As educators, we not only provide academic instruction, we also address the wide range of students' emotional, mental, intellectual and physical needs. Our students come from various backgrounds and we must navigate and incorporate this diversity into the classroom. In an effective and inclusive learning environment, students feel safe to share and interact as they have access to resources to support their needs. Students with learning differences, have barriers broken for them through the appropriate use of accommodations and modifications for their rightful inclusion within the general education settings. This is not done in an instant. Educators create this positive classroom through establishment and maintenance of clear expectations for students and their peers. In the special education classroom, the educators collaborate with professionals to understand, support and meet the needs of their students in their least restrictive environments.
The social contracts pictured are a representation of cultivating an environment which students are encouraged to have positive interactions, grow socially and emotionally, and promote a responsive classroom in which students feel safe to share and learn. The social contracts are unique to each class period as they are created by students and staff as characteristics each party agrees to uphold while in the classroom. By signing, students and staff agree to abide by the characteristics in the classroom so that they are creating a positive learning environment for all. All parties agree to "check" each other when they are not following the contract. In the classroom I remind student to follow the social contract at least once a week. Often students check each other when they are not abiding by the social contract so that they can remain on task and uphold the contract for the rest of the period.
U2.1 Promote students' social-emotional growth, development, and individual responsibility using positive interventions and supports, restorative justice, and conflict resolution practices to foster a caring community where each student is treated fairly and respectfully by adults and peers.
U2.2 Create learning environments (i.e., traditional, blended, and online) that promote productive student learning, encourage positive interactions among students, reflect diversity and multiple perspectives, and are culturally responsive.
U2.3 Establish, maintain, and monitor inclusive learning environments that are physically, mentally, intellectually, and emotionally healthy and safe to enable all students to learn, and recognize and appropriately address instances of intolerance and harassment among students, such as bullying, racism, and sexism.
The school developed "H.O.W.L. Matrix," is an example of maintaining high and clear expectations for students and is also a system supporting positive behaviors. Similar to other positive behavior supports and interventions programs this H.O.W.L. Matrix gives clear expectations of characteristics such as character, responsibility, effort and leadership for expected behaviors in various situations around campus. In addition, when students are exemplary of these behaviors they ear "H.O.W.L. points" which are redeemable in the school store for rewards, gift cards and even for supplies. In addition to the H.O.W.L. Matrix, there are also guiding questions for when students are off-task so that they can recognize their behaviors and redirect themselves without large consequences (unless it is a repeated negative behavior). Also, as a form of daily contact, our team devised a communication system for parents to understand their student's behaviors in each period. Students receive a stamp marking whether they were very helpful and on-task, completed assignments, needed prompting or had a very rough period. With the very rough period, parent also receives a call or email how with more detail on the incident(s).
U2.5 Maintain high expectations for learning with appropriate support for the full range of students in the classroom.
U2.6 Establish and maintain clear expectations for positive classroom behavior and for student-to-student and student-to-teacher interactions by communicating classroom routines, procedures, and norms to students and families.
MM2.10 Implement systems to assess, plan, and provide academic and social skills instruction to support positive behavior in all students, including students who present complex social communication, behavioral and emotional needs.
These slides are used in the moderate to severe classroom providing visual instructions for students; in addition there is a video for the flag salute to be signed to students. Further the photos show evidence of AAC access through digital capacity as students can select month, year, and describe the weather by manipulating the sides.
MM2.1 Develop accommodations and/or modifications specific to students with disabilities to allow access to learning environments, which may include incorporating instructional and assistive technology, and alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) procedures to optimize the learning opportunities and outcomes for all students, and move them toward effective inclusion in general education settings.
In the shared moderate to severe classroom, the students there have varying levels of mobility, including those in wheelchairs, those that require a walker, and those that are visually impaired who uses a walking cane, human support and/or tactile strips to find their way around the classroom. The classroom also has an easy track lift system and a bathroom where various medical equipment is stored. To accommodate the varying degrees of mobility in the classroom we use tables rather than desks so each student has their own space, these tables are spaced appropriately to allow room for a wheelchair to pass by or someone with a walking cane. In addition, we make an effort to consider proximity to classroom materials for students depending on their degree of mobility and need for proximity to support staff. For example an individual with a walker may sit in the back closer to the bathroom, and to supplies; where as an individual in a wheelchair can better access these same needs more independently as long as there is a clear path. Finally, well not pictured there is also various collaboration done between specialists and instructional staff so that the students can receive the academic support and orthopedic needs of students which can be done outside of the classroom or at the student's table which allows their provider area to work rather than attempting to work from their lap at a desk.
MM2.2 Demonstrate the ability to support the movement, mobility, sensory and/or specialized health care needs required for students to participate fully in classrooms, schools and the community. As appropriate, organize a safe environment for all students that include barrier free space for independent mobility, adequate storage and operation of medical equipment and other mobility and sensory accommodations.
MM2.3 Demonstrate the ability to address functional limitations of movement and/or sensation for students with orthopedic impairments who may have a co-existing health impairment and/or intellectual disability and have difficulty accessing their education due to physical limitations.
MM2.4 Collaborate with families and appropriate related services personnel to support access to, optimal learning experiences for students with mild to moderate support needs in a wide variety of general education and specialized academic instructional settings, including but not limited to the home, natural environments, educational settings in hospitals and treatment centers, and classroom and/or itinerant instructional delivery and/or consultation in public/nonpublic school programs.
The provided antecedent-behavior-consequence analysis represents past work on identifying the antecedent of a student's behavior and the consequence, then providing an alternative for the behavior with expected consequences. Further the included Manifestation Determination work included shows my knowledge of the law to determine student's rights in relation to disciplinary action which results in removing from the educational setting. Well I have not specifically had to work with this, I can currently implement a multi-tiered system of support to address negative behavior issues to prevent those possible disciplinary actions. As a form of being proactive rather than reactive as a manifestation determination is.
MM2.5 Demonstrate knowledge of the communicative intent of students’ behavior as well as the ability to help students develop positive communication skills and systems to replace negative behavior.
MM2.6 Demonstrate the ability to identify if a student’s behavior is a manifestation of his or her disability and, if so, to develop positive behavior intervention plans inclusive of the types of interventions and multi-tiered systems of supports that may be needed to address these behavior issues.
The pictured email exchange with a partial visual of the behavior tracker shows collaboration between team members to address inappropriate behaviors (in a positive manner "good attitude toward peers") in the classroom, but also encourages appropriate behaviors "on-time, positive work ethic." This is just one email in a long chain of communication between various providers about address a student's negative behaviors.
MM2.7 Understand and access in a collaborative manner with other agency professionals the variety of interventions, related services and additional supports, including site-based and community resources and agencies, to provide integrated support for students with behavior, social, emotional, trauma, and/or mental health needs.
MM2.8 Apply and collaboratively implement supports needed to establish and maintain student success in the least restrictive environment, according to students’ unique needs.
As seen I provide my students chronologically appropriate themes, that are also disability-specific and developmentally appropriate. For example, I chosen a theme focused on money and fair-play skills that I students should be working toward mastering. Their relaxation zone/library provides them with chronologically appropriate games and reading material. Not pictured are magazines related to their interests such as cars, fashion, skateboarding and sports. Depending on the unit of instruction we make over the room for the day into a community environment such as a grocery store which students use money to purchase items and practice counting change and adding totals.
MM2.9 Demonstrate the skills required to ensure that interventions and/or instructional environments are appropriate to the student’s chronological age, developmental levels, and disability-specific needs, including community-based instructional environments.
The handout explains the classification of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) to families. While briefly stating some learning implications they may witness in their loved ones. In addition it provides some accommodations and adaptations their love one may receive as they transition back into the school setting and experience their academic career with this disability.
MM2.11 Demonstrate the knowledge, skills and abilities to understand and address the needs of the peers and family members of students who have sustained a traumatic brain injury as they transition to school and present with a change in function.
U2.4 Know how to access resources to support students, including those who have experienced trauma, homelessness, foster care, incarceration, and/or are medically fragile.
In the past I briefly worked with a student that was in a group home setting but it was in the capacity of an instructional aide. As mentioned my time with that student was brief. As a teacher I have yet to work with students from this population; therefore I look forward to gaining some experiences so that I may grow my knowledge.