Amber E. Benedict

Trends in Teacher Evaluation: What Every Special Education Teacher Should Know.

teacher in an urban Florida school. For as long as she can remember, classroom observations and formal evaluations by her principal have been an accepted and anticipated measure of her effectiveness. Annually, Carol’s principal would schedule an observation of her teaching and then evaluate the execution of her instruction, classroom management, and overall professionalism. Carol’s principal would use a district-provided checklist to document these observations. After the observation, Carol would meet with her principal to discuss her instructional practices and overall performance as a special education teacher. Last spring, however, Carol was shocked to learn about the proposed Florida Senate Bill 6 and the changes politicians proposed to measure the effectiveness of her teaching. It was frightening for her to learn that her pay scale, licensure, and even tenure could be determined by her students’ performance on the state’s standardized test. Although she deeply values the importance of student academic growth, Carol felt blindsided by this dramatic change to how her effectiveness as an instructor would be measured. She was even more alarmed when she learned that Florida was not the only state deliberating using student growth outcomes as an indicator to measure teacher performance. This new knowledge left Carol with many questions: How could such dramatic changes to my evaluation as an educator be happening without my knowledge? If the method of teacher evaluation in my district changes, what should I know about the evaluation measure? Are there things that I can do differently to ensure that I am prepared for my evaluation?

Individual and Contextual Factors Influencing Special Education Teacher Learning in Literacy Learning Cohorts

In this study, researchers operated from cognitive and situated perspectives to understand how individual qualities and contextual factors influenced elementary special education teachers’ learning in a multifaceted professional development (PD) project, Literacy Learning Cohort, focused on word study and fluency instruction. Grounded theory methodology was used to analyze qualitative interviews, cohort meetings, and classroom observations. Participants included five special educators who taught reading to students with disabilities in Grades 3 to 5. Results highlighted the central role of teachers’ ability to analyze their current instructional practice in developing integrated knowledge of word study and fluency instruction and crafting more integrated instruction. Teachers’ individual qualities, contextual factors, and PD components also worked in concert with teachers’ propensity to analyze instruction and ultimately influenced teacher learning (i.e., degree of integrated knowledge and practice demonstrated). Implications of these findings for designing effective PD efforts are discussed.

Cooperating Teachers’ Role in Preparing Preservice Special Education Teachers Moving Beyond Sink or Swim

Practicum experiences, a crucial component of preservice teacher preparation, help establish the foundational knowledge and skills necessary for beginning special education teachers (SETs). Preservice SETs need cooperating teachers (CTs) who support preservice SETs in proper emotional development (i.e., feeling like a teacher), who can model and support preservice teachers in the development of effective practices (i.e., acting like a teacher), and who promote the cognitive processes involved in instructional decision making (i.e., thinking like a teacher). When CTs are mindful of the learning needs of beginning special education teachers while also embracing the knowledge and skills they can bring to the partnership, they are more likely to help preservice teachers develop the skills needed to succeed on their own. This article presents strategies from the literature that CTs can use to effectively support their preservice SETs as they begin to feel, act, and think like a teacher.

Preparing Teachers to Effectively Deliver Reading Instruction and Behavioral Supports in Response to Intervention Frameworks

Successful implementation of Response to Intervention frameworks in schools requires general and special education teachers to have well-integrated knowledge bases for providing instruction and intervention in reading and behavior. Implementation-focused approaches to changing teacher behavior, favored traditionally in special education, however, are unlikely to help teachers acquire such knowledge. In this chapter, we discuss the knowledge and practice that defines expert teachers in reading and behavior and how such expertise might be achieved through practice-focused approaches to initial teacher education and professional development.

Situating Special Educators' Instructional Quality and Their Students' Outcomes within the Conditions Shaping Their Work.

abstract This investigation examined relationships among special education teachers’ working conditions (e.g., classroom characteristics, administrative support), personal characteristics (e.g., experience, certification status, self-efficacy), instructional quality, and students with disabilities’ reading achievement and behavioral outcomes. Data from the 2004–2005 administration of the Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study were used. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the fit of models for five latent factors. Hybrid structural models were applied to test the hypothesis that working conditions would be positively associated with special education teachers’ self-efficacy and their instructional quality, which would, in turn, be positively associated with their students’ reading achievement and behavioral outcomes. Although the initial structural equation model tested failed to support the hypotheses, several significant relationships with theoretical and practical significance were discovered. Directions for future research and practical implications are discussed.

Workload Manageability Among Novice Special and General Educators: Relationships With Emotional Exhaustion and Career Intentions:

Novice special educators (those in their first 3 years) consistently report their workloads are unmanageable. Yet, it is not clear whether their perceptions of workload manageability contribute to outcomes of concern such as emotional exhaustion (a component of burnout) or intentions to continue teaching in their schools and districts. This pilot investigation used structural equation modeling to analyze data collected for the Michigan Indiana Early Career Teacher Study. We found (a) novice elementary and middle school special educators rated their workloads less manageable than novice elementary and middle school general educators; (b) novice special and general educators’ ratings of workload manageability predicted emotional exhaustion, which mediated a relationship between workload manageability and career intentions; and (c) the magnitude of the relationships was stronger for novice general educators. Results have implications for supporting and retaining novice special and general education teachers.

Multiple Dimensions of Instructional Effectiveness in Reading: A Review of Classroom Observation Studies and Implications for Special Education Classrooms

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to review and analyze effective classroom reading practices for early graders, using information gathered from the existing content-general and content-specific observation protocols measuring teachers’ classroom reading practices. Dimensions and constructs from 28 observation studies were synthesized to identify classroom instructional practices that have positive impacts on student achievement. Findings revealed that (a) instructional support, emotional support, and classroom management have positive impacts on student achievement, (b) the degree to which instructional practices are effective depends on students’ particular learning needs, and (c) students’ entering skills and primary language are associated with instructional effectiveness in reading. Challenges and implications for future research on effective instructional strategies for special education and the development of an observational protocol for special education teacher effectiveness are discussed.

Cultivating a Community of Effective Special Education Teachers: Local Special Education Administrators' Roles.

Evidence of the powerful impact teachers have on student achievement has led to an intensive focus on cultivating effective teachers, including special education teachers (SETs). Local special education administrators (LSEAs) share responsibility for cultivating effective SETs throughout their districts. However, the roles LSEAs play in this process have not been clearly defined through research. This qualitative investigation used grounded theory methods to examine how LSEAs in the Victoria School District, a high-performing, inclusive district, described their roles cultivating a district-wide community of effective SETs. The findings have implications for districts’ efforts to cultivate effective SETs systemically and for future research on effective district-level leadership for special education.

Using Lesson Study to Prepare Preservice Special Educators

Learning to teach students with disabilities is challenging. Preservice special educators must develop critical knowledge of content as well as skill for enacting evidence-based practices effectively. Preservice special educators need increased opportunities to learn core knowledge coupled with a mechanism to support them in situating their newly acquired knowledge and skills in classroom practice. This column describes lesson study (LS), a practice-based approach that can be integrated within a teacher preparation program preparing preservice special educators to teach students with high-incidence disabilities. The column includes (a) a description of steps that teacher educators can take to integrate the LS process into their teacher preparation program, (b) reproducible items needed to facilitate LS, and (c) recommendations for evaluating the effect of LS on preservice special educators’ knowledge and skills.

When Knowing Isn’t Enough: Understanding Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Teaching Reading Fluency to Students with Specific Learning Disabilities

Research investigating the relationship between teaching quality and student outcomes has found that teachers with higher knowledge for content and pedagogy are more likely to spend more time using effective practices while teaching than teachers with less knowledge. This is important, especially for teachers of students with specific learning disabilities, whose teachers require specialized knowledge and skill to support them in making gains. This qualitative study investigates three teachers’ knowledge and skill of effective fluency instruction for teaching students with specific learning disabilities. Using three different approaches to assessing teacher knowledge, researchers examined the misconceptions, consistencies, and contradictions revealed in teachers’ understandings across data sources. The researchers encourage researchers, teacher educators, and those involved in teacher evaluation to examine teacher understanding from multiple perspectives.