ESS304: Field Trip Report

Emily Gooley | 11516176

Field Trip Report

ESS304: The Inclusive Classroom
Emily Gooley | 11517187
Sharron Milson

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ESS304: Field Trip Report

Emily Gooley | 11516176

Table of Contents

Title Page
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..

Table of Contents ...

.. 2
Belvoir Special School .
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Introduction
.... 3
First Impressions ..
...3
Overview of Disabilities .
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Effective teaching Strategies

..... 5
Managing challenging Behaviour .
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References .
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Belvoir Special School

Belvoir Special School is a specialised educational unit that provides a quality
education for students with an intellectual disability. The school is situated in
Wodonga, Victoria and is focused on providing their students with a supportive
learning environment which caters for all students individual needs, and programs that
focus on student interests and strengths as well as addressing areas of concern
(Belvoir Special School, 2014). Belvoirs school motto is Together We Can (Belvoir
Special School, 2014). I feel that from my short experience at Belvoir, interacting
with some staff and students, this motto has shaped the teaching and learning
environment of the school.

First impressions
An impression is defined as the way that something seems, looks, or feels to a
particular person (Cambridge University Press, 2015). These impressions can either
appeal to, or deter ones interests. When looking further into first impressions,
particularly within the educational system, families will often make judgments to
whether a school is well suited to them based on their first impressions.
When visiting Belvoir Special School I was amazed at the type of facility that
students were provided with. When initially pulling into the carpark I was captivated
by the colour around the environment, as it made the school seem inviting, exciting
and friendly. There were many fences and gates that were locked around the school.
However, this seemed to be of normality from the outside as large fences today
surround many schools. For Belvoir, these fences and gates are preventative measures
for their school community to keep students safe and in the appropriate area. When
entering the office building a guide dog and friendly staff kindly greeted us and
guided us to our first meeting point. Our first meeting point was within a large kitchen
facility. This facility was amazing as it provides students with a quality education
based around their needs and interests. The kitchen facility was surrounded by visual
images to assist students with finding particular equipment. During our meeting with
the assistant principal of the school, it was explained to us that the main idea behind
the kitchen is to allow students access to high quality facilities so that students can

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transfer the skills that they learn into their home and other environments to become
independent.
During further touring of the school, it was wonderful to see the high quality facilities
used by the school community. There were many physical activity areas such as the
outdoor play equipment that were specially designed by allied health professionals to
promote students education and wellbeing. There was also a large indoor sports area
as well as a specialised gym (similar to public centres) that allowed students to
develop the skills in using machines and equipment in a safe manner. Another
physical facility was the school bike track that taught students important bike safety
and road rule information to allow them to become more independent outside of the
school environment. Additional facilities such as a sensory room and specialised
allied health rooms provided students with additional support.
In addition, the classrooms also presented well for first impressions, as they were
engaging and welcoming. Inside of the classroom there was a large range of visual
resources around the classroom that were age appropriate and relevant to the students.
The classroom that I visited has six students, one classroom teacher and two
classroom aids. Each student was well supported with their learning as activities were
differentiated for the varying needs and abilities.
I feel that Belvoir Special School has left a long lasting impression with me. The
facilities and education provided for students at Belvoir have really opened up my
eyes and given me a great insight into working with students with special needs.

Overview of Disabilities
As provided by the ABS, the definition of disability is explain as not whether a
person has a condition or not, but in whether that condition restricts their daily living
(ABS, 2012, para. 1). As stated by Forman & Arthur-Kelly (2014), disabilities are
often classified into different groups such as, intellectual, physical or sensory
disabilities, behavioural problems or learning difficulties (Forman & Arthur-Kelly,
2014, p.5). As a pre-serviced teacher, I feel that it is important to develop an
understanding of the classifications of disabilities as well as particular disabilities that
fall into these categories. This would allow to teachers to know more about their
students who have a disability and possibly develop knowledge of how they best

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learn. This would further support student learning and allow for effective teaching and
planning.
Belvoir Special School is classed as a multimode special educational setting as it
caters for a range of disabilities where students have an intelligence quotient (IQ) that
is below 70. The ranges of disabilities classified by the school are: special - which is
where students have an IQ between 50 and 70, special developmental - which is
where students have an IQ below 50, Autism, social-emotional, physical and sensory
disabilities, vision and hearing impairments.
When visiting an individual classroom the range of disabilities became more specific.
Students were identified as having a range of disabilities such as Autism
(hypersensitive), Epilepsy, Anxiety, Mild intellectual disability, Global Developmental
Delay, Cerebral Palsy and Down Syndrome. Each student was provided with an
individualised learning plan, which identifies personalised learning goals for each
student developed by the class teacher, parents and the individual students. These
learning plans provide students with an appropriate learning program catered to their
needs through the modification and adaptation of syllabus content that is relevant to
them by building on their strengths, catering for their needs, and on their
challenges (Foreman & Arthur Kelly, 2014)

Effective teaching strategies

Individual teachers utilise different strategies within their classroom to support and
promote the learning within the classroom. Teaching strategies that work well for
some environments may not work as well in other environments. This means teachers
may need to alter or utilise completely different strategies between environments. .
For example, within a mainstream classroom many of the teaching strategies used are:
questioning, modelling, demonstrating, expectations, oral explanations, assessing and
checking for understanding. Within a special education setting such as Belvoir,
teachers are utilising similar teaching strategies to those in mainstream, however they
are modified and adapted to best suit their students needs and abilities.
During my visit at Belvoir I visited an early high school classroom for a short period
of time. During this time I observed effective use of teaching strategies. Initially
walking into the classroom, half of the class was working with syllables and the other
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half were working on their spelling. Through separating these working groups the
teacher created an environment where mixed abilities were catered for. Differentiated
learning activities create an appropriate level of challenge, and engage students in
learning in meaningful way (Board of Studies NSW, 2012).
Another strategy that was used within the classroom was the use of visuals. At Belvoir
many students require visuals to help them understand rules and instructions.
Therefore during all lessons and transitions visual aids assist help students in
understanding tasks. Additionally the use of visuals is expanded throughout the room
and other environments such as the gym and kitchen to show where different learning
materials are. These visuals around the rooms enable students to become more
independent and therefore successful learners.
In regards to checking for understanding the teacher would initially model the class
task and then allow the students to then demonstrate their understanding by
independently attempting it themselves. Furthermore, assessing students knowledge
of learnt concepts the classroom teacher puts students into physical situations where
they have to demonstrate the skills they have learnt and conduct them independently.

Management of challenging behaviour

Behaviour is a concept, which can often be challenging within the classroom
environment. The management of challenging behaviour is a highly important
strategy within a teachers pedagogy, as it has the ability to improve the learning
climate of any school (Wilkinson & Meiers, 2008, p.1). Teachers will often have
different philosophies on how to best manage challenging behaviour based on
behavioural models that align with their beliefs. Some teachers may feel that the best
way of managing student behaviour is through an autocratic approach. However, other
teachers may be on the opposite end of the spectrum and take a more Laissez-faire
approach or even somewhere in between these two approaches.
The behaviour management at Belvoir Special School is linked to the School Wide
Positive Behaviour Support framework [SW-PBS]. This framework assists schools to
plan and implement practices across the whole school, to improve educational and
behavioural outcomes for all students (Northern Territory Government Department of

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Education, 2014). The ways in which this framework assists schools to develop whole
school practices is through four interrelated components, data, outcomes, practices
and systems that work in together.
Belvoir Special School outlines three main school rules that are linked to the SW-PBS
framework and were developed through the Matrix of school wide expectations.
These three rules are:

Follow instructions,

Make good choices, and

Be safe.

These rules are a part of a long-term approach to behaviour management that teach
students the behaviours that are expected of them. These rules are integrated into
another behaviour management framework called the Belvoir Triangle (see image
below).

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Image retrieved from document

provided by Belvoir Special School.

The aim of the Belvoir Triangle is to teach expected behaviour, maintain relationships
and keep students within the classroom. The Belvoir Triangle is a visual tool with 6
different layers of behaviours. Each level indicates where a student is at in term of
their behaviour and what actions need to be taken to make a change in their behaviour
if required. This triangle serves a purpose to both the students and staff at Belvoir.
Students are taught how each positioning on the triangle is an indication to whether
they are behaving as expected or whether they need to alter their behaviour. Staff are
guided on how to get students back on track when they arent meeting behavioural
expectations. At the beginning of each day student pictures are placed within the
green zone, and then repositioned throughout the day depending on their behaviour.
The green and purple zones are positive behaviour zones. The green zone
indicates that students are demonstrating expected behaviours, and the purple zone
indicates that students are going beyond by displaying positive behaviours directly
related to the three main school rules. The remaining four zones are related to the
management of challenging behaviour. The yellow zone is an indication that a
student's current behaviour is becoming inappropriate and actions need to be taken to

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get them back to the green zone. In this zone teachers will orally prompt or model
expected behaviours to students to get them back on track. If behaviour continues to
become more inappropriate, the student is then moved into the orange zone as they
are requiring additional time to calm down. In the orange zone, students are moved
into a different area of the classroom such as the quiet room or the classroom outdoor
area, where they are given time to think and self-regulate their behaviour. Once
student behaviour has become positive they are moved up into the yellow zone and
then back into the green zone if positive behaviour continues. However, if the
behaviour has continued to escalate within the orange zone, students are then moved
into the red zone where they move to a different environment to calm down and
think. Quite often students with high anxiety, sensory-based avoidance or seeking
behaviours will require time in a new environment that is either more natural and
quiet, or, an area that has sensory activities for them to engage in to self-regulate. The
next level down from the red zone is the black zone. This is where a senior staff
member visits the classroom to assist in resolving behavioural issues and work
towards getting the student back on track. This Belvoir Triangle model is effective for
all classroom environments as it assists in the management of challenging behaviour
as well as the reinforcement of positive behaviour.
Alongside the long-term behaviour management frameworks are other types of
management systems that are used by classroom staff. When holding discussion with
the middle years classroom teacher, management strategies that were discussed
included triggers and expectations. Triggers are defined as actions or events that play
a role in prompting particular behaviours (Victoria State Government Education and
Training, 2014). It is important that the triggers of misbehaviour are identified for
individual students so that they can be easily avoided. The clear communication of
expected behaviour promotes positive behaviour of students. Set expectations allow
student to understand where the limits are and how to meet the expectations by
abiding by the rules.
It is important to have behaviour management strategies that are developed school
wide especially for students who require structure. Furthermore, as a classroom
teacher it is important that school-wide approaches are developed within the
classroom as well as additional management strategies developed by behavioural

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models that align with personal philosophies. Belvoir Special School mainly uses
approaches that are proactive and preventative measures of behaviour management,
so that behaviour was effectively managed before it got too serious. Strategies
developed at Belvoir were highly effective and were understood by whole the school
body.
Belvoir Special School is a highly developed school that uses effective strategies to
achieve successful learning. Students at Belvoir are provided with a top quality
facility where they are supported and encouraged to build their skills and abilities to
become independent.

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References
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2012). Rates of Disability in Australia. Retrieved from
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4429.0Main+Features100232009
Belvoir Special School. (2014). Belvoir Special School. Retrieved from http://www.belvoirss
.vic.edu.au
Board of Studies NSW. (2012). Differentiated Programing. Retrieved from http://syllabus.bos
.nsw.edu.au/support-materials/differentiated-programming/
Cambridge University Press. (2015). Cambridge Dictionaries Online. Retrieved from
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/impression
Foreman, P., & Arthur-Kelly, M. (2014). Inclusion in Action (4th ed). South Melbourne, VIC:
Cengage Learning
Northern Territory Government Department of Education. (2014). School Wide Positive
Behaviour Support. Retrieved from http://www.education.nt.gov.au/teachers-educators/
students-learning/safe-schools-nt/swpbs

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Victoria State Government Education and Training. (2014). Student Behaviour. Retrieved
from http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/principals/participation/Pages/studentbeh
aviour.aspx
Wilkinson, J., & Meiers, M. (2008). Research Digest. Retrieved from https://www.trb.tas.gov
.au/Shared%20Documents/Managing%20classroom%20behaviour.pdf

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