A Student Teachers Experience in an Inclusive Setting Jessica Belanger Haily Chase

How would you describe Aarons cognitive development? Describe any of Piagets or Vygotskys stages or zones that fit for Aaron? Aaron is at the level of a three year old in his mental state and physical coordination. This means that he is still in the phase of egocentric and cannot see things from the points of view of others. For some reason it doesnt seem as though Vygotskys Zone of Proximal development is helping Aaron. He is assisted by the student teacher through scaffolding and the positive role modeling of other students, therefore you would think he would be able to move on developmentally.

Do you relate to the student teachers difficulty in understanding Aaron? In what ways, if any, do you think she could have tried harder to understand Aaron and/or to help the other students understand him? Yes, the student teacher tried to the best of her ability to help Aaron. She cannot be expected to be with him every minute and she doesnt have the experience of the actual teacher in the classroom or special education teacher. She tried to incorporate other children as they played on the playground. We dont feel that there was anything else she could do to foster interaction between Aaron and the other students.

How much information should a classroom teacher share with her student teacher in regard to special needs students? Should the student teacher have had to ask her clinical instructor for such information, or should she have been provided with it from the beginning? What differences do you see arising in the classroom as a result of these two possible situations? The classroom teacher should make the student teacher aware of the needs of the students in the classroom. It is very important that the student teacher be aware of the challenging students in the class so that they can be prepared to deal with the issues that may crop up. In this instance it is simply dangerous to leave the student teacher in the dark and definitely hinders the progress that could be made. The student teacher should not have asked the clinical instructor for more information, I feel that the clinical instructor would not have this knowledge in all cases and the classroom teacher is the one who should be asked. If the student teacher knew the special needs of the students before she began student teaching, she would have been much more prepared, it would have benefited the student more, and she would have felt less responsible and blamed herself less for the events.

In what way(s) do you think this student teachers tendency to take things personally will affect her teaching ability, interactions with the students, and interactions with the other teachers? This will be a huge challenge for her. Teachers will have good days and bad days. They will not be able to change the lives of every student and have to understand that the students come from a long history which cannot be changed in a day or a month. She will have a harder time to work with other teachers at times as well. It is good that she knows her tendency to take things to personally, but she must work to change this.

How could this student teacher have dealt with her lack of special education background and training? Should she have been placed in this particular inclusive classroom situation without any special education training? Why or why not? It is definitely beneficial for all student teachers to have at least some special education training. This classroom was a good learning experience for her, but it would have been much more beneficial if she had been prepared for it and would have better strategies to work with Aaron. The violent behavior of the student makes it even more important for her to have strategies to deal with the issues that arise. The student teacher could have talked with the special education teacher right away as soon as she found out that Aaron was developmentally disabled, and she could have spoken with her clinical supervisor for advice as well.

In your opinion, what should the characteristics of an ideal clinical instructor/student teacher relationship be for the maximum benefit to both parties? Please comment on the rights and responsibilities of both parties. Both teachers should work as a team. The student teacher has a right to know what challenges will be faced in this classroom environment. The classroom teacher has a responsibility, where that she is in the classroom daily and knows the students, to make the student teacher aware of these things. In this way the teachers can work together and grow through collaboration.

Should the student teacher allow herself to concentrate on Aaron? Is she ignoring the needs of the other students in doing so? What could be the drawbacks of denying herself the experience of interacting with the other students? In this situation the student teacher was forced to focus on Aaron. She should not have had to do this. Student teaching is her time to learn strategies and practice being an effective teacher. It is not a prep for her babysitting career. She is there to learn, and it was not fair to expect her to focus on this one student.

After reading about how the student teacher reacted to the initial screaming incident, how do you think you would have reacted? Differently? Similarly? Why? We would have reacted similarly. We would have been shocked and upset by the students response. Thinking about all the time and collaboration between the two, we would have been personally upset by the outburst.

When considering Diane Rices suggestions, do you think that she correctly analyzed the situation? What would you do differently, if anything? She was right about Aarons difficulty in relinquishing control, but there are going to be times in his life where he has to take directions. There has to be a balance and you cant step carefully around him at all times to keep the peace. At some point, he must learn to listen to authority or the implications will be far greater down the line.

In the last two entries of her journal, the student teacher talks about her relief and her guilt about wanting to leave. Did you perceive her thoughts as selfish the way that she did, or do you think she was justified in her feelings? She is definitely justified in her feelings. She was treated poorly and too much was expected of her in this situation. We sympathize with her and feel that the situations were not handled properly. Dealing with students with special needs should not have been dropped on the student teacher without warning.