Special Education and Teachers

Calgary Public School Board Models of Consultation and Collaboration What model of consultation and collaboration am I going to use -- and why? I am employing a combination of approaches to the issues confronting teachers when it comes to William Perry and Janna Small. The model devised by Idol, Nevin, Paolucci-Whitcomb (INPW) (referred to as the "Collaborative Consultation Model"), was specifically designed to help ". learners who may be at risk for school failure," learners in "remedial programs," learners who receive "supportive speech and language instruction" (Idol, et al., 1995).

In particular, the INPW model has proven to be successful for teachers who have "special needs students in their classrooms" (Idol, 348). Also, I will use the two models employed by the Iowa Department of Education since 2009 -- co-teaching and collaborative consultation. What factors have I considered in my decision? As the model by INPW puts forth, there are four solid practices that have been shown to be effective vis-a-vis collaborative consultations.

First, learners with special needs, as are the two students we're dealing with in this assignment, can be effectively served in "inclusive settings when teachers collaborate" in order to both generate and merge together "instructional strategies and accommodation ideas" (Idol, 349). In other words, I considered that having teachers (both special education teachers and mainstream teachers) get together and provide smart, collaborative leadership to provide what's best for students with special needs.

Secondly, teachers and other school professionals have proven to be successful when they work together to acquire "the disposition, knowledge, and skills to collaborate effectively." Thirdly, solutions that are collaboratively produced are "enhanced" when original solutions come from individual teachers committed to collaboration with other teachers (Idol, 349). This could mean that teachers in some environments would need to attend seminars, or otherwise become upgraded and updated vis-a-vis working together (even though their subjects are far afield from each other).

And fourthly, changes that are positive and motivating -- based on collaborators working together with open minds and knowledge of students with special needs -- can be expected at three levels, Idol and colleagues explain.

Those three levels of positive support include: a) team teaching among special education and general education instructors will bring positive changes in the school (not just to the students involved, but the whole school); b) there will be productive changes in the "skills, attitudes, and behaviors of adult collaborators" (teachers involved in the collaboration will be impacted through positive, intellectual and pedagogue-related growth; c) and there will be quantifiable progress in the academic and social skills of learners (Idol, 349).

TWO- Problem Solving Step ONE: The teachers are aware that William Perry has Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), but William also has "undiagnosed learning difficulties" so both the special education (SE) and the mainstream classroom teacher know they are not fully apprised of William's issues. They prepare strategies, the SE teacher works with the reading teacher and they agree on strategies to access William's ability to grasp content, on a very basic level.

Step TWO: The teachers initiate the consultation and there needs to be an establishment of rapport -- everyone is special and everyone is important. SE teacher works with William and one of two other SE students. The game Zoom is a good teamwork-building activity between William and Stephen (reading teacher shows a picture / photo of an object (let's say a dog); Stephen begins a story about the dog, and William is asked to continue the story. Rapport is established.

Step THREE: Even before the consultation, both teachers (who are not necessarily always in the room at the same time) collect and organize information; i.e., make notes and summarize what they discussed in terms of the needs of William. During their collaboration they carefully record each step they take, and William's responses (facial expressions, body language, and his verbal responses). Step FOUR: Isolating the problem means coming to terms with what the problem is, and what it is not.

When William talks about his father's anger during homework sessions, the SE and reading teachers know this is a problem that can't be ignored; e.g., they must work with the school psychologist at some level, and bring the parents into the picture. Step FIVE: By identifying the concerns (of the parents, William and the teachers) and avoiding cliches and jargon, and by focusing on William's needs and issues, a sense of resolution can be achieved. Step SIX: Generating options means possibly changing the physical configuration of the classroom.

Possible solutions and alternatives must be discussed by the teachers through brainstorming, idea-development and concept mapping. Step SEVEN: Goals for how to best work with William must be set, and roles between the two teachers are to be formulated. Methods for evaluation of the efforts put forward should be established. Step EIGHT: The professional collaborative relationship between the teachers vis-a-vis working with William (and other SE students) should be reviewed and assessed. Step NINE: Follow-through is vital in order to assure the plan that has been developed reaches wished-for goals.

Step TEN: Should the plan not be fully workable (say, the parents will not participate, or William is put on some new medication that changes his deportment), the first steps of collaboration should be revisited. Three -- Communication Strategies and Interpersonal Skills Soft-spoken, thoughtful communication skills are required when working with William. If his parents prefer not to be involved at the school level, the collaborative teachers should make an appointment to visit the home. The input of the school counselor / psychologist is vital.

Four -- Ethics Teachers in every classroom situation need to be up to speed on ethics. In particular, SE teachers have serious ethical responsibilities, as the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) points out: a) there must be respect for the dignity, culture, language and background; b) practicing "collegially" with other teachers is key; c) developing relationships with families of children with "exceptionalities" is a main goal; d) exercising high levels of "professional competence and integrity" when working with SE students and their families (CEC).

Five -- Consultation for Emotional / Behavioral Problems Janna Small has mood swings, says inappropriate things in a loud voice, is easily distracted but when a school topic is of interest, she locks in with total interest. Hence, Janna could very well have Asperger's Syndrome or Autism Spectrum Disorder. Before engaging in consultation teachers should have asked the counselor and district psychologist about the needed testing to determine the emotional / intellectual problems that Janna clearly is struggling with.

Is she on medication? What are her parents doing with respect to their relationship with the school? If they believe the teacher is not doing enough, and that Janna is being bullied, this qualifies as a crisis. "Traditional consultation is clearly defined: The [teacher] seeks the expertise of a consultant. accepts the power and authority. decides when and where the enactment of the recommendations will occur" (Crowley, et al., 2007).

Six -- Consultation for Academic Difficulties First of all one has to assume from the description given that Janna is a student with special needs. She should be spending part of her day in school with appropriate teachers (SE). Also, the school needs to develop an individualized education program (IEP) for Janna. The consultation should be developed based on these above-mentioned needs. The Iowa program suggests that students ". may receive different services at multiple points along the continuum based on the IEP" (educateiowa.gov).

The IEP includes "goals, specially designed instruction. skills deficit remediation. progress monitoring. assistance in accessing content" (educateiowa.gov). In Janna's case, she needs to get out of the class where she is being bullied and into a classroom where things she relates well to (birds) can be linked to consultations. Seven -- Transition Planning Janna isn't 16 years of age, but transition planning can begin to take place between the SE teacher, the counselor, a mainstream teacher (perhaps that reading teacher), and the district psychologist.

If she is too young to develop an IEP, something akin to that should be employed. Over 30% of students with learning disabilities drop out of high school; this fact should motivate the teachers and other school resources to help a smooth transition into special.