Part of being a good teacher is to make sure each student is learning. But that is easier said than done. As a good teacher one has to be able to observe and identify what a student needs, the best way they learn, and how to implement differentiated instructions and sometimes even know when to refer them to learning support. I had the amazing time interviewing my colleagues , 1 councilor who shall be known as Mr. Y, and 2 teachers Mr. H and Ms. Q. Because not everyone is at summer school, I used a program called "whatsapp", a messaging app very popular over here in Hong Kong, to interview the teachers. I would ask the questions via text and they would use voice to respond back to me with a voice recording. For the interview with the councilor we interviewed in person with a voice recording of the interview.
Interview with the Councilor- Mr. Y
- How is a student identified for special education referral?
- The whole system has been revamped and implement a new protocol. A teacher has the ability to recognize the needs a student will have. Teachers already have differentiation, but if they need extra support they will ask a referral. They will talk to the special needs teacher who will come in and make an observation to see how they should help.
- Who takes responsibility for the progress of the child before and after the referral?
- Both the teacher and the Learning support staff. The paperwork usually comes under case manager, but the teaching strategies and teaching the material, takes the lead.
- What is the school administration's directive for special education?
- Moving fully into inclusion, getting the students into the school who have mild needs. Seeing support take base. Hard to fully implement, because of the newness. Some teachers seem weary about having additional students with special needs in the classroom because of the extra time involved but the head of school wants to champion the cause. And making sure there is documentation to go along with the support.
- What provisions are made for students identified for special education?
- They get put on a plan developed by a teacher and a special ed teacher, as well as the principle and the parents. Student will sometimes be brought into the meetings to talk about how it isn't a stigma that there is no label but these are needs that they have and they will be owning the support that they get.
- What is the level of parent involvement in referral process and special education?
- Important because they need to be following at home. Important to get them involved earlier on, the more cooperation, even though they are at school for 8 hours a day there are more hours they are at home and its important for the family to be involved
- What are some areas the school does excel in?
- Supporting our students helping our students the best that we can. Teachers using different teaching strategies. The revitalization of the whole process. Make it about the student and doing our best to meet their needs.
- What are some cultural differences you see in the USA vs. our school in Hong Kong ?
- US it's required by law. There are appropriate channels, staff on site to administer tests for cognitive and behavioral, and they don't need to pay for it. In Hong Kong it's very expensive to have a student treated as well as get the documentation they need, a deterrent for parents to have their child tested. More of a stigma in Hong Kong and parents do not want to be labeled. Need for more awareness that people are not the same and we all need help. Students also need to know that they are not all the same that they are not cookie cutter models of each other. Every student has specific strengths and areas they need to improve on.
Interview with two teachers from my School. Mr. H and Ms. Q.
- How do you identify a student for special education?
Mr H: Student clearly has difficulty in their development, academic, social, emotional, effect the process of learning material and advancing in school.
Ms. Q: Watching for methods that work for other students that don't work for this student. Not weak all over, but weak in some areas. Doesn't seem to be a link between them. If can't find a link then see if they need help with special help.
Ms. Q: Watching for methods that work for other students that don't work for this student. Not weak all over, but weak in some areas. Doesn't seem to be a link between them. If can't find a link then see if they need help with special help.
- What are the signs of a struggling student?
Mr. H: Difficulty socializing with peers, developing friends, new friends, trust in peers. Teachers look at more which is the academic side. Students cant keep up with content or focusing in class. This is difficult in Middle School because a lot of kids have trouble focusing, it could be need for special education or if they are still developing. That is why there should be different levels and tiers for referral.
Ms. Q: When you look at data, test scores, participation, what you notice what they say vs what they write vs what they do. The differences between what they say and what the can do. A general inability to keep up with peers or standards. Most concern when modifications have changed so much that expectations are lowered.
Ms. Q: When you look at data, test scores, participation, what you notice what they say vs what they write vs what they do. The differences between what they say and what the can do. A general inability to keep up with peers or standards. Most concern when modifications have changed so much that expectations are lowered.
- Are there alternate methods of instruction tried out before referring the student for special education? If yes, what are they?
Mr. H: Different methods could be differentiating the instruction if a student doesn't learn well if a student is lecturing because they are a Kinetics learner and need more hands on activity to be able to receive the information. Maybe they didn't need any special education but they learn differently from their peers.
Ms. Q: Always alternative methods before referring them. Trying lots of strategies, prefer sitting, visual aids, written and verbal instructions, type instead of write, have some choice in assessment, verbal vs written response, not all the instructions on summative assessment at the end, taking formative assessment. Looking at all the pieces, lots of different strategy to try before hand just to see what works and what doesn't.
- Do you have a specific example or a story of how you used a personalized learning plan?
Ms. Q: A student with S as far as she would not understood things in class, never spoke up in class. Gave her a card that had a prompt card. In the end had to prompt her personally. In the end the plan had to change.
Even though the interviews are short and precise, I found that the teachers have a heart for wanting to do whats best for the student. And that they try new things for the student with differentiated instruction before they refer the student to the learning support team. I am very impressed with how they put the student as a focus, that the student isn't a burden, but that the teachers job is to help the student best as they can to make sure that the student is getting all the support that they need. Because I live in Hong Kong, where it is not a law to have to refer a student, the referral process seems a little less formal than in the US, which is required by law. And that even though teachers and learning support are responsible to help the student with needs, they are not bound by law to do so, but instead by the schools policies
I have attended meetings for students who needed help from the learning support with these teachers, and I have to say it shows some similarity to the Finish Special Education video I talked about in my last blog post. The video that describes what the teachers work towards helping the student with an individual learning plan. We meet the student is the focus of the meeting, and meet twice a cycle, and to make sure all subject teachers are on board with the process. The referral process the teachers mentioned in the interview gets discussed in these meetings to help the teachers all be on the same page. Our meetings might go something like this: little Jimmy is a kinetic learner and is excelling in certain subjects but falling behind in others, the teachers meet together and discuss how they teach little Jimmy,the teachers who have had success in instruction share their learning strategies and differentiated ideas,and then they come up with a plan to teach him in a way where he will excel, a personalized learning plan, before suggesting that little Jimmy gets a referral to learning support.
I think that the whole purpose of special education, personalized learning plans, and the process of referral is important to our students, especially in the 21century, if done well. If student's and parents don't see it as a label or a stigma but as a tool, if teachers don't find it a burden but as a way for students to succeed and shine, then I think that it will be incredibly helpful for the students who in the past who would have been labeled dumb, or trouble, or unteachable in the past could have an opportunity to reach their potential and be known as The Future.
Links to the audio clips:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2AbcDYPeoUFZ2tLLTBZbkpFVEJrcUZTanV0dmM4dnpkTnl3
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2AbcDYPeoUFNFJWSEhfZFhJc3E4VjVNeWp3Y3FxQUxkTFRV
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2AbcDYPeoUFWTA5RUxHSGZrSER4Q0pjVnBvMTdhTnFycHZr
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2AbcDYPeoUFT1EtcXdvWGZkcWc3NjlQSUpORkF0OUdKdTBJ
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2AbcDYPeoUFSjBzTk45RW5ISEQ3YjhGZnZsT01TSFp2ZlBr
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2AbcDYPeoUFa0xDRHJPb05HYnM4dGFVZXFFS1RpaUY3SnBr
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