ED 561Educating Exceptional Learners

Workshop #1http://xlearners.wordpress.com

Rachel Karlsen

Overview of First Workshop• Introductions• Syllabus and Expectations• Assignments due tonight • Assignments due next week• Instruction adaptations: getting organized (expanding file, journal, common

vocabulary, quickwrite)• Foundation and history of special education• IDEA 2004 and Vocational Rehab Act• Referral Process and the IEP• Inclusion• Transition programs• Consultation, Collaboration and Co-teaching Models• Working with parents of children with special needs• Cost of Special Education vs General education• Wrap Up/meet with group

Accessing papers on Ebsco Host(copied from WPC website)

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• Click on "Create an Alert". • Enter the information required and click "Save". • A summary will appear.  Click "Continue." • You will be returned to the publication display and should see "Journal Alert Set" in the upper

right corner of the display box. • Click on "Folder" at the top of the screen.  • Your journal alert(s) should be listed here.  Click on "Journal Alerts" to see your alert title(s).

Introductions

• Rachel Karlsen– rakarlsen@warnerpacific.edu– 360-901-5297

– Middle School teacher– Special Education K-12– SALT (state committee for testing, data

review, standards and curriculum advice)– Technology Assessment Group

My family…

My family

• Mariah, my niece My daughter, Lindsey

Lindsey, Casey, Keith, Lane

It’s all about youOption: Skip this slide and do

next insteadPlease tell us:

Your name………

Your experience with students with special needs….

What is your attitude toward teaching? hmmm

Raise your hands and say “That’s Me!”1. Learning is based on student’s ability.2. Learning takes place if the student takes

advantage of the opportunities to learn within the school.

3. All students can learn something and I will create a warm, pleasant environment for them to learn.

4. All students can learn and I will do whatever it takes to help students learn and achieve the agreed upon curriculum/standards.

Stand up if you….

• currently work in a classroom• know someone with a physical or learning

disability• plan to teach in grades K-4• plan to teach in grades 5-8• plan to teach in grades 9-12• plan to get an endorsement in special

education

Stand up if you…

• have been on a motorcycle• raced motorcycles• own a hybrid car• been out of the US• bicycled across a bridge to another state• have went on a hot air balloon• know how many faces, edges and vertices

a cone has

Thumbs up, thumbs sideways, thumbs down

• Comfort level of working with students with learning disabilities

• Comfort level of working with students with physical disabilities

• Comfort level of working with students with behavioral disabilities

• Feelings or expectations toward this class (learning, activities, work load)

Reading Reactions?

• Your thoughts? Insights?

Syllabus and Expectations

• Response to email• Attendance (one absence, be prompt)• Checklist for presentations, time limit (15-

20 minutes) see syllabus/handouts • Checklist for papers, see syllabus• Due dates/see syllabus (20% grade

deduction if paper is turned in more than 24 hours after class night)

• Questions/comments?

Assignment due dates/Grading criteria

• Assignment due dates, p. 10• Grading criteria:

– Participation – Reflection journal (p. 5) – Interview/research person with phys. disabilities (p 6)– Freaks movie/Music Within/your experiences (p. 6)– Mid-term exam (p. 6)– Final paper (p. 6/7)– Final Case Study presentation (p. 6/7)– Debate (p. 10)– Learning team presentations (see checklist handout)

Assignments due tonight (place in file)

• Read chapters 1 and 2 from textbook• Read Balch, B.V., Memory, D.M.

Hofmeister, D.R. (2008) Teachers and the law: Application essentials, general considerations, and specific examples.

• Write a three-page reflection/reaction to readings.

• Interview a person with physical disabilities/research a person who dealt with physical disabilities (5 page paper)

Assignments due WorkshopTwo

• “Freaks” paper or a three to six page paper detailing your personal experiences with students/others with special needs. You will also include how people with disabilities were treated before IDEA and compare employment opportunities of the 1930s with the treatment and employment opportunities for disabled people today.

• Learning team presentation– Topics (see next screen)

• IDEA and the Law• Learning Disabilities• Communication Disorders• IEPs (physical, learning and behavioral disabilities)

• Include annotated references for each student, discussion• Follow guidelines of a lesson plan (goals, info, activities, closure)

Sign up for presentation(p. 7 and 8)

• IDEA and the Law• Learning Disabilities• Communication Disorders• IEPs (physical, learning and behavioral disabilities)

• Questions? Ideas for shortened lesson plans?

Instruction Adaptationsgetting organized (expanding file, journal, common

vocabulary, quickwrite)

• Expanding file• Journal (Entry number, date, topic, page)• Common vocabulary, definitions:

– Sympathy: a social affinity in which one person stands with another person, closely understanding his or her feelings (wikipedia)

– Empathy: the capability to share and understand another’s emotions and feelings; having an emotional response that corresponds with another person

– Students “at risk” are also students “at promise”– People first speech/thought (student with autism rather than

autistic student)– It’s what the teacher does that makes the difference in the

classroom

Quickwrite quotes

• Journal entry “Quickwrite”Context: in the classroom

A. Definition of fair:

Everyone gets what they need to be successful (rather than everyone gets the same thing)

– Do you agree? How would this policy impact your teaching?

“The best place in the world to succeed is where you are with what you’ve got.” Charles M. Schultz

– Do you agree? How would this idea affect the way you interact with students with special needs?

Freaks and Music Within video(show clips)

• Treatment of people with disabilities• Freaks: controversial movie. The title is

upsetting. Uses real people with disabilities. Uses violence to show that the people without disabilities are the real freaks.

• Music Within: a more modern movie. R rated for language including some sexual references and some drug content

Teachers and classrooms, Oregonian, Sunday, November 15

• The poor economy and high jobless rate remain unwanted visitors at Oregon schools this fall. More children come to class with unemployed parents or unstable housing. They carry with them the anxious and unsettled feelings of home.

• "So you have more children in a classroom with more special needs and fewer adults to deal with this," says David Turnoy, a teacher with the West Linn-Wilsonville School District. "Is it any wonder stress has increased?"

• Meanwhile, educators face huge pressures to get their school ratings up. This worthy goal has a few unintended consequences. Teachers feel like they spend half the year on testing and the other half on test prep. And many teachers say administrators discourage them from holding students accountable for major disruptions, tardiness, absenteeism or late work. (Too many suspensions or failing grades can make a school look bad on paper.)

• "Kids will be kids," says Dennis Hartinger, a retired Portland teacher, "but the way adults deal with the situation is easily picked up by these students and used to their advantage."

• See next page…..

What’s a teacher to do???Oregonian, Sunday Nov. 15

(continued)• Layered on top of everything else is a phenomenon that seems to bother teachers

most of all. They say a growing number of parents undermine their children's academic success and personal growth, undercutting teachers in the process.  

• This bad behavior crosses the socioeconomic spectrum, teachers say: Low-income parents who let their kids skip school. Middle-class parents who drop off their kids late every day. Wealthy parents who take lots of vacations during the school year and demand tailored lesson plans.

• Then there are the parents who do their kids' homework, insist that the teacher accept late work, berate the teacher in front of their child, send nasty notes using the child as a messenger, skip parent-teacher conferences, spam the teacher with e-mails, fail to return repeated phone calls, or lavish their kids with video games and cell phones rather than books or attention.  

• The majority of parents are not like this, teachers say. But even a half-dozen challenging parents in a classroom of 35 children can change the whole dynamic of the school year.

• "Early in my career, parents and teachers were partners," said John Harrington, a recently retired teacher from Newport. "... Now it seems many parents side with their children against teachers and administrators."

Excellence for every student, no matter what it takes.

“Teachers and the law: Application essentials, general considerations and specific examples.” Balch, Memory, Hofmeister.

Jigsaw ActivityCan be used with any grade level; mix ability levels.

• Sort by A, B, C Repeat.• All As combine; all Bs combine; all Cs combine.

(2 to 3 of each)• Groups will read/discuss as marked on handout.• Re-group. One A, B, and C in each group (there

may be more than one, if count is uneven).• You are the expert……report what you read.

Foundation and History of Special Education

• Plessy v. Ferguson (1892) perpetuated the belief system that “separate but equal” was equal.– After the Civil War, “Black Codes” attempted to restrict the

freedom of freed slaves.– Radical Rebublicans passed a “Civil Rights Bill” and the

“Reconstruction Acts,” but there were still unclear areas.– In 1890, Louisiana passed a law stating that all railroad

companies shall provide equal but separate accommodations for “the white and colored races.”

– Homer Plessy, a 30 year old shoemaker, was jailed for sitting in the “White’s” car. He was 7/8 white and 1/8 black. Louisiana law still considered him black.

– Plessy went to court and argued the Separate Car Act violated the constitution. He lost.

– Plessy appealed to the Supreme Court of Lousiana and The US Supreme Court, but there was only one dissenter, Justice John Harlan.

Early History of Special Education in US

• The Civil Rights Movement and the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education~the Court's unanimous (9-0) decision stated that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal”~paved the way for children with disabilities to become educated. Parents, who had begun forming special education advocacy groups as early as 1933, became the prime advocates in the struggle to improve educational opportunities for their children.

What did the Vocational and Rehabilitation Act of 1973 do?

• It banned the discrimination against individuals with disabilities by any federally funded program or activity. It required accommodations, such as access to buildings, and improved integration into society

What did PL 94-142 (the original special education law) call for?

• Free and appropriate public education (FAPE) for all children with disabilities in this country, in the least restrictive environment (LRE). This ruling is also called the EHA (Education for all Handicapped Children Act)

What is the main principle of IDEA 1997?• Students with disabilities should be educated

within the general education classroom with appropriate aids and services, if necessary.

What elements under IDEA ’97 reflect current research and best practices?

• Classroom based assessment: should be included in student’s referral and requires active participation by general education teacher. Provides instructionally relevant data.

• Determining eligibility: certain conditions must be considered. Students may not be eligible if lack of progress is due to lack of instruction or limited English proficiency.

• Classroom oriented goals: A student’s strengths and disabilities should lead to classroom-based goals.

• Accessing general education curriculum• Accommodations and modifications: becoming proficient should

lead to more diversified teaching strategies, which would benefit all children

• Teamwork: ideally, a team is cooperative and shares common goals

No Child Left Behind (Elementary and Secondary Education

Act of 2001)• Main idea:

– Requires accountability for the academic performance of all students, including those with disabilities.

IDEA 2004

• IDEA was aligned to match the incentives in the No Child Left Behind act. This act allows financial incentives to states who improve their special education services for all students. States who do not improve must refund money to the government and allow parents choice in schools for their children. Some states are reluctant to fully educate children with special needs, due to cost and other considerations, and are seeking remedies through the courts.

• Requires high qualification standards for special education teachers

• All students with disabilities must participate in annual state or district testing or documented alternate assessments

Individual Education Plan

Must include• present levels of educational performance and effects of the child's

disability on all affected areas of the child's academic and non-academic school performance.

• Annual goals including short-term objectives. Annual goals must include what the child is expected to accomplish in twelve months. Short term objectives describe steps to accomplish the goals. Goals and objectives are specific to areas in which the student is receiving services.

• A statement of specific special education and related services and the amount of time spent in regular and special education.

• Projected date for beginning of services.

Classification Categories for special education or related services

• Intellectually handicapped• Learning disabled• Emotional disturbances• Communication disorders• Other health impaired (ADHD)• Hearing impaired• Developmentally delayed• Visually impaired• Traumatic brain injury• Autism

Then: “Freaks” (1932) directed by Tod Browning

• The cast of “Freaks”

Cast of “Freaks”

• Controversial movie because the actors/actresses were real people with real disabilities

Freaks

• gooble gobble1 min 29 secwww.youtube.com

Now: Oregonian, April 1, 2009

Oregonian, April 10, 2009

Stephanie Yao Long/The OregonianNorman Larkin, 51, who is blind and was hit by a car in February, works with physical therapist Brenda Jensen at a Vancouver care center to begin using a walker. He is just starting to put weight on his right leg; his left leg was broken in two places. "You're doing good," Jensen says. "I'd say I'm doing remarkably well," Larkin replies.

Slowly healing………

Offers of help

• Norman Larkin -- the severely injured blind man looking for a ride to Easter Mass this Sunday doesn't have to worry.

• After reading about his plight in The Oregonian on Friday, someone paid to have a medical transport company pick up Larkin and his wheelchair in the morning, take him to church and then bring him back to the Vancouver care center where he's being treated. Larkin said he doesn't specifically know who paid for the transportation, just that it's a woman from Camas.

Music Within

• http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2598437145/

Discovering your Purpose Activity

Also called Swinging a Pick AxIntended audience: 5th-12th grade

• Move into two groups• Read scenario from the viewpoint of a

middle schooler• Discuss questions

• Back into whole group• Discuss questions together

• What’s the point of this activity?

Inclusion and Mainstreaming

• Inclusion: the placement of students with disabilities in the gen ed classroom (shared responsibility by all educators)

• Mainstreaming: participation of students with disabilities in gen ed classrooms to the extent that is necessary to meet their needs.

• Advocates believe that students with disabilities should be in the general education classroom at all times, with support and services being provided as necessary.

Transition Plans

• For age 16 and older, transition plans are needed. These include courses of study, transition assessments and transition services.

Consultation, Collaboration, Coteaching

• Consultation: A voluntary process in which one professional assists another in addressing a problem concerning a third party

• Collaboration (coblaberation): Direct interaction between at least two equal parties engaged in decision making, working toward a common goal

• Co-teaching: Two or more professionals delivering substantive instruction to a diverse or blended group of students in a single space

Working with Parents

Good communication: A website (http://jrcam.wordpress.com)

Ideas?

Four Critical Questions

• What do we want students to learn?• How will we know that they have learned it?• What will we do if they don’t?• What will we do if they do?

– Select appropriate strategies– Reflect on and share best practices– Collaboratively design varied approaches to address

a variety of learning styles (differentiate instruction)

“Random” vs Effective teaching

What is your attitude toward teaching? hmmm

Raise your hands and say “That’s Me!”1. Learning is based on student’s ability.2. Learning takes place if the student takes

advantage of the opportunities to learn within the school.

3. All students can learn something and I will create a warm, pleasant environment for them to learn.

4. All students can learn and I will do whatever it takes to help students learn and achieve the agreed upon curriculum/standards.

Focus on Learning Instruction-Assessment Model

Pretest~~~Analyze results~~~Plan for differentiated instruction~~ ~Teach~ ~~Assess, Modify, Reflect, Adjust ~~Teach~~Posttest~~~Re-engage

Compare to older model:Teach

TestMove on….

In students, success yields:

• Confidence• Optimism• Desire to succeed• High level of effort• Risk taking

Continuous failure yields:

• Ideas?

Cost?http://www.ode.state.or.us/data/schoolanddistrict/

funding/sped/airorsefinance.pdf#6• One source for comparing what is spent on special

education in Oregon in relation to what is spent on the average special education student across the nation comes from a national special education expenditure study (Chambers et al., 2002). For 1999-2000, this study estimated a special education spending per student of $8,080. This can be compared to the average special education expenditure estimated by ODE for Oregon of $7,814 for 2003-04.

• From 1992 to 2000, spending per student on regular instruction grew at an annual average rate of 3 percent while spending per student on special education programs grew at an average annual rate of 14.3 percent. http://www.osba.org/Resources/Article/Budget_and_Finance/Fact_sheet-analysis_of_K-12_funding.aspx

Inclusion Video

• Arguments for• Arguments against

Some days are like that….

Penguin and Polar Bear

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cevs63S5XLo

Thank you for coming to class tonight!