Research & Data Collection
Alignment with Current Initiatives
TECC 5-Year Strategic Plan
Obj. 2: Increase Satisfaction of In-Service Teachers
2a. Engage teacher voice in identifying areas of support need and high impact retention strategies
2b. Identity key data points that are most important for in-service teachers to focus on for professional growth and student outcomes
Obj. 3: Provide Meaningful Incentives for Recruitment and Retention
3a. Jointly identify next level of work needed to build HIDOE coordination networks with IHEs and alternative route programs
Obj. 6: Improve Special Education Teaching Experiences
6a. Understand existing support for Special Education teachers relative to scope of work and responsibilities
6a. Conduct focus group or survey special education teacher to identify challenges to entering and staying in the special education position as well as what supports would be valued
Project Activities
Lead Coordinator: Janet Kim
Project Outcomes
Needs Analysis: Special Education Teachers
A total of 53 special education teachers had responded to the prompt "What do you need right now"? SPEDucators were given de-identified responses and asked to categorize them using an extension of Maslow's Hierarchy. A sample of their findings are below:
Need: Changing the Narrative
Key Findings (Recruitment subgroup focus group):
Change the public perception of students with disabilities as not smart, and change the mindset of the students themselves
Need more stories of success and the rewards that come with teaching
Showcase abilities, not disabilities - showcase student strengths
Change how general education teachers see special education - need more empathy and ownership
Understanding of the LRE continuum
Need: Special Education Teacher Evaluation
Danielson Rubric Adaptation
At the January convening, SPEDucators were broken into groups to discuss teacher evaluation from the perspective of special education, in relation to their age-level. FSC and CBI teachers were separated into their own group, as their students often have the most severe needs and don't fit in with traditional forms of assessment. SPEDucators were given the following guiding questions:
What should SPEDucators be evaluated on?
What evidence can be collected across domains?
Is there anything still missing?
Discuss in groups, but goal would be to create a rubric that could be applied more broadly for all special education teachers.
Inconsistencies: Admin don't understand their job and just say "you do a great job" or super by the book & literal interpretation
Criteria for participation and discussions don't fit this age level
For Preschoolers in sped, totally incapable of doing the distinguished levels. Feels like middle or high school level expectations.
Prior to observation, make sure admin understands academic and behavioral issues prior to observation.
Lots of what we want admin to do, but keeping high expectations
What does engagement look like in an inclusion classroom, how might they “speak” in other ways (i.e. body language, exit ticket)
Making admin aware of students and situations prior to observations
Doesn't take into account managing student behaviors, including student absences
Verbage used - is it appropriate to what we are doing? What is a cognitively busy classroom across multiple classroom settings?
It goes “both ways,” can observation of ourselves be used to evaluate the evaluator during the same process so that they know they’re being monitored as well?
Idea: Relationship building process instead. Build teacher and the evaluator to teacher relationship. Importance of respect, especially in regards to being given unsolicited advice.
A lot of the language used is left up to interpretation
The person interpreting doesn’t understand what it looks like in our classroom
Need to understand students and the behavior interventions in place
Overall Findings & Recommendations
Administrators need to understand more about special education and what to expect
The language used in Danielson should be more inclusive of different ways of communicating, participating, and demonstrating knowledge
Administrators should review IEPs and/or behavior plans ahead of the observation
Sometimes criteria feel more aimed at student ability, rather than teacher ability
Adapting Charlotte Danielson for FSC/CBI Settings
The pipeline subgroup took this task further, by analyzing how the current Danielson rubric, being used for EES, applies to special education settings. In addition, adaptations to the rubric were proposed to better fit the needs of teachers and students working in fully self-contained and community-based instructional placements. In addition, suggestions on how skills could be developed from teacher candidacy to distinguished classroom special education teacher are provided.
Need: Challenges to entering and staying
(SPEDucator-Led Focus Groups)
During February and March Convenings, the Professional Development Subgroup (n = 4) hosted and ran a series of 4 focus groups: 2 with UH SPED teacher candidates and 2 with current HIDOE special education teachers. They developed the guiding questions, solicited volunteers to participate, and ran the focus groups in breakout groups during the SPEDucator Convening. Volunteers (n=17) were given $25 gift cards each for participating. Each SPEDucator had a turn in being either the moderator or note-taker for each focus group. Summary of findings are presented below.
Presentations to Stakeholders
Proposed Next Steps
Lead Coordinator: Janet Kim
SPEDucator Focus Groups
SPEDucator would design, lead, conduct, and report on focus groups based on topics of interest
Pre-Service to In-Service Pipeline
Survey and/or focus groups to identify strength and gaps between teacher preparation and induction
Survey: Prospective teachers, teacher candidates, and new teachers
Parent Input
SEAC
CEC
Inclusion
Identify school-wide inclusive practices and implementation
Survey admin on what supports are needed for an inclusive school culture and environment