Special Education

Some of the most important qualities of the special education teaching position include flexibility, organization, and keeping an open mind. If you believe that some or all of these qualities are your strengths, make sure to highlight them. If they aren't your strengths, be honest with yourself. There are lots of other qualities, such as focused and hard working, that you can choose to highlight instead.

Most teachers are not expected to communicate with parents on a daily or even a weekly basis unless there are ongoing problems. However, as many special education students have difficulty communicating or cannot communicate verbally, special education teachers are often expected to provide regular communication. Consider what will work best for both you and your parents. You don't necessarily need to use the same method will all parents. For example, some may prefer to write in a communication notebook while others may prefer to communicate via e-mail.

Special education or special needs education is the practice of educating students with special needs in a way that addresses their individual differences and needs. Ideally, this process involves the individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials, accessible settings. These interventions are designed to help learners with special needs achieve a higher level of personal self-sufficiency and success in school and their community, than may be available if the student were only given access to a typical classroom education.

Be realistic and only discuss the handful of items that are applicable to you and/or that you anticipate doing during the next couple years. Methods for staying up to date in the field of special education can include, but are not limited to, the following:

Conferences

► Workshops

► Graduate school/higher education

► Other classes

► Networking with other special education teachers

► Professional organizations

► Professional journals

► Mainstreaming

► Inclusion

► Exclusion

► Segregation

► A general understanding of how to write an IEP.

► why you need to understand the needs, goals, strengths, and weaknesses of a student to write an effective IEP.

► How IEPs impact the general education setting and how you will structure this general education setting time.

This is one of the few special education interview questions that has one consistent answer: differentiated instruction. No matter what level of special education and age group you will be working with for the given position, differentiated instruction will be a huge component of the job. Be prepared to talk about specific adaptation methods, such as creating modified materials with pictures, and how you will incorporate these materials into various types of lesson plans.

There are a wide variety of special education classifications, such as ADHD and autism. There is also a lot of frequently used special education jargon, such as IEP. Some terminology will vary in different states, such as the terms used to describe the special education referral process. You are certainly not expected to have a wide understanding of every term under the sun. However, you should be familiar with many of the most commonly used terms.