Module 4: Foundations and Principles in My Context of Practice

Section 1: Choosing a Professional Community

When considering a context for professional practices I first started by evaluated an area of need in my professional resources. I currently enjoy utilizing a variety of online professional resources including CultofPedagogy. Last year, I also joined a facebook group Reading and Writing Workshop in International Schools and Units of Study in Middle School: Reading and Writing Workshops TCRWP to support my professional growth in a school that has adopted the Reading and Writing Workshop model from Teachers College at Columbia University. I have found these groups to be a valuable resource to ask questions and obtain resources for Reading and Writing Workshop. When considering my current role and professional communities I wanted to investigate professional resources specifically for teachers working with students with exceptionalities.  In my current role, I work as a Student Support Teacher supporting students with exceptional learning needs in grades 6-8. The school I currently work uses a Multiple-Tier System of Supports to provide support to students. In my role, I work to provide Tier 2 and Tier 3 supports. For students who receive Tier three supports, I design Individualized Learning Programs for students with identified disabilities and for Tier 2, I design and provide targeted, supplemental supports to students who demonstrate need for additional support beyond the core-classroom instruction.  (https://www.acps.k1882.va.us/domain/1125)  At my school, I work within a department of about 20 professionals PK-12. My department is made up of a School Psychologist, Speech-Language Pathologist, Counselors, English Language Learner teachers, and Student Support Teachers.I am the only Student Support Teacher at the middle school and am one of four Student Support Teachers at my school. Within the walls of my school, my professional learning community of teachers in the same role is very small.  With this in mind, wanted to use this opportunity to expand beyond the wall of my school to find a Professional Learning Community which could help me to continue to enhance my learning for issues specifically related to the lense of Special Education. Watson (2014) highlights that effective Professional Learning communities have, “shared values and vision and community”(p. 21). By participating in a PLC for Special Education Teachers I hope to expand my network of professionals who have the same shared vision and goal of meeting the needs of students with an exceptionality. I also hope to find a community that will allow me to post questions and receive feedback that are specifically related to Special Education. Some of the topics that I imagine being helpful to discuss are designing individual goals, reviews of specific instructional strategies for students with a specific disability, and advice for using assistive technology with students. Other topics that I think will be useful is providing support for parents of children with an exceptionality, and designing physical spaces that better support student learning.    I hope that this community will afford me the opportunity to share my learning about conceptions of curriculum, educational philosophies, curricular designs, planning, instruction, and evaluation. I am curious to see how the curricular designs that I use in my classroom are similar or different than other Special Education Teachers within this group. I hope this professional community will provide me with the opportunity to engage in meaningful with other Special Education teachers about best practices, resources, and teaching strategies. In my current role, I teach many co-taught classes. I would like the opportunity to share my experiences with curricular design from the lense of co-teaching as well as learn from other’s perspectives about ways to better support students within a co-teaching model.

Section 2: Challenges

I began my search with the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). As an Undergraduate Student, I was an active member of a local chapter of the CEC in Washington State and found it to be a valuable resource. The CEC is a professional association of educators dedicated to advancing the success of children with with an exceptionality. When exploring the CEC I noticed they had an online platform called CECommunity. This was a website dedicated to providing special educators with the opportunity to connect, collaborate, and share. When first examining the website, I noticed that there was a variety of resources available including a discussion forum and a place to post resources. This seemed like it could be a viable resource for me as an international teacher because I could connect with other Special Education teachers online. Unfortunately, after examining the website further I noticed that the most recent post was from three years ago. After seeing this, I decided that this was not a currently active professional community. So I decided to continue my search.  Next, I wanted to explore options for networks of Special Education Teachers within South Korea. I came across SENIA (Special Education Network and Inclusion Association). SENIA is an organization whose mission is to, “advocate for and provide resources/supports for differently-abled individuals”.  Through the SENIA website, I was able to determine that there was a local chapter for SENIA. SENIA Korea is dedicated to, “SENIA KOREA is a community of educators, professionals, parents, and students advocating for the inclusion of all with varied educational needs in the region. We believe that all children have a right and the ability to learn, and deserve access to a meaningful educational experience to fulfill their full potential.” Unfortunately, when reviewing the website for the Korea chapter of SENIA it looks like the website has not been updated since 2017 and the facebook group is no longer active.  In an effort to find out more about SENIA I talked with the Principal of Teaching and Learning at my school. She said that she has heard that SENIA Korea is trying to re-start the chapter this year. She said she believes they are planning to have a Jobalike meeting at the Korea Overseas Council of Schools (KORCOS) in November 2019. Luckily, KORCOS will be hosted at my school this year, I look forward to learning more about SENIA Korea.  Since I will not be able to find out more about SENIA until later this year, I decided to explore facebook groups as a possible professional community. Last year, I joined I am currently a member of Reading and Writing Workshop in International Schools through Facebook and I have found this group to be a valuable resource to ask questions and obtain resources for Reading and Writing Workshop.  After some searching, I came across a closed Facebook group called SpedAhead. This group has 19,035 members and there are posts made daily. The group was described as, “SPED-ahead was created as a place for sped teachers to come together and share experiences, offer support, and inquire about teaching special education. Members can ask questions, provide ideas and tips, and share helpful information”. Based on this description this seemed like a group that would meet my needs for a PLC. In order to be considered to join this group, I had to complete the following questionnaire. One struggle that I had when completing this questionnaire was there were limited characters in my responses.  Luckily, the response to my request to join the group was quickly answered. After a day of waiting, I was able to gain access to SPEDAhead.

Section 3: Examining curriculum theories/philosophies

After gaining access to the group, I decided to take a closer look to investigate SPEDAhead further to determine the types of educational philosophies that were present. I took some time to review current posts, questions, and resources that were posted to the Facebook group.  First I decided to investigate for evidence of any of the four conceptions of curriculum:  Individual: The goal of education is focused on the growth of individuals. A student-centered approach to learning  (Schiro, 2013, P. 5)  Society: The goal of education is focused on meeting the future needs of society (Schiro, 2013, P. 4)  Technology:  The goal of education is to communicate information effectively and efficiently ( Eisner, E., & Vallance, 1974, p. 7). “The technological orientation focuses on finding efficient means of reaching planned learning objectives through the use of modern technology; and the academic orientation aims at developing students' rational thinking and skills of inquiry” (Brown, 2006, 164-181 Academia: The purpose of education is to help children learn the accumulated knowledge of our culture (Schiro, 2013, P. 4) While reviewing the Facebook group I found evidence of both Individual and Academia conceptions of curriculum. Many of the posts, questions, and resources posted to this group were focused on helping teachers to better serve the needs of individual students. For this reason, I think there is strong evidence of Individual perspectives for the conception of the curriculum.  There were also many posts that were specific to the types of curriculum teachers were using in the classroom for different subjects including reading, writing, and math. For this reason, there also appeared to have Academia perspectives for the conceptions of curriculum.  When examining the group for philosophical foundations one of the first philosophical foundations I found evidence of was Essentialism, "promote the intellectual growth in the individual" and to "educate the competent person" (Ornstein, 1990-1991, p. 105). Essentialism views the role of the teacher to be an authority on his or her subject field. When reviewing this group there is evidence of Essentialism as many of the questions are targeted to a specific subject-specific design and helping prepare students to develop skills to prepare them for employment opportunities post-graduation and to develop skills to live independent and productive lives. The group also shows evidence of progressivism as there are numerous posts on learner-centered approaches described in the posts. Ornstein (1990/1991) highlighted that progressivism is, “based on student interests; involves the application of human programs and affairs” (p. 109). Many of the posts in this group focus on how teachers can consider strengths, and needs of an individual to design curriculum.  When examining this group, I found it easy to identify conceptions of curriculum and philosophy as there were many posts pertaining to curriculum. However as Ornstein, (1990/1991) identified, “Very few schools adopt a single philosophy” (109). As I reviewed the posts, questions, and comments there were many different philosophies identified.

Section 4: Group Resources:

After reviewing the SpedAhead group I think one of its strengths is that it is positive and solution-oriented. One of the main functions of the group is teachers can ask questions and receive support from other Special Education teachers to answer the questions. Common questions include seeking advice for classroom set-up and design, support for more efficient systems of data collection, where to buy adaptive furniture, and curriculum reviews. This group is active and there are multiple posts made each day and responses to posts are usually responded to within the same day.  Reviewing this group I think that it will provide me with a space to ask questions specifically related to Special Education and receive an answer based on individual teacher experiences.  When examining my philosophy of education, I think of it as a learner-centered approach which exists within the confines of a subject-centered approach. My experience as a teacher is grounded in the belief that it is the role of the teacher to help each individual student grow and learn by harnessing that individuals strengths, needs, and interests. This perspective is very learner-centered in approach. Ornstein and Hunkins explain that learner-centered approaches focus on, “Advocates of child- or student-centered design believe that students must be active in their learning environments and that learning should not be separated from students' lives, as is often the case with subject-centered designs. Instead, the design should be based on students' lives, needs, and interests” (p. 165). Within my classroom, I am also a strong advocate for student participation in goal setting, self-assessment, and reflection. As Shepard (2000) pointed out, “Student self-assessment services cognitive purposes, then, but it also promises to increase students’ responsibility for their own learning and to make the relationship between teachers and students more collaborative:” (p.12). McMillan (2014) also notes, “Self-assessment helps students to become self-directed, self-reflective, self-determined, and self-motivated”.  Self-assessment and reflection and regularly integrated into my  In my classroom, also believe in the power of collaborative learning and creating authentic and personalized learning experiences. For these reasons, I believe that much of my teaching philosophy is grounded in learner-centered curriculum designs.  My educational philosophy is also grounded in the belief that assessment is an integral component of the teaching and learning process. Add quote here about assessment I believe in using a variety of assessments to inform my instruction and direct individual learning plans.  I also realize that much of what I do as a teacher is grounded in subject-centered curriculum design principles. In my daily work, I spend a great deal of time examining a standards-based approach to education. As a special education teacher, much of my instruction is Direct Instruction and remediation that is subject-specific. For example, I currently teach a class called Literacy Lab which focuses on providing targeted instruction in reading and writing. I also teach a class called Math Lab which focuses on providing targeted instruction in math. In these classes, the instruction is targeted toward closing achievement gaps and getting students closer to meeting grade-level expectations in specific content areas.  When examining my curriculum design closer I believe that while content is typically taught in a subject-centered approach many of my instructional delivery methods and assessment practices are much more student-centered.  One of the weaknesses of this group is much of the advice is often based on personal experiences and anecdotes from teachers and at times it can lack a connection to research. While some teachers post research-based information and cite sources, I would not say that this is the majority of the posts. I think this is a helpful group to provide a network of communication for other job-alike teachers. I would recommend that other Special Education teacher’s looking for authentic discussion and first-hand advice join this group.

Section 5: Group Analysis

When examining SpedAhead, I also see both learner-centered approaches to learning and subject-centered designs which align well with my personal educational philosophy. The majority of posts in this group reflect a very Learner-Centered approach to learning where students are trying to work in the best interests of the student in order to help that individual student make growth. There are many posts focused on answer questions or seeking advice in order to meet the individual needs of a student, revealing a more learner-centered perspective. Teachers examine how they can better implement instruction to harness individual strengths. From the posts, discussion, and resources posted within the group many of the resources demonstrate a Learner-Center perspective. In many of the posts, the teacher asks questions about how to better meet the needs of students based on individual strengths and needs. Many of the posts reflect Learner-Centered perspectives as they, “Considering student voices allows learning to be more relevant because it considers that individual students need, background knowledge and experiences” (CEA, 2014). Many of the posts also show evidence that these educators are advocates of child-or student-centered designs because they, “Advocates of child- or student-centered design believe that students must be active in their learning environments and that learning should not be separated from students' lives, as is often the case with subject-centered designs” (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2013, p. 165). Many of the posts also pertain to the “whole child” by considering approaching each child individually to support academic, behavior, and social skills.  At the same time, many of the teacher’s in this group are Special Education teachers in the US who are responsible for writing Individual Education Plans that are compliant with Federal Law including preparing students to take high-stakes standardized tests. For this reason, many of the questions and posts also reveal a more subject-specific design as teachers seek advice for content-specific curriculum or ways to help students meet standards. For example, many questions exist in the group about writing Individual Education Program(IEP) goals which are written for different skills i.e reading, writing, math, social skills. When reviewing the resources many questions are subject-specific and mention curriculum that linearly structured with grade levels and externally mandated curriculum standards such as Common Core State Standards. There are also many questions about the specific standards-based curriculum which again emphasis the Subject-Centered Designs. There is evidence in these posts that, “The subject design corresponds to textbook treatment and teachers' training as subject specialists. It is also emphasized because of the continued stress on school standards and accountability” (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2013, p. 160).  There are also many posts regarding data collection systems. Teachers share effective systems to collect data to show progress toward IEP goals. Many of the goals are tied to standards.

References

Brown, G. T. L. (2006). Conceptions of curriculum: A framework for understanding New Zealand’s Curriculum Framework and teachers’ opinions. Curriculum Matters, 2, 164-181. Canadian Education Association (CEA) (2014) A Teacher’s P.O.V. on Starting Inquiry-based Learning in the Classroom. In: EdCan Network. Retrieved from: https://vimeo.com/85470752 Ornstein, A. C., & Hunkins, F. P. (2013). Curriculum: Foundations, principles, and issues (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. Schiro, M. S. (2013).  Introduction to the curriculum ideologies.  In M. S. Schiro, Curriculum theory: Conflicting visions and enduring concerns (2nd ed., pp. 1-13). Thousand Oaks, CA:  Sage.  Sped Ahead (n.d) Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/groups/spedahead/ Watson, C. (2014). Effective professional learning communities? the possibilities for teachers as agents of change in schools. British Educational Research Journal, 40(1), 18-29. doi:10.1002/berj.3025 Vallance. (1986). A second look at conflicting conceptions of the curriculum. Theory into Practice, 25(1), 24-30