Special Education

  • EDUL 6023

     

    Models for Special Education

    Mainstreaming

    Inclusion

    Full Inclusion

    Step 1

    Students begin in a self contained special education classroom.

    Students learn in the least restrictive environment beginning with the regular education classroom

    All students learn in the regular education classroom. Any services required by special education students must be taken to the student within that environment.

    Step 2

    Students must earn the right to be in the regular education classroom by proving that they can keep up and survive without extra support.

    If the student is not successful in the regular education classroom, then the school should provide a continuum of supplemental aids and services to help the child to be successful.

     

    Step 3

     

    Only when the school has provided a continuum of support without student success should alternatives to the regular education classroom be explored.

     

     

     

    Federal Laws and their Implications:

     

    The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA):

    •  Requires students to be educated "to the maximum extent appropriate" in the "least restrictive environment," the regular education classroom.

    •  Requires an IEP to consider regular education setting as the starting point.

    •  If it is determined that the regular education environment in NOT appropriate, then the IEP must provide a specific explanation as to why the regular education setting is not appropriate.

    Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973:

    •  Recipients of federal funds should

    •  educate handicapped students with non-handicapped students to the maximum extent appropriate

    •  UNLESS it is demonstrated that education in the regular education environment with the use of supplemental aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.

     

    Case Law Implications:

     

    In determining student placement, the following must be considered:

    •  A district cannot refuse to provide special education services on the basis of cost alone; however, the district cannot, according to Greer vs. Rome City School District (1992), be required to provide a child with his/her own full-time teacher.

    •  The non academic benefits of inclusion

    •  The educational benefits of placement full time in a regular education. The school must make reasonable efforts to serve the child in regular education using the full continuum of supplemental aids and services.

    •  The effect of the special education child on the teacher and the other students in the regular education classroom.

     

     

    The Research:

     

    •  There is little or no benefit for students placed in special education environments. (Kavale, K.A., Glass, G.V., 1982; Madden and Slavin, 1983) .

     

    Benefits of Inclusion:

    •  Academic Performance: A comparison of the mean academic performance of segregated and integrated students with mild handicapping conditions showed a positive difference of 30 percentile points for the students severed in integrated setting (Weiner, R., 1985).

    •  Social Skills: Inclusion education has been shown to have a small to moderate positive effect on the academic and social outcome of special needs students ( Carlberg, C. and Kavale, K. 1980; Baker, E.T., and Wang, M.C., and Walberg, H.J., 1994-95).

    •  Post-Graduation Employment: The employment rate for high school graduates from integrated settings is 73% versus a 53% employment rate in segregated settings (Piume, 1989).

    •  Cost: The cost of the integrated program is half that of the segregated program (Piume, 1989).

    •  Retention and Attendance: Retention and attendance rates in inclusive settings are positively effected. The retention rate in an inclusive school was 4% versus a 31% retention rate in the 5 segregated control schools.

     

    Proposal/Recommendations for Middle School:

     

    •  Middle School is already implementing inclusion. Of 66 regular education classes, 15 are co-taught according to the state's definition.

    •  There are only 6 classes that are taught self-contained and students only attend these classes for 1 out of 8 periods.

    Based on our current practices, I would recommend the following refinements:

    •  Collaboratively establish a school-wide and research-based philosophy on special education.

    •  Effectively develop IEPs that are aligned to the needs of the student and the policies of the state and federal regulations and distribute and communicate the meaning of the IEPs to all involved teachers.

    •  Develop a long-term plan for professional learning for all teachers regarding special education issues, focusing on:

    •  effective co-teaching

    •  interdisciplinary teaching

    •  higher order thinking skills

    •  life centered teaching

    •  incorporation of multiple teaching approaches for all students

    •  Unify the special education and regular education systems into one system. Include special education teachers in all regular education trainings. Include both co-teachers in selected special education trainings.

     

    THE BIG IDEA- Enduring Understandings

    Objectives:

    •  Deemphasize the memorization of facts.

    •  Emphasize the process skills and enduring understandings.

    •  Increase student achievement.

     

    Note the following questions pulled from a seventh grade unit test.

    Figure 1. Questions From Unit Test on Age of Exploration (Seventh Grade)
        Name of Columbus' 3 ships (Nina, Pinta, Santa Maria )
        Which of the 3 ships sank? ( Santa Maria )
        Captain of the Pinta? (Martin Pizon)
        Explorer seeking the Fountain of Youth? ( Ponce De Leon )
        Explorer who discovered the Mississippi River ? ( De Soto )
        Conquered the Aztecs? (Cortez)
        Leader of the Aztecs? (Montezuma II)

    Figure 2. Bonus Questions From Unit Test on Age of Exploration (Seventh Grade)
        Competition for resources often causes powerful countries to manipulate and exploit weaker countries. Explain how this idea showed up during this age.
        (BIG Idea: Throughout the ages, groups with power tend to exploit other groups in weaker positions in order to maintain their power.)
        If a "lost continent" were suddenly discovered today, would the people and resources there be treated the same way as in the Age of Exploration? Why or why not?
        (BIG Idea: Although not "politically correct," exploitation is still rampant in today's world.)
        Do you think religion was intentionally used by countries as a way to build wealth during the Age of Exploration? Why or why not?
        (BIG Idea: Throughout the ages, groups of people have used religion as an opportunity to build wealth and gain power.)

     

     

     

     

     

    The actual test questions only require the memorization of facts. What does this imply to students?

     

    Notice that the bonus questions, on the other hand, address the big ideas or enduring understandings from the unit. What is being implied by the fact that these questions are bonus questions?

     

    Which type of information do you think students will be most likely to retain? Which do you think is most important to retain, why?

    The Continuum of Understanding:

    Why are teachers drawn to factual questions?

    Only facts can be purely correct or incorrect.

    All other types of knowledge will fall somewhere on the continuum of Understanding. The student may demonstrate understanding that is anywhere from deep to incomplete or erroneous.

    Figure 3. Indexes of Understanding Big Ideas
        * Makes many connections to other ideas.
        * Can explain how idea is affected by various phenomena.
        * Con explain impact of idea on the world.
        * Makes effective comparisons with other ideas.
        * Can summarize or explain gist of idea in own words.
        * Has sufficient knowledge of relevant facts.
        * Can identify different manifestations of idea.
        * Can recognize inappropriate applications or iterations of idea.

    Think about what you are currently teaching. How would your students rate on the indexes?

    How do we help students to understand the BIG ideas?

    Basic Approaches to Teaching Big Ideas:

    •  Constructive- teach pertinent small ideas to construct understanding of the big idea

    •  Deconstructive- teach the big idea and then deconstruct the idea to reveal the important details

    Episodic vs. Semantic knowledge: Do we need both?

    •  episodic- what one knows from experience, hands on

    •  semantic- what one knows from words or language

    Students must elaborate on their experiences in order to get a deeper understanding.

    For example, a student can participate in a lab, and probably enjoy the experience, but the student will probably learn very little if he/she does not have to elaborate on the big idea of the lab.

    Strategies to Deepen Understanding :

    •  Begin with the standards. Differentiate the content in to essential, important, and compact standards.

    •  The essential standards contain the big ideas for the course.

    •  For each standard determine what the students should walk away with. What are the crucial concepts or big ideas?

    •  Develop concise and precise language to explain the concept. This reduces the information processing demands for students.

    •  Use graphic organizers with the students to structure the crucial information. From the graphic organizers the students can then engage in constructing meaning.

    •  To encourage elaboration from reluctant learners, use brief factual questions followed by succinct open ended questions. For example, "What are the three branches of the government? Which do you think is the most important?"

    •  Encourage students to summarize with concise elaborations. For example, "In fifteen words or less, describe the most important thing you learned today."

    •  Scaffold for difficult concepts. Find out what students already know and pinpoint any misconceptions. Use this background knowledge as a foundation for teaching the concept. Scaffold from the least complex parts of the concept to the most complex reviewing as you go.

    •  Engage students in project based learning activities via structured inquiry. These activities should have an authentic purpose and should be student driven. The activities must be intentionally linked to specific academic standards, and there must be a method to assess from the product whether the standards were attained. Students should have opportunities to share what they have learned with authentic audiences. Example: The students could recognize a need in the community such as elementary students not getting enough hands on science instruction. The students could then conduct research and develop lessons to teach to elementary audiences on the science topics that are a part of their curriculum.

     

    Source:

    Ellis, E., Farmer, T, Newman, J. (2005). Big ideas about teaching big ideas . [Electronic version]. Teaching Exceptional Children. 38, 34-40.