Republic of the Philippines

` NUEVA ECIJA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND

Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, Philippines
ISO 9001:2015 CERTIFIED
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

FINAL TERM REQUIREMENT IN SNED 2 (Learners with Sensory and Physical

Disabilities)
TERM PAPER

“Encounter with SPED

Teacher Handling Learners
with Sensory and Physical
Disabilities”

Submitted by:
Marjorie Mendoza
BSNED 1B

Submitted to:
Ms. Mariel R. Tapadera, MAEd, LPT
Instructor

Keep Excellence Burning

Contact No. (044) 463 - 0225

Transforming Communities through Science and Technology Email: neustcoed.sumacab@edu.ph
coed@neust.edu.ph
“Encounter with SPED Teacher Handling Learners with SNEd 2, Term Paper
Sensory and Physical Disabilities”

I. PROFILE OF THE SUBJECT

Teacher Rubylyn M. Singian is a SPED teacher at Camp Tinio Elementary School. Teacher
Rubylyn is already 45 years old. And was born on April 22, 1978. Teacher Rubylyn has been
teaching for 24 years in total already; she taught in private for 14 years and in public for 10
years, which is in CTES.

II. DISCUSSION
Students with sensory disabilities such as those who are blind, visually impaired, deaf, or
hearing impaired often bring auxiliary aids and adaptive equipment to the classroom (e.g., dog,
cane, interpreter, Type-N-Speak). These aids assist in gaining access to the classroom; however,
they do not ensure access. The classroom instructor is responsible for considering the needs of
every student when teaching. For example, your instruction, including lectures, website, videos,
overheads, handouts, and textbook must be accessible to all students.

Students with sensory and physical disabilities tend to do their work the way they wanted
to. Teacher Rubylyn uses such strategies when teaching her students. For her, teaching strategies
for learners with sensory and physical disabilities comes from the way they learn and grasp
concepts easily. Teacher Rubylyn applied only the teaching strategies that are best suited for her
students and where they are comfortable enough to learn the concepts that their teacher is
teaching them.

Teacher Rubylyn is in a self-continued class, so many rules for maintaining discipline

within the class are not necessary. Familiarizing herself with students is enough for teacher
Rubylyn to maintain discipline in class. When a child has special needs, patience is a must. Since
this type of student takes longer to perform simple tasks, understanding is key to their
development. No matter how long it takes, a special education teacher must give a child time to
complete the task. Having a good sense of humor will help along the way. For teacher Rubylyn
to maintain discipline in class as well as completely help her students understand the lesson, she's
teaching her students with patience in order to improve their development.

1
Mendoza, Marjorie
BSNED 1B
“Encounter with SPED Teacher Handling Learners with SNEd 2, Term Paper
Sensory and Physical Disabilities”

An Individualized Education Plan (or Program) is also known as an IEP. This is a plan or
program developed to ensure that a child with an identified disability who is attending an
elementary or secondary educational institution receives specialized instruction and related
services. The IEP for teacher Rubylyn is tiring at first, just like any other SPED teacher's first
IEP. Because in order to formulate the IEP, you need to know your students one by one and how
they learn to know what kind of strategies are best suited for them. But for teacher Rubylyn, in
the long run, she already finds it easy to formulate an IEP because she already has a lot of
experience when it comes to this.

Most of the students that teacher Rubylyn teaches in a SPED class are already in an
inclusive classroom now, where they will be able to join the regular curriculum. There's no
difficult student for a teacher who only wants her students to learn the best, and for Ma'am
Rubylyn's case to be able to send most of her students in an inclusive classroom means that she
did her best to help her students learn and to adapt to a different environment even though it
might be difficult for them.

For a SPED teacher like Ma'am Rubylyn, they call smaller classes self-continued classes for
one-on-one, dyad for 1:2, and groups for 5 learners only with the same needs. This is best for
them because they can focus on their work, and the teacher can also focus on their development.
In a smaller class, it's more difficult for students to hide and get left behind. Having fewer
students means that each one can get the attention they need from their teacher. They are also
encouraged to take part in discussions and are driven to express their opinions.

III. CONCLUSION
Being a SPED teacher is really a difficult job, but it's also heartwarming and encouraging
because the students that they've been teaching are enough reason for them to stay and do their
best to teach the lesson in a way that is understandable for them. It can be challenging for them at
times as well as overwhelming because, of course, the students that they are teaching have
different needs compared to the other learners in a regular classroom, but I know that those
students are one of their motivations to continue teaching students like them, and that is also
what makes a SPED teacher special.

2
Mendoza, Marjorie
BSNED 1B
“Encounter with SPED Teacher Handling Learners with SNEd 2, Term Paper
Sensory and Physical Disabilities”

Teaching strategies really help teachers deliver the lesson in the best way that they can in
order for the students in a SPED classroom setting to learn the concept easily and understand it.
As well, the IEP plays a big role in improving the development of the learners because the team
involved in the plan knows what is best suited for the learner.

Students in a SPED class setting really need a teacher who will guide them and be with
them to achieve the task that is already difficult for them compared to other learners. As a SPED
teacher, you really need to have a strong yet big heart when teaching learners with unique needs
like them.

IV. RECOMMENDATIONS
For future SPED teachers like me who dream to teach students with sensory and physical
disabilities, I will recommend to myself and to others that they practice their patience long
enough to understand the difficulty that our future students are facing. As well as having a big
heart to give the acceptance and understanding that a learner with sensory and physical
disabilities doesn't get from others.

Understanding and learning how to formulate an IEP correctly is crucial because this will
dictate what the teacher should do to help the students improve their development. Together
with creating the teaching strategies, this is very important when we are already in the real field,
because this will help us, the teachers, deliver the lesson in an understandable way as well as
help the students get the concept and lesson easily.

3
Mendoza, Marjorie
BSNED 1B
“Encounter with SPED Teacher Handling Learners with SNEd 2, Term Paper
Sensory and Physical Disabilities”

V. APPENDIX
5.1. Interview sheet
1. Which teaching strategies do you use most often, and why do you prefer them?
2. How do you maintain discipline in your classroom?
3. What experience have you had with individualized education plans, and do you think they
are effective?
4. Without violating confidentiality, can you describe a difficult student you worked with and
what you did to help them to succeed?
5. As a special education teacher, why do you feel that smaller classes give the students a better
chance of achieving their academic goals?

4
Mendoza, Marjorie
BSNED 1B
“Encounter with SPED Teacher Handling Learners with SNEd 2, Term Paper
Sensory and Physical Disabilities”

5.2. Documentation

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of my interview with teacher Rubylyn for

documentation, but here is the letter as proof that we really interviewed a SPED teacher and that
it was signed by the principal of CTES as approving our request to conduct an interview with
their SPED teachers.

5
Mendoza, Marjorie
BSNED 1B
“Encounter with SPED Teacher Handling Learners with SNEd 2, Term Paper
Sensory and Physical Disabilities”

VI. REFERENCES

Teaching students with sensory impairments. The Ohio State University. (n.d.). Retrieve May 21,
2023. https://ada.osu.edu/sensory-impairments

5 traits of effective special education teachers. Masters in Special Education Degree Program
Guide |. (2021, November 9). https://www.masters-in-special-education.com/lists/5-traits-
of-effective-special-education-teachers/#:~:text=Patience,will%20help%20along%20the
%20way.

What is an individualized education plan?. What is an Individualized Education Plan? |

AccessComputing. (n.d.). https://www.washington.edu/accesscomputing/what-
individualized-education-plan

10 benefits of small class sizes - EF Academy blog. EF Blog. (n.d.).

https://www.ef.com/wwen/blog/efacademyblog/10-benefits-small-class-sizes/#:~:text=In
%20a%20smaller%20class%2C%20it’s,driven%20to%20express%20their%20opinions.

6
Mendoza, Marjorie
BSNED 1B