Resource Management in Special Education: A Higher Education Report

Desklib provides solved assignments and past papers to help students succeed.

Developing, Using and Organising Resources in a Specialist
Area

Executive Summary
The given body of work seeks to draw on from the purposes of the resources in
teaching and learning by looking at that from the point of view of a specialist teacher
who in the United Kingdom context is someone who aids the teaching of students who
are specially-able and may have special needs like that of the ones with dyslexia or
Autism Spectrum Disorder. Despite the fact that it is mostly thought of as a supporting
role it encompasses many more aspects than that as the assignment following has set
out to prove.
1

Table of Contents
Introduction...................................................................................................................... 3
LO1 Understand the purpose and use of resources in own specialist area.....................4
LO2 be able to develop and use inclusive resources in own specialist area....................7
LO3 Understand how to organise and enable access to resources...............................13
LO4 Understand legal requirements and responsibilities relating to the Development
and use of resources......................................................................................................17
LO5 be able to evaluate own practice in relation to development and use of resource in
own specialist area.........................................................................................................20
Conclusion..................................................................................................................... 24
References.....................................................................................................................25
Appendices.................................................................................................................... 28
2

Introduction
An Education Resource Specialist or a special education teacher works with the
students who are leading a difficult life with learning disabilities causing behavioural
issues in some cases. They are advocates in their own right and seek to ensure that the
students have access to the curriculum and are motivated to grasp the learning matter
to the best of their capabilities. In a world where people are caught in jobs which are
thankless, this seems to be a healthy and socially productive alternative that is
challenging in as much as being rewarding (Vulliamy and Webb, 2018).
3

LO1 Understand the purpose and use of resources in own specialist area
AC1.1 Explain the purpose of resources in learning and teaching
Using specialised resources is a way of creating and facilitating the use of an
Individualised Education Plans (IEPs) that comes after the teacher has acquired an
advanced degree of teaching in relation to the same.
Children with ASD or Autism Spectrum Disorder need instructions explicitly in terms of
what the teacher or teaching environment expects of them. They are often asked to
avail the services of speech therapists and visual aids for the same reason as they are
unable to communicate naturally like others of their age. However teaching cannot
follow a pattern in regards to students with Autism or ASD since they all have special
needs to tend to which is why they are referred for an “intensive, evidence-based
intervention” (Bryant et al., 2019).
Teachers and specialists recommend in the use of concrete visual teaching methods.
They are the tools or aides being used in increasing the comprehension of languages,
expectations of environment and in the provision of support and structure for ASD-
afflicted students. Visual aids are very helpful as they can be created in many ways
covering a plethora of settings and class environment like in school, work, home and
inter-community wise as well (Phelps, 2019). They are especially useful as charts,
drawings and vision-boards break the monotony of rote-learning by reading something
written or printed. It appeals to the creative low of the imagination of any human being.
There are however other reasons too like that of being part of major communication
systems, ability to reduce the student’s anxiety by helping them focus on the main
4

message, abstract concepts are made more comprehensive, help in the expression of
thoughts etc.
There are other styles of learning as well apart from that of visual such as that of
Auditory and Tactile.
Auditory learners may not appear to be listening keenly as the teacher speaks yet they
are, so in order to arouse their interest they are given instructions explicitly and audibly.
Music, radio and audio-books are incorporated into the teaching methods to help them
cope as they may not be paying heed to what is on the board or if handouts are given to
them in general (Block, 2018).
Tactile learners learn most by doing and through touches (Rando et al., 2016). They will
learn more through object manipulations, projects, interactive games etc that involves
touching to feel and understand.
AC 1.2 Evaluate the effectiveness of specific resources from own specialist area
in meeting individual learning needs
A teacher can contribute to a child having an acceptable social life by incorporating
video-modelling and role-plays so they learn to have friends and develop social skills. It
will help them overcome the mental block they have in regards to how they should
speak to parents, grandparents, friends etc. They can learn from anyone else in the
environment, develop particular interests and hobbies giving the pupil the sense of
belonging which everyone craves. It will add to the overall quality of the child’s life in the
long-run (Rice et al., 2015).
5

Since the students with ASD generally have non-verbal, visual skills etc and are lacking
in the department of vocal and linguistic ways of learning the task of “matching”
enhances their motor and visual skills by supplementing content and types of learning
matter being chosen for the students with ASD (Peters et al., 2016). This activity
encourages children to match objects of the same type to another so that they can learn
in a tactile way.
The use of AAC or Alternative Communication Strategies can endow the students with
ASD in having a voice using machines for synthesised speech however they come for a
handsome price only the reason why classrooms are mostly using Personal Computers
or PCs in lieu of the same (Norburn et al., 2016). Applications like that of Choiceworks,
Time Timer, BookCreator etc are applications built and designed for children with ASD.
Modern teaching has come a long way in making a classroom as inclusive as possible;
however, since every child with ASD has their own sets of needs there is no rule of
thumb or guideline to be followed for the same which can be difficult for both the teacher
and the student.
6

LO2 be able to develop and use inclusive resources in own specialist area
AC 2.1 Analyse principles of resource design
The learning style of VAKT (or VAK) includes that of Tactile, Kinesthetic, Auditory and
Visual ways in determining the learning style of the child with ASD. It is done using
modalities that is defined as “channels by which human expression can take place and
is composed of a combination of perception and memory” (Gustafson, 2018).
The main function of SWEET or Swedish Execution Time Tool is in the analysis of flow.
It helps in the risk analysis.
AC 2.2 Evaluate sources that inform resource development in own specialist area
Mainstreaming in the form taking children to libraries and centres of study has improved
their awareness of social premises however they may experience a number of bad
socio-behavioural and academic repercussions in these settings so the teachers have
to be careful that the children find an environment where they feel like they can interact
with others (Mahdi et al., 2018). In most circumstances the results have been mixed in
these areas.
The Autism Act Northern Ireland (2011) is about the rights of equality for people with
ASD and entails that they have same opportunities and entitlements like someone with
another kind of disability. They help in ways if including students into the school
atmosphere better.
7

AC 2.3 Analyse how theories, principles and models of inclusive curriculum
design can be used to inform resource development in own specialist area
NLP or Neuro-Linguistic Programming in the case of Autism gives a mental picture and
helps in mental pacing, leading etc among development of other skills (Pritchard, 2017).
It encourages parents to adopt an “apply to self” pattern where they can help the child
by useful reverse thinking mechanisms. It helps the children in connecting with the “self”
and the “other” in daily social scenarios.
Edgar Dale stated that knowledge is making sure that a person is allowed to do the best
they can to find fulfilment and have a sense of identity (Ishii, 2017). It is particularly
synchronised with that of a student’s mindset with ASD since a sense of identity is
crucial for them to come out of their shell. They will realise that not everyone will
disregard the fact that they exist and think it is a waste to try and understand them.
AC 2.4 Analyse ways in which resources can be adapted to enable an inclusive
approach in own specialist area
SMOG test for readability level has been propounded by Harold C. McGraw. It helps in
showing the reading level of a person by asking them to read a draft aloud. If the person
can read at or above the level of grade then they will comprehend and assimilate 90-
100 per cent of datum provided for knowledge (Yaneva and Evans, 2019).The use of
technology like that of Power-point presentations help in firing the imagination of
students who are visual learners and have ASD who like other children can be subject
to being over-stimulated by the use of iPhones, iPads, Xboxes etc.
8

AC 2.5 Design resources, including those that involve new and emerging
technologies, to engage and meet the individual needs of learners in own
specialist area
Creation of virtual representations of the students with the help of 3D VLE (Virtual
Learning Environment) so they can interact with others using a pre-programmed system
is a good idea so that language and vocal barriers are virtually erased (Griffin,
2018).The program can be controlled by multi-users so that it is a group activity to help
the children with tendencies of social withdrawal taking the idea from Hale and Schmidt,
(2018).
9

10

Figure 1: Sample visual learning script for children with ASD
Source: (Hale and Schmidt, 2018)
11
SIT
LISTEN
HANDS IN PLACE
WORK
FEET ON THE GROUND
GOOD TO GO!