Facilitating a Special Education Community of Practice

I began this task by revisiting the Wordle I created as an artefact for Domain1 . This identified Communities of Practice that I had identified as associating with at the start of the Specialist Teaching Program.

My attention was drawn to the Advisory Group of Special Needs (AGSN) and my concerns around the effectiveness of this group as a community of practice. The AGSN meets once or twice a term for a 45 minutes and generally involves a review of the special needs within each syndicate and current SEN priorities. It is comprised of the Principal, SENCO, RTLB and a representative from each of the 5 syndicates within the school. A vast amount of knowledge is present in the meeting room but very little of this is shared. In reality the purpose of the meeting is more for updating situations rather than applying knowledge to solve them. I appreciate that these meetings are not designed to allow for lengthy dialogue but would like to see the expertise, experience and knowledge present in these meetings being shared more constructively across our whole school community. In our school there are 3 common concerns voiced at the classroom level regarding children with special needs: 1. The lack of opportunity for teachers and teacher aides in a team to meet to evaluate and plan implementations without the class present.

2. Lack of opportunity for teacher aides to meet informally as usually they are with their children during break times and lunch times so miss out on shared time in the staff room. 3. Lack of relevant professional development for teachers and teacher aides working with children with special needs. 4. Lack of funding for human and material resources required by these children

Using the AGSN as the core of a wider Special Education community of practice could provide a solution to some of these concerns. Wenger (2009) proposes a number of ways in which communities of practice can improve their practice. These are listed in the following table along with what is currently happening and what could potentially be happening in our school in relation to each of these ideas.

Activities Problem solving

What is happening in our school currently? Teachers tend to exchange ideas or concerns informally whilst passing in the playground or staffroom. It always feels rushed and may well not be a suitable time for both of the teachers involved

What might happen in our school in the future? Teachers and teacher aides having the opportunity to sit down as a team, or with members of other teams, to discuss problems and share solutions. This could be facilitated by release time for some teams or members from different teams to meet during syndicate or whole school assemblies. Release time for members from the same team maybe possible with the use of ORRS funding. Teachers in the same syndicate can develop these dialogues at syndicate meetings.

Requests for information

These can be made using a general email to all school staff or through a request by teachers in morning staff meetings. Often requests are made within syndicate meetings but not necessarily shared with the rest of the school.

Seeking experience

Develop an email group for teacher aides and another for teacher aides and teachers working with children with special needs. Individuals may be more willing to make requests for information within this context where others are understanding and supportive of their needs as opposed to a whole school situation. This is conducted in a similar fashion Sharing of experiences on the school to requests for information. Finding inclusive education wiki (see artefact 2, time to catch up with a specific goal 1) person who may have the experience Presence of a teacher aide on the needed is not always easy and for AGSN.

Reusing assets

Developing resources that are generic e.g. social stories around attending assembly, where the school boundaries are, taking turns on playground equipment. Sharing resources on the Inclusive Education wiki A space in the school where resources for special needs can be stored and accessed by teacher aides or class teachers. Coordination and Very little co-ordination goes on Co-ordination of purchases for SEN synergy across childrens teams, they students so that items are not doubled effectively work in isolation apart up on if possible. from when a TA is involved in more Effective use of PD to include more than one team. than just the current TA or class teacher. Availability of iPad specifically for use by children with special needs or the staff working with them. This to be kept up to date with relevant SEN apps which can then be shared across other iPads if they are appropriate to a specific child. Discussing Discussion of how interventions are AGSN meetings to have an agenda developments working are mainly restricted to item for each meeting which discusses dialogue within childrens teams. and reviews a recent intervention implemented across the whole school, syndicate or individual class. More time in the AGSN meeting can be created for this by syndicate reps sending up dates of focus children through to the SENCO prior to the meeting and only discussing these at the meeting if necessary. Documentation projects A recent initiative has come from 2 Inclusion of TAs and support staff in

teacher aides whose day ends at the end of school they often have family commitments after school. Their attendance at meetings is rarely facilitated. Teaching as Inquiry and coaching conversations are currently being introduced with class teachers. Some passing on of resources from one class to another as a child transitions does occur but most teachers are developing resources in isolation. It is hard for a teacher who has created resources to pass these on with the child if they know they will need them for another child in their own class the following year.

Opportunities for teacher aides to engage in coaching conversations with other TAs or with other members of the childs team.

the construction of a whole school development plan. Commitment by senior management for sufficient whole staff meeting time to be allocated to this venture. Visits Opportunity to observe other teachers or teach aides or to be observed by peers with a specific focus in mind. Opportunities to observe in other settings. We have a special school within walking distance and our ORRS teacher also works in a special unit in the local area. Opportunity to observe other environmental adaptations e.g. sensory rooms or quiet rooms in local schools. Mapping knowledge and I am not alone in my concern that Audit of SEN PD completed by teachers identifying gaps TAs work with some our most and TAs. Identification of gaps based challenging children but have the on this audit. A schedule of action to least amount of training. This year address these gaps. Planning ahead to has seen 3 TAs receive training for up skill staff who will be receiving SEN working with children with ASD, this children in the following year. was provided by the GSE educational Drawing on the strengths and psychologist. expertise within our school to provide PD to teachers and TAs. Explore more opportunities for training being delivered through GSE or other local agencies e.g. Child Development Services. In addition to Wengers approaches for improving the effectiveness of communities of practice, Mclaughlin and Talbert (2006) identify 3 additional factors influencing the development of communities of practice in schools: 1. A joint focus on a specific area of either subject content, students, or assessment of learning. With the end of the school year rapidly approaching a specific focus for a special education community in practice could be around Transition. Plans have already been put in place to provide PD in this area bringing together all the TAs and teachers involved. Having set up this initial shared activity an opportunity will exist for this community or practice to develop further

senior teachers to introduce a whole school behaviour plan, this has involved 1 full teacher staff meeting and a meeting with a teacher representative from each syndicate. A few infrequent, very short 5-10 minute visits by the next years class teacher to observe a child in their current class. Some longer visits by child and TA to the next years class. No visits aimed at PD for teachers or teacher aides.

2. Effective learning for teachers based on good design and guidance around joint work . The planned workshop on Transition is being supported by resources on a whole school inclusive education wiki. Pre workshop material is available to look at and a section for sharing experiences that worked well has been created and added to. 3. Proactive leadership and administrative support As the creator of the Inclusive Education wiki I understand the need to keep this alive and current. I also want to use it as a springboard for other activities to inform a special education community of practice, such as the planned PD on transition and the realisation of release time for teams to plan collaboratively.

Conclusion
Wesley and Buysse (2001) explain how effective communities of practice are an essential factor in creating the professional collaboration necessary for an inclusive school. Teaching is isolated in nature which can result in a lack of support, motivation and academic learning. Communities of practice allow teachers to share knowledge and experiences not only with their own school , but across different settings locally, nationally and globally. It facilitates reflection and inquiry , identifies issues and explores solutions, contributes towards research and developments in education and crucially, improves the support provided to children and their families or whnau. It seems clear that a whole school goal of full inclusion for all children would necessitate the existence of communities of practice involving staff and families from the school community as well as other professionals and schools. The facilitation of a special education community of practice is an essential part of this process.

References
(2013). Retrieved from NCSinclusiveeducation: http://ncsinclusiveeducation.wikispaces.com/Home McLaughlin, M., & Talbert, J. (2006). Developing communities of practice in schools. In Building school-based teacher learning communities : professional strategies to improve student achievement (p. 38). Teachers College Press. Wenger, E. (2006, June). Communities of practice. Retrieved from Etienne Wenger: http://www.ewenger.com/theory/ Wesley, W., & Buysse, V. (2001). Communities of practice: Expanding professional roles to promote reflection and shared inquiry. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 21(2), 114-123.