Teachers are the cornerstone of children’s development. A solid teacher offers inspiration and encouragement so that students achieve success inside and outside the classroom. When it comes to children with special needs, teachers must possess characteristics that help them deal with physical and cognitive disorders.
As the World’s #1 Source of Research-Based Content, The Daily Top 10, today we thought to share with you the Top 10 best traits of an effective special education teacher.
Before getting into our top 10 countdowns, let’s see who is an effective special education teacher or what makes an excellent special education teacher.
Who is an Effective Special Education Teacher?
An effective special education teacher is a teacher who works with children who have learning, mental, emotional, and physical disabilities. Most special education teachers work with children with mild to moderate disabilities. They teach basic skills to children with severe disabilities. And also, they adopt a standard education curriculum and modify it to the requirement of the special education needy children.
Not every teacher is capable of handling and teaching these children. Specially educated teachers are necessary for this job role. Here we are pointing out the top 10 best traits of an effective special education teacher. If you are studying to be a teacher or want to help children with these disorders, you can follow our guide.
Let’s dive in and see the top 10 best traits an effective special education teacher could adopt.
TOP 10: Trustworthiness
Parents of special needs children undergo a huge amount of stress due to the child’s condition. And they seek the help of professionals for their children. Parents keep plenty of trust in the professionals regarding their child’s conditions, and they trust them to keep the information confidential.
As a teacher, it is important to be trustworthy in these matters, as if this information leaks, it might affect a child’s mental health, affecting their growth and development. And also this might stress the parents as well.
Thus, as professionals, as they trust us to share the child’s condition, we also have to keep the promises and be trustworthy in a special education setting. ERIC also indicates how important it is to be trustworthy as a special education teacher. It is one of the essential traits that should be followed by an effective special education teacher.
TOP 9: Practical and Theoretical Knowledge
Practical and theoretical knowledge should be there for an effective special education teacher. Earning a degree is the first step of a special education teacher. But with time, old theories and concepts will be outdated with the advancement of technology and teachings. Because when the old theories are made, the technologies we have now might not be there.
Therefore, teachers should be aware of the advancements of theories and practices in special education to produce the best outcome for children with special needs. ECAP also backs up this fact as one of the important traits that an effective special education teacher should follow.
TOP 8: Listening Skills
Not only special education teachers but also every teacher should improve their listening. According to the Resilient educator article, “When Teachers Become Better Listeners, Students Become Better Learners,” it deepens children’s learning.
When, as a teacher, you listen to the children, they feel like they are also a part of the conversation, and it helps them to actively participate in what they learn. It helps them to remember what they learned as well easily. Moreover, listening to children allows them to share their thoughts and ideas, which will help the teacher to understand the child more. Thus, improving listening skills is important.
TOP 7: Calming Nature
Working with children with special needs might be frustrating sometimes. But it is necessary to be calm and maintain a calming nature around children since they look up to their teacher. Teachers are influential, and if they find out the teacher is frustrated and shaken, they will fall back and not express their feelings and emotions.
Topper also cites the fact that special education teachers should remain calm when working with these children as it affects the teacher’s performance as well as the child’s mental health.
TOP 6: Compassion
Teachers are influential, especially in the setup of a special education system. Compassion is important in the education system. It is vital in special education. Compassion is offering feelings of acceptance, showing kindness and mentoring, nurturing, and teaching, which is a valuable quality an effective special education teacher should possess.
Being compassionate helps students mentally, makes them feel they belong, and also offers a feeling of acceptance. A teacher being compassionate means finding out what the special needs child finds hard to deal with and helping them with what is difficult through creativity.
As mentioned in Walk In My Shoes, being in the child’s shoes and understanding their needs is important. And using the correct tone when talking, facial expressions, and using correct posture are also ways of communicating with compassion.
TOP 5: Adaptability
ECAP also ranks “Adaptability,” including it in their top 10 best traits of an effective special education teacher. In special education, each child might have individual needs. So, the curriculum should be made to accommodate each child’s individual needs. Thus, being flexible and adapting the teaching techniques, methods, resources, and instructions according to the child’s requirements is a must.
For example, if a child takes a long time to read a passage, the teacher can reduce the length of the passage by adopting the task according to the child’s ability. So, adaptability is an important trait that an effective special education teacher should use, which will help the child to grow immensely.
TOP 4: Patience
In the field of special education, patience is crucial, and it is a must. Because special needs children usually take longer to process and do even a simple task. So as teachers, you must be very patient and let the children take their time to comprehend and finish their tasks. Then, in the long run, this will help them to develop and move forward.
So patience is one of the critical factors that special education teachers should consider, and this is one of the most vital traits they should possess.
TOP 3: Being Intuitive
Being intuitive is vital in special education, unveiling children’s unspoken words. Moreover, it helps with children’s physical and mental health as well. Usually, special needs children that are confused or overwhelmed tend to act negatively. A special education teacher must uncover the hidden reason behind these children’s behavior using intuition skills.
Masters in Special Education also ranked intuition as one of the top 10 traits that an effective special education teacher should follow. Thus it is ranked #03 in our top 10 as well, which is unarguable.
TOP 2: Creativity
It is important to be creative when catering to children with special needs. Teachers should identify each child’s level, and according to that, they have to plan and adapt their lessons and curriculum. Some children might be anti-social, and some might not be able to perform even the basic motor skills.
Therefore, the same teaching method and approach will not suit every child. Special education teachers should be creative when teaching these children, identifying their cognitive level and capabilities.
TOP 1: Organization
The Foundation of an effective teaching-learning atmosphere can be named an Organization. Organization is one of the key things that every teacher should follow. This includes the physical setup of the classroom as well as the teacher’s teaching process as well.
Students cannot concentrate on the lesson or what a teacher teaches if the classroom is cluttered. In this case, these children are disabled and need this well-organized classroom the most. Classrooms can be arranged using color codes, name boards, and files which makes it easier for both children and the teacher to maintain the class without any chaos, suggests ECAP as well.
Special education teachers should focus more on using the available space and being well-organized. This has been named as our top trait since, without a proper teaching-learning environment, nothing will be effective or become successful.
How Ready Are You To Be An Effective Special Education Teacher?
Special education is not an easy task that anyone or any teacher could do. It needs special education as well as knowledge of special traits. Teaching students with various special needs is out of the regular teacher’s context, and it’s a field where special attention should be given.
If you are interested in being an effective special education teacher, studying to become one, or have a heart for helping children and want to know and learn about it, we have here gathered the Top 10 best traits to become an effective special education teacher.
- Organization
- Creativity
- Being Intuitive
- Patience
- Adaptability
- Compassion
- Calming Nature
- Listening Skills
- Practical and Theoretical Knowledge
- Trustworthiness
May this list help you achieve your goals and brighten up the future of the special needs children you meet. After reading this article, if you would like to read more and more. Then, don’t give up your thoughts, and just subscribe to our Newsletter!
Author: Saumya M.
Saumya M. is a passionate content writer known for her impeccable storytelling and research. She has covered topics ranging from travel and lifestyle to entertainment, community, and education. She helps people live their best lives and reach their full potential.
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