Job Title: Special Needs Teacher
SC 1 Approval to teach students with a hearing impairment and demonstrated ability to cater for the range of learning needs of students
Having obtained a Diploma in Teaching-Special Needs Children and the Deaf, a Certificate of Literacy Specialisation, along with more than 30 years of hands-on experience in an educational setting, I am qualified to teach students with hearing impairment Pre-Year 12 and have completed all current mandatory courses and attended numerous Professional Development sessions focusing on language and education of the deaf. I teach in a manner so as to meet the personalised learning and support needs of my students to access education on the same basis as other students, an approach that influences students to become valued contributing members of society as they mature. As a committed educator, I am dedicated to developing initiatives and programs that not only benefit the students and school, but also the wider community. This has been demonstrated through:
- Catering for a gifted and talented student. During my tenure at St Charles Primary, Ryde, I supported a Kindergarten student who verbalised facts that other students of his age did not know, along with the ability to read fluently. I supported this gifted and talented hearing-impaired student from Kindergarten through to Year 4. Within a few months, even though his knowledge was very advanced, in order to extend him further, I developed a plan to expand his knowledge along with his social skills. I helped him to engage in group work with his peers. Upon continuing in this role, additionally I formed a gifted and talented group. When this child was in Year 3, to extend him further as part of the group, I involved them with ENGQUEST, a Water Conservation Project associated with the Powerhouse Museum. With my guidance this innovative project was completed in six month, and my students were part of one of three groups. Two of these three groups won the first and second prize in New South Wales.
- Being culturally sensitive in my approach. As part of a specialist teaching unit, I was responsible to teach students with language delays and a range of diagnosed learning barriers. Comprising six to eight students in my class at Burwood Primary School, I had a particular Year 2 student who avoided making eye contact with me. At the time, this was impeding his academic progress since he was suffering from moderate to severe hearing loss. The student was from a Tongan/Islander background and I discovered that it was considered rude for him to make eye contact with adults. Meeting with the parent, I explained that for her child to develop language skills, I would develop an individual program that incorporated specific hand signals to establish eye contact with her child, to which she agreed. Between the student and myself, we agreed upon a contact hand signal that would indicate the need for him to look at me. This served as a significant breakthrough and resulted in him progressing along the continuum in the areas of literacy and numeracy. The mother was very pleased and thanked me for my proactive approach and cultural sensitivity.
- Providing specialised one-on-one assistance. Within a preschool setting I had a 2½-year-old child recently diagnosed with significant hearing loss. His parents were still grieving over the news and, sensing their sadness, the student exhibited elective mutism. This was severely inhibiting his development. I regularly engaged with him on a one-to-one basis to encourage speech through play-based activities. On one occasion, we hammered coloured shapes through matching holes. As I was modelling the activity and using onomatopoeia he mimicked the sound. From that point onwards, using similar activities, his voluntary speech become more regular along with gradually increased vocabulary.
Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to support hearing impaired students in specialised and mainstream classes as well as mentoring and consulting with teachers and other educational professionals to enhance educational outcomes for my students. Further, my experience has included teaching in schools for specific purposes for students with hearing loss, resulting in the acquisition of theoretical and practical knowledge within a local and international setting. As part of your Hearing Support Unit, I will remain committed to supporting students to achieve their full academic potential.
SC 2 Proven ability to integrate Interactive White Boards and associated technologies including hearing assistive equipment across the curriculum
Within my practice, I provide a rich, differentiated environment to meet the needs of students and educators, as well as provide opportunities for interaction that facilitates 21st Century learning for those with hearing impairment. Through my knowledge of educational audiology and the relevance that technology has for the learners I present information to students and teachers utilising a variety of methods. By providing authentic learning experiences combined with technology, my audience is able to be truly interested and engaged in the topic across the curriculum. This is fulfilled by:
- Routine checking of hearing assistive equipment. As an Itinerant Teacher, I regularly manage wireless and Bluetooth hearing assistive equipment such as digital FM, MiniTek and Roger Pen. Upon entering a classroom, my first priority is to ensure that all equipment is working correctly. If not, I engage in responsive troubleshooting and if I am unable to resolve the issue, I will contact either the parent of the student whose equipment is not working correctly or liaise with an external technician to come and immediately repair the equipment. In this manner, I am proactive in my approach in order to not hinder a student’s academic progress.
- Utilising the interactive whiteboard for presentation purposes. With a tech-savvy approach and familiarity with multimedia and Mac, I am adept at creating presentations designed to educate teachers in a consultant and coaching role. Regularly, I present to groups of up to 10 teachers, and sometimes parents, in an educational setting to increase awareness surrounding hearing impairment and encourage advocacy. As a result of my ability to use the interactive whiteboard effectively, I have been able to positively influence those around me to improve their teaching practice in support of students with hearing loss.
- Instigating the installation of a sound field system to enhance speech understanding. While teaching a mainstream open classroom comprising more than 40 students, I had a Year 4 student with moderate hearing impairment. Noting his difficulty to remain engaged during lessons, I approached my supervisor and the school principal to encourage the installation of the FrontRow sound field system to compensate for the lack of quality acoustics within the open classroom. Realising that there was an already approved budget for such equipment, I was given permission to proceed with the project. I organised an external technician to install the equipment within a short period of time. I then demonstrated to the principal, teachers and students the correct use and benefits of the specialised sound system. By making good use of school resources, I was able to facilitate a specialised classroom to cater for students with hearing impairment.
- Incorporating ICT on a regular basis. Possessing a passion for ICT, I am eager to remain up-to-date with emerging technologies in order to develop my knowledge and influence positive outcomes. I am proficient in the use of a range of programs and applications as interactive teaching tools. To expand my knowledge, I regularly attend courses and sessions surrounding technology and engage in collegial dialogue, learning from my peers. To that end, I enjoy integrating iPads and specific educational applications that facilitate open-ended questioning techniques and that have the ability to be tailored to the needs of a particular student or class. By utilising iPads, I am able to use applications that have the ability to provide feedback directly to my device, thus enabling me to monitor and identify students who require either assistance or extension.
To facilitate 21st Century learning involves students developing a sense of wonder, the ability to explore, communicate and collaborate before reflecting on task processes and outcomes, thus fostering an environment of lifelong learners. As a Teacher Hearing Impairment, I will continue to demonstrate my passion, enthusiasm and love for learning across all Key Learning Areas and embrace and share new technologies to enhance student learning, empowering students to become caring and responsible global citizens in a multicultural society.
SC 3 Demonstrated communication and interpersonal skills with augmented communication skills to enhance learning and engagement of students with a hearing loss
Working with students and teachers in a wide variety of educational enviornments, including pre-school, primary through to high school in both Australia and overseas, has assisted in the development of my high-level interpersonal communication skills. I utilise active listening skills and remain alert to nonverbal cues across my teaching practice. In the past, I have used different forms of sign language, including Auslan, and am willing to undertake any additional training required. Possessing a calm, respectful and considerate manner, I have the capacity to develop effective relationships with teachers, students, and parents. These combined traits have proven to establish positive relationships, whilst encouraging learning partnerships within the school community. This has been evidenced by:
- Positively influencing faculty by my interpersonal skills. While teaching at Kelston Deaf Education Centre as a Classroom Teacher, I motivated student communication by incorporating activities that included slideshows, voice recognition and a personalised video language book program, along with other activities that included electronic devices. As the instigator of the personalised video language book program, I collaborated with the IT Teacher to make the process viable in a cross-curricular setting. One of the activities associated with the program included taking a video recording of students managing their way through an obstacle course in the playground. Back in the classroom, the students were tasked with making a voiceover. During this lesson, I was able to highlight school rules and the necessity for ensuring safety and well-being, as well as the correct sequence and structure of sentences. As a result of the progress of my multi-handicapped students, I introduced this program to mainstream classroom teachers. The program was well received and implemented on a whole school level.
- Visually supporting student communication through a range of tools and equipment. As a classroom teacher, I regularly incorporate the use of symbols and pictures to aid comprehension and knowledge retention. In one of my Kindergarten classes, a student had language delay and an extremely limited vocabulary since she was a new hearing aid wearer. Possessing no previous language experience, to increase her communication skills I incorporated hands-on and play-based activities regularly into her tasked activities. Often, I would photograph something that the student owned, for example a bracelet, and then print out the picture and stick it into her workbook. As a result of this method the student learnt further vocabulary through positive and repetitive language reinforcement and substantially increased her vocabulary.
- Embracing bilingualism and diversity. Based upon my own knowledge and personal experience as a bilingual educator, I endeavour to provide communication opportunities for my students that build upon their oral and written English communication skills. As an experienced special needs teacher of students with hearing impairment, through to students from English as a Second Language (ESL) and/or signing background, I am very conscious of being approachable and patient with my students. I ensure that I allow plenty of time for my students to respond to questions I present while they formulate their vocabulary in their minds. To prompt certain words, I will use synonyms or rephrase a sentence to provide an authentic learning experience. I am careful to never assume what my students are thinking or want, and feel that it is very important to encourage self-expression and celebrate diversity. As a result of my holistic approach, my students are very responsive and express their appreciation and enjoyment of my lessons.
By consistently utilising my well-developed interpersonal skills, I am confident that I will continue to demonstrate my commitment to student welfare and engagement at Toongabbie West Public School. I take pride in and care about preparing and delivering meaningful lessons, as well as instilling a lifelong love of learning in students through engagement and collaboration with parents and the whole school community for students with hearing impairment.
SC 4 A strong interest in building relationships and initiatives to work collaboratively with parents, team members, other agencies and community members
My extensive teaching, consulting and mentoring experience in supporting students with hearing loss has provided me with opportunities to lead and to collaborate with colleagues to improve my own teaching and learning practice and that of others. Utilising a range of strategies, initiatives and methods, I have successfully built and maintained mutually beneficial relationships with parents, colleagues, external service providers and members within the community. This has been demonstrated through:
- Maintaining open and consistent communication with colleagues. This has been on both a verbal and written basis and has ensured that teachers are fully aware of student progress, as well as any concerns that I may have had or identified. I engage in face-to-face meetings to consult and exchange ideas in formal and casual settings, receiving positive feedback from various school principals for the manner in which I encourage my colleagues to support students with hearing loss. To further support colleagues, I ensure that they are aware that they can contact me via telephone or email during out-of-school hours. This has resulted in sustained relationships that have positively influenced the academic outcomes of their students.
- Improving student behaviour by collaborating with parents and colleagues. To enhance the learning experience of my students with hearing loss hearing impairment, it is imperative that I respond to my students’ individual needs within the school, home and educational contexts, particularly in the domain of behaviour management. One of my Year 2 hearing-impaired students at Burwood Primary School manifested anger management issues, including throwing chairs and threatening the safety of other students and myself. I liaised with the Educational Counsellor, the student’s parent and collaboratively devised a behaviour modification program which resulted in the behaviour of the student improving significantly.
- Obtaining assistance from external organisations. During my time at Burwood Primary School I interacted on a regular basis with a trilingual student whose mother was deaf. The student communicated using Korean, English and Australian sign language (Auslan). I engaged the services of an interpreter during a presentation made by the school’s principal during Education Week at the opening of the art show to ensure that the mother understood the program. The mother thanked me personally for my kind assistance in arranging this additional support service.
- Developed the CHIPS Peer Support Programme (Catholic Hearing Impaired Peer Support). Dedicated to a cohesive teamwork-oriented environment, I eagerly participated in organising the annual CHIPS programme to encourage friendship amongst hearing impaired students through interschool association and excursions. This resulted in enjoyable occasions where students, parents and teachers could interact together and learn from each other.
My strong interpersonal skills and commitment to the well-being of my students has allowed me to establish productive and supportive teaching and learning relationships over the course of my career. Through maintaining effective communication with parents, colleagues and external agencies, I will continue to develop constructive relationships to enable continuous improvement of hearing impaired students at Toongabbie West Public School.
