Catering for Student Needs

Context:

I ensure to demonstrate great understanding of working with students who have a disability or learning difficulty. Students with a disability must feel safe, secure and comfortable in the environment in order for them to learn efficiently in the classroom. Therefore, I place effort into learning disabilities or difficulties that some students may have in my class. Whether this is physical, cognitive, social and emotional. By understanding the needs of the student, it has allowed me to differentiate activities effectively to meet the student's needs and implement flexible learning. With having a range of abilities in the classroom, creating an inclusive environment is crucial to ensure all students for safe and comfortable. Individual Learning Plans are often put in place for these students to plan and create scaffolds for these students. This allows myself to deliver instructional techniques that provide all students an opportunity to succeed and structure lessons to meet the diverse learning needs of the classroom.

Annotation/Action:

In 2020 and 2021 in particular, I have taught a student with a hearing impairment. I had a meeting with this students parents as it allowed me to learn about the severity of it, build a strong relationship with the parents and implement effective strategies that can still maximise this students learning. From this meeting, we gathered his data and reporting from his hearing tests and put together a Negotiated Education Plan (NEP) and Individual Learning Plan (ILP). This allowed both parents, leadership staff and the student himself, have a say in how his education delivery should be implemented. In these plans, numerous strategies were advised and encouraged that will thoroughly help this student develop in his education at the expected year level.

Further, I have had other students with learning needs such as Dysgraphia and Dyslexia. Similar processes were taken in creating an ILP for these students, as well as regular contact and meetings with these families to ensure the student is receiving enough support and effective teaching. Additionally, as part of one student being tested for Dyslexia, I filled out a teacher questionnaire, based on the student and how he responds in his learning. For all students with special needs, I have also filled out NCCD documents to refer to and keep track of the support they are receiving. Implementing and negotiating activities that suit these learning disabilities and difficulties have allowed these students to feel included, safe and secure in the classroom. As part of this process, I have found it crucial to maintain parent communication, to ensure they feel comfortable of how their child is progressing in school.

Result:

Interpreting student data and analysing how students with special needs learn, has allowed me to create an inclusive environment that sets all students up for success. These students have responded well and I can see continuous improvements. Building a strong working relationship with these students has also had a huge benefit on student progress. I believe that meeting and consistently keeping in touch with the parents of these students, has provided opportunities of detailed understanding on the particular need of the student as well as keep track of how they are going within their studies.

Evaluation:

I believe that due to forming strong student-teacher and parent-teacher relationships with these students, that the best outcomes have been noticed. Sitting down with parents and allowing them to explain reports and data on their child with a learning need, ensures they feel heard as well as notify myself on how their child learns best. I believe that having a strong bond has also motivated the students to engage and place maximal effort into their learning. It has been a terrific learning curve for me as coming across disabilities and difficulties was a new factor of teaching for myself as it is a bridge I had not yet crossed. I feel more confident with my differentiating, however still feel like there is always room for me to improve and gather an even deeper understanding of disabilities and difficulties as well as effective implementation on differentiating.

Standards:

1.1 Physical, social and intellectual development and characteristics of students

1.2 Understand how students learn

1.5 Differentiate teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities

1.6 Strategies to support full participation of students with disability

3.1 Establish challenging learning goals

3.3 Use teaching strategies

3.5 Use effective classroom communication

3.7 Engage parents/carers in the educative process

4.1 Support student participation

5.1 Assess student learning

5.4 Interpret student data