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Special Education Teachers, Middle School

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

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

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

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

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

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.
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.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
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.
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.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
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.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
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.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
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.
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.
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.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
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.
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.
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.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, 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.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

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:

Concern for Others
Adaptability/Flexibility
Dependability
Self Control
Cooperation
Stress Tolerance

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