In increasingly diverse schools, teachers are challenged to effectively instruct students with a wide range of disabilities. In an interactive session including experience and resource sharing, attendees will learn about the use of simulations for special educator training, including simulations of depression, anxiety, autism, ADHD, dyslexia, visual and hearing impairments.
In the 21st century, teachers are expected to do it all. K-12 teachers must be well versed in physical, intellectual, and social/emotional child development while being able to effectively instruct typically developing students as well as those who are at-risk and those with a wide range of disabilities; at the same time, they are expected to improve student achievement and utilize culturally responsive instructional techniques (Beare, Marshall, Torgerson, Tracz, & Chiero, 2012; Peterson-Ahmad, 2018). It is imperative for teacher preparation programs to train teachers in how to effectively instruct diverse learners (McDonald, Kazemi, & Kavanagh, 2013). Yet, preservice training and hands on experience in instructing students with disabilities are limited; many new teachers report a lack of sufficient training in working with diverse students (Kokkinos, Stavropoulos, & Davazoglou, 2016). The demand for special education teachers rises as the number of students diagnosed with disabilities also rises; thus, teacher preparation of special education teachers is of particular importance (Tyler & Brunner, 2014).
An essential part of teacher preparation programs is opportunities for the practice of complex teaching skills that resemble real life classroom scenarios (Grossman & McDonald, 2008). To successfully prepare preservice teachers to teach increasingly diverse groups of students, teachers must be exposed to frequent and repetitive classroom experiences to practice these skills (McKleskey et al., 2017). However, budget and time constraints make ample opportunities for practice difficult (Bradley & Kendall, 2014). Simulations can help provide a solution to this problem. They can provide a safe and controlled environment for teachers to engage in frequent practice and receive immediate feedback (Dieker, Hynes, Hughes, & Smith, 2008; Vince Garland et al., 2016).
Simulations can be used to help learners acquire a level of understanding and skill that would not otherwise be possible (Colwell, 2012). Within the field of special education, simulations have been utilized to change negative teacher attitudes, which can sabotage efforts to provide a positive and effective learning environment for students (Corkett, 2017). Researchers have utilized simulations to help teachers gain empathy for their students with disabilities. Results indicated that the experiences increased awareness of the negative impact of disabilities on their students and allowed teachers to understand their past assumptions, thereby increasing empathy toward students with disabilities (Corkett, 2017; Colwell, 2012). Simulations have also been useful in helping teachers learn to identify students with learning disabilities (Broadbent & Meehan, 1971).
This session will discuss the role that simulations could have in educator training across a number of different disabilities. Although the focus of simulation training is often on pre-service and new teachers, paraprofessionals and other educators, as well as school staff, bus drivers, recess monitors, etc., could also benefit. Indeed, paraprofessionals have a gap in knowledge related to effective classroom management and disability specific symptoms and interventions (Ramos, 2017). Thus, in this session, information on disability prevalence, symptoms, and interventions will be discussed as well as simulations that have been developed to provide insight into the particular disability. Recommendations for training and practice will also be discussed.
The simulations in this session cover a wide variety of disabilities that educators could encounter with students in the classroom. These simulations do more than just educate teachers on the signs, symptoms, and experiences of students with these disabilities. They put teachers in the position of those students, helping them to see, hear, and feel what they do. The result is an increased understanding and empathy for students’ experiences which, in turn, leads to more positive teacher-student relationships. These more positive relationships help students experience the classroom as a more positive climate, leading to less emotional distress and less of a negative impact from their disabilities (CDC, 2014; Salle et. al., 2017; Underwood, Springer, & Scott, 2011; Holen, Waaktaar, & Ase, 2018). Teachers who have experienced these simulations will also be more aware of the ways that they can accommodate students with disabilities in the classroom through classroom routines and organization, differentiated instruction, assistive technology, peer education, and de-escalation techniques. These simulations can help raise empathy, awareness, and improve student-teacher relationships while helping teachers create a classroom environment that is conducive to learning for all students.
Session attendees will learn about current research on disability criteria and prevalence as well as best practices in the use of simulations for special educator training. To promote an interactive session and information sharing, session attendees will be encouraged to share their own experiences with using simulations in educator training and what techniques have proven effective. A number of simulations focused on student disabilities will be shared and demonstrated, including those covering social and emotional disorders including depression and anxiety, autism spectrum disorders, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, dyslexia, as well as visual and hearing impairments. Session attendees will leave this presentation with additional knowledge about these disabilities and the use of simulation training with special educators, as well as knowledge of a plethora of free and engaging simulations.
References
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Bradley, E.G. & Kendall, B.A. (2014). A Review of Computer Simulations in Teacher Education. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 43: 3-12.
Broadbent, F. W. & Meehan, R. (1971). A learning disability simulation for classroom teachers. Simulation & Gaming, 2(4), 489-500.
Center for Disease Control (2014). The relationship between bullying and suicide: What we know and what it means for schools. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/bullying-suicide-translation-final-a.pdf
Colwell, C. M. (2013). Simulating disabilities as a tool for altering individual perceptions of working with children with special needs. International Journal of Music Education, 31(1), 68-77.
Corkett, J. K. (2017). Using simulations to develop pre-service teachers’ empathy and understanding of exceptionalities. Currents in Teaching and Learning, 9(2), 48-59.
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Ramos, M.A. (2017). Training for paraprofessionals working with special education students. ProQuest LLC Dissertation, California State University, Fresno, CA.
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Vince Garland, K. M., Holden, K., & Garland, D. P. (2016). Individualized clinical coaching in the TLE TeachLivETM lab: Enhancing fidelity of implementation of system of least prompts among novice teachers of students with autism. Teacher Education and Special Education: The Journal of the Teacher Education of the Council for Exceptional Children, 39(1), 47-59.