anyway, I just think it's good to talk to the kid, not constantly berate him.
Also, how often do you get to talk to the parent of a special needs student? There is one girl on an IEP who is obsessed w celebrities. Every project or assignment features Justin Bieber or one of his girlfriends. It annoys me because this girl has so much attitude and I feel like it interferes w her ability to say yes to anything positive/challenging in the classroom. Like she's getting the message that attitude is the means to success from Hollywood. Just curious whether the general ed teacher gets to talk about this w the parents, because maybe the special ed teacher isn't getting the whole picture.
-Lauren
Over the past several years I have worked with many students on IEP’s. However, I still have many questions and concerns about how the students’ IEP services and objectives are being implemented and met in the general education classroom. What legal rules and guidelines do regular classroom teachers have to follow regarding the stipulations of the IEP? Sadly, I have seen many general education teachers push the special ed students off to aides or specialists. I believe in order for special education students to get the support and instruction the deserve, more general ed teachers need to be trained in supporting and providing students with strategies, support and proper materials to succeed. General ed teachers need to work seamless with the school staff to provide seamless integrated services and implement beneficial support.
ReplyDeleteYour legal questions are excellent. We use to give a couple of sessions on that for all el ed students. We probably should do it again. If you have a second SPED masters, you will be very employable
DeleteNancy
In my first grade class, there are two students with I.E.P.s, one student who will be having a meeting to establish whether she needs services on Monday, and a fourth student who is currently starting the process of getting tested. The first student with an I.E.P. simply needs hearing support, which is done by having microphone and speakers in the room. The other one was only recently put on a plan. He has Asperger's (school diagnosis, which many on staff find interesting, as most would expect the parents to want to get a formal diagnosis from Children's Hospital). Academically, he is suffering, as well as socially. The plan was offered to his parents in the middle of January, but one parent refused to sign it for two weeks, and only signed it after the child was suspended twice in one week for his unsafe behavior. He is being pulled out not as often as the IEP calls for, but that may be because we are all trying to figure out when it should occur. Currently, he misses two days of math, which is not ideal, but at the same time, alleviates the need to constantly supervise him during partner/group work. I do not know the specialists, and I only vaguely know what they work with him on (social/emotional behaviors). The first grade team does the academic RTI work. My lead teacher has him sitting at her table every day for writing and reading to ensure that he is able to focus, and the rest of us often send him to sit in his chair while all other students are at the rug so that he and the other students are able to concentrate on their learning, instead of on his distracting behaviors. Occasionally he is able to stand in line with the students when we are in the hallways; often he stands to the side nearer the teacher.
ReplyDeleteWhile we do not have many students on IEPs, we do have a lot of students who are ELL, or are lower level readers. They get pulled out during the morning meeting and the beginning of writer's workshop. Many of these students are supposed to get even more support during the week, but we have been unable to get the ball rolling on that. I am supposed to pull out two ELLs in the afternoons to look at a picture and simply talk with them about what they see, wonder, know, etc, but so far, our afternoons are so full that I'm never able to pull them aside to do this work. Additionally, some students are supposed to receive extra math support during two other afternoons, but again, we haven't consistently been able to get that going. I also feel that the students who get pulled in the afternoon are missing valuable lessons--we read books and explore making meaning, and it's the time when we talk about the monthly themes of Black History month, and Women's History month, etc. I definitely find difficulty in finding the right balance!
One aspect to my current placement that I haven't mentioned yet, is that the first grade team works really hard to be as collaborative as possible. There are 3 classes of about 20 students, and 7 teachers (myself included) working with these students. I feel that the students who are brought out of the class are still very well integrated with the rest of the grade. I do recognize that this situation is unique, and I do wonder how it works out in other schools.
In my classroom, we have one student on an IEP for developmental delay. This student struggles with focus and attention during whole class lessons, understanding social cues, and fine motor skills. He does well with one-on-one instruction and needs it in order to accomplish tasks.
ReplyDeleteSome of my questions center around what exactly is his diagnosis since the specialists have concluded that it is too early to determine if he is on the Autism spectrum so they have labeled him as developmental delay. Once it is determined if he falls on the spectrum, it would be much easier to approach his instruction for we would know what to expect as part of Autism. Of course I always strive to make sure this student understands a lesson and push him to work hard. Sometimes when my teacher is instructing the class, I sit next to this student on the rug and do as much as I can to help him pay attention. My question is there more that I can do during these whole group lessons where I can help him stay focused? I have tried asking him questions related to what my teacher is teaching during this time, but I’m worried that it is distracting to other students. Is this something that is an overall beneficial tactic or is there something else that would work better?
In terms of working with specialists, communication between individuals is strong. His main special education teacher speaks with us quite frequently with updates, questions, and concerns.
In my classroom, we have three students on IEPs. One of the biggest questions I have about working with these students is how to manage their pull-outs with the special educator, occupational therapist, speech therapist, etc. These pull-outs are crucial and necessary, and the students benefit greatly from such interventions. However, during these pull-outs, they often miss whole group instruction. Sometimes, if they enter the room after a whole group lesson, they understandably have difficulty getting focused on the work. They always get an explanation of what the activity is, but it's sometimes brief and doesn't provide the same experience that the other students received. In addition to missing out on the academic aspect of the lesson, they miss out on the social interactions that occur within it, which can also be a detriment. I wonder how to best serve these students, and make sure that they get the services they need but that I, as their classroom teacher, provide the most complete classroom experience.
ReplyDeleteI believe a large part of trying to meet this goal is consistent communication between the classroom teacher and specialists. The special educators and therapists at our school are extremely thorough and make every effort at communication between classroom teachers as well as families. Still, despite the best efforts and talented, committed teachers, these students sometimes miss out on instruction. Perhaps the answer is as simple as the services are more important, but I wonder if there's anything more that can be done to make the balance between pull-outs and in class instruction more balanced.
In my class there are two students on IEPs. Both students are with full time aides. They are part of a special program in which they earn time into the regular ed classroom through good behavior as part of their strict behavior plans. I have had the opportunity to see one student go from coming into the room for a few hours a day to now being in the regular ed classroom all day with his aide. I enjoy working with the aides to learn about the students behavior plans and what exactly is expected out of the students to earn more time in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteMy questions are really about the roles of the classroom teacher. What is the role of the classroom teacher with the student when the aide is present? In a classroom where there are students on IEPs but no aides how does the teacher ensure that the students needs are being met? If the needs of the student are not being met (on and IEP or not), what steps does the teacher take to help the student and get services they may really need?
I would really like to see a classroom in which there are several students on IEPs with no aides present and how the classroom teacher must account for that.
In my classroom, there are three kids on IEPs. Most of the time, they're in the classroom, but sometimes they are pulled out for one-on-one instruction with specialists. During math, those teachers come in at least a few times a week to work with them in the classroom. Similar to what Melissa wrote, my biggest question is whether pulling them out may do more harm than good. I've never gone with them, so I don't know what they're learning during those times, but what I do know is that at least two of the kids regularly miss writing workshop and other valuable blocks, including science. When they come back, they're at a disadvantage because there usually isn't enough time for them to catch up, and the miss out on a lot of fun science projects. Their writing isn't improving because they don't have enough writing time; some days, they miss writing workshop entirely. I wonder if they would be making more progress if they remained in the classroom and the special-ed teachers worked with them in that setting.
ReplyDeleteI've read their IEPs but I don't feel I have a thorough understanding of how best to tackle their individual difficulties. I think it would be valuable to observe them with specialists who tailor their instruction to the students' needs to see how I can apply their strategies in the classroom. I also am curious about what goes on in IEP meetings and how these decisions get made. I definitely would like to sit in on at least one during the course of my practicum, to feel at least a little prepared for my own future IEP meetings. I am especially interested in seeing how much input parents have, and what their reactions are to these talks about their children.
Having worked with very limited numbers of special education students over the past three years, my questions are more basic. I am concerned that, when it becomes necessary, that the IEP program I develop will not be comprehensive enough due to both my lack of experience with special education students and the lack of resources at my disposal. I feel like staying on top of my regular classroom activities takes all of my concentration and energy as it is, and I have no idea how I would be able to help students with IEPs or 504s.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, I am concerned with the safety of the students in the classroom. Not in the sense that one student would hurt the other, but instead that they would feel like the classroom created a comfortable and encouraging learning environment. In the one experience I have had with special needs students in my classroom, my school's inexperience with students of his caliber made us ill prepared to handle both mainstream students and students who required special needs. Should I be put into this situation again, and hopefully I will, I want to make sure that I am equipped not only with the right curriculum, but also the necessary support systems that benefit the child and his class as a whole.