Special Education and Inclusion

What does it look like in my classroom?

Which student has a hidden brain disorder?

Learning Disabilities are often “Invisible”

• Most students will not tell you they have a learning disability.

• Many have elaborate strategies for avoiding academic tasks.

• Collaboration between general and special ed teachers is critical for student success.

Overarching Goal

• All general education teachers will understand how to utilize appropriate classroom accommodations that maximize learning opportunities for special education students so they are able to earn credit towards graduation.

Learning Targets• General education teachers

will understand the legal concept of least restrictive environment and that all educators share the responsibility of providing an appropriate education for special education students.

• All teachers will respect all diverse students and model a positive attitude towards all learners.

What is Special Education?

• Provides equal access to educational opportunities for students with disabilities.

• Teaches all students how to appreciate diversity.

• Provides a climate of positive attitudes.

• Shared educational responsibilities.

• Shared resources, time, and skills.

• Realization that students with disabilities need to be in the least restrictive environment.

“Least Restrictive Environment…

• means that to the fullest extent possible, the school environment for children with disabilities must be the same as, or similar to, that for typically developing children.”

Inclusion

• “Inclusion is about accepting and valuing human diversity and providing the necessary support so that all children and their families can participate successfully in the programs of their choice.”

Inclusive Education…

• means that all students in a school, regardless of their strengths or weaknesses in any area, become part of the school community. They are included in the feeling of belonging among other students, teachers, and support staff. The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) makes it clear that schools have a duty to educate children with disabilities in general education classrooms.

Learning Targets Locate the components and

the educational procedures of an IEP and consider the implications for your classroom.

• Understand the legal concept of least restrictive environment and why all educators share the responsibility of providing an appropriate education for special education students.

Looking at an IEP• Mandated by federal law.

• Written educational plan designed for each special education student.

• Education and related services meet individual student’s needs.

• Defines expectations for achievement and how it is measured.

• Developed by a team and is valid for one year.

Components of an IEP• 1. A statement of the student’s current level of educational

performance. (expressed as grade level)

• 2. A statement of yearly goals or achievements expected for area of identified weakness (Math, Writing, Reading, Speech, etc.)

• 3. Short term objectives that will accomplish the long term goals.

• 4. Specific services to be provided and the starting and ending dates.

• 5. Accountability (evaluation) to determine if objectives were met.

• 6. Where and when this educational program will take place.

Additional Components…• Parent and student signatures

may be required• Health issues will be noted if

applicable• Personalized equipment needed

by the student will be identified (Example: wheelchair)

• Extra support personnel will be identified

• Curricular modifications or accommodations are described

• Student’s strengths and interests should be noted

• Transition plan for life after high school

• Student Placement according to “least restrictive environment”

Student Placement

• According to IDEA, a continuum of educational services must be available for students with disabilities.

• Fundamental to the law is the notion that students cannot be educated in segregated situations because it is easier to do so.

Placement continued…

• The main principal behind “least restrictive environment” is that students are best served (educated) in settings with their non-disabled peers.

Range of Educational Settings from Least Restrictive to Most Restrictive

• Level I: General ed classroom with special ed consult

• Level II: General ed classroom/co-teaching with special ed teacher

• Level III: Part-time placement in special ed classroom

• Level IV: Full-time special education classroom in gen ed school

• Level V: Special education school

• Level VI: Residential school, treatment center, or homebound instruction

Learning Targets

• After reading an IEP, demonstrate how you could implement the items listed on the Accommodations Page in your classroom.

• Determine the 7 main ideas of a chapter, and prioritize learning activities and assessment to meet the needs of special education students.

Accommodations, Adaptations, and Modifications

• Adaptations and Modifications change the curriculum. They can include:

• shortening assignments• lower vocabulary/readability

level of texts, assignments, and supplemental materials

• verbal responses vs. written assignments

• alternate assessments

• Accommodations are strategies use to help special education students be successful in school. They can include:

• longer time on assignments• frequent breaks• preferential seating• allowing movement• providing templates/study

guides/outlines• Peer buddy/group work

How to Modify Curriculum

• The unit/lesson planning pyramid (Schumm, Vaughn, & Leavell 1994) provides a framework for thinking about instruction and considers degrees of learning. It is flexible tool that can be adjusted for the needs of your students.

What some students will learn

What most students will learn

What ALL students should learn

Modify by Prioritizing• The base of the pyramid is the

foundation of the lesson, the information essential for all students. “What are the most important concepts in this lesson?”

• The middle represents information that is supplemental and builds on the foundation of knowledge.

• The top is the additional information that only a few students may reach. They typically have an deeper interest in the subject and often will learn this information during independent research.

What some students will learn

What most students will learn

What ALL students should learn

Learning Targets

• General education teachers will develop problem solving skills such think-aloud, self-questioning, and provide guided practice to help students generalize their skills to other settings.

• General education teachers will incorporate the use of cognitive strategies such as concept mapping, advance organizers, self-monitoring, and self-regulation and model these strategies to special education students.

Problem Solving Skills: the application of

knowledge and skills to achieve desired answers. • Extra important for special

education learners due to their cognitive disabilities.

• Should be explicitly taught and modeled.

• Structure around real-life scenarios.

• Students need to know how to find information, evaluate it, and make decisions.

• Provide opportunities for extra practice.

Examples of Problem Solving Skills

• Think Aloud: model your thought process out loud. Show students how you think and ways to approach problems.

• Self-Questioning: ask yourself what are you trying to find, do, solve, etc. What is important here? What is not important?

• Brainstorming: quickly thinking of any and all possible solutions, no matter how unlikely they may seem.

• Use of Graphic Representations: diagrams, flow charts, outlines, and pictures can help represent the components of a problem.

Metacognition: knowledge about one’s own thinking and about how one learns best.

• Metacognitive skills are methods for learning, studying, or solving problems.

• Usually students develop these skills on their own, but most learning disabled students do not.

Using Metacognitive Strategies• Activate prior knowledge to make

learning relevant.• Use Advance Organizers to

provide structure to a new subject (KWL)

• Use analogies to compare concepts already known to students.

• Use elaboration to connect new material to known ideas.

• Organize information in a hierarchical structure.

• Questioning strategies help to organize thinking.

• Conceptual models, graphics, diagrams, charts, and tables help make visual connections.

Best friend-Nikka, his dog

Lives with his mom in L.A.

Paulo- 14 year old freshman

Paulo’s Wall

Additional Resources

• Metacognition:www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/learning/lr1metn.htm.

• www.mindtools.com• Questioning Techniques:

www.fno.org.• Cooperative Learning:

www.iasce.net.• Critical Thinking:

www.criticalthinking.org.• Motivating Students:

www.nwrel.org/request/oct00/.

• Classroom Management: www.temple.edu/CETP/temple_teach/index.html.

• Bullying and Violence: www.dontlaugh.org

• Rubrics: www.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/assess.html

• Adolescent Development: www.oberlin.edu/faculty/ndarling/lab/ead.htm.

• Self-Esteem: www.kidsource.com/didsource/content/2strengthen_children_self.html.

References

• Dr. Loren Fitting, Personal interviews, notes and lectures, 2005

• Robert Gagné, Leslie Briggs, & Walter Wager, Principles of Instructional Design, 1992.

• Robert Slavin, Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice, 2009.

• Sharon Vaughn, Candace Bos, & Jeanne Schumm, Teaching Exceptional, Diverse, and At-Risk Students in the General Education Classroom, 2006.