Sce 11 Social Environment Essay

TPE 11: Social Environment Creating and maintaining effective environments for student learning can be a highly difficult task for classroom teachers in moderate to severe special education classrooms. When you have students of various levels of academics, social skills and behavioral needs, it is challenging to know where to start. In my classroom the first way I address TPE 10: Instructional Time is by implementing a behavior management system. During my time at Brandman we focused a lot on how to create a positive classroom culture and how to create effective classroom environments. I had opportunities at Brandman to learn to create individual behavior plans and how to track student behaviors while targeting specific behavior and social

It can often be challenging for students in a special day class to learn socially appropriate skills from their classmates because they all share a deficit in social skills. As part of an assignment at Brandman I completed a behavior monitoring of a social skill. This prompted me to create a weekly all class social skills goal. I demonstrate TPE 11: social environment by having all of my students mainstreamed into one general education class per day. I also include reverse mainstreaming where I have student aides work in my classroom in one to one or small group settings. They are able to teach and model appropriate social skills for the students. We also have buddies with students in other classes who come in and read to the students or the students read to them or participate in other activities like cooking projects, or working in the school garden.
 My greatest strength in this domain: Creating and Maintaining Effective Environments for Student Learning, is collaborating with other teachers and members of our special education staff. I am fortunate to have a group of colleagues who value our students and place value in positive student learning outcomes over convenience. One of the most valuable things that I learned while attending Brandman is that you have to find ways to fight for your students and to make sure that they are getting every educational experience possible. I learned to advocate for my students and their needs and I have been able to use that knowledge to empower my students and create a classroom environment that allows my students to attend general education classes. The physical environment can curtail behavior problems and lead to student engagement. Another strength would be in transitions of the classroom when our daily lessons go smoothly and efficiently it is because the daily procedures and transitions have been