The methods and resource teacher sees that the student’s schedule is well planned and realistic and that the student’s progress is monitored carefully.
In addition to assisting students in course selection, M&R teachers work closely with the guidance counsellor and administrative personnel. They also coordinate community work programs; they find the sites and provide training, supervision and monitoring of community placement.
Practical Aspects
I find I have to get an overall picture of the student. It takes a lot of time and you have to look at that student in many different areas to get a true picture of what the problem could be, diagnose where the problem is. Sometimes you think you know and then you get some more information which changes the whole outlook.
The M&R teachers interviewed identified several practical day to day tactics to support the teacher. Some take over and teach the class, which permits the teacher to do planning and curriculum development. A second M&R teacher can work with the classroom teacher for an extended period of time to plan and prepare needed materials. “I know one teacher was having trouble completing a couple of things for an exceptional child. I said, ‘I’ll go in your classroom for twenty minutes while you go and jot down your ideas. I’ll put your ideas in the right order and work on them for you.’”
M&R teachers report that they prefer to modify and adapt existing curriculum to come up with usable materials. Classroom teachers and students also seem to prefer curriculum materials related to the regular instructional program. As a result, much of the work of the M&R teacher is to assist the classroom teacher in adapting the content and vocabulary of materials so they can be used by exeptional students:
