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Special Education Teacher (in the classroom)

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Special Education Teacher (in the classroom)

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The special education teacher I observed works with special need, elementary school aged children. She has students from 4th-6th grade. She works with another special education teacher. The students come to her classroom for support in their academics, test taking, and assignments. She commonly communicates with administration, teachers, and students. She participates in IEP and 504 meetings.

From observation this teacher leads the class with instruction than makes sure everyone follows the task. She is there to support the student in any way and helps them if they have any questions or needs clarification on an assignment. She mainly likes to walk around the room to check on the student's work. She sometimes has to tap on someone’s shoulder to make sure they get back on task. She also sometimes has to restate the instruction. She likes to do mindful activities in the beginning of her class so the students are able to refocus while they are with her. Her class is set up with her desk on one side and the other teacher’s desk on the other side. The students desk are grouped in twos with one medium sized oval table in the middle of the room. She really tries to get the students to participate in her class. Her classroom has visual aids throughout the room. For example, she has sight words, maps, and other academic aids in the classroom.

This teacher communicates effectively with her co teacher and students. She is able to help the students in their subject area and clarifies any misunderstandings. The students feel comfortable with her and go to her for help. I observed this teacher knowing her students. She knows what seats to put them in; who needs more attention; which students need reminding to stay on track; enhances her student’s strengths and works with their weaknesses.

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Special Education Teacher (outside the classroom)

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Special Education Teacher (outside the classroom)

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The special education teacher I observed works with special need, high school aged children to adult children. This teacher is part of a program that helps children gain work skills and other assets to transition into the working world. She mainly worked with a 18 year old girl and 20 year old boy when I observed her. The children go into a place of work and they are suppose to learn different skills that help them in the workplace. For example, they help set up the restaurant including cleaning tables; putting down chairs; cleaning and rolling silverware; asking for things; folding menus; and sometimes more.

From the observation the teacher tries to guide the students by prompting them with questions. She usually answers their question with another question or prompt so they can try to figure it out for themselves. Sometimes it is hard to understand what the student is saying but the teacher is patient and just asks them to speak slowly and repeat what they just said. The teacher appears open and sometimes her facial expressions lets the students know they are off task and have to get back to work. For example, the one student sometimes needs to be reminded to get back on track. The teacher will just call her name or the student will look over and sees the teacher face and knows she is off track. The teacher follows them around the restaurant in case they have questions or need more prompting. She also keeps notes on how they were able to do things on their own or if they needed a little extra prompting that day. After observing this teacher, you can tell the students trust her and feel comfortable to go to her if they need help.

The teacher communicates effectively with her students. She asks open-ended questions as to prompt the students to build some work skills on their own. The students follow her instruction very well.

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The school counselor I observed is at an Elementary School. He is the counselor for grades K-8th. He tries to get into the lower level grades with guidance lessons the teachers think the children need help with. For example, I observed a guidance lesson about empathy. The teachers said the students need help in this area. He was able to communicate the definition and importance of empathy through a Powerpoint presentation and videos. He commonly communicates with administration, teachers, and students. He is a person that says hello to every child that passes him in the hallway and leaves his door open so children can pop their head in to say hello.

From the observation the counselor leads the meetings with questions than lets the child talk and open up. He only tries to interject if he needs clarification so he does not misunderstand what the student is trying to convey. I have witnessed him do this in a meeting too. He participates when asked and interjects when he needs clarification. This counselor appears open and his body language is inviting and relaxed. He sometimes starts drawing while asking questions if the student is showing signs of not wanting all eyes on them. The office is setup with the desk in the right hand corner while the seats are arranged in a half circle. He likes for the students to sit in the seat closet to his desk.

This counselor has effective communication. He actively listens to his students and colleagues. I thought by him summarizing what the student said to him was very effective. It was a way for him to make sure he was understanding what the student was trying to portray to him. This seemed to help with any misunderstandings and clarification. I did notice that if he had to call a student down and they didn’t want to talk, he offered them a puzzle or toy to sit and play with. He would than re-ask them some questions to see if they would start talking again. I think it would have been beneficial to try and find an interest the student had or wanted to talk about than go into the real reason they were in the office.