Field Experience Observation Essay Field Experience Description (Preamble/Introduction/Background): the following field experience observation took place at Plainfield Connecticut’s Shepard Hill Elementary School, 234 Shepard Hill Rd, Plainfield, CT 06374, herein S.H.E., during the fall of 2017, and was conducted by Sacred Heart University M.Ed. candidate Peter Scott Harmyk, Esq. Because of confidentiality requirements per request of the interviewees, specifically the classroom teacher and the special education teacher, herein “Ms. Teacher” and “Ms. Special Ed” the two students observed for the purpose of this essay shall also remain anonymous; further, this candidate was respectfully denied access to the appropriate IEP and 504 documentation corresponding to the two first-grade …show more content…
students observational subjects on the behest of S.H.E. administration, and in accordance with district policy and the appropriate statues regarding confidentiality in this jurisdiction. However, Ms. Teacher and Ms. Special Education both shared their insights regarding the two students observed, “Student X” and “Student Y,” both pupils having been enrolled in the same first-grade class. Although both individuals took time out of their busy schedules to speak with this candidate, for the purposes of this field experience document, Ms. Teacher was formally interviewed in accordance with stated assessment criteria in conformity with the fall 2017 syllabus.
Teacher Interview(s): according to Ms. Special Ed, a ten-year veteran of special education who started her career at age twenty-nine, proportionally, 35.4 percent of S.H.E. students have an Individualized Education Program, in conformity with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, herein IDEA. In Windham County, the average public school has 18.6 percent of its student population considered to be learning disabled; S.H.E. has a noticeably higher percentage of students with learning disabilities, compared not only with Windham County, but Connecticut overall, as the average public school in the state is populated by 26.4% of its elementary students with learning disabilities. Further, more males than females at S.H.E. have learning disabilities with a ratio of 10.1% of females to 25.3% of males in the special education program. For the this specific field experience study relating to Students X & Y, both six-year old males, S.H.E. “offers” seven special education teachers and 13 paraprofessional instructional assistants who “service” the special needs of exceptional students including speech services, behavior interventionists and dedicated special education
teachers to oversee the needs of over one-hundred students annually, including those with IEPs such as Student X, and nearly a dozen 504 and 504 Intensive Learning Plans (ILPs), the subject of which will be explored further with regards to Student Y. With regard to the S.H.E. “classroom special features” and overall infrastructure, structurally, according to Ms. Teacher, a twenty-year veteran who started teaching right out of college with a 2017 class of twenty-two first graders, from her recollection, the S.H.E. facility was built and 1992, and by appearance and utility, is a dated building, with recently installed interactive whiteboard placed surreptitiously around the classrooms; outdated reading-improvement materials in print, stuffed into every conceivable closet and vacant room; a predominantly female faculty, ranging in ages from mid-twenties to mid-fifties who can be particularly negative when having lunchtime discussions in the faculty lounge, and no central air-conditioning exacerbating the negative undertones, as the building is nearly impossible learning environment from early May until after the summer break, in mid-October. With respect to her schoolwide expectations, climate and atmosphere, cultural diversity, and her collaboration with the special education department, this candidate could tell that Ms. Teacher had mixed emotions, perhaps why she sought to remain anonymous for the purpose of this field-study document.
Standard 1.1 discusses how special education teachers need to understand how language, culture, and family background influences the learning of students with exceptionalities. Standard 4.3 discusses how teachers should collaborate with other teachers and parents to use multiple types of assessment information in making decisions. Standard 5.5 discusses the transition plans they have to implement in collaboration with the students, families, and teachers. Standard 6.3 discusses how teachers understand that diversity is a part of families, cultures, and schools, and that they can interact with the delivery of special education services. Standard 7.0 discusses the collaborations that teachers need to start having with families, educators, and related service providers. 7.3 discusses the promotion of collaborations for the well-being of the individuals with exceptionalities. These standards show what the teacher is beginning to do with the families that have a child with
In a classroom with one or more Twice-Exceptional children, this task can be overwhelming and unsuccessful at times for teachers that are not equipped with research based strategies to meet their specific individualized needs. It is imperative for classroom teachers and GRTs to understand the roles and responsibilities of their school districts, strategies that are best suited for the explicit disability, and the most current research in the
Bryant, D. P., Smith, D. D., & Bryant, B. R. (2008). Teaching Students with Special Needs in
This Semester I observed a three-year-old girl named Allie. Allie attends preschool at Land of Learning; she is diagnosed with cerebral palsy. It was my pleasure observing her and getting to know her. She is a very sweet outgoing girl that doesn’t let her disability get to her. I observed and assisted Allie throughout her days at preschool. I assisted her and observed her with recess activities, eating lunch, and daily school projects. My past observation experiences I observed at Westgate elementary school in a class room mixed with students with learning disabilities, ADHD and also ELL students the class was taught by Ms. Lewis. I observed a second grade ELL classroom and also a fourth grade classroom. I observed these students during school
Students with high incidence disabilities or HID are the most common in schools. The group of high incidence disabilities include students with emotional, behavioral or mild intellectual disabilities as well as those with autism, speech or language impairments and attention deficit disorder (Gage et al., 2012). Students with HID are usually taught within the general education classroom. There are either co-teachers or a resource teacher that takes the students out of the general education classroom for short periods of time to work in a more individual, structured environment (Per...
Werts, M. G. (2002). Knowing what to expect Introducing pre-service teachers to IEP meetings. Teacher Education and Special Education, 25(4), 413-418.
When I first started my field experience the eighth graders would not participate at all. Now, they are all raising their hands and paying attention more in class. I am not sure what happened, but it makes the class more enjoyable to be in. The students have also warmed up to me. They will raise their hands and I will walk around and help them.
Two years ago, I embarked on a journey that would teach me more than I had ever imagined. As a recent college graduate, I was thrilled to finally begin my teaching career in a field I have always held close to my heart. My first two years as a special education teacher presented countless challenges, however, it also brought me great fulfillment and deepened my passion for teaching students with special needs. The experiences I have had both before and after this pivotal point in my life have undoubtedly influenced my desire to further my career in the field of special education.
There are very few students within the eighth grade at Summit International Preparatory Middle School receiving special education services. This case study focuses on a student that has been particularly difficult to get to know in my time at Summit, he is quiet, keeps to himself, and rarely offers up answers or information without being asked. The process of interviewing this student (referred to as H.P throughout the paper) and his teachers offered insight into his life that for other students I have gained simply through daily interactions and working with them in the classroom. H.P. has emotional disturbance (ED), which affects his social interactions, his behavior, and his attention is class. One of the common threads found throughout
Mazurek, K. & Winzer, M.A. (Eds.). (1994). Comparative Studies in Special Education. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press.
Since doing Field Experience I have learned a lot more material and new strategies to try out in my future field experiences and future classroom. From my teacher I have learned to explain everything clearly so students can understand the first time you explain it. Having an open classroom helps in seeing where every student is at all times, so you don’t have to worry about students hiding from you or hiding something. Having the school and classroom be colorful is a nice way to show students work and its something that students see right when they enter the school. When the teacher was teaching to the class that is it important that you try and call on every students so that they can feel involved in the lesson and engaged. I learned that
From my observations week by week I have noticed the teacher differentiates learning to help her students engage using their personal interest and attitudes towards school. For example one of the students Darian is not asked to sit on the rug like the rest of the students as he is more focused when he is sitting in a desk rather than on the rug. Because Ms. Diaz has had this specific student for the second year she understands that he functions better in his seat than he does on the rug. I also realized the teacher sets goals for her students giving them the sense of feelings that they have control over their learning and what is being taught in their classrooms. Because Ms. Diaz is a big supporter on peers helping one another, the students
For many years now, there has been an increase of interest for the welfare of learning disabled children and their place in the normal classroom setting. The attempt to reintegrate special education students with learning disabilities has been a popular subject among the special education and research community (Shinn, Powell-Smith, Good, & Baker, 1997). The strive to create inclusion programs, however, has not just been a recent issue among these professionals. The movement began in 1975 when the Education of the Handicapped Act (now called The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) was created to develop programs across the United States. It's basic requirements were: (a) to make sure that all handicapped children (in private and public schools) were educated with non handicapped children as much as possible, and (b) that if handicapped children must be removed from the regular education environment, it must only be done if the special education children cannot achieve satisfactorily in the normal classroom with the help of special aides and services that can be provided (Aerfsky, 1995; Brown, 1997). Because of this movement, a growing number of students with moderate learning disabilities are being educated and overcoming their learning disability in general education class...
As an educators, we never stop learning new ways in how to help students with special needs succeed in the classroom. For this reason, we must learn and work together collaboratively to create new ways to promote student learning. Reflecting to adjust instructional strategies is one thing that every educator must implement in the classroom to meet the different needs of students with special needs. As an educator, I have experienced that everything we do in the classroom, affects our students positively or negatively. Therefore, we must be aware of the different needs that our students have and implement the proper modifications and accommodations that will make them to be successful. According to Friend and Bursuck (2009), it is very essential
For my observation experience I went to Southern High School in Harwood, MD. Southern High School has a special education department for the students with disabilities. The teacher that I met with for this classroom observation was Ms. West. In the classroom there were at least four assistant teachers that helped Ms. West throughout the school day. The assistant teachers helped Ms. West co- teach the class and were there to help the students if they needed extra help. The school also has a couple of student aides that come in to help the teachers and the students in the classroom. There were at least twelve students in the classroom. The students in the class had many different exceptionalities such as learning disabilities, Down syndrome,