Special Education Teachers, Middle School

Teach middle school subjects to educationally and physically handicapped students. Includes teachers who specialize and work with audibly and visually handicapped students and those who teach basic academic and life processes skills to the mentally impaired.

tasks jobzones knowledge skills abilities work_activities work_context interests work_styles work_values

Tasks

• Sponsor extracurricular activities such as clubs, student organizations, and academic contests.

• Select, store, order, issue, and inventory classroom equipment, materials, and supplies.

• Visit schools to tutor students with sensory impairments, and to consult with teachers regarding students' special needs.

• Plan and supervise class projects, field trips, visits by guest speakers, or other experiential activities, and guide students in learning from those activities.

• Attend staff meetings, and serve on committees as required.

• Perform administrative duties such as assisting in school libraries, hall and cafeteria monitoring, and bus loading and unloading.

• Provide additional instruction in vocational areas.

• Organize and supervise games and other recreational activities to promote physical, mental, and social development.

• Attend professional meetings, educational conferences, and teacher training workshops in order to maintain and improve professional competence.

• Provide assistive devices, supportive technology, and assistance accessing facilities such as restrooms.

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Job Zone

• Name: Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed

• Experience: A minimum of two to four years of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

• Education: Most of these occupations require a four - year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

• Job training: Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

• Examples: Many of these occupations involve coordinating, supervising, managing, or training others. Examples include accountants, human resource managers, computer programmers, teachers, chemists, and police detectives.

• Svp range: (7.0 to < 8.0)

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Knowledge

Browse Knowledge

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• Mathematics
  Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

• 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.

• Computers and Electronics
  Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

• Clerical
  Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.

• 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.

• History and Archeology
  Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

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Skills

Browse Skills

• Learning Strategies
  Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.

• Instructing
  Teaching others how to do something.

• Social Perceptiveness
  Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

• Monitoring
  Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

• Active Listening
  Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

• Reading Comprehension
  Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

• Writing
  Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

• Speaking
  Talking to others to convey information effectively.

• Time Management
  Managing one's own time and the time of others.

• Active Learning
  Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

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Abilities

Browse Abilities

• Oral Comprehension
  The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

• Oral Expression
  The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

• Written Comprehension
  The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

• Written Expression
  The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

• Deductive Reasoning
  The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

• Speech Clarity
  The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

• Problem Sensitivity
  The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

• Speech Recognition
  The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

• Originality
  The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.

• Inductive Reasoning
  The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

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Work Activities

Browse Work Activities

• Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
  Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.

• Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
  Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.

• Training and Teaching Others
  Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.

• Coaching and Developing Others
  Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.

• Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
  Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.

• Making Decisions and Solving Problems
  Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.

• Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards
  Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.

• Thinking Creatively
  Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.

• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
  Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

• Assisting and Caring for Others
  Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.

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Work Context

• Face-to-Face Discussions
  How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?

• Contact With Others
  How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?

• Work With Work Group or Team
  How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job?

• Electronic Mail
  How often do you use electronic mail in this job?

• Structured versus Unstructured Work
  To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals?

• Coordinate or Lead Others
  How important is it to coordinate or lead others in accomplishing work activities in this job?

• Telephone
  How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?

• Physical Proximity
  To what extent does this job require the worker to perform job tasks in close physical proximity to other people?

• Freedom to Make Decisions
  How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer?

• Letters and Memos
  How often does the job require written letters and memos?

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Interests

Browse Interests

• Social
  Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

• Artistic
  Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

• Investigative
  Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

• Realistic
  Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

• Conventional
  Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

• Enterprising
  Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

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Work Styles

• Integrity
  Job requires being honest and ethical.

• Self Control
  Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.

• Dependability
  Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

• Concern for Others
  Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.

• Cooperation
  Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

• Stress Tolerance
  Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.

• Adaptability/Flexibility
  Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.

• Social Orientation
  Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job.

• Persistence
  Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.

• Attention to Detail
  Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

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Work Values

Browse Work Values

• Achievement
  Workers on this job get a feeling of accomplishment.

• Social Service
  Workers on this job have work where they do things for other people.

• Achievement-Mean Extent
  Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.

• Authority
  Workers on this job give directions and instructions to others.

• Ability Utilization
  Workers on this job make use of their individual abilities.

• Responsibility
  Workers on this job make decisions on their own.

• Activity
  Workers on this job are busy all the time.

• Creativity
  Workers on this job try out their own ideas.

• Independence-Mean Extent
  Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employs to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.

• Relationships-Mean Extent
  Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.

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