real world educator challenges

7/29/2019 Real World Educator Challenges

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Allison M. Hawkins

SPED 405: Monda-AmayaNovember 15, 2012

Assignment A: Real World Challenges

Challenge One: Inclusive Education

In speaking with Mrs. Smith, a special education teacher, regarding the various

challenges related to the teaching profession, one of the most problematic areas involved

the general education teacher not having any kind of training in incorporating special

education students into the general education environment. Most of the general education

teachers she has encountered were educated solely on secondary education methods and

have not had much, if any, exposure to the complexity of special education methods in

todays academic communities. For example, one of Mrs. Smiths students takes an art

class in a general education class. Because the art teacher does not know how to modify

assignments, this particular student sits in the back and does color by number activities.

This is extremely frustrating for Mrs. Smith because while her student is undoubtedly

capable of participating in the art activities that the general education students are

participating in, the student may need some modifications in order to complete the

activity. In this case, the student in special education is completely excluded, rather than

included in the general education environment and fails to learn from the teacher or

peers. The key players in this situation are the general education teacher, the special

education teacher, the special education students, and the individuals responsible for

putting together the students IEP. All of these individuals play a key role in the students

academic success and can help find a solution to this problem.


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Ideal Solution to Inclusive Education Problem

The solution to this problem is multi-faceted. First, Mrs. Smith, as the students

special education teacher and one who has extensive knowledge of the student, should be

more clearly communicating the students abilities and goals to the art teacher. Therefore,

the art teacher can modify activities done in the art class accordingly. Indeed, the art

teacher may have to describe to Mrs. Smith the kind of activities students will be

participating in so Mrs. Smith can help model to the art teacher the kind of modifications

needed for the student to succeed. The art teacher is clearly uncomfortable in his/her

abilities to accommodate this student and needs to become more acclimated and educated

in how to adapt the art curriculum in order for all students to access it. For example, art

teacher could communicate with the student on the types of projects he/she would prefer

to do and adjust accordingly.

Additionally, I feel the IEP team/case manager for the student should be more

actively involved in informing all of the students general education teachers on the

students long-term goals for the school year. Every single one of the students teachers

should be aware of not only the students needs, but also the steps for which these goals

should be accomplished. All general education teachers need to be equipped with the

knowledge in order to make modifications.

On a larger scale, teacher preparation programs need to more readily include

classes on how to incorporate special education students in the general education

environment. Even if you are trained as a general education teacher, one will undoubtedly

encounter students that need special accommodations and will need to know how to

approach these issues.


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Challenge Two: Collaboration/Co-Teaching

Regarding teacher collaboration or co-teaching, Mrs. Smith has not only

experienced these kind of challenges herself, but has also witnessed them in observing

other classes throughout her career. In many examples Mrs. Smith recalled many teachers

that were unable to follow a correct model of co-teaching. In this kind of teaching

system, teachers should be sharing responsibilities in the classroom and collaborating

daily on planning, classroom management, curriculum, etc. All students in the classroom

should recognize both teachers as equal partners in administering lesson content. Mrs.

Smith has oftentimes observed teacher paired together in a co-teach environment.

However, instead of splitting duties, the one teacher seems to stay in the back and only

help those students that need accommodations or have IEPs. In this way, one teacher

picks up most of the workload and content delivery, while the other teacher functions

more as an aide, working one-on-one with specific students. Furthermore, Mrs. Smith has

witnessed that the students generally go to the first teacher with questions and respect that

teacher as the central authority figure in the classroom, rather than the teacher functioning

as a kind of aide.

The two teachers are in no way being equal contributors to the classroom

environment, completely defeating the purpose of co-teaching. Co-teachers should be

able to work together to deliver instruction and share responsibilities on a daily basis.


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Ideal Solution to Collaboration/Co-Teaching Problem

If Mrs. Smith observes a classroom environment like this again, she should

definitely recommend a re-evaluation of the co-teaching methods. Instead of simply

telling the teachers to more equally share instructional delivery, it should be advised that

the teacher completely re-outline their habits and scheduling in order to think about their

methods in different ways. The teachers should spend more time planning lessons

together and in outlining exactly what each will be doing while the class is occurring.

Additionally, the teachers need to address how to more adequately include

students with IEPs in this general education curriculum and/or how to modify general

education assignments in order for all students to participate equally. These students have

purposely been included in a general education environment and should, accordingly,

have the supports implemented to help each of them succeed. Therefore, these two

teachers should be collaborating with these students caseworkers or special education

teachers in order to address what specific accommodations should be needed. That way,

teachers will be prepared beforehand to troubleshoot issues that may arise in modifying

assignments and will be able to spend more time giving equal instruction during class

time.

Finally, to avoid these collaboration problems altogether, I feel school districts

should consistently be incorporating education on proper co-teaching models during

service learning and/or professional development days. Continued education on teaching

models should in an inherent part of career development for all those in the education

field.


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Challenge Three: Instructional Planning and Delivery

In discussing a challenge related to instructional planning or delivery, Mrs. Smith

differed slightly in the examples she gave. In this discussion, she found many more

personal challenges rather than challenges related to dealing with a second party. Because

of the nature of her position, Mrs. Smith finds it extremely difficult to find the time to

adequately plan for each student she has. In her classes, Mrs. Smith cannot just plan one

lesson and deliver that same version of the written lesson verbally. All of her students

have specific needs that are often extremely different than one another. For example,

some of her students can wholeheartedly communicate with his/her teacher or peer, while

others are completely non-verbal. Therefore, each lesson has to be individualized for each

student, in accordance with that students IEP goals.

Additionally, Mrs. Smith has difficulty with bell-to-bell teaching, primarily

because of the amount of adults present in the classroom during any given day. Most of

her students have paraprofessionals with them; however, these individuals need to be

informed of the goals of the lesson before they can help his/her particular student.

Oftentimes, the adults need to be trained in specific realms and have to be told about any

new changes that may be occurring regarding a students progress. Not all of Mrs.

Smiths paraprofessionals help deliver instruction in the same way; therefore, Mrs. Smith

feels she loses a large portion of time doing these kinds of activities, rather than planning

instruction for each student.


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Ideal Solution to Instructional Planning/Delivery

I feel this an extremely common and complex challenge to overcome at any point

in ones career as an educator. However, Mrs. Smith has only been teaching for a year

and a half. I do believe some of these problems regarding lack of time will become

clearer as Mrs. Smith gains more experience in her profession and continues to interact

with students with a wide variety of disabilities. Although it may not be clear to her now,

the more challenges Mrs. Smith encounters now, the more problem solving strategies she

will have in the future when confronted with a difficult situation. In conjunction with this,

Mrs. Smith will have had more exposure to different kinds of paraprofessionals and can

develop a more complete picture of how she would like the paraprofessionals to help

deliver instruction in her classroom. I would also suggest planning lessons in week-long

chunks in order to anticipate student needs and not be suddenly thrust into a chaotic

situation in which she was not prepared for.

One possible solution to her problem might be to have weekly meetings with the

paraprofessionals as a group. Although I am aware that Mrs. Smith is already crunched

for time, these meetings can serve as places to discuss issues that may be occurring with

students, to troubleshoot problems, to discuss the week aheads plans, and to dictate how

she would like the plans delivered. While much fluctuates on a daily basis, these weekly

meetings could serve as a baseline for which teacher and paraprofessionals could

consistently meet. Furthermore, this could hopefully reduce stress for Mrs. Smith, as

well.

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