Name: Danielle Verderosa
Course: EDU 9711
Reflective Term Paper Behavioral Management Special Education
Classroom Setting
The classroom where I undertook this observation was a second-grade class made up of students between the ages of seven to eight years. The class had a total of 18 students with eight of them being girls and the reaming 10 being boys. One of the students was autistic and required a large amount attention to help him keep up with the classroom activities. The child was easily distracted and quite reserved. The teacher had been teaching for two years and from my observation, she appears to have had quite some experience in managing a class of …show more content…
Such as including a number of techniques that help in reducing the chance of problematic behavior. Also by providing positive feedback for students engaging in appropriate behaviors. In the course of my observation, I realized that the teacher and the teaching assistants were using a range of behavioral supports and management strategies. The teachers used a good behavior game to manage the classroom behavior with the intention of avoiding disruptive behavior from occurring. As noted by Klenman & Saigh (2011), “this involved establishing a number of explicit rules that set out a broad range of positive behavioral expectations and these helped in defining the daily routines and settings of the classroom.” Some of these rules included respect for other students and staff, managing them appropriately and solving problems responsibly. These rules are written down and posted in strategic places where students can easily read them. The teachers took their time to explain these rules and encouraged the students to ask questions. Some of the specific rules and expectations included the students to be good listeners and to look at the teacher during while they are …show more content…
The teacher and the teaching assistants used collaborative techniques to instruct the class. This mainly involved the teacher taking the lead in issuing instructions, while the teaching assistants went around the classroom checking on the progress of the students and helping out those who learned at a slower pace. In some instances, I observed that co-teaching would also take place, since the teacher would occasionally need a minute to herself and allow one of the teaching assistants to guide the teaching activities of the classroom. During such times, the teacher would observe how the assistant was running the classroom and occasionally step in to add some points made by the teaching assistants. This I found to be great feedback, because as someone that is new to the teaching scene I am open to all tips and advice that is given. Co-teaching was also applied whenever the special needs teacher and assistants would work together. The main teacher would take over the class and teach the students while the teaching assistants looked on and observed not only the students but the teachers also. The emphasis of the teacher was more often on how the teacher can assistant the students when one is acting out and to observe how the student reacts when either they are learning or