TEACHER WITH STUDENTS

A SNAPSHOT INTO THE ROLE OF THE SPECIAL EDUCATOR IN SUPPORT OF STUDENT LEARNING:

COORDINATORS, TEACHERS AND VISIONARIES

BY ANGELA SHAW

Since its launch in 1975, the foundation of special education as a branch of public education has progressed and evolved in support of increased learning for all to include students, teachers and families. With this ever-changing synthetic construct in response to the natural occurrence of unique and different learners, as special educators, we continue to face a tide of public and professional confusion and misinterpretation of what our role is within the education realm. 

The mounting paperwork in support of ensuring that our students with special needs receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE) that meets their unique needs and is reasonably calculated to enable our students to make progress appropriate in light of their circumstance, appears to grow with each reauthorization of IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Act). With the overwhelming avalanche of paperwork, special education teachers are often in a quandary as they consider their professional mission of helping students with special needs versus the reality of their situation of organizing and managing schedules, completing paperwork, and maintaining legal mandates. Special educators, however, continue to be the beacon that contributes to supporting and helping students with special needs reach their goals. Through our vigilance within our role as case-carrier/teacher we, as special educators, can and do make the difference for our students' current and future lives. The role that special educators take through our interactions of consultation, collaboration, and teaching, provides the opportunity to spread a growing wealth of knowledge, in support of students with special needs, to those who have chosen the more concrete and traditional role of general education teacher.

Additionally, we are fortunate to find ourselves in a position to reach out to and help the families who seek answers in support of their child's needs. As an added and essential bonus, special education teachers have the opportunity to learn from the fantastic families, generous general educators, positive paraprofessionals and resourceful related service providers that we are privileged to work alongside.

COORDINATORS

Behind the invisible curtain is the special educator with a variety of levers to coordinate the efforts of the education team, in an effort to guide and maintain the learning relative to the unique strengths and needs of each student. Much coordination is carried forth by the special education teacher, in the role of case carrier, who maintains focus and synthesizes the movements and implementation of the IEP team in support of student growth. The depth and breadth of the IEP document is mostly unseen as the mechanism that delivers and ensures the plan that must exist in order to organize and synchronize the movements and efforts of each educational provider and their promise of delivery.

Communication between all team members is a vital component to ensure this process is strong and able. Two-way communication between parents and professionals starts with the IEP team meeting, continues through delivery of services, and is strengthened through the annual and triennial meetings, in order to ensure a proactive and positive trajectory of learning for our students. A strong leadership quality is incumbent upon the educator in the role of special education teacher. Some areas in which special educators wear their coordinator hat include:

TEACHERS

Effective and accessible instructional and assessment strategies are at the forefront of best practice across the board, relative to teaching all divisions within public and private education. Research continues to drive improved outcomes for all students. As research, theory, and practice is discovered and implemented, teachers continue to grow in their practice and make the adaptations necessary to meet the unique needs of their students, both individually and as a group. Differentiating delivery of instruction is foundational to those charged with supporting students identified with special needs, but is also a critical aspect relative to engaging learners who do not fall under the category of special education.

Special education teachers begin their teaching and learning journey for each of their students at different points of entry. Some students come with an already identified eligibility and IEP from within or outside of the school district, while other students are part of an initial assessment process. Identification of a student's special education eligibility is determined through a comprehensive evaluation process involving professional members of the IEP team and is governed by state guidelines. Parental consent is required relative to referral for assessment, as well as implementation of the IEP once evaluation is completed and presented to the parent. Beyond standardized academic assessment, as a special educator, one of the first orders of business is to better understand the child and provide solution-focused resolutions. Through this lens of discovery one of our tools of the trade involves the strategy of task-analysis. Using deduction to determine where an obstacle exists, through taskanalysis, is a primary path to discovering how to support the student toward learning. Through specialized academic practices involving observation, checklists, and diagnostic interviews, special educators are able to provide insight into where a student is currently at and provide a bridge to student access within the curriculum through focused interventions at the appropriately calculated intensity. Task-analysis is one of the components that provides the opportunity to reach and teach our students with special needs, but also provides an access way in support of the various adults in the lives or our students with special needs. In our business of educating children with identified special needs, special educators are busy as bees as they exchange information about learning and teaching with related service providers, general educators, and families. 

VISIONARIES

Special education teachers are visionaries that survey the long view. We work toward supporting our students to get into the stream and enter the flow of their learning community. Through evidence-based practices (EBP) involving such aspects of visual supports, self-management, and spe cialized academic instructional practices, special educators have the opportunity to plant a seed for our students to access the curriculum and to demonstrate their knowledge through their most available learning channel. Care and cultivation of this vital seed is a co-operative venture between educators, related services providers and families. Like most visionaries, talk and action are critical elements of growth and achievement; therefore, productive IEP meetings and collaborations are essential. Additionally, special educators have the opportunity to make an exponential contribution to society beyond the scope of our campus or even our school district through the ripple effect of our vision and purpose for our students and their own journey of synthesizing and actuating the work of their education team. Through our interactions with parents and professionals, the potential of creating and helping our students reach their possibilities provides learning for our students, our IEP team members, and for us.

As a special educator, my journey has been filled with triumphs and joys unimaginable. When I hear from previous students about their victories and memories about being part of the community of learners that I have had the great fortune to be a part of, I know that the internal compass that put me on this path and has served to keep me here has been the right course for my students and myself.

It starts with a child, but partnership between all educators and parents goes a long way toward teaching children a variety of essential life-skills, in addition to reaching their academic potential. Nurturing positive relationships between educators and parents in pursuit of student goals and growth provides a bountiful benefit for our students with special needs in many ways to include:

DREAMING OF BECOMING A SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER?

The month of May is the traditional time of year that people begin to plan for and explore higher-education opportunities. If you are at a turning point in your life: considering a career for the first time, re-entering the workplace after a short interlude away, or looking for a career change, exploring the possibility of a career in special education may be the answer for you. If you are a person who enjoys being part of a team and have a solution-focused mindset, opportunity abounds as a special education teacher.

Becoming a special education teacher allows you an opportunity to work with the entire school community in your endeavor to support students with special needs access curriculum, learn, and thrive in their community. Through interaction with parents, other teachers, related service providers, guidance counselors, school psychologists, school nurses and parents, you have the opportunity to be part of something great as you provide and build services in support of the students on your caseload or within your specialized classroom.

Additionally, as a special education teacher, you ensure that you are a lifetime learner, through professional development opportunities, personal research in support of a student's unique needs, interaction with related service professionals and colleagues, and discovering new and interesting facets relative to families and cultures that are different from your own. As a special educator, your work with children will often be related to problem solving, in order to ensure their opportunity to learn and grow. In addition to teaching, you will take data, observe, and interview students, collaborate with an array of professionals, and have the opportunity to be part of a solution for a student who is having difficulty learning in the traditional approach. The field of education holds a wide array of career opportunities. Special education is an exciting and dynamic field that provides a continuum of teaching opportunities. If you want to make a difference in the lives of children by helping them build their dreams, the job of special education teacher may be the right fit for you. In addition to patience, persistence and unyielding pursuit of student growth, a few personal skills that will support you well in your career endeavor as a special education teacher include:

The job outlook for overall employment of special education teachers is projected to continue to grow. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statics (BLS), Occupational Outlook Handbook, overall employment

TOOLS OF THE TRADE: VISUAL SCAFFOLDS

Oftentimes, students with mild to moderate learning disabilities are included in the general education classroom and require a variety of supplementary aides designed through consultation and collaboration between general educators and special educators. Take a peek at the following visual schedules created and customized through task-analysis, consultation and collaboration.

The task-specific visual schedule pictured here is utilized within a general education classroom. It supports a child in his endeavor of learning to be a student, as well as provides a visual pacing system to support the student by:

1. Reducing anxiety by allowing him to see what needs to be accomplished before the transition.

2. Decreasing frustration when tasks become too challenging, as he will know that he is coming to the end of that task.

3. Increasing compliance in task completion. As each step is completed, to student's tolerance, an adult moves the clip down to the next undertaking. If the student asks if he is done, the adult refers the student to the schedule as a third point. Designed to be flexible to various tasks, this schedule is a dynamic tool for the educator and student.

TASK-SPECIFIC VISUAL SCHEDULEVISUAL SCAFFOLDS

This portable-size all-day visual schedule comes out of collaboration with Pattie Overduin, a licensed/registered occupational therapist who provides professional partnership with educators and O.T. services to students through CAHelp/DMSELPA. This serves as a visual reference for a primary student who receives educational services within the general education setting. The design allows for customization throughout the student's day. Permanent lines drawn on the board make up the grid and allow for updating by an adult with a dry erase pen at natural intervals through the day while the student is out of the classroom at recess, lunch or PE. The goal is to lessen student anxiety, in order to create ease of transitions.

Oftentimes, visual structures specially designed for students receiving services under an IEP are useful for students not identified with learning challenges. This bright and engaging visual schedule originated upon the wall of a special education classroom, through a task analysis, in order to support a student with an executive function disorder in understanding the range of reading levels they were assigned (i.e.: 1.3 -1.6 = 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, and 1.6) in a more concrete manner. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of Carol Steitz, media specialist within Snowline Joint Unified School District, this chart extended to the library wall and beyond, to support a wide array of students who require a more tangible way of understanding and accessing their reading range.

VISUAL SCHEDULE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Angela Shaw is a special education teacher who values the efforts of all in support of launching each life-long learner, especially when the learner is one with special needs. Shaw earned Masters' degrees in special education and in school counseling, from Azusa Pacific University and holds a Certificate in Autism from Cal State San Bernardino. Angela's publishing focus is upon students with special needs in support of families and educators, in order to further collaborative relationships.

References Bureau of Labor Statics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook; Special Education Teachers, bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/specialedu- cation-teachers.htm (visited March 12, 2019)