| – convenes week-long training session for teachersBy Sharmain GraingerDid you know that Special Education Needs (SEN) children are in every classroom in Guyana? Well this wasMrs. Savvie Hopkinson-Hamilton, SEN Subject Specialistintimated to me last week by SEN Subject Specialist,Kris Jenkins Villanova Jersey, Savvie Hopkinson-Hamilton.Mrs. Hopkinson-Hamilton is attached to the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD) located in Kingston, Georgetown, and was last week among the key facilitators at a SEN workshop for Georgetown teachers.Although NCERD is known to facilitate professional development sessions for teachers, this session was perhaps one with a little difference. It was done with financial support from Basic Needs Trust Fund.While the majority of those in attendance were public school teachers, at least one representative from a privately-operated school, in the person of Ms. Marcia Smith of Gifted Hands Centre, took advantage of the five-day training session that commenced on Monday and ended on Friday.Its purpose, according to Mrs. Hopkinson-Hamilton, was to engage teachers towards heightening their effectiveness when delivering lessons to children with SEN. And while teachers of all levels were represented, the majority were primary level.They were all enlightened about ways they could integrate, more effectively, into their teaching methodologies, techniques and strategies suitable for SEN children in their classrooms.“This training will allow for acquainting and preparing teachers to recognise and identify signs of learning challenges in their classrooms,” said the SEN Subject Specialist as she pointed out that “it will also equip them with information on special education needs, categories of disabilities in Guyana, and the impact of disability on learning.”Moreover,Cheap Jerseys From China, with the training offered to the teachers during the past week, it is expected that they are now poised to better manage students with special needs. But in order to do this they would first have to identify those special needs.But since the focus of the training session was only on mild forms of SEN, the associated behaviours teachers were taught to discern included some as simple as the constant tilting of the head or even squinting. The prolongedSEN Subject Specialist Keon Cheong engages the teachers.redness of eyes,Daniel Norris Tigers Jersey, could also suggest that a child has a vision problem, according to Hopkinson-Hamilton. And then there are subtle hearing impairment issues faced by some children in the classroom which, according to her, could hinder their academic performances if undetected and not addressed.But with the training, it is expected that the teachers will be better able to observe simple indicators or signs. Once detected, though, Hopkinson-Hamilton noted that a process to enlighten the parents or guardians must ensue.And there is some help forthcoming from the Ministry of Education for children with some challenges, Hopkinson-Hamilton disclosed. For instance, those with visual impairment can be referred to get some assistance to access eye tests and even spectacles through the Ministry’s School Health Unit.However, while visual and hearing-related issues may be among the more easily detected in the classroom, Hopkinson-Hamilton noted that there are other conditions that might go completely unrecognised as a special needs issue. Teachers were moreover enlightened about conditions such as dyslexia,wholesale jerseys china, which is simply referred to as a reading disorder whereby children are unable to identify letters and words. And then there is dysgraphia, having difficulty with letter formation.Hopkinson-Hamilton however noted that while teachers can observe the children in their care “we ask them to be careful with terms, because we do not want our teachers to put a definitive label to what they see. Some of these are educational diagnosis and we are not trained in educational diagnosis, so we don’t want the teachers to try to diagnose children, but rather,Justin Upton Tigers Jersey, they can only deduce that they have tendencies consistent with the known conditions.”But the SEN Unit at NCERD also has the mandate to do further tests with children found to have the behavioural challenges, to help ascertain what their specific weaknesses are.“In this way we are able to help teachers with strategies that are applicable that they can use in the classroom to help children so that their academic performances can be improved,” the SEN Specialist explained.Some students, according to her, can be treated right in the classroom if teachers use the right methodologies. Hopkinson-Hamilton pointed out too that “all some students require is extra attention so that they can grasp concepts and master skills. But this may not be possible if cases are found to be severe physical disabilities”.“Teachers are encouraged to make accommodations and adaptations in their plan,” Hopkinson-Hamilton noted as she asserted that “even for children who are gifted, special provision must be made for them. If the work is below them they will become bored and frustrated. Those who are very weak or slow and the work is above their heads, they too will be frustrated and feel like they are not achieving anything”.While it is not expected to be an easy task for teachers, since some classes have in excess of 30 children,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, Hopkinson-Hamilton said that the efforts of teachers will be monitored, with a view of determining if the training provided is meeting the needs of teachers and, by extension, their charges.It is expected that the trained teachers will share their knowledge with their peers through staff development sessions, thereby advancing the efforts of NCERD to address the special education needs of children within the system.Hopkinson-Hamilton was ably assisted by SEN Subject Specialists colleagues Keon Cheong and Joseph Wangija. |
