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H. Johnson/MSU. 2.
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1. Roles & Responsibilities of Teachers of Students who are d/hh Harold A. Johnson
Michigan State University
2. H. Johnson/MSU 2 “Highly Qualified” – IDEA & NCLB Luft, P. (2008). Examining educators of the deaf as “highly qualified” teachers: Roles and responsibilities under IDEA and NCLB. American Annals of the Deaf, 152(5), 429-440.
P. 429 – “In order to assure instructional quality, all teachers of core academic subjects must meet requirements to be "highly qualified.“
Ongoing struggle to interpret how “highly qualified” is defined within special education
3. H. Johnson/MSU 3 p. 429 – “The challenge for educators of the deaf and other special educators is that they must meet both NCLB and Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requirements…”
NCLB = “…training, testing, and licensure within core academic subjects…”
Goal: raise the academic performance of all students, based on standardized norms
IDEA = “…disability-specific training and degrees.”
Goal: maximum performance of individual students with disabilities, based on progress as noted within Individualized Education Plans (IEP)
Students who are d/hh must be educated under both NCLB and IDEA
Resulting changes in the roles and responsibilities of teachers
4. H. Johnson/MSU 4 NCLB requirements fpr “highly qualified” teachers
Elementary Teachers: B.S. degree + pass state licensure test
= content area “generalists”
Middle School & High School Teachers: B.S. degree + pass state licensure test + “…has demonstrated a high level of competency in each of the academic subjects in which the teacher teaches, by passing a rigorous State academic subject test in each of the academic subjects in which the teacher teaches…” (p. 430)
= content area “specialists”
“Anyone providing direct instruction at the secondary level in any of the four core areas [i.e., language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science] must meet these requirements as of June 30, 2006.” (p. 431)
Key term is “direct instruction,” i.e., do special education teachers work in support of, or in lieu of, general education teachers? If they work “in lieu of,” then they must meet the requirements
5. H. Johnson/MSU 5 IDEA Requirements for SPED Teachers
SPED teacher responsible for implementing instruction in least restrictive setting (LRE) as prescribed within student’s IEP
= increasing amount of work with genera education teachers via role as Itinerant, resource room, or co-teacher.
= due to common interpretation of LRE, student placement in residential schools for the deaf has been significantly reduced, e.g.,
1992-93: 13.17%
2002-03: 6.79%
Note: while this is the general trend on the U.S. mainland, such is not yet the case in the Pacific
6. H. Johnson/MSU 6 Impact of NCLB and IDEA upon teachers of students who are d/hh:
Before: limited involvement with, or isolation from, general education curriculums and classrooms
Now: all students must meet general education curricular standards and most are integrated, either full or part time, in general education classrooms.
Implications:
The educational “environment” has changed and the preparation of teachers of students who are d/hh must be prepared for this change.
7. H. Johnson/MSU 7 Teaching Responsibilities: Consultant Teacher Deaf Ed Teacher:
Indirect services to students via periodic and often brief visits, as dictated by student’s needs
Direct services to general education teachers
Monitoring of student progress
Accommodations of curricular materials, instructional strategies, environment and support services
Demonstration and co-teaching
Collaborative problem solving
8. H. Johnson/MSU 8 Resource Room Teacher Deaf Ed Teacher
Similar to roles and responsibilities of the “consulting” teacher, but more time for direct instruction of student that is usually carried out in a separate setting from the general education classroom, i.e., “pull-our” vs. “drop-in”
“Resource and itinerant teachers work within the content and instructional sequence identified by the teacher, and according to the student's IEP.” (p. 433).
9. H. Johnson/MSU 9 Self-Contained Classroom Teacher & Residential School More limited contact with general education teacher or classroom
More time with, and direct instruction of students who can not be successfully educated within the general education classroom
i.e., “Under IDEA, these students should demonstrate academic or other deficiencies of such severity that they need full-time placement in a segregated setting with an educator of the deaf.” (p. 433)
Instructional activities prescribed by student’s IEP, with teachers identifying learning goals, sequences and materials. The degree to which decisions are based on the state’s general education curricular standards varies from setting to setting.
10. H. Johnson/MSU 10 Summary Information Under NCLB the…
…general education teacher provides academic instruction as prescribed by state curricular standards.
…teacher of students who are d/hh provides disability specific knowledge and skills in support of both the student and the general education classroom teacher.
11. H. Johnson/MSU 11 “Schumaker and colleagues (2002) found that high school special education teachers described their most important roles to be teaching learning strategies and working with general education teachers.” (p. 434)
“Educators of the deaf also have reported spending substantial amounts of time addressing the significant needs of general educators and administrators in order to successfully support deaf and hard of hearing students.” (p. 434)
12. H. Johnson/MSU 12 “The knowledge and skills content that is critical for educators of the deaf, and which is required for successful collaborative placements, is not academic content. Rather, it consists of the knowledge and skills to address the unique communication, literacy, learning, academic, and assistive technology needs of deaf and hard of hearing students, and the collaborative skills to communicate these needs effectively to a variety of educators, administrators, and family members.” (p. 434)
13. H. Johnson/MSU 13 “Only in segregated classrooms or schools does the educator of the deaf assume responsibility for both academic content and deafness accommodation decisions.” (p. 435)
It is in these settings that teachers of students who are d/hh must also meet the “highly qualified” requirements of NCLB
14. H. Johnson/MSU 14 Foster, S., & Cue, K. (2008). Roles and responsibilities of itinerant specialist teachers of deaf and hard of hearing students. American Annals of the Deaf, 153(5), 435-439.
Dramatic changes that have occurred over the last 30 years in relation to where students are educated and the instructional roles and responsibilities of teachers of students who are d/hh, e.g.,
2002, 86% of students who are d/hh receive their education in “mainstream” schools, with 50% of those students being educated in “inclusion” settings.
Similarly, screening for hearing loss at birth, the provision of early intervention services, and technological advances in amplification devices is significantly changing the achievement “profile” of preschool students who are d/hh.
Implications, times have changed, and so muse we!
15. H. Johnson/MSU 15 Literature review re. tasks performed by “Tasks performed by itinerant teachers include
adapting instructional methods and materials,
troubleshooting problems with hearing aids and FM systems,
coordinating team meetings,
giving workshops to mainstream teachers,
communicating with parents,
traveling among schools,
developing educational plans,
conducting assessments, and
providing academic support to students.” (p. 436)
Note: these are some of the topics of “frequently encountered problems” (FEP) that your Cyber Mentors are likely to face. Ask them about such topics. In addition, ask if/how such FEP are experienced in the Pacific, vs. on the U.S. mainland.
16. H. Johnson/MSU 16 “Essential skills identified by itinerants include organizational, mediation, advocacy, and collaborative skills; expertise in a range of subject areas; and the ability to negotiate their roles in the regular classroom.” (p. 436)
Resulting topics that new teachers of students who are d/hh should be taught are:
Advising and consulting with general education teachers
Interpersonal skills
Teaching deaf+ students
Cochlear implants
Organizational skills
IEP process
Reading and language instruction
Strategies to help students understand their hearing loss and develop self advocacy skills
Note: while we are dealing with these topics and skills in this course, subsequent courses will go into even more depth.
17. H. Johnson/MSU 17 “Luckner (1991) reports that successful consultation with regular class teachers requires an ability to
schedule informal meetings with teachers to discuss student progress,
establish mutual trust with other professionals,
adapt instructional materials,
suggest modifications to the class environment, and
help general education teachers work with interpreters or note takers;
he lists effective communication as the top-ranked competency for carrying out these tasks.” (p. 437)
Given what you have learned thus far in both the Seaver and Williams’ text, what are the essential “barriers” to effective communication with other professioanls?
18. H. Johnson/MSU 18 “Antia (1999) concludes that special educators may find a balance between providing service to the deaf child and supporting the classroom teacher. She proposes that knowledge of the general class curriculum and teaching methods is essential, since without it specialists may have unrealistic expectations of general education teachers or make suggestions that do not match the teacher's style or the culture of the classroom.” (p. 437)
This is one of the reasons Michigan requires SPED teachers to also be certified in general ed.
19. H. Johnson/MSU 19 Inherent problem experienced by Itinerant teachers, and their students = isolation
H. Johnson
“The primary problem of deafness is not too little hearing, but too much isolation. This isolation is experienced by students, parents, and the professionals who work with them. Reducing isolation, fostering collaboration and recognizing/sharing instructional/academic excellence is a primary goal of deaf education.”
Why does this occur and what can you do to address this problem?
Communities of learners
Web based technologies and resources
20. H. Johnson/MSU 20 Research Method & Design for this investigation Mixed method, i.e., survey of itinerant teachers + information from observations and “focus groups” of itinerant teachers
Data source, 210 interviews
Resulting Findings
“The qualities and knowledge needed to be an itinerant teacher also reflect earlier research; examples include
interpersonal and organizational skills,
familiarity with laws on education and the IEP process, and
strategies that teach students how to advocate for themselves.
While pullout remains the predominant instructional model, this study confirms that consultation and workshop development are emerging as key skills for itinerants.” (p. 445)
21. H. Johnson/MSU 21 “The results of the present study also suggest that teacher preparation programs are not adequately preparing itinerant teachers. While many respondents were highly experienced and therefore had learned skills on the job, the gap between learning on the job and in preparation programs (67% to 17%) is too large.” (p. 445)
This is not the case at MSU, we are addressing this reality “head-on”