Career profile Special Education Middle School Teacher

Table of Contents

• What does a Special Education Middle School Teacher do?
• What is a typical salary for a Special Education Middle School Teacher?
• What personality traits are common among Special Education Middle School Teachers?
  • Career Interests
  • Values
  • Psychological Demands
• What education and training do Special Education Middle School Teachers need?
  • Typical educational degrees
  • Required knowledge and expertise
  • Important abilities
  • Critical skills

What does a Special Education Middle School Teacher do?

Special Education Middle School Teachers teach academic, social, and life skills to middle school students with learning, emotional, or physical disabilities.

In addition, Special Education Middle School Teachers includes teachers who specialize and work with students who are blind or have visual impairments; students who are deaf or have hearing impairments; and students with intellectual disabilities.

What kind of tasks does a Special Education Middle School Teacher perform regularly?

Special Education Middle School Teachers are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

• Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among students.
• Modify the general education curriculum for special-needs students, based upon a variety of instructional techniques and technologies.
• Develop or write Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for students.
• Maintain accurate and complete student records, and prepare reports on children and activities, as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
• Develop and implement strategies to meet the needs of students with a variety of handicapping conditions.
• Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification and positive reinforcement.
• Confer with parents or guardians, other teachers, counselors, and administrators to resolve students' behavioral and academic problems.
• Confer with parents, administrators, testing specialists, social workers, and professionals to develop individual educational plans designed to promote students' educational, physical, and social development.
• Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
• Employ special educational strategies and techniques during instruction to improve the development of sensory- and perceptual-motor skills, language, cognition, and memory.
• Collaborate with other teachers that provide instruction to special education students to ensure that the students receive appropriate support.
• Teach students personal development skills, such as goal setting, independence, and self-advocacy.
• Plan and conduct activities for a balanced program of instruction, demonstration, and work time that provides students with opportunities to observe, question, and investigate.
• Meet with parents and guardians to discuss their children's progress and to determine their priorities for their children.
• Monitor teachers and teacher assistants to ensure that they adhere to inclusive special education program requirements.
• Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities.
• Prepare, administer, and grade tests and assignments to evaluate students' progress.
• Coordinate placement of students with special needs into mainstream classes.
• Use computers, audio-visual aids, and other equipment and materials to supplement presentations.
• Instruct through lectures, discussions, and demonstrations in one or more subjects, such as English, mathematics, or social studies.
• Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects, and communicate these objectives to students.
• Guide and counsel students with adjustment or academic problems, or special academic interests.
• Instruct students in daily living skills required for independent maintenance and self-sufficiency, such as hygiene, safety, and food preparation.
• Confer with other staff members to plan and schedule lessons that promote learning, following approved curricula.
• Provide assistive devices, supportive technology, and assistance accessing facilities, such as restrooms.
• Meet with parents and guardians to provide guidance in using community resources and to teach skills for dealing with students' impairments.
• Prepare for assigned classes and show written evidence of preparation upon request of immediate supervisors.
• Prepare objectives and outlines for courses of study, following curriculum guidelines or requirements of states and schools.
• Attend professional meetings, educational conferences, and teacher training workshops to maintain and improve professional competence.
• Administer standardized ability and achievement tests and interpret results to determine students' strengths and areas of need.
• Instruct and monitor students in the use and care of equipment or materials to prevent injuries and damage.
• Attend staff meetings and serve on committees, as required.
• Plan and supervise class projects, field trips, visits by guest speakers, contests, or other experiential activities, and guide students in learning from those activities.
• Organize and supervise games and other recreational activities to promote physical, mental, and social development.
• Organize and label materials and display students' work.
• Perform administrative duties, such as assisting in school libraries, hall and cafeteria monitoring, and bus loading and unloading.
• Select, store, order, issue, and inventory classroom equipment, materials, and supplies.

The above responsibilities are specific to Special Education Middle School Teachers. More generally, Special Education Middle School Teachers are involved in several broader types of activities:

What is a Special Education Middle School Teacher salary?

What personality traits are common among Special Education Middle School Teachers?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Special Education Middle School Teacher are usually higher in their Social and Artistic interests.

Special Education Middle School Teachers typically have very strong Social interests. Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Also, Special Education Middle School Teachers typically have strong Artistic interests. Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Special Education Middle School Teacher tend to value Relationships, Working Conditions, and Achievement.

Most importantly, Special Education Middle School Teachers very strongly value Relationships. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Second, Special Education Middle School Teachers strongly value Working Conditions. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions.

Lastly, Special Education Middle School Teachers strongly value Achievement. Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Special Education Middle School Teachers must consistently demonstrate qualities such as concern for others, self-control, and adaptability/flexibility.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Special Education Middle School Teachers, ranked by importance:

What education and training do Special Education Middle School Teachers need?

Many Special Education Middle School Teachers will have a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

Special Education Middle School Teachers usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Educational degrees among Special Education Middle School Teachers

• 0.3% did not complete high school or secondary school
• 3.9% completed high school or secondary school
• 5.3% completed some college coursework
• 3.5% earned a Associate's degree
• 33.4% earned a Bachelor's degree
• 50.1% earned a Master's degree
• 3.5% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Special Education Middle School Teachers

Important Abilities needed by Special Education Middle School Teachers

Special Education Middle School Teachers must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Special Education Middle School Teachers need abilities such as written comprehension, oral comprehension, and oral expression in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Special Education Middle School Teachers, ranked by their relative importance.

Critical Skills needed by Special Education Middle School Teachers

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Special Education Middle School Teachers frequently use skills like speaking, instructing, and active listening to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Special Education Middle School Teachers, ranked by their relative importance.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

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