EDU 221 Children With Exceptionalities

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Chapter 11
Characteristics of Effective Teachers in
Inclusive Programs

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Teacher Professional Development
• Teacher training in child development is a
must.
• Teachers also need to be a member of the
interdisciplinary team.
• They will share their knowledge and
implement plans set forth by other
professionals to meet goals in the
IFSP/IEP.

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Teacher Professional Development
(continued)
• Teacher concerns
– Teachers feel unprepared to work with
children who have disabilities.
– Supports are available to help teachers.
– Teachers need to want to seek out
information to help them help the child with
disabilities.
– The more informed the teacher is, the better
prepared that teacher will be for the
classroom.

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Teacher Professional Development
(continued)
• Supplemental professional development
– Teachers need additional training as each
child is enrolled in the school.
– On-the-job experience is also necessary.
– State support agencies have resources
available to help teachers learn about the
different disabilities.

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The Applied Developmental Approach
• A child is a child
– Teachers need to view each child as a child.
– Blaming a behavior on a disability is
unfounded.
– Children are children first and need to be
treated as such.

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The Applied Developmental Approach
(continued)
• Review of developmental principles
– Developmental sequences
• Understanding that a child moves through skill
sequences is more important than knowing how far
a child is behind or ahead.
– Interrelationships among developmental
domains
• Recognize that the whole child needs to be taught,
not just the cognitive domain of the child.

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The Applied Developmental Approach
(continued)
– Developmental inconsistencies
• This is when a child seems to be progressing then
begins to slow or regress.
– The transactional process
• Learning goes on directly and indirectly.
• Teachers need to examine the environment to see
the full effect of their teaching.

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The Applied Developmental Approach
(continued)
– Contingent stimulation
• The more a child is rewarded for communicating,
the more the child will communicate.
• Self-esteem develops, attachments are more
secure, development is smoother.
– Readiness to learn
• Given the opportunity to learn in a quality
environment will give the child skills needed to be
ready for school.

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The Applied Developmental Approach
(continued)
– Teachable moments
• Those naturally occurring opportunities when a
child is most likely to learn something new.
– Milieu teaching
• The child initiates a learning activity by asking a
teacher for help, materials, or information.

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The Applied Developmental Approach
(continued)
• Characteristics of effective teachers
– Enthusiasm
– Sense of humor
– Patience
– Consistency
– Flexibility
– Trustworthiness
– Provides limits
– Facilitate experiences

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The Applied Developmental Approach
(continued)
• Teacher as mediator
– The teacher is the mediator between the child
and the environment.
– The teacher decreases support as the child is
ready for more independent learning.
• Also known as scaffolding