Midterm

Meeting the needs of diverse learners                                                                                            Kaylan Penland

                                                                            MIDTERM

1.The civil rights movement initially began with the focus on the African Americans, but it also began to make people think about other diverse groups such as the disabled. The 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decided that “it was unlawful under the Fourteenth Amendment  to discriminate arbitrarily against any group of people” (Friend & Bursuck pg 9). At this time the idea of integration was introduced and put to use in the public school systems. It was mainly the integration of whites and blacks at first, but then people were realizing that the disabled were another diverse group that had been discriminated against.  Finally in 1973 the legislation created an act that would specifically protect those with disabilities. This act was titled Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973. It “is a civil rights law that prevents discrimination against all individuals with disabilities in programs that receive federal funds, as do all public schools” (pg 10). In 1990, George H. Bush decided to extend the rights of those with disabilities by signing the Americans with Disabilities Act. It is said that “this law is the most significant disability legislation ever passed” (National Council on Disability, 2006). This Act  “protects all individuals with disabilities from discrimination, and it requires most employers to make reasonable accommodations for them” (Friend & Bursuck pg 10).  Before the civil rights movement the disabled were discriminated against and not accepted by society. During the civil rights movement, even though it was primarily focused on the African Americans, it began to make people think about other diverse groups such as the disabled. Because of this recognition and after several years, people with disabilities were now protected and entitled to an education just like everyone else. Then in the early 90’s legislation required that all public services were easily accessible to the disabled, which for education would include ramps into the school, elevators, and even transportation to school.

2. To start the response to intervention process, before going into the tiers, all students must be screened. This is so that it can be recognized who is struggling with academics. Once those students are identified the process is implemented. These students will move into the tier 1 stage. Here they will receive a more effective instruction that has been backed up by research. Their progress is also watched more closely, usually once every week. If students are not progressing as they should then those students will move into the tier 2 phase. Here they will get even more assistance than in tier 1 or may even change the type of assistance/instruction they were getting before. Their progress is still being monitored. If students are not succeeding in tier 2 as needed then they will move into tier 3. Tier 3 consists of highly intensive instruction. This is also the stage where, based on the progress of the student, they might be qualified for special education or a learning disability might be identified. Its significance to students is that they are being provided with many stages of help instead of jumping to an extreme, such as going into a special education program when the student really just needed a more intense instruction.  The significance to teachers is that when they are using the RTI approach they are using instructional strategies that have been backed up by research. This means that “ineffective instruction can be ruled out as the reason for inadequate academic performance” (http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/rti01_overview/rti01_03.html). The teacher will know that it isn’t her teaching that is causing this child’s problems. The teacher will also have to be willing to more work because they are usually the ones that are asked to work with these students more as well as may have to collect data sometimes.

3.-To prepare for tomorrow’s conference I would clarify the purpose of the meeting with the parent. Then  I would collect and evaluate all of my recorded documents from my efforts and how the intervention, that I and Jerome’s father came up with, has been affecting Jerome. If I haven’t already, I should make a decision on how I think this intervention has been going, so I can discuss it with the parent. It could be very effective, it could be having a positive effect but it’s not ideal, or it could not be effective at all. If I know this intervention has not been effective I can go ahead and come up with some ideas to present to Jerome’s father. I also need to have a few specific examples to back up why I think this intervention is working or not.

-After the conference I am going to write a few key points down that Jerome’s father and I have discussed. I should also write a letter or e-mail to the father to confirm whatever decision we made.  If the previous intervention ended up not working then I would immediately take action for the new intervention that was decided upon in the conference (Implementing the new solution). If the previous intervention was a success then I would continue with it. 

4.Step 1:   For identifying the classroom demands, the point I would focus on is classroom grouping.  I would definitely use flexible grouping. This way I could have the child in a smaller group or maybe even get some one-on-one instructional time. At this point I can focus more on listening to the oral language of the individual student. For classroom management I would make sure that the classroom climate was positive, so that the student isn’t made to feel bad by others.

Step 2: For note student learning strengths and needs, my first area of concern would be academics. He has trouble with articulation which is tied to the basic skill of oral language.  I would note that as his weakness.  I could also note any other skills that may be affected by the articulation problem. I would also be a little concerned about the social-emotional development of this child because there is a potential that this child may get made fun of. For this I would just observe interactions and take note of if I see any problems.

Step 3: Checking for potential areas of student’s success is a good way to focus on what this child is good at.  I would even try to look for strengths in the same areas this student has trouble in. For example, his academic area might not be so good because of the oral language problem, but he may be great at math. If this student already realizes they have a speech problem, it would do good to let them know that you recognize their strengths as well.

Step 4: Looking for potential problem areas will help identify particular problems with articulation. Maybe there are certain types of words or a certain combination of letters that give him trouble. Picking up on these things will help when it comes to making an action plan on how to improve this skill. Also, if the child is sensitive to their articulation problem, you may not want to make it mandatory that they get up in front of the class to present or share something.

Step 5: Use information to Brainstorm ways to differentiate instruction. In this case I would use the bypass strategy. This strategy “allows students to gain access to or demonstrate mastery of the school curriculum in alternative ways” (Friend & Bursuck 158). For example, if my class just got done reading a book and I wanted to assess them on it, I wouldn’t require a presentation everyone to get up and do a presentation in front of the class. This would make the student very uncomfortable. I wouldn’t even assign everyone else the presentation and give him something different to do, because this is pointing him out. I would make several different assignments available for all the students to pick from in order to express what they got out of the book.  This would allow the chance for this child to succeed while not feeling like they are being treated differently.

Step 6: For differentiated instruction I would make sure to select age-appropriate strategies accommodations. The easiest accommodation I think would be to make sure the child does not have to talk in front of the class unless they want to. In this step I would also become aware of the fact that Im dealing with a “can’t” situation. This is why I chose the bypass strategy which also leads to giving the student choices, especially when it comes to demonstrating what they have learned.

Step 7: To evaluate student progress I will make sure that my bypass strategies are contributing to the student’s success. I would do this by keeping track of mainly his grades and observations.