Teachers in unique education settings aim to establish appropriate and friendly ways to teach children with special needs and evaluate their progress. It requires the instructor to develop an Individualized Education Program (IED) for every student, addressing his differences and needs. Since curriculum activities and materials of the IED are based on data-collection methods, instructors should rely on informal observations to monitor the child’s progress.
Recent research on data collection and use highlights that formal assessments evaluate the students according to some established standards, while informal assessments are more content and performance-driven. Since all children are encouraged to interact with each other in inclusive environments regardless of their background, teachers frequently prefer informal data collection. For example, evaluating a child’s performance is based primarily on observation at 87%, informal assessment at 76.9%, and standardized assessments in 68.2% of all cases in middle school (Swain et al., 2022). It is justified by qualified trainers who make their assessments based on observing children in the classroom and during presentations. Therefore, informal assessments and project-based assignments are the most effective ways to monitor a child without forcing him to complete many quizzes and tests.
Regarding the applications of this finding in my future practice, it is helpful to consider professionals’ methods, time allocation, and challenges. For example, my interviewee assigns one short oral presentation or writing passage once a week while conducting tests once in two weeks. This way, children with special needs have enough time to comprehend and analyze the materials. Her reports are stored in the electronic database with equal access to the student’s parents. That is why I also want to rely mostly on informal assessment to know detailed information on progress. I plan to use more clarifying messages and engaging dialogues with inactive students to ensure they participate in lessons. Therefore, this research helps me to distribute time and resources effectively so that children do not feel stressed.
To conclude, the videos and interviews emphasize the importance of informal data collection for students with special needs. Especially in inclusive classrooms, students should feel a similar approach without anxiety and stress. As a successful future teacher, I should create more group tasks to monitor the child’s behavior. Framing assignment types and time according to their abilities helps to establish effective IEDs. Instructors observe and guide students through every lesson instead of assigning numerous quizzes.
Reference
Swain, K. D., Hagaman, J. L., & Leader-Janssen, E. M. (2022). Teacher-reported IEP goal data collection methods. Preventing school failure: Alternative education for children and youth, 66(2), 118–125. Web.