Journal Drop #3

10-3-16

Making an Impact

Where can I make the most impact in special education? Where will I feel fulfilled, challenged, and at the same time avoid the burnout that I have seen in many special education case managers? This last point has been on my mind lately. In conversation with other members of the Pacific Cohort, many of us have noticed that sped teachers (especially those in self contained classrooms) take on a tremendous amount of stress which often leads to burnout. I have seen it many times myself with teachers that I have worked with.

How will I avoid the stress and feelings of burnout?

• Staying Organized
• Using my staff efficiently to assist me in data collection, behavior tracking, etc.
• Using district resources to assist my needs (Autism and behavior specialists, program assistants, etc. )
• Leaving my work at work
• Making time for myself

This semester I am taking a class on Transition Services. I am enjoying the class very much and could see myself working with older students. Helping these students transition into adult life and teaching them job skills, life skills and to be independent members of society has me really inspired right now.

10-4-16

Special Education and Action Research

There are so many interesting areas of action research that are coming to me as I reflect on my current classroom (Learning Resource Center) and my former classrooms (Life Skills). Self contained classrooms seem to lend themselves to the action research philosophy. By having a small group of students who you work with nearly every period, every day, you basically have a laboratory and a study group. Data collection duties can be divided among instructional assistants. Specific behaviors or academic skills can be zeroed in on and explored. I am primarily interested in problem behaviors, how to identify them, how to identify why they occur, and how to teach replacement behaviors, all in the goal of helping students to better access their education. Since I began working in the district I have been interested in behavior. Special educators have a variety of forms that they fill out to address behavior but these plans do not seem to have any ability to change behaviors. These BSPs (Behavior support plans) and FBAs (Functional Behavior Assessment) have become legal documents that only serve to meet the requirements of IEP legality. Often they serve little to no functional support. These students need real instruction and practice at using replacement behaviors.