Online and Video Research
When I started the Teach Now program, I knew I would be learning a lot of new things: some completely new; and others that I should already know as a teacher, but for whatever reason I have not learned about yet. Which leads me to...
I have been teaching in South Korea for almost eight years now. One year in an elementary public school, two years in a private academy (a "hagwon") teaching mostly elementary students, and for the past five years as a Kindergarten teacher. Therefore, my entire teaching career consisted of teaching in South Korea. In this country/culture, the topic or issue of special education rarely, if ever, comes up. So when I was tasked to find out about the referral process of it, I literally had zero background knowledge of it to help me out.
Luckily for me, I live in the 21st Century! Thanks to today's technology, I was able to conduct some interviews half-way across the world. Plus, I was able to read dozens of websites that are dedicated specifically to this topic.
Before getting to my interviews, I did some research on my own. I wanted to be ready to be able to understand all the knowledge that my interviewees were about to drop on me! So first of all, I read from the require study list. I learned a great deal from the Project Ideal website (from my home state of Texas!). This page broke the referral process down step by step. Making it easier for me to understand it. It also prepared me for some of the new vocabulary I was about to hear a lot about from my interviews.
The (summarized) steps are:
1. Recognize that the student might have a problem that prevents him/her to at the level of his/her peers.
2. The Pre-Referral Stage is when alternative methods are applied before a student is referred to special education.
3. If the alternative strategies are not working, then the student may be referred for special education.
4. An evaluation is performed on the student comprised of a multidisciplinary team in order to get different perspectives and expertise. Ex: school psychologist, several educators (special and general), the parents/legal guardians, therapists, doctors, etc.
5. Is the child eligible for special education services? Or does the student just need a different way of learning?
6. If eligible, a team is formed to create an Individualized Education Program (IEP). Some of the members of this team are: parents/legal guardians, several educators (special and general), a principal or assistant principal, etc.
7. Implementation of the IEP. Meetings are held throughout the year to document the progress of the student in regards to the IEP.
8. At the end of the school year, a meeting is held to evaluate the implementation of the current IEP and to develop the following year's IEP. At this stage, a formal reevaluation of the student might also take place (usually done every three years) in order to determined if the student still needs special education services or not. If it is determined that the student no longer needs these services, then after some documentation, the IEP team may be disbanded for this student.
Other websites had similar steps. Some combined some steps (for example Steps 1 and 2 above are just one step), while others split some of the steps above into more steps (Step 6 becomes 6 and 7, thus adding to the overall number of steps).
I then watched some videos on Youtube about the referral process. Just like the different websites I looked at, different videos agreed for the most part about the process, but with some small differences of course (ex: "evaluation" is named "identification"). Although, one unique thing I learned was that the state of Washington was the first state do mandate that children with disabilities could attend public schools. They did this before the federal government made this into law with the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) of 1975. I later learned that this law is the law now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (renamed in 1990).
The Interviews
I conducted three interviews with teachers from different parts of the U.S., who teach different age groups. In order to streamline them, I have decided to summarize their answers per question. As oppose to a big summary of all three teachers' answers to the questions.
1.What is the earliest age that a student can be evaluated for the referral process? If a student is under that age, what is usually done if the teacher thinks the student needs special education?
All three teachers told me that usually the age to evaluate a child is 3 years old. However, if a parent sees signs of a disability in their child because of a birth complication, for example, then there are things that a parent can do before this age. This is called Early Intervention. Because children are so young at this age, instead of using an IEP, these students usually just come with specific goals they are to reach.
The most important thing I got out of this is that at this age (before 3 and at 3) the child is too young for teachers and/or parents to make a definite call. I personally am going through this right now with a fellow teacher at my school. Ever since I started this assignment, I have tried to see if any of my current students would fall under any of these categories (the 14 categories of disabilities under IDEA). One teacher and I have had some discussions about a student or two who he thinks he/they are probably ADHD, while I think they are just being young kids. So I definitely see, how hard this process can be at this age.
2. How do you identify a student for special education? 3. What are the signs of a struggling student?
(Combined Questions)
For the Pre-K teachers, these questions go back to the first question. Since these students are too young to get an accurate reading on them (besides some physical markings such as a medical condition from birth), the best they can do is go on oral language delay or behavioral issues. At this age they can not use measurements such as reading or math. However, there are still some goals that can be established for these young learners. Things such as learning letters, counting and shape recognition are some very important goals for children this young.
On the other hand, for the middle school teacher, she can use academic subjects such as reading and writing to see if there is delays to learning happening. In her case social and behavior issues are also signs, but she stated that by this age, these things are usually already noted by the students previous teachers at an earlier age.
4. Are there alternate methods of instruction tried out before referring the student for special education? If yes, what are they?
*Response to Intervention
*Learning Modifications
*Classroom Differentiation
These are just some of the terms I heard when discussing strategies used by teachers BEFORE referring a student for special education.The thing I found the most fascinating was how small and simple some of these strategies are! Some of these are: seating arrangement, using more visuals in class, adjusting the difficulty of lessons, etc. Without knowing it, I have already been implementing some of these strategies into my own classrooms these past eight years. I am not going to lie, I felt very proud of myself for having done these things already. I felt one step closer to being a better teacher for all of my students!
5. How do you involve parents in identifying special needs? 6. What is your role in the special education process, after it has started? In relation to the counselor/administrator, the parents the student. Who takes responsibility for the progress of the child before and after the referral?
(Combined Questions)
Communication! It is that simple. Of course the whole process is quite more difficult, however, with communication between the parents/legal guardians and the school/teachers, this process can move along much more smoothly.
Nobody knows a child more than that child's parents. That is what makes them so important. Therefore, it is the teacher's role to have a good relationship with them in order to help the student succeed. There can be agreements and disagreements, but at the end of the day, both sides should be trying their best for the child/student. One of the most important things, for the teacher, is to keep track of all of this. All year long, keep track of the DATA (as one teacher put it)! Keep copies of test, writing samples, etc. If the student is in the pre-referral stage, this information can help with the decision. It can show that the student just needs some extra help; or it can be used as more examples of why the student needs to go to special education. If the student already has an IEP, then this data can help to show if the plan is working or not.
This homework assignment has shown me a lot. Even things I already knew, such as the importance of a parent's role in a child's academic career, now feel so much bigger after hearing it from several different teachers and their experience with this whole process. While there is still much more for me to learn, I feel more confidant now than I did at the beginning of this assignment.
I have been teaching in South Korea for almost eight years now. One year in an elementary public school, two years in a private academy (a "hagwon") teaching mostly elementary students, and for the past five years as a Kindergarten teacher. Therefore, my entire teaching career consisted of teaching in South Korea. In this country/culture, the topic or issue of special education rarely, if ever, comes up. So when I was tasked to find out about the referral process of it, I literally had zero background knowledge of it to help me out.
Luckily for me, I live in the 21st Century! Thanks to today's technology, I was able to conduct some interviews half-way across the world. Plus, I was able to read dozens of websites that are dedicated specifically to this topic.
Before getting to my interviews, I did some research on my own. I wanted to be ready to be able to understand all the knowledge that my interviewees were about to drop on me! So first of all, I read from the require study list. I learned a great deal from the Project Ideal website (from my home state of Texas!). This page broke the referral process down step by step. Making it easier for me to understand it. It also prepared me for some of the new vocabulary I was about to hear a lot about from my interviews.
The (summarized) steps are:
1. Recognize that the student might have a problem that prevents him/her to at the level of his/her peers.
2. The Pre-Referral Stage is when alternative methods are applied before a student is referred to special education.
3. If the alternative strategies are not working, then the student may be referred for special education.
4. An evaluation is performed on the student comprised of a multidisciplinary team in order to get different perspectives and expertise. Ex: school psychologist, several educators (special and general), the parents/legal guardians, therapists, doctors, etc.
5. Is the child eligible for special education services? Or does the student just need a different way of learning?
6. If eligible, a team is formed to create an Individualized Education Program (IEP). Some of the members of this team are: parents/legal guardians, several educators (special and general), a principal or assistant principal, etc.
7. Implementation of the IEP. Meetings are held throughout the year to document the progress of the student in regards to the IEP.
8. At the end of the school year, a meeting is held to evaluate the implementation of the current IEP and to develop the following year's IEP. At this stage, a formal reevaluation of the student might also take place (usually done every three years) in order to determined if the student still needs special education services or not. If it is determined that the student no longer needs these services, then after some documentation, the IEP team may be disbanded for this student.
Other websites had similar steps. Some combined some steps (for example Steps 1 and 2 above are just one step), while others split some of the steps above into more steps (Step 6 becomes 6 and 7, thus adding to the overall number of steps).
I then watched some videos on Youtube about the referral process. Just like the different websites I looked at, different videos agreed for the most part about the process, but with some small differences of course (ex: "evaluation" is named "identification"). Although, one unique thing I learned was that the state of Washington was the first state do mandate that children with disabilities could attend public schools. They did this before the federal government made this into law with the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) of 1975. I later learned that this law is the law now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (renamed in 1990).
The Interviews
I conducted three interviews with teachers from different parts of the U.S., who teach different age groups. In order to streamline them, I have decided to summarize their answers per question. As oppose to a big summary of all three teachers' answers to the questions.
1.What is the earliest age that a student can be evaluated for the referral process? If a student is under that age, what is usually done if the teacher thinks the student needs special education?
All three teachers told me that usually the age to evaluate a child is 3 years old. However, if a parent sees signs of a disability in their child because of a birth complication, for example, then there are things that a parent can do before this age. This is called Early Intervention. Because children are so young at this age, instead of using an IEP, these students usually just come with specific goals they are to reach.
The most important thing I got out of this is that at this age (before 3 and at 3) the child is too young for teachers and/or parents to make a definite call. I personally am going through this right now with a fellow teacher at my school. Ever since I started this assignment, I have tried to see if any of my current students would fall under any of these categories (the 14 categories of disabilities under IDEA). One teacher and I have had some discussions about a student or two who he thinks he/they are probably ADHD, while I think they are just being young kids. So I definitely see, how hard this process can be at this age.
2. How do you identify a student for special education? 3. What are the signs of a struggling student?
(Combined Questions)
For the Pre-K teachers, these questions go back to the first question. Since these students are too young to get an accurate reading on them (besides some physical markings such as a medical condition from birth), the best they can do is go on oral language delay or behavioral issues. At this age they can not use measurements such as reading or math. However, there are still some goals that can be established for these young learners. Things such as learning letters, counting and shape recognition are some very important goals for children this young.
On the other hand, for the middle school teacher, she can use academic subjects such as reading and writing to see if there is delays to learning happening. In her case social and behavior issues are also signs, but she stated that by this age, these things are usually already noted by the students previous teachers at an earlier age.
4. Are there alternate methods of instruction tried out before referring the student for special education? If yes, what are they?
*Response to Intervention
*Learning Modifications
*Classroom Differentiation
These are just some of the terms I heard when discussing strategies used by teachers BEFORE referring a student for special education.The thing I found the most fascinating was how small and simple some of these strategies are! Some of these are: seating arrangement, using more visuals in class, adjusting the difficulty of lessons, etc. Without knowing it, I have already been implementing some of these strategies into my own classrooms these past eight years. I am not going to lie, I felt very proud of myself for having done these things already. I felt one step closer to being a better teacher for all of my students!
5. How do you involve parents in identifying special needs? 6. What is your role in the special education process, after it has started? In relation to the counselor/administrator, the parents the student. Who takes responsibility for the progress of the child before and after the referral?
(Combined Questions)
Communication! It is that simple. Of course the whole process is quite more difficult, however, with communication between the parents/legal guardians and the school/teachers, this process can move along much more smoothly.
Nobody knows a child more than that child's parents. That is what makes them so important. Therefore, it is the teacher's role to have a good relationship with them in order to help the student succeed. There can be agreements and disagreements, but at the end of the day, both sides should be trying their best for the child/student. One of the most important things, for the teacher, is to keep track of all of this. All year long, keep track of the DATA (as one teacher put it)! Keep copies of test, writing samples, etc. If the student is in the pre-referral stage, this information can help with the decision. It can show that the student just needs some extra help; or it can be used as more examples of why the student needs to go to special education. If the student already has an IEP, then this data can help to show if the plan is working or not.
This homework assignment has shown me a lot. Even things I already knew, such as the importance of a parent's role in a child's academic career, now feel so much bigger after hearing it from several different teachers and their experience with this whole process. While there is still much more for me to learn, I feel more confidant now than I did at the beginning of this assignment.
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