My interview with the Learning Support Teacher (LST)

I interviewed the Learning Support Teacher (LST) at my practicum school. She has a wide range of experience working with students in special education and inclusive classrooms. As a Learning Support Teacher, she assists with early identification, curriculum differentiation and modification, assessment, intervention strategies, IEPs and acts as additional support. The Bill 82: The Education Amendment Act 1980 guarantees special ed to all students at no fee (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2017). However, due to the cuts that Ford has implemented within the system, it is difficult to guarantee these students the support they need to be successful because the availability of support staff is limited. At my practicum school, there are only four Educational Assistants (EA) available for the 650 students. The Ottawa Carleton District School board has a structure in place that organize students from a wide range of capabilities into congregated classes, which filters EAs into those, and leaves fewer EAs for inclusive classrooms that need it. The cuts to funding have led to the lack of EAs, causing the change in dynamic where they are only responsible for the behavioural needs of students, and no longer for academic support.

The use of Universal Design for Learning will help reach a wide range of capabilities found within a classroom. It emphasizes equity, appropriate design spaces, flexibility, safety and different modes of expression ( Ontario Ministry of Education, 2017). Differentiating lessons to target student interests, learning styles and offering choice is beneficial and it helps students stay engaged and manages behavioural problems, especially in larger classrooms (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2017). In an inclusive classroom, the interviewee mentions the great amount of work and effort put into planning for students with specialized needs. Moore, S.' (2016) main message was the adjust the lesson plan to reach more students, including the outliers on the side. From the interview, she mentioned that teachers need to cater to the "harder" students so more people can grasp the key concepts because the students who do not need help will succeed regardless. However, it is difficult when there is no limit on the classroom size or extra support, to meet all the students' needs to be successful.

In my practicum, there are many challenging behaviours present in the classroom, specifically, I have noticed attention-seeking and avoidance of failure behaviour. Attention-seeking behaviour is the need for extra attention by making faces, calling out, not cooperating etc, these students prefer positive attention, however, negative attention is still attention and reinforces misbehaviour. In addition, Avoidance of failure behaviour is when a student withdraws from activities to avoid performing poorly, due to low self-esteem or confidence (Loreman, T. et al., 2011). To combat these behaviours in my school, my associate teacher uses a program called “Nurture Heart”, this specifically rewards the positive behaviours in students and also builds their self-esteem through recognition of good behaviour and effort. For example, comments such as “I can see you want to learn because you are focused on me when I am talking, and you are modelling to your friends what a good learner looks like.” Through this program, I have seen a change in attitude with respect to their peers and progress in learning from all of the students from September to now. This has helped develop their self-regulation thus allowing more focus towards their academic success.

Connell, M., (2016) indicates how ones’ family structure and lifestyle influences students social and academic success. Research has shown that early childhood trauma affects attention, focus and learning. The interviewee mentions communication with the family is important with students who need that extra support in specialized programs and inclusive classrooms. However, it is problematic when parents are resistant to suggestions due to English being a second language in their home and the belief that their child’s English is fine. Furthermore, she expresses the key dictating factor in student success is the effectiveness of the homeroom teacher. The school board should put workshops in place to ensure teachers are well trained and supported with resources and effective strategies to deliver practical needs for an inclusive classroom.

The interviewee’s most successful year in a specialized class was her General Learning Program (GLP) class, including 16 students functioning below the fifth tier, four students with ASD, and one student with one to one support. Based on individual backgrounds, they were able to effectively divide their students based on their needs; either working independently, in a group with her or with the EA. One student with ASD had a bin system labelled 1,2, and 3, which helped him stay organized and on task. She mentions with having all the support in her classroom that year, they were able to create all the supplies for his programming to meet his needs without feeling too overwhelmed in addition to meeting the needs of other students.

In the interview, she mentioned that mental health is becoming more prevalent in the school system. According to the Ontario Ministry of Education, (2013), schools can promote mental health, resilience and healthy development throughout the day, which in turn reduces high-risk behaviour, enhances academic achievement, and increases academic confidence, among others. Teachers need to reduce the stigma of mental health by discussing the implications and give students resources to find information.

In an inclusive classroom, with many behaviours and specialized needs, it can be difficult for the teacher to manage. For everyone’s safety, the behaviours are often managed first while academic learning comes second. This becomes a difficult challenge for the teacher and students when they move onto the next year but are below their grade level. It is critical to develop an action plan for when these behaviours occur, so students and teachers can understand the situation. This plan includes steps to identify the misbehaviour, reasoning, solutions, and consequences and rewards (Loreman, T., et al., 2011). When mental health and self-regulation are learned, this decreases the behaviours that occur in the classroom.

There is a shortage of support staff, and the administrative staff have the challenging responsibility of managing all the EAs within the school. More human resources, such as psychologists and social workers need to be staffed in order to test and identify the high volume of students who could benefit from supportive learning. It is beneficial to diagnose and fix issues at a younger age to minimize the gap between social-emotional learning and academics (Interviewee, 2020). Teachers and support staff need test results and information from professionals to put a plan in place for student success in special and inclusive classrooms.

References

Loreman, T., Deppeler, J. M., & Harvey, D. (2011). Inclusive education: supporting diversity in the classroom. Crows Nest, N.S.W.: Allen & Unwin.

Connell, M., (2016). All in the Family, Part 2. CBC Radio News. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/all-in-the-family-part-2-1.3532422

Moore, S., (2016). Transforming Inclusive Education. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYtUlU8MjlY

Ontario Ministry of Education. (2013). Supporting Minds: The Role of Educators in Supporting Students’ Mental Health and Well-being, 18-23.

Ontario Ministry of Education (2017). Special Education in Ontario: Kindergarten to Grade 12, Policy and Resource Guide (2017, Draft)