Special Needs in the Classroom Reflection - Part II Wendy Beaton March 15, 2013 These are the strategies

that I wanted to try during my practicum: Have the EA look after classroom management when I need to work with this student one on one. Try differently, not harder to make changes to the structure, environment and curriculum. I want to recognize and praise specific instances of good work, good behavior etc. and use conflicts and mistakes as teachable moments. I will use a strength-based approach, giving more time to process, more wait time for verbal responses, 1 2 step instructions. Lots of hands on concrete activities (learning by doing). Provide consistency, repetition, routines, structure, modeling, visual cues, and advanced warning of schedule changes. Incorporate lots of movement for her. When I cant figure out the behavior, I will think about her developmental age (about 2 years less than chronological age) and I will remember that she has a 10 second brain in a 1 second world. What I can do differently to support this learner? I will shift my thinking from thinking I need to change the behaviour to I need to prevent the behaviour and teach behaviours that can replace the problematic behaviours.

Heres how it went: I spoke with my sponsor teacher and the classroom Education Assistant (EA) explaining how I would be focusing on one student to see how I can better support her and meet her unique individual needs. Both were very supportive. The EA stated that she was happy to take over classroom management if she did not have to deal with this childs behaviours. I spoke with my Sponsor teacher about the EAs response and she replied that she had concerns about EA and other staff complaining about this student and she was no longer sending the student to leveled reading or math groups. Therefore it was very important that I establish firm and consistent strategies and continue to develop a positive relationship with the student very quickly. Overall the 2 weeks went very well, with the exception of an incident on day six. Id been using a number of the strategies described above and I was feeling pretty confident. I had found my voice with this student, and was being consistent and firm. I had been using the same language as my sponsor teacher and was feeling a rapport developing with the student. Some of the language I was using is from Play is the Way and the Golden Rule and might sound like, Is that a strong choice or a

weak choice? And I really like how you used the scissors for what you needed them for and then put them right away. Although this student was originally going to a higher level reading group and a lower level math group than what I was teaching, I felt I was able to differentiate the learning to keep her engaged. I also gave the groups lots of opportunities to use their hands and to move around the classroom. We often played games and I created centres for them to rotate through. On the sixth day of my practicum my teacher left at recess, as she was feeling quite ill. During the last lesson of that day, I was teaching Play is the Way games in the gym when I saw the student leaving the game and choosing to sit out. The EA sat with the student and within a minute or two it was time to line up. As the class was lining up at the gym entrance this student climbed under a hanging hockey net at which time both the EA and I called for her to come down immediately as she was in an unsafe place. I then asked the EA to take the students back to class and explained that we would be right there. The student ran passed me to get in line. I asked her to come talk to me for a moment before we returned to class. She tried to follow the students out of the gym. I moved in front of her and asked her to stop for a moment. I wanted to let her know that she scared me by going under the net and that I needed to let her know that was very unsafe. She yelled at me saying she did not want to talk to me. After a trying minute or two I was able to say to her what I wanted to and asked her if she understood and then if she was calm enough to return to class and get ready to go home. She nodded yes, but she was pretty upset still so I suggested she hold my hand while we walk back to class. She yelled, I can walk by myself! I stopped her and asked her if yelling was a strong choice or a weak choice. She yelled weak choice! I asked her to make a strong choice, either hold my hand or walk down the hallway quietly on her own. She made a strong choice and walked quietly down the hall back to class. Although I felt that I needed to address behaviors with her immediately and in a way that would help our relationship continue to develop, I wasnt sure that I had done this in an effective way. I played the scenario over and over in my head and I wasnt able to speak with my sponsor about it. I decided if I had let her line up and waited until we reached the classroom to deal with it, that it might not have produced a different result. I had to trust that everything we had built was not destroyed. My sponsor didnt return during my practicum and I ended up teaching almost 100% everyday. My relationship with student continued to develop in a positive way and we had no other situations arise. I did speak with the EA about the incident and explained that from now on the student will need to talk to me about her non-participation, and that as the teacher I want to deal with any challenges that arise. The EA again said she was happy to not have to deal with her challenging behaviors anymore. However, it took us another day or two to not step on each others toes. I am happy with how my relationship is developing with this student, she is a very lovely child and although it has taken a little while, I feel like I have found my voice with her and when I am proactive I do not have to use my teacher voice with her all that often.

On the last day of my practicum I found out that this student was put on a district safety plan because she will on occasion, kick, scream, hit, punch and spit. I wonder if I had been aware of the safety plan earlier if I would have handled the gym situation differently. I guess taking the time to reflect on how the situation played out was helpful. All things considered, I feel confident with the strategies that I am using as we have a positive relationship and she having success at school. Here are some specific examples of how the two weeks played out: During Hulquminum the student pulled up a chair next to me instead of sitting with the other students on the carpet. I said to her that I thought it was a strong choice for her to sit beside me until she was comfortable with the new teacher. Her sitting in a chair didnt cause any problems and when she was ready she moved to the carpet. I gave her an extra warning when it was getting close to a transition, and during transitions I often asked her to help with the set up and distribution of materials. This seemed create smoother transitions for her. At the beginning of most days I did a quick check in. It kind of went like this. Good morning, how are you doing? (smile) Did you eat a good breakfast? (nod and smile) Did you get enough sleep? (nod and smile) Are we going to have a good day today? (nod and smile) I have a sticker for you at the end of the day if we have a good one. (nod and smile). I continued to check in with her everyday and by the second week I wasnt giving her stickers anymore, mostly because they didnt seem that important anymore. She did however earn a small treat on two of the days, a treat that I had offered to all of the students. I did check in with her guardians before hand to make sure this was acceptable. I probably will continue to reward good behaviours unless I feel that it is no longer a positive thing to do. We do a talking circle/check in 3 times a week and I am getting more comfortable with giving more wait time to her. However, once she starts talking she doesnt want to stop. I did end up interrupting her and saying, Thank you so much for sharing, can you tell me the rest a little later? She seems fine with that and I am happy that she was able to participate. She did well with 1 -2 step directions, any more than that and she would end up off task unless someone worked with her directly. For the most part she was engaged and able to keep up with the lessons and complete most activities with minimal assistance. Most hands-on activities went really well. If there were any safety concerns, I asked the EA to keep an eye on her but give her space and let me know if there were any concerns. During our Magnets Unit, she played with iron filings, string and scissors without incident.

I included a move-around both in the morning and in the afternoon; this is something that she enjoyed very much. We learned the Limbo as well as moved to CDs and Music dance videos (YouTube). In provide consistency, repetition, routines, structure, modeling, visual cues, and advanced warning of schedule changes, I saw this student experience a smooth and productive 2 weeks. Considering there were 2 different TOCs in the classroom, a new Hulquminum teacher, her teacher away and me, I was pleased with her participation and behaviour. I think the effort I made to keep her close when needed and checking in with her regularly to help her keep her anxiety low paid off for all of us. What I will do during my 6-week practicum: I will continue to use these the above strategies and continue to develop my relationship with this student. In addition, I will work on developing better language to use with this student. I feel this would help me to not say her name all the time. If I develop my use of language, I could say things that are directed at all the students as opposed to feeling like Im always singling her out. For example, when I want her to return to her desk I can say, I like how ______ is sitting at their desk and ready to learn. Instead I typically say her name followed by please return to your desk or we are waiting for you. Neither of which are very effective in getting her to do what I want. I am definitely noticing which language is proactive and which doesnt get me my desired results. I will likely have this student in my math and reading groups, so I will need to develop some strategies around teaching abstract concepts specifically in math. I notice that she struggles with this and I want her to receive the help she needs to fully participate in math and aspects of school. Three strategies I will use are 1) keep it simple 2) use manipulatives 3) provide opportunities for problem solving. I am hopeful that these coupled with the strategies I have been using will help reduce stress and help her have a positive academic experience.