Special Education Teachers, Preschool, Kindergarten, and Elementary School

Teach elementary and preschool school subjects to educationally and physically handicapped students. Includes teachers who specialize and work with audibly and visually handicapped students and those who teach basic academic and life processes skills to the mentally impaired.

Job Task

• Develop and implement strategies to meet the needs of students with a variety of handicapping conditions.
• Instruct students in academic subjects, using a variety of techniques such as phonetics, multisensory learning, and repetition, in order to reinforce learning and to meet students' varying needs and interests.
• Instruct students in daily living skills required for independent maintenance and self-sufficiency, such as hygiene, safety, and food preparation.
• Confer with parents, administrators, testing specialists, social workers, and professionals to develop individual educational plans designed to promote studentsÆ educational, physical, and social development.
• Modify the general education curriculum for special-needs students based upon a variety of instructional techniques and technologies.
• Confer with other staff members to plan and schedule lessons promoting learning, following approved curricula.
• Confer with parents or guardians, teachers, counselors, and administrators in order to resolve studentsÆ behavioral and academic problems.
• Coordinate placement of students with special needs into mainstream classes.
• Employ special educational strategies and techniques during instruction to improve the development of sensory- and perceptual-motor skills, language, cognition, and memory.
• Establish and enforce rules for behavior and policies and procedures to maintain order among the students for whom they are responsible.
• Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects, and communicate those objectives to students.
• Guide and counsel students with adjustment and/or academic problems, or special academic interests.
• Instruct and monitor students in the use and care of equipment and materials, in order to prevent injuries and damage.
• Maintain accurate and complete student records, and prepare reports on children and activities, as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
• Meet with parents and guardians to discuss their childrenÆs progress, and to determine their priorities for their children and their resource needs.
• Meet with parents to provide guidance in using community resources, and to teach skills for dealing with studentsÆ impairments.
• Monitor teachers and teacher assistants to ensure that they adhere to inclusive special education program requirements.
• Observe and evaluate studentsÆ performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
• Organize and label materials, and display studentsÆ work in a manner appropriate for their eye levels and perceptual skills.
• Organize and supervise games and other recreational activities to promote physical, mental, and social development.
• Plan and conduct activities for a balanced program of instruction, demonstration, and work time that provides students with opportunities to observe, question, and investigate.
• Plan and supervise class projects, field trips, visits by guest speakers, or other experiential activities, and guide students in learning from those activities.
• Prepare classrooms for class activities and provide a variety of materials and resources for children to explore, manipulate, and use, both in learning activities and imaginative play.
• Prepare for assigned classes, and show written evidence of preparation upon request of immediate supervisors.
• Prepare objectives and outlines for courses of study, following curriculum guidelines or requirements of states and schools.
• Prepare students for later grades by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.
• Prepare, administer, and grade tests and assignments to evaluate studentsÆ progress.
• Provide interpretation and transcription of regular classroom materials through Braille and sign language.
• Supervise, evaluate, and plan assignments for teacher assistants and volunteers.
• Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification and positive reinforcement.
• Teach students personal development skills such as goal setting, independence, and self-advocacy.
• Administer standardized ability and achievement tests, and interpret results to determine students' strengths and areas of need.
• Attend professional meetings, educational conferences, and teacher training workshops in order to maintain and improve professional competence.
• Attend staff meetings, and serve on committees as required.
• Collaborate with other teachers and administrators in the development, evaluation, and revision of preschool, kindergarten, or elementary school programs.
• Perform administrative duties such as assisting in school libraries, hall and cafeteria monitoring, and bus loading and unloading.
• Provide assistive devices, supportive technology, and assistance accessing facilities such as restrooms.
• Select, store, order, issue, and inventory classroom equipment, materials, and supplies.
• Visit schools to tutor students with sensory impairments, and to consult with teachers regarding students' special needs.
• Use computers, audiovisual aids, and other equipment and materials to supplement presentations.

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