I observed the classroom teacher and the physical therapist work with the same student.

In the classroom, I observed the teacher lead circle while the two assistants helped manage behavior. I observed the physical therapist work one on one with a student in the classroom and walking in the hall and up and down the steps. The classroom teacher, Mrs. Hale, led circle time for about twenty five minutes. During this time, students were expected to sit in their seats and keep their hands to themselves. She used a token economy to help one student to remain in his seat. The teacher had the four student's names written on a card. She showed each student the four cards, and the student was expected to identify their name. Then, the students were given a choice between two books for the teacher to read. She read the book that was most popular. At the end of circle time, each student had to choose an activity from four centers in which to participate. Their choices were beans, music, computers or chimes. I observed the physical therapist work one on one with a student for twenty minutes. In the classroom, they worked on throwing and catching a tennis ball and kicking a ball. After they worked on these skills, they worked on walking in the hall and walking up and down four steps using a handrail in the library. The physical therapist expected the student to walk independently and she was there to provide support with walking up and down the steps if needed. The student's reinforcer was a koosh ball. When the student did not want to walk, she took it away and gave it back when he was ready to walk. The settings were similar yet very different. In both settings, the teachers used positive reinforcement. They used reinforcement through praise and through tangible reinforcement. In both settings, if the student made an error, the teacher corrected it and

had the student do the task the correct way. One way the settings were different was the level of engagement. When the physical therapist worked with the student, the setting was one on one, so the student was actively engaged for the entire time. In the classroom setting, the students got distracted when it was not their turn. The physical therapist expected the student to be engaged the entire time. In the classroom, if the student was ready to leave the circle, the teacher did not expect the student to stay at the circle. Overall, I think that both teachers did a great job with their lessons. Both teachers had high expectations for the students. However, there were a few things I would have done differently in the circle setting. I believe 25 minutes is a long time for students with severe disabilities to sit when they are not actively engaged the entire time. I also think the pacing during the circle time could have moved a little faster to keep the students engaged. If I could not change the pacing or the amount of time, I could use a variety of methods to actively engage the students. I could use technology to get the students more engaged. I could incorporate movement, so the students are not just sitting at their desk for twenty five minutes. Since many of the students are motivated by music, I could use music to help engage the students. There are a variety of techniques that could be used to help the students be more successful.