What You'll Do

  • Arrange indoor or outdoor space to facilitate creative play, motor-skill activities, or safety.
  • Attend to children's basic needs by feeding them, dressing them, or changing their diapers.
  • Communicate nonverbally with children to provide them with comfort, encouragement, or positive reinforcement.
  • Confer with parents, guardians, teachers, counselors, or administrators to resolve students' behavioral or academic problems.
  • Develop individual educational plans (IEPs) designed to promote students' educational, physical, or social development.
  • Develop or implement strategies to meet the needs of students with a variety of disabilities.
  • Employ special educational strategies or techniques during instruction to improve the development of sensory- and perceptual-motor skills, language, cognition, or memory.
  • Encourage students to explore learning opportunities or persevere with challenging tasks to prepare them for later grades.
  • Establish and communicate clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects to students, parents, or guardians.
  • Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among students.

Essential Skills

Speaking 4.12/5
Active Listening 4.0/5
Reading Comprehension 3.88/5
Critical Thinking 3.88/5
Social Perceptiveness 3.88/5
Writing 3.75/5
Learning Strategies 3.75/5
Monitoring 3.75/5
Active Learning 3.62/5
Instructing 3.62/5
Service Orientation 3.62/5
Judgment and Decision Making 3.38/5

Career Fit Overview

Use this summary to sense whether the day to day rhythm and focus of this path line up with what energizes you.

Top passions

  • Helper: Supporting people and making a difference matters to you.
  • Artist: Creating original work and expressing ideas feels natural.
  • Analyst: Investigating problems and finding patterns keeps you engaged.

Common styles

Adaptability/Flexibility, Integrity, Self-Control, Achievement/Effort, Dependability

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Key Abilities

This career demands strong capabilities in the following areas:

Oral Expression 4.12/5
Oral Comprehension 4.0/5
Written Comprehension 4.0/5
Problem Sensitivity 4.0/5
Speech Clarity 4.0/5
Deductive Reasoning 3.88/5
Written Expression 3.75/5
Inductive Reasoning 3.75/5

Technologies & Tools

American Sign Language Browser Children's educational software Drawing software Email software Microsoft Excel Microsoft Office software Microsoft Outlook Microsoft PowerPoint Microsoft Word Screen magnification software Screen reader software Web browser software Word processing software

Work Environment & Style

Common Styles for This Career

  • Adaptability/Flexibility (High importance: 4.84/5)
  • Integrity (High importance: 4.84/5)
  • Self-Control (High importance: 4.79/5)
  • Achievement/Effort (High importance: 4.67/5)
  • Dependability (High importance: 4.67/5)

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How to Become One

This career requires extensive preparation, typically including a graduate degree (Master's or Doctoral) and several years of experience. Most professionals in this field have invested significant time in education and training.

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Also Known As

This career is known by many different job titles across industries. Here are all the variations:

Autistic Teacher Behavior Interventionist Behavioral Interventionist Blind Teacher Braille Teacher Deaf Education Teacher Deaf Teacher Early Childhood Special Education Teacher (ECSE Teacher) Early Childhood Special Educator (EC Special Educator) Early Intervention Specialist Early Intervention Teacher ED Teacher (Emotional Disabilities Teacher) Educational Intervention Teacher Emotionally Impaired Teacher Exceptional Needs Teacher Exceptional Student Education Teacher (ESE Teacher) Handicapped Teacher Hearing Impaired Itinerant Teacher (HI Itinerant Teacher) Hearing Impaired Teacher Home Therapy Teacher Interventionist Learning Disabled Teacher Learning Support Teacher Lip Reading Teacher Literacy Interventionist Mentally Impaired Teacher Mentally Retarded Teacher Outdoor Educator Physically Impaired Teacher Pre-Kindergarten Special Education Teacher (Pre-K Special Education Teacher) Preschool Intervention Specialist Preschool Special Education Teacher Reading Interventionist Resource Room Teacher Resource Specialist Resource Teacher Self Contained Special Education Teacher Severe/Profound Mental Handicaps Special Education Teacher Sign Language Teacher Special Day Class Teacher Special Education Paraprofessional Special Education Preschool Teacher Special Education Resource Teacher Special Education Teacher Special Needs Assistant Special Needs Teacher Speech and Hearing Handicapped Teacher Teacher Visually Impaired Teacher