Special Education Teacher Interview and Classroom Observation

Each day special education teachers use differentiated instructional, remediation, and intervention strategies designed to meet the diverse needs of students in their classrooms. Using knowledge of the Science of Reading, Scarborough’s Reading Rope, and research-based best practices, is a critical skill to ensure that instruction can help all students, including those with exceptionalities, including dyslexia, to help them successfully perform key tasks associated with English language arts.

Arrange the clinical field experiences for this course in a K-12 grade general education, inclusive, resource, or self-contained English language arts classroom or block where students are receiving special education services and where you will be monitored by a certified teacher mentor, principal, reading specialist, special education coordinator, etc.

Prior to the clinical field experience, review the requirements of all clinical field experiences for this course. Complete the “Clinical Field Experience Planning Template” to share with your mentor detailing these requirements and what is being requested of the mentor. This document should include the scheduling required to complete all assignments.

Allocate at least 2 hours in the field to support this field experience.

Note: This assignment is due at the end of Topic 2.

Part 1: Special Education Teacher Interview

To gain understanding of the students you will be working with as a special education teacher, and to learn more about how to apply the Science of Reading when instructing students in ELA, interview a special education teacher. You will submit a copy of your interview notes. For the interview, focus on addressing each of the following:

Describe the literacy needs and abilities (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) of the students you typically teach.

Discuss the various literacy skills that are typically taught at the grade level(s) you most frequently teach.

Explain how you apply your knowledge of the Science of Reading, Scarborough’s Reading Rope, and research-based instructional best practices. Include specific discussion of the language processing requirements that are necessary for students to be proficient in reading, writing, speaking, and listening.

Describe explicit, systematic, cumulative, and multisensory instructional strategies that you employ in the classroom to teach reading, writing, speaking, and listening, and provide an example of each.

Describe how exceptionalities, including dyslexia, can affect the acquisition of reading and writing skills. Provide examples of how these exceptionalities can vary in presentation and degree within the classroom.

Explain why it is important to differentiate instruction for various students including ELLs, students with exceptionalities, above grade level students, below grade level students, and struggling, striving, and reluctant readers. Include discussion of the challenges you face in providing instruction that meets the diverse needs of students.

Describe strategies for collecting formal and informal data and using assessments to help you make decisions about ELA instruction, remediation, and intervention strategies that are appropriate for your students.

Describe the use of RTI and discuss how you select remediation strategies that are appropriate for students.

Explain how you typically develop an intervention plan for students who are struggling with ELA and literacy skills, particularly in reading and/or writing.

Part 2: Classroom Observation

Upon completion of the interview, observe the special education teacher teaching or co-teaching at least one ELA lesson in the classroom. You will submit a copy of your observation notes. Record information related to the following:

Instructional strategies and activities, particularly those associated with teaching/reinforcing word recognition, language comprehension, writing, speaking, and listening skills.

Differentiated instruction for small groups and individual students.

Remediation strategies.

Intervention strategies.

Student grouping during instruction, remediation, and intervention activities.

Reading and writing materials and genres.

Informal and formal assessment activities and data collection related to ELA skills, including reading, writing, speaking, and listening.

Use any remaining field experience hours to provide support or assistance to the class as directed by your mentor.

In 250-500 words, reflect on what you learned from your interview and classroom observation by addressing the following.

Discuss the effectiveness of the instruction you observed in meeting the diverse needs of the students in the class.

Describe the remediation and intervention strategies that seemed to be most effective in meeting the needs of the students in the classroom.

Discuss additional opportunities for differentiating instruction for students to better address their needs. Include a discussion of the challenges that could be faced when attempting to provide this level of differentiation.

Describe one instructional strategy you discussed in the interview or observed and would like to use in your future professional practice. Explain why you selected the strategy and how it will help meet the diverse learning needs of students.

APA format is not required, but solid academic writing is expected.

Submit a copy of your interview and observation notes and the reflection as a single Word document.