Students with special needs require their educators, community and family to create a cohesive plan for their academic, social and emotional success. The person who bears the responsibility of organizing the team and plan is most likely a teacher who is well prepared, compassionate and qualified to work with exceptional children. The teacher is responsible for coordinating academic services and determining what teaching strategies will prove most effective for each student. In addition, the special education teacher will ensure that each student is provided a safe learning environment.
Becoming a teacher for exceptional students starts with the right education and experience. Northwest Missouri State University’s online Master of Science in Education (MSEd.) in Special Education is the best first step to prepare to work well with students with special needs, their communities and their families.
Effective Instructional Strategies for Exceptional Students
Because exceptional students have a harder time adapting to new or difficult situations, teachers who work with them need to find innovative strategies that will help their students’ progress. Here are a few teacher-tested strategies:
- Pre-teach and use vocabulary students will need for upcoming content-area lessons.
- For students in a larger group who need more time to process questions and determine an answer, announce that you will ask the question but then wait for everyone to have an opportunity to think.
- Offer certain technological interventions to prevent further distractions and help students focus.
- Break class assignments into smaller sections and ask the student to check in and review directions after each section.
- Shorten independent work assignments and tests. Provide additional support. For example:
- Offer fewer choices for multiple-choice activities.
- Provide a word bank for fill-in tests or activities.
- Provide examples of each type of problem to be solved.
Providing a Safe Learning Environment for Exceptional Students
All students come to school with a multitude of experiences and habits, some good and some difficult. Emotional or behavioral challenges that students with special needs bring to the classroom will affect their ability to focus on academic work. To process information and perform at their best, they need a safe learning environment, free of peripheral challenges and distractions. A carefully designed learning environment addresses two areas of concern:
- It provides a barrier from outside distractions that other students may be able to ignore. This barrier may also include separation from students who lack the patience or understanding to work either collaboratively or side-by-side with a student who works more slowly. Students with disabilities also benefit from learning environments in which they can ask questions and make mistakes without fear of ridicule.
- It acknowledges that students with behavioral or emotional disabilities may need physical places in which they can process academic information and environmental changes. Students with both learning and behavioral or emotional disabilities usually work more productively if given a quiet area with plenty of space in which they can move around and think out loud.
Preparing to Teach Exceptional Students
The Master of Science in Education in Special Education degree from Northwest Missouri State University offers the ideal next step for education professionals. It is designed for experienced educators who want to expand their understanding of teaching students with special needs in their general education classroom or who wish to explore the possibility of teaching exceptional children full time.
The all-online program prepares students to meet the academic and social/emotional challenges faced by students who already receive special services and who benefit from an Individualized Education Program. In addition, it explores the skills required to work with students who are not yet receiving services but who have been identified as “at-risk” and require additional support from well-prepared professionals.
This graduate program prepares graduates to work with exceptional students as a classroom teacher, a special education teacher or an interventionist. Earning this degree helps make teachers ready for the next step in their careers.
Learn more about Northwest Missouri’s online MSEd. in Special Education program.
