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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol.7, No.9
Publication Date: September 25, 2020
DOI:10.14738/assrj.79.6962.
Al-Sabatin, I. M. (2020). The Role of Shadow Teacher in Improving Autistic Students Ability in Learning. Advances in Social Sciences
Research Journal, 7(9) 375-382.
The Role of Shadow Teacher in Improving Autistic Students Ability
in Learning
Dr. Ibrahim Mahmoud Al-Sabatin
Palestine Technical University Kadoorie
ABSTRACT
Shadow teaching is a professional service offered to the school and
family to better manage the needs of students who have a learning
difference. Shadow teachers are employed by the parents to work with
their child at school. This study tries to answer the following questions:
what is the role of the shadow teacher in the classroom? To what extent
do shadow teacher help in improving students' ability in learning? What
are the key elements for successful shadow teaching? To achieve the
purpose of the study, the researcher prepared a questionnaire
concerning the questions of the study and observed the shadow
teacher's performance in the class room in the American Academy
Nablus. Means, standard deviations and percentages were calculated by
using SPSS program. The present study revealed the following results:
Shadow teacher plays an important role in providing additional
support, throughout the school day, academically and psychologically,
to those students enrolled in the Optimal Learning (OL) program that
need this additional support. In the light of the present study, the
researcher recommended providing Palestinian schools with shadow
teachers to help students with special need.
INTRODUCTION
Teaching is considered as the most important career in the world in which teachers deal with many
students through their careers, so encountering a child with special needs is virtually inevitable.
However, a teacher may not fully understand the student's disability. When this happens, a shadow
teacher is extremely helpful. If you are a teacher or parent involved with a child who has a learning
disability, a shadow teacher is something you should definitely know about. Every child is unique;
therefore, the approach and teaching methods and techniques used by each shadow teacher with
each specific student will differ. The concept of shadow teachers is new to many. In fact, most people
may not have come across this term before; I myself came across it only when I started working in
a nursery.
This study will shed light on it To perform effectively as a shadow teacher, Kilduff (2002) said that
one must have: (1)sufficient knowledge and experience in behavior management or applied
behavior analysis therapy; (2) experience working with children with disabilities; (3) the ability to
encourage or enhance peer association and play; (4) the ability to recognize opportunities when the
child can be independent in performing activities or when he needs to be prompted; (5) the ability
to tell how much prompting is needed by a special child; (6) the ability to promote communication
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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol.7, Issue 9, September-2020
with the regular teachers and the child’s classmates; and (7) the ability to adapt in class while
closely supervising the child.{6}
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study will help shadow teachers to know what the specific tasks and duties they need to
perform properly and their different shadow teaching functions in identified areas. Knowing this,
they will be able to prepare the curriculum and lessons well. They will employ the behavior and
social skills management techniques appropriate for the child. The shadow teachers will likewise
realize the different team working skills they need to adopt to improve their relationships with
regular teachers, parents of the child, and other professionals working with the child for his
progress and development.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Teaching students with disability is not an easy task specially in teaching language, because this
requires experts in this field and this is not available in public schools in Palestine from here came
the idea of the research. Regular teachers believe that the shadow teachers are helpful in managing
the child’s behavior, reminding the child to finish assigned tasks, reporting the child’s performance
to the SPED coordinator and his/her parents, assisting in lesson modification, prompting the child
to participate in class activities, assisting the child to have smooth relationships with others, and
attending to the child when the regular teacher is attending to other children. Shadow teachers
consider most of the tasks of curriculum planning very important and only one item important.
According to the shadow teachers, the most important task of curriculum planning is programming
the lessons depending on the child’s needs. This study aimed to investigate the role of shadow
teacher in improving special needs student's ability in learning English Language.
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of the present study is to investigate the role of shadow teacher in helping students
with special needs in learning. In short we can say that this study will try to help teachers of English
in Palestine to improve their students’ level in learning and to achieve good communication skills.
Research Questions
This study will attempt to answer the following questions:
1. What is the role of the shadow teacher in the classroom?
2. To what extent do shadow teacher help in improving students' ability in learning?
3. What are the key elements for successful shadow teaching?
LIMITS OF THE STUDY
The researcher acknowledges the following limitations to the study. This study will be limited to
teachers who teach autistic students who study at the American Academy Nablus and al Arroub
Society for rehabilitating handicapped children. in the academic year 2017/2018. The results of
this study could not be generalized out the boarders of these limits. The results of this study could
be generalized only to other similar conditions.
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URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.79.6962 377
Al-Sabatin, I. M. (2020). The Role of Shadow Teacher in Improving Autistic Students Ability in Learning. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 7(9)
375-382.
LITERATURE REVIEW
The purpose of this section is to provide an overview of the related literature as a foundation for
this study of the role of shadow teacher on improving autistic student's ability in learning.
Definition
A shadow teacher is an educational assistant who works directly with a single special needs child
during his preschool and elementary school years. These assistants understand a variety of learning
disabilities and how to handle them accordingly. Providing a shadow teacher allows the child to
attend a mainstream class while receiving the extra attention that he needs. Shadow teachers are
extensively trained to help the student interact with others and to assist with the child's schoolwork.
Benefits
Shweta (2010) claims that a shadow teacher's services are very beneficial and can increase the
child's quality of learning and overall classroom experience. These experts help the child focus,
communicate, participate in class, socialize, show courtesy to others and control her behavior.
Shadow teachers help special needs students learn independence, as well. Although regular
teachers are instrumental, they might not possess the specific training that a shadow teacher has.
{9}
Training
In order to become a shadow teacher, certain courses are required. These courses provide specific
information about many types of disabilities and how to deal with them. These may include lessons
on Attention Deficit Disorder, autism and dyslexia. Additionally, the training specifically instructs
shadow teachers on how different subjects should be taught, depending on the disability.
The role of the shadow teacher in the classroom is to help his/her student:
1. Stay focused;
2. Participate appropriately in class;
3. Notify the teacher if he does not understand the material;
4. Function in an environment where there are many distractions;
5. Be positive in his/her approach to new tasks; and helping him/her to gain self-control.
6. Improve communication by maintaining eye contact;
7. Encouraging him/her to ask for help from his/her teachers;
8. Having him/her share special interests with the children;
9. Helping him/her to respond appropriately to his/her classmates in social situations;
10. Seeing that he/she compliments his peers when appropriate;
11. Prompting him/her to initiate discussions with his/her peers;
12. Encouraging him/her to learn the interests of his/her classmates.
What does a shadow teacher actually do?
A shadow teacher should help the child with their communication and social skills. They should help
the child integrate and play with the other children, and must be patient and know how to give
direct instructions.
1. Ensure the safety of the student
2. Observe the student’s behavior
3. Follow school policies