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Special Education Teachers, Middle School

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This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

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Teach academic, social, and life skills to middle school students with learning, emotional, or physical disabilities. 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.

Related: Special Education Teachers, Elementary School Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten Special Education Teachers, Preschool Special Education Teachers, Secondary School Teaching Assistants, Special Education

Industries: Education

Summary
Details

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

Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

Education

Bachelor's degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

No on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

95440/yr

Currently Employed

1,680

Yearly Projected Openings

140

Social: People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking. They do well at jobs that need:

Stress Tolerance
Adaptability/Flexibility
Dependability
Cooperation
Integrity
Self Control

Adaptive communication switches for the physically challenged
Assistive listening devices
Binocular light compound microscopes
Braille devices for the physically challenged
Cassette players or recorders
Childrens science kits
Compasses
Computer mouse
Desktop calculator
Desktop computers
Digital camcorders or video cameras
Document camera
Enteral feeding administration sets
Game pads or joy sticks
Gas burners
Goggles
Hand held camcorders or video cameras
Keyboards
Laboratory beakers
Laboratory hotplates
Laboratory scalpels
Laminators
Laser printers
Letter or symbol boards for the physically challenged
Medical gas cylinders or related devices
Medical or surgical suction tubings
Microphones
Mobile medical services first aid kits
Notebook computers
Page turners for the physically challenged
Personal computers
Photocopiers
Protective gloves
Scanners
Tablet computers
Telecommunication devices TDD or teletypewriters TTY for the physically challenged
Televisions
Touch screen monitors
Video cassette players or recorders
Visual presenters
Voice synthesizers for the physically challenged
Wheelchairs
Writing aids for the physically challenged