Research Updates 1 & 2

For my research I was instructed to find out the differences between Mild to Moderate and Moderate to Severe licensure in special education. So far this had proven difficult because of the lack of information Im finding. The actual terminology is different from state to state and program to program. So far from my research, I have concluded that most educators are multicategorical. This means that the special educator has been trained and licensed to work with mild, moderate, and severe students. According to U. S. Department of Education, over ninety percent of the special education degrees granted each year are multicategorical (U. S. Department of Education, 2003). While researching, I found a chart published by the Center for Disability Services listing the specific disabilities and how the symptoms change through mild, moderate, and severe.

Here is the link for the chart:

http://www.ocfs.state.ny.us/ohrd/swec/materials/developmentaldisabilities/Handout-Continuum%20of%20Disabilities%201.pdf

Wrap Up

The day before my final service learning at DEA, I had the privilege to observe a third grade class of gifted students at another school in the Salt Lake Valley. The differences between the children and their level of education was astonishing. The children at DEA were in sixth and seventh grade and had problem areas in reading and math. The third graders, all had higher reading levels and could perform more complicated math problems than the children at DEA. I found it very interesting and beneficial to have experienced both ends of the Special Education spectrum. If I were to work at the elementary level, I would like to seek certification in gifted special education.

Now that I have finished my service leaning at DEA, I have decided to seek a secondary education licenses through the MAT program. Although I really enjoyed working with younger students, I found that I have more to offer to high school students. If it works out, I hope to receive a special education license in the MAT program as well. I learned a great deal from working with the kids and special education teachers. Through my observations I have started to develop my own methods of teaching to implement in the class room. I hope to work with these students in the future but at a higher level in their academic carrier.

Day 3

Today was my third day working at the Duel Immersion Academy in Salt Lake City. Unlike the first two days, I found today to be very enjoyable. To start, I was placed with a new group of students with a different teacher. This teacher was much more welcoming and eager to put me to work. All of the students followed directions and there was no disruptions of any kind. Overall there was just a different relationship between the students and teacher that positively contributed to their learning environment.

Also, today was the first day I worked with students on something other than math. We were split into two groups and I was in charge of helping the students with a reading assignment. After getting through the book each student was supposed to write a small paragraph about what they had just read. This assignment took no time at all and none of my students had any issues. After this was finished most of the students went back to class. However, one girl needed help with math and I was told to assist her. She had some trouble but I gave her a few tips and she worked everything out.

I learned a lot from my experience today. I found that I really enjoyed working with students in language arts. I also realized just how important it is to develop a working relationship with students. My first two days I noticed the relationship between the students and SPED teacher was very poor. The students were disruptive and did not respect the teacher's authority, they walked all over her and she had little control over them. Today, the teacher I worked with actually had a working relationship. The children did not speak over her, they listened and seemed to actually enjoy talking with her. I realized if the student teacher relationship is positive, all classroom activities will go smoothly.