Classroom Observations

CLASS OBSERVATIONS
Special ED Class
As part of my studies in high school, I was required to visit and evaluate different classes including special ED class. In this endeavour, I visited a neighbouring town school which had inclusive programs that were aimed at teaching students practical skills in writing, reading and mathematics.
The class I observed had four severely handicapped learners. Although two of them were able to walk, none of the four could talk very well. They also seemed to have poor eyesight. The class teacher informed me that one of the students who could not walk was quite brilliant. Although not able to speak, he employed sign language effectively in answering class questions. He also seemed to enjoy the learning program in the classes. Teachers employed special teaching techniques that were meant to make these students understand better; some of these efforts included holding the students hands to identify letters. This to me however, did not look very efficient as the students were turning away. Another student appeared troublesome in the class. The student seemed to be obsessed with a little pen he was holding. The teacher was bored with this student because he was reduced to taking a lot of time in controlling this student at the expense of the others. What surprised me was that the teacher did not use a one on one strategy to these students, a method which is believed to be efficient in such a case.
In this class, the daily schedule and programmes and state stipulations with regard to the educational needs of these students was displayed on the classroom wall. With regard to the assessment of these students, the teacher informed me that they are assessed independently using the independent education plan. This plan is re-evaluated annually by the state. There are also standard tests where a teacher evaluates each learner to find out their level of understanding.
The teacher informed me that the students are not supposed to be ...