Special Education: How to Be an Effective Push In Teacher

There is a move in the education community away from special education classes and pull out programs, and towards special education teachers and resource teachers pushing into regular classrooms to work with special needs students in their home class environment. This is part of the natural flow of inclusive education. It is best to disrupt the flow of the school day as little as possible and to not stigmatize the special needs students by requiring them to spend time away from their classmates.

The primary problem with this model is that special education teachers often have not received training regarding how to be an effective push in teacher, and even newer graduates who may have received instruction in this model of education might find themselves completing student teaching assignments with older teachers using less effective methods. Regular classroom teachers often aren't quite sure how to relate to the push in teachers either. In my experience, it is common to see push in teachers helping keep students on task or providing specific help with whatever class work is being completed but not doing much else. I have also noticed that both push in teachers and classroom teachers tend to seem uncomfortable with the situation.

Here are some ways that special education teachers can work effectively in a push in environment maximizing the benefits of their time in the classroom.

Communicate with the classroom teacher. Regular communication is essential to make sure that you can use your time wisely. Classroom teachers are busy people! They look at student IEP's but they have lots of responsibility and often do not make working on IEP goals priority. That is where you come in. Share your goals for your students with the classroom teacher. Tell her what activities you would specifically like to engage in with your students. Give the classroom teacher time to share her thoughts and concerns also. You might not always both be on the same page, but if you are both putting your concern for your students in first place, you should be able to come to agreements about how your push in times will flow.

Have a plan. In order to be an effective push in teacher, you will need more of a plan than to just help out. You need to plan specific learning activities for the special needs students in the classes you are pushing into. This can be more work than having your own class because you will have to take the regular teacher's plans and ideas into consideration too. Some activities that work well include working with a student or a small group of students in the rear of the classroom on basic skills that they aren't proficient at yet while the rest of the class does other things. You can also walk a student step by step though an assignment that the rest of the class is doing independently. Sometimes, especially in the younger grades, you can use some of your planned activities with the whole class. Things you have planned to improve concentration or hand-eye coordination for your special needs students are likely to also be helpful for all of the students.

Get the classroom teacher on your side! Most likely, the classroom teacher will have some fear that your push in activities will pull time away from her that she needs to finish her planned curriculum. One way to minimize this fear is to share responsibilities. Teach the classroom teacher how to include some of your activities during the times that you are not in the room. Then when you are in the room, work on sharing responsibilities. Push in time is a great time for small group work. Divide the class into four small groups and have the regular teacher work with one, you work with one, and the other two can work independently. You may only actually work with your special needs student for part of the time, but if you are doing an activity that directly relates to his needs, it is much better than just randomly helping out. In return for not having the whole time with your student, the regular teacher will be incorporating more activities that work for the special needs students into all of her teaching.

If you increase communication, create a plan, and get the classroom teacher on your side, you should be well on your way to being an effective push in teacher. The ultimate key is knowing your students and putting them first! Don't be OK with a less than stellar performance. As a professional, take your responsibilities seriously and put your time to good use!