Chapter 8 (Friend)

Chapter 8             Students with special needs other then disabilities

-Section 504- The section of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that prohibits discrimination against all individuals with disabilities in programs that receive federal funds.  http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/civilrights/resources/factsheets/504.pdf

-Students Eligible for Services under Section 104

            Students with Chronic Health or Medical Problems

            Students with learning disabilities

-attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder – medical condition in which students have significant inability to attend, excessive motor activity, and/or impulsivity.    http://www.adhd.com/index.html

-interventions for students with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder-

                 -   Environmental support

                - academic interventions

                -  Behavior interventions

                -parent education

                -medication

-gifted and talented- demonstrated ability far above average in one or several areas including overall intellectual ability, leadership, specific academic subjects, creativity, athletes, or the visual or performing arts  http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/

http://www.nagc.org/

-interventions for students who are gifted and talented

                  -curriculum compacting

                 - acceleration and enrichment

                - differentiation

               - individualized interventions

-multicultural education-  approaches to education that reflect the diversity of society

-English language learners (ELL) – students whose native language is not English and who are developing their English skills while in school

-fetal alcohol syndrome – medical condition caused by prenatal maternal abuse of alcohol, often resulting in slight physical abnormalities and learning, cognitive, or emotional disabilities

-fetal alcohol effects- mild form of fetal alcohol syndrome, often without physical characteristics.

-interventions for students at risk

         -set high but realistic expectations

        -establish peers as teaching partners

       - collaborate with other professionals

      - support family and community involvement

Chapter 7 (Friend)

Chapter  7      Students with high incidence disabilities

-high-incidence disabilities – speech or language disabilities, learning disabilities, ,emotional disturbances, or mild intellectual disabilities  http://www.sonoma.edu/users/p/phelan/433/chap3.htm

-3 important characteristics of students with high-incidence disabilities

               1. often hard to distinguish w/o disabilities

               2. often exhibit a combination of behavioral, social, and academic problems

              3. they benefit from systematic, explicit, highly structured instructional interventions

-communication is the exchange of ideas, opinions, and facts between people

-speech articulation- the ability to produce sounds correctly at the age where they would normally be expected to develop  http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/

-stuttering- speech impairment in which an individual involuntarily repeats a sound or word, resulting in a loss of speech fluency

-language is a system of symbols that we use to communicate feelings, thoughts, desires, and actions.

-receptive language- an individual’s ability to understand what people mean when they speak

-expressive language- and individual’s ability to communicate meaning clearly through speech

-accommodations  for students with communication disorders

              -create an atmosphere of acceptance

             - encourage listening and teach listening skills

             - use modeling to expand students language

            - provide many meaningful contexts for practicing speech and language skills

-Learning disabilities – condition in which a student has dysfunction in processing information typically found in language-based activities, resulting in interference with learning
-mild intellectual disabilities – condition in which students have some difficulty meeting the academic and social demands of general education classrooms due in large part to below-average intellectual functioning

-emotional disturbances- condition in which an individual has significant difficulty in the social and emotional domain, so much so that it interferes with learning.

-academic survival skills – skills needed to succeed in school, including regular and punctual attendance, motivation, and appropriate social skills

-learned helplessness- characteristics of some students with disabilities in which they see little relationship between their own efforts and  school or social success, often resulting in a belief they cannot perform challenging disabilities.   http://www.unfetteredmind.org/articles/helplessness.php

-Behavior contract- agreement between a teacher and student that clearly specifies student performance expectations, consequences of not meeting the expectations, consequences of not meeting expectations, and the time frame for which the agreement is valid

-social skills training – strategies for improving students’ social interaction skills through modeling and guided and independent practice with feedback

-self-control training- a strategy in which students who lack self-control are taught to redirect their actions by talking to themselves

-Attribution retraining- teaching program that increases student task persistence and performance by convincing them that their failures are due to effort and can therefore be overcome.

-Ways to enhance student self-image:

                  -set reasonable goals

                  -provide specific feedback contingent on student behavior

                 - give students responsibilities

                - teach students to reinforce themselves

                - give students a chance to show their strengths

Chapter 6 (Friend)

Chapter 6               Students with Low-Incidence Disabilities

-low incidence disabilities: any of the less common disabilities, including multiple disabilities, hearing impairment, orthopedic impairments, other health impairments, visual impairments, deaf-blindness, autism, and traumatic brain injury    http://aim.cast.org/learn/historyarchive/backgroundpapers/promise_of_udl/what_l-i_d

-make up less than 20% of students in schools

-characteristics of students with autism spectrum disorder

                         -difficulty with social relationships, often delayed language development, if have language skills then struggle to maintain a conversation, narrow range of interests, difficulty with dealing with stress

-accommodations for students with autism spectrum disorder http://www.autismspeaks.org/

                       Responding to behavior (create a structured and predictable environment and encouraging appropriate social interactions), fostering social interactions (observe to understand it from their perspective), communicating with students

-students with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities: learning needs and rate, maintenance of learned skills, generalization of learning, skill combination , accommodations for students with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities, match expectations to instruction, identify optimal times for specialized instruction, enlist natural support systems, create a collaborative effort with families, take advantage of assistive technology

-autism, autism spectrum disorder, visual impairments, hearing loss, orthopedic (cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, spinal cord injuries

-others: seizure disorder, sickle-cell, AIDS, asthma, cancer

-Traumatic brain injuries: leading cause of disability and death among children http://www.neuro.pmr.vcu.edu/

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.

Chapter 13 (Friend)

Chapter 13                      Building social skills

-Social skills : behaviors that help students interact successfully with their peers, teachers, and others and that help them win social acceptance 

-a time when children with and without disabilities from friendships and learn about each other

-as a teacher promote positive social interactions among students with and without disabilities

-create opportunities for social interactions

-3 components in building social relationships: 1. Arranging the student interaction 2. Nuture mutual support and friendship between students with and without disabilities  3. Offer positive role models

-Nurturing support and friendship:

                  -Circle of friends: program designed to help students without disabilities understand how important it is to have friends with disabilities and to encourage them to form friendships with classmates with disabilities. http://www.circleofriends.org/

                   - Use General friendship-building strategies first

                   -Resolving support and friendship problems: addressing problems that go on between friendships, a lot of times it is a students with a lot on the IEP

                   - parents and friendship : parents play an important role in this. They can provide info that may help their child better socialize or help make suggestions http://humsci.auburn.edu/parent/socialskills.html

-How can you provide education about individuals with disabilities?

                   -informing through direct instruction: provide the students with relative info, such as through guest speakers. You can also incorporate it into the curriculum

                  - use video and print media:  research

                 -demonstrating and using adaptive technology: teach about the technology used to help people with disabilities

-peer tutoring: student-centered instructional approach in which pairs of students help one another and learn by teaching

-peer-assisted learning strategies (PALS): research-based form of reciprocal classwide peer tutoring designed to assist struggling students across all grade levels to  learn key math and reading skills

-Classwide peer tutoring (CWPT) : peer-mediated instruction in which all students in a class are partnered. Both students serve as the tutor and tutee following a clear procedure, and they are rewarded for demonstrating appropriate social behaviors

-same-age tutoring: peer-tutoring approach in which students in the same class or grade level tutor one another; tipically with higher-achieving students

-supporting peer-tutoring programs: management and supervision, staff and administrative support, assistance from volunteers, communication about peer tutoring

-cooperative learning  : student-centered instructional approach in which students work in small, mixed-ability groups with a shared learning goal

-Developing cooperative learning programs: form a cooperative learning group, prepare students for cooperative learning, select circular content, choose a cooperative learning program (Jigsaw classroom, numbered heads together, cooperative integrated reading and composition(CIRC)), monitor program effectiveness

-how to help students with disabilities improve social skills http://www.ldanatl.org/aboutld/teachers/social_emotional/counseling.asp

                    -use informal instruction

                    -use behavioral interventions

                    -use social skills training programs

Chapter 5 (Friend)

Chapter 5       Planning instruction by analyzing classroom and student needs

-INCLUDE: a strategy for accommodating students with special needs in the general education classroom http://www.cedu.niu.edu/tlrn/projectaccept/mod3_att/Chapter4Include.pdf

-2 important parts of INCLUDE:

                  -Universal design: the design of instructional materials, methods, and assessments that are compatible with a diverse range of student needs and minimize the need for labor-intense adaptations

                  - differentiated instruction: a form of instruction that meets students’ diverse needs by providing materials and tasks of varied levels of difficulty, with varying degrees of support, through multiple instructional groups and time variations.

-Step1 : Identify Classroom Demands

                       -Classroom management, classroom grouping, instructional materials, instructional methods

-Step 2: Note Student Learning Strengths and Needs

                      -academics, social-emotional development, physical development

-Step 3: Check for Potential Areas of Student Success

-Step 4: Look for Potential Problem Areas

-Step 5: Use information to brainstorm ways to differentiate instruction

                    -accommodations ( services or supports provided to help students gain full access to class content and instruction, and to help them demonstrate accurately what they know.), modification(changes in classroom  instruction that involve altering student content expectations and performance outcomes)

-Step 6: Differentiated instruction 

                      - select age-appropriate strategies, select the easiest approach first, select accommodations and modifications you agree with, determine whether you are dealing with a cant or wont problem, give students choices, select strategies with demonstrated effectiveness

-Step 7: Evaluate Student Progress

-Use of time: academic learning time and transition time

-same-skill grouping: classroom grouping arrangement in which all students needing instruction on a particular skill are clustered for that instruction

-mixed-skill grouping: classroom grouping arrangement in which students are clustered for instruction without focusing on specific skill needs

-direct instruction: research-based instructional approach in which the teacher presents subject matter using a review of previously taught info, presentation of new concepts or skills, guided practice, feedback and correction, independent student practices, and frequent review  http://education.calumet.purdue.edu/vockell/edpsybook/edpsy2/edpsy2_direct.htm

-indirect instruction: a type of teaching based on the belief that children are naturally active learners and that given the appropriate instructional environment, they actively construct knowledge and solve problems in developmentally appropriate ways

-scaffolding: instructional approach for teaching higher-order thinking skills in which the teacher supports student learning by reviewing the cognitive strategy to be addressed , regulating difficulty during practice, providing feedback, increasing student responsibility for learning, and creating opportunities for independent student practice. http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/learning/lr1scaf.htm

Chapter 4 (Friend)

Chapter 4

Assessing students needs:

-Assessment – process of gathering info to monitor progress and make educational decisions

-screening –type of assessment decision concerning whether or not a a student’s academic or behavior performance is difficult enough from that of his or her peers to merit further, more in-depth assessment

-diagnosis- type of assessment decision concerning whether or not a student meets established federal guidelines for being classified as having a disability and, if so, the nature and extent of the disability. http://www.nichcy.org/Disabilities/Specific/Pages/Default.aspx

-program placement – type of assessment decision concerning whether a special education program should be terminated, continued as is, or modified

-curriculum placement – type of assessment decision concerning where to begin instruction for students

-instructional evaluation – type of assessment decision concerning whether to continue or change instructional procedures that have been initiated with students

-program evaluation – type of assessment  decision concerning where a special education program should be terminated, terminated as is, or modified.

-high-stakes test – assessment designed to measure whether students have obtained state learning standards

                  -accommodations may include changing the setting of the test, changing the timing of the test, changing the response format, allowing students to mark responses in test books rather than on Scantron, and changing the presentation format

- standardized achievement tests- norm-referenced test designed to measure academic progress, or what students have retained in the curriculum

        1. group-administered standardized achievement test – standardized achievement test given to large groups of students at one time, usually administered by general education teachers, useful as a screening measure

        2. individually administered diagnostic test – diagnostic achievement test given to one student at a time, often administered by a special education teacher or school psychologist, useful as a diagnostic measure. These tests provide more specific information than group-administered achievement tests do.

-psychological tests – test designed to measure how efficiently students learn in an instructional situation; often used to assess intelligence and to determine whether learning disabilities exist

-alternate assessment – a form of functional assessment for students with severe disabilities who are unable to participate in the standard state and district-wide  assessment program http://www.cehd.umn.edu/nceo/

-curriculum-based assessment – method of measuring the level of achievement of students in terms of what they are taught in the classroom  http://www.jimwrightonline.com/pdfdocs/cbaManual.pdf