Social and Cultural Foundations of American Education/Chapter 10/How can we account for individual differences (Special Ed.)? 2
From Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection
Special Education: An Issue for All Teachers By Elizabeth Seawell
Special education refers to education designed to meet the needs of students with different abilities. Special materials, teaching techniques or equipment, and/or assistants may be required. Current thinking around teaching children with special needs maintains that general education should be primarily responsible for the education of children with disabilities (Hallahan & Kauffman, 1994). The National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs (2001) reports 12.8% of kids have special needs. Because of this, it is likely that all general teachers will work with students with special needs. There are several areas of special needs. These include but are not limited to mental retardation, learning disabilities, emotional or behavioral disorders, communication disorders, hearing impairments, visual impairments, and physical disabilities (Hallahan & Kauffman, 1994). While this is a wide variety of differences, there are some general tools that teachers can use to effectively instruct children with special needs.
The Animal School: A Fable by George Reavis; Once upon a time the animals decided they must do something heroic to meet the problems of a “new world” so they organized a school. They had adopted an activity curriculum consisting of running, climbing, swimming and flying. To make it easier to administer the curriculum, all the animals took all the subjects. The duck was excellent in swimming. In fact, better than his instructor. But he made only passing grades in flying and was very poor in running. Since he was slow in running, he had to stay after school and also drop swimming in order to practice running. This was kept up until his webbed feet were badly worn and he was only average in swimming. But average was acceptable in school so nobody worried about that, except the duck. The rabbit started at the top of the class in running but had a nervous breakdown because of so much makeup work in swimming. The squirrel was excellent in climbing until he developed frustration in the flying class where his teacher made him start from the ground up instead of the treetop down. He also developed a “charlie horse” from overexertion and then got a C in climbing and D in running. The eagle was a problem child and was disciplined severely. In the climbing class, he beat all the others to the top of the tree but insisted on using his own way to get there. At the end of the year, an abnormal eel that could swim exceeding well and also run, climb and fly a little had the highest average and was valedictorian. The prairie dogs stayed out of school and fought the tax levy because the administration would not add digging and burrowing to the curriculum. They apprenticed their children to a badger and later joined the groundhogs and gophers to start a successful private school. Does this fable have a moral? Note: This story— which George Reavis wrote when he was the Assistant Superintendent of the Cincinnati Public Schools back in the 1940s!— is in the public domain. If you would prefer a full-color, illustrated book, one is currently available from Crystal Springs Books at 1- |
<
Federal law states that all children have a right to an education. In order to receive federal funding, every school system must provide appropriate education at no cost for all children regardless of disabilities (Hallahan & Kauffman, 1994). Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), passed in 1990, ensures that all children and youth with disabilities receive education (Hallahan & Kauffman, 1994). There are several provisions under IDEA which all states and localities must follow (Hallahan & Kauffman, 1994). These include identifying all children with disabilities; evaluation of the child is to be completed by a multidisciplinary team in which multiple evaluation tools are used for placement; providing free and appropriate education; child and parent rights to confidentiality, nonbiased evaluation, and accessibility to all information obtained; providing education in the least restrictive environment (LRE); providing student with an individualized education plan (IEP); and ongoing training in meeting special needs must be provided for teachers and other personnel. IDEA provides states and localities with guidelines to provide education to all students.
The level of involvement that the special needs student has in the classroom depends on the resources of the school and community as well as how much the child with special needs differs from the other students in the class. Each student identified for special education is required to have an IEP. The IEP presents the current level of functioning, long and short term goals, services to be provided, plans for initiating and evaluating services, and the need for transition services (Hallahan &Kauffman, 1994). The least restrictive environment (LRE) requires that the student be segregated from his non-disabled classmates as little as possible. As a result, there are many options of involvement for the students and educators (Hallahan & Kauffman, 1994). The least restrictive is that the needs of the student are met in the regular class by the regular teacher. This environment could serve a student with a mild learning disability, a mild emotional/behavioral disorder, mild mental retardation, or a student with a physical disability. The next level allows the student to remain in the classroom, while receiving assistance from an intermittent or a resource teacher. This environment could serve a student with a visual impairment, communication disorder, hearing impairment, moderate emotional/behavioral or learning disorder, or mild retardation. The next level would be a self-contained class, the most restrictive within a school, wherein a special teacher provides most or all instruction in a special classroom. This class would be appropriate for a student with moderate to severe mental retardation or emotional/behavioral disorder. A regular teacher may be involved in any of these levels of instruction. For the profoundly disabled student special day school or a residential school may be an option.
The student population consists of all types of learners. Carol Ann Tomlinson (Tomlinson, 2000) describes a different way of teaching diverse learners called differentiation. Differentiation in the classroom is teaching to the student, rather than to the middle. Differentiation is based on several beliefs (Tomilson, 2000). Students of the same age differ in their interests, learning styles and abilities, experiences, and readiness to learn. Students learn best when assisted and challenged by supportive adults. Students learn best when there is a connection between the curriculum and the interests of the student. Students learn best when there is a sense of community in which students feel respected. The work of educators is to maximize the capabilities of each student. Differentiation can be used in effectively integrating students with special needs into the classroom.
Differentiation can seem daunting for teachers, who are expected to teach a specific curriculum and whose students are expected to meet precise standards, despite the differences in the students. Differentiation is a way for teachers to teach the same standards to a variety of learners by employing a variety of teaching strategies (Tomilson, 2000). Teachers need to use multiple modes of delivery such as whole class instruction, learning centers, writing, technology, and field trips (Villa & Thousand, 1003). Students should be evaluated through different mediums such as tests, reports, presentations, role play, debates, discussion, and songs. Jan Demontigny, an elementary teacher in Middletown, CT, posted a list of simple modifications that can be made to assist students with disabilities. These include presenting information orally and visually; having students do simple exercises, such as stretching before writing; modifying assignments and worksheets to meet the abilities of the student; and giving assignments in small segments (Demontigny, 2006). Cindy Shepard, a special education teacher, encourages regular teachers to use resources and support from other professionals in the school. She feels that it is important for teachers to use positive behavior management techniques, particularly with special needs students. Shepard reminds teachers to remember that what works one time may not necessarily work every time so it is extremely important to be flexible (Shepard, 2006). Every student has strengths and interests and it is the responsibility of the teacher to explore those and to utilize them (Hallahan & Kauffman, 1994).
As teachers, the chances are high that we will have children with special needs in our classrooms. It is up to us as the primary educators to be creative, assertive, caring, and flexible when working with kids of different abilities. Seeing those connections and watching these children grow and change is why we do what we do. Given the information and resources available we can all do this well.
Demontigny, J. Retrieved 9/14/06 from http://www.pacificnet.net/~mandel/SpecialEducation.html.
Hallahan, D & Kauffman, J. (1994). Exceptional Children: Intoduction to Special Education. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Shepard, C. Personal Communication. September 16, 2006.
Tomlinson, C. (2000). Reconcilable Differences? Standards-Based Teaching and Differentiation. [Electronic Version]. Educational Leadership, 58, 6-11.
Villa, R. & Thousand, J. (2003). Making Inclusion Work. [Electronic Version]. Educational Leadership, 61, 19-23.
Questions: 1. Principal Shale has suggested that Mrs. Mole use differentiation in her classroom as a way to: a. segregate special education students b. teach to individuals rather than the middle c. discipline students d. distinguish between regular kids and kids with special needs
2. Ms. Smart has an autistic student in her class. She should use what teaching tool? a. giving information in small pieces b. explore his interests c. give visual cues d. all of the above
3. Allen Johnson is diagnosed with a learning disorder, his Individualized Education Program should include all but, a. goals b. current level of functioning c. plans for evaluations d. means to circumvent parents
4. Mrs. Roberts has identified a student in her class a needing evaluation. When talking to the child's parent's she will explain that the Individuals with Diabilities Education Act ensures which of the following for there son: a. he is entitled to appropriate education in the least restrictive environment at no cost to them b. his evaluation for placement will be multidisciplinary, multiple tools will be used for evaluation, and the parents will be included in the every step of the process c. a & b d. none of the above
5. Bethany has cerebral palsy. She can not speak, is wheel chair bound and has a full time aide. Other children in the class ask why she is in school. You respond with:
a. She is a nice girl and we like having her here
b. the law says that all children are entitled to an education
c. she may not learn the same way and the same things that you do, but she is learning and fulfilling her potential in school
d. all of the above
Essay: You are a fourth grade teacher. You have 25 kids in your class one of whom is identified as ADHD. “Josh” has a great sense of humor. He likes race cars and Star Wars. He has difficulties with math, writing, and reading comprehension. Describe how you might assist Josh in his areas of weakness.
Quiz answers: 1. b, 2. d, 3.d, 4.c, 5.d
