Field Experience Interview Essays

Field Experience Interview Essays Field Experience Interview Essay Field Experience Interview Essay Field Experience Interview Name: Institution: Field Experience Interview : Ryan is currently on medication, due to his condition. He was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), which makes him very impulsive and hyperactive. Currently, Ryan is receiving special academic services in terms of learning. This is because he has been categorized as a student, in need of unique learning services due to his condition. The services rendered to him aim at improving his concentration, understanding and performance in Mathematics and Languages. Ms. Susan, a special educator for 22 years is assigned to Ryan’s case. She enjoys her work because she gets to help children and their families in dealing with complex conditions. There is a specific process involved when attending to a child with special conditions. Ryan’s case was monitored carefully by his guardians and teachers at school. This was done by observing his behavior socially, physically and academically. The guardians and teachers documented these behaviors and brainstormed on the nature of the problem. This established the consistency and recurrence of the problem. The second phase was the pre-referral process, which involved the evaluation of Ryan’s potential and strengths. According to the Council for Exceptional Children (n.d.), a pre-referral team includes general educators, parents and administrators. After observing Ryan for a while, it was evident that he had a remarkable capability of distinguishing meanings of different kinds of information, through minimal listening. This showed the potential in Ryan to grasp information faster. As a result, teaching him was time saving. The third phase involved discussions between Ryan’s parents and teachers. This was done to establish the suitability of his referral to special education. The condition lowered his concentration in class and as a result, his academic performance was poor. He was also hyperactive and this made him inattentive in class. Members of the referral team included parents and teachers, for both special and general education. All people involved in his academic life of are also members of this team. The fourth phase involved the analysis of methods used previously to help him with his condition. This included the evaluation of special education. Ryan was put on medication after detection of his condition. Since then, he has been receiving dosages of Ritalin to date. Ritalin is a stimulating drug, used to treat conditions of ADHD. After doing an assessment of Ryan’s performance, various methods that had not been employed before were tabled. To improve his performance, Ryan was offered further instructions in Mathematics and Languages assignments to advance his understanding. After all these measures were taken, Ryan’s progress was observed by conducting meetings regularly. This helped the parents to assess the methods used and think of other interventions to help. The collaboration between general and special education worked coherently for Ryan’s benefit, with conditions that affected their performance. Special and general educators held meetings to discuss the progress of children who had disorders like ADH. The main aim of general educators and parents was to outline the problems faced by specific Ryan in a document. This document was then forwarded to special educators for his evaluation, through observing their behaviors. The special educators were handed over with these problems to address because they were more qualified to tackle them. Parents play an important role in the progress of children. They provide special educators with information about their children when they are not in school. They also monitor the progress of a child and give conclusive reports to special educators. One positive aspect resulting from the involvement of parents in special education is that they have been able to engage themselves more in the personal lives of the children, which enhances family relationships. There are many challenges faced by parents in helping their children to deal with this condition. According to Cosmos (n.d.), one challenge faced by parents is the repulsive nature of children with ADHD (Cosmos, n.d.). This makes communication between them difficult because handling them without triggering their emotions is difficult. The IEP is a contract between guardians and school administrations that assesses children and establishes if they require special education. Members that constitute an IEP team include parents or guardians, special and general education teachers and Local Educational Agency (LEA) representatives. The IEP usually sets annual goals that are achieved through making benchmark decisions. An annual goal that came from the IEP was the development of Ryan’s Mathematic and Language skills. The worked samples given aimed at enhancing his understanding through providing him with extra information for better understanding. The tests exposed him to different methods of understanding his studies. The IEP also achieved short-term goals of educating Ryan through giving him short tests in Mathematics to monitor his progress. This improved dialogue between educators and teachers. The role of technology in the process of assessment was very vital. The use of computers to communicate with children helped Ryan to understand concepts efficiently. Technology also helped teachers to pass information in a quick manner. The use of Dynamic Graphics Project (DGP) has improved the means of relaying instructions to children. The project has also enabled children in an inclusive environment to have diverse thoughts. This has improved their understanding of mathematical and language concepts. The DGP advanced Ryan’s interpretation of information through increasing his speed of thinking. There are many challenges faced by special educators. According to Friend (2005), it is important for special educators to all issues facing a child, to avoid hostility (Friend, 2005). Hostility from children with ADHD in terms of learning hinders teachers like Ms Susan from performing their duties well. Uncooperative parents also pose major challenges to teachers. This is because they do not provide relevant information to teachers thus, helping a child is difficult. She advises parents to be more cooperative in providing information concerning a child, who suffers from ADHD. She also encourages them to be patient with their children because ADHD is not an issue that is solved by using medication only. The process of interviewing Ms. Susan was successful. The aim of the interview was to gather information on how special education is administered, and the role played by parents and teachers in it. The description by Ms. Susan was conclusive because it outlined the process of administering special education, giving specific roles of all team members involved. However, it was evident that the process is focused on improving the performance of children in two subjects only. This should not be the case because academic improvement by children should involve all disciplines of study. The actions taken by all team members to improve the performance by children, who have special conditions academically and socially, are efficient. This was evident from the improvement of Ryan’s performance according to Ms. Susan. However, the process could be improved in order to enhance children’s performance in all fields. An example of changes that should be made is shifting focus from Mathematics and English, to all subjects studied for example Science and Social Studies. This will generally improve the academic performance of all children. The role of technology in the process should also be increased. With the rapid changes in technology, it is important to educate children on the use of facilities such as computers. This will help them understand the conditions that they are facing through research. As a result, they will be more open to cooperating with their educators. References Cosmos, C. (n.d.). Abuse of Children with Disabilities. Retrieved April 24, 2009, from the Council for Exceptional Children website:cec.sped.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Searchtemplate=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfmContentID=1298 Council for Exceptional Children. (n.d.). Giftedness and the Gifted: What’s it all About? Retrieved from cec.sped.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Gifts_and_TalentsTemplate=/TaggedPage/TaggedPageDisplay.cfmTPLID=37ContentID=5628 Friend, M. P. (2005). Special Education: Contemporary Perspectives for School Professionals. Boston: Pearson.