Welcome to Week 3's posting on students with learning disabilities and attention deficit hyperactivity disorders. An audio of the chapter has been provided. For the chapter audio, ignore references in the audio to week numbers, dates, chapter numbers, page numbers, assignments, the discussion board,names...thank you. The core of the audio speaks to the current chapter topic in your edition of the text book. https://edocs.uis.edu/jherr3/www/TEP224F2010/TEP224Ch6.mp3 .
Chapter 6 covers specific learning disabilities and ADHD/ADD, providing definitions and strategies for working in the classroom with students with these disorders. How does IDEA define a specific learning disability? What are the characteristics of students who have learning disabilities? What are some strategies for teaching students with learning disabilities? What is ADHD/ADD? What are some characteristics of students with ADHD/ADD? What are some strategies for teaching students with ADHD/ADD?
Learning Disabilities has been defined by IDEA as the 'catch-all' term for problems manifested in learning situations associated with "listening, thinking, speaking, reading, writing, spelling or mathematical abilities." These manifested difficulties can not otherwise be associated with cultural influences, gaps or holes in knowledge due to insufficient instruction, or social problems. Students may have other handicapping conditions in addition to a learning disability. The definition further clarifies that learning disabilities may be due to nerve damage and may occur over the life of the student.Students with learning disabilities exhibit challenges with academic endeavors early on, but are not usually identified until 2nd or 3rd grade when aptitude-achievement discrepancies are noted. By the way, as of the IDEA Improvement Act of 2004 the student no longer has to have a discrepancy noted between their aptitude and achievement abilities. Students may otherwise seem to be no different than other students in the classroom, but very quickly began to fall behind due to learning difficulties with classroom content that is easily learned by other students. If students are not reading by 3rd grade, this could point to a clear indication of a specific learning disability. It is now popular to administer an RTI or response to intervention such as a reading intervention; if students do not respond favorably to such interventions then they may be recommended for special education services.
Characteristics of students with learning disabilities: As offered by one school district, the following characteristics are most notable. "Although the disability is not a discrete, measurable entity, evidence over the last 25 years indicates it does exist, but is strikingly resistant to educational intervention:" Although the following characteristics are possible for any student from time-to-time, the learning disabled student demonstrates these with regularity over a period of time
often an invisible handicap
performance is uneven or inconsistent and they are often unable to profit from regular instruction
have inefficient strategies for reception, storage and production of information
major difficulty in focusing attention
functional difficulties in visual, auditory, motor, organizational and/or conceptual skills
often behave in immature, narcissistic, and egocentric ways
often find school a frightening experience
may be able to master content but unable to produce answers
not natural problem solvers, can become overwhelmed by the tasks they face
most serious difficulty is often in processing language (as copied from: http://www.slc.sevier.org/ldaccom.htm )
Strategies for Working with Students with Learning Disabilities. The best practices recommended for students with learning disabilities are also useful for any student in the classroom. For example, the strategies of using think alouds, self-monitoring, advance organizers, extended practice, presenting information in a variety of ways (see page 79), and teaching students to use memory strategies all are useful for any classroom learner, although these certainly should be present if students are struggling with learning disabilities.
ADHD/ADD - ADHD/ADD or Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder/attention deficit disorder are both referenced/classified under ADHD although it is traditional that students classified as ADHD exhibit visible hyperactivity syndromes: nervous body movements, excessive talking, inability to focus on one task for a sustained length of time, for example, whereas students with ADD may be seem to be extremely reserved, quiet and in a day dreamy state in the classroom. Students with ADD many times do not visually seem to have issues with attention as they appear to be model students: appear to be listening to the teacher, appear to be paying attention, appear to be reading, appear to be behaving, engaged in the lesson. The discrepancies between what they appear to be doing however manifests when such students have to produce a paper, read a book, follow directions, study for a test, etc. According to the text, as many as 25 to 68% of students with ADHD also are LD (learning disabled). Most students with ADHD have other behavioral issues as well. Do pay close attention to the Twelve Things teens with ADHD want their Teachers to know. The following websites offer more insight into ADD/ADHD.
Twelve Things teens with ADHD want their teachers to know
Attention Deficit Disorder
Famous People documented with ADHD
Strategies for Teaching Students with ADD/ADHD - Teachers work best with students with ADHD when they combine strategies for both behavioral and academic needs. One without the other will not provide the best intervention for such students. Hopefully, such students in your classroom have been properly diagnosed and provided evaluative and IEP services that will give you the general education classroom teacher some specific guidelines for working with students with ADHD. It is important to realize that an IEP is extremely useful in that it should provide specific strategies for eachn identified child. While one student with ADHD may need organizational assistance with reading content text such as highlighting key words or phrases, another student with ADHD may simply need to be 'cued' to transition to the next classroom activity such as a hand on the shoulder or a tap on the student's desk (something worked out between you and the student that is oblivious to others in the classroom). Below are several websites that offer up-to-date tips, strategies.
Strategies for the Older Child with ADHD
Teaching Tips for those working with ADHD Kids
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Pragmatically Speaking - How to use this information in the classroom:Become very familiar with students with learning disabilities and ADHD issues. Especially become familiar with their individidual IEP's seeking the help of the special education teacher or specialist in how to best help students control their behaviors as well as accomplish academic classroom goals.
It is important to know whether or not students with ADHD are being medically treated and when, what times of the day they are taking the medicine.
Document students' behavior in your classroom as much as possible. Set up a folder on your computer for each student and store/save all electronic information pertaining to the student in it; and/or start a paper folder for each student. This type of teacher-observation documentation is very crucial to the IEP process and consultative special education meetings about the exceptional student.
Ongoing documentation of behaviors, needs, academic progress is of utmost to the success of exceptional students in the general education classroom.
This week you're not required to post comments to this blog, but feel free to do so if you so choose. Some of you may have experience or information to offer that may be beneficial to the rest of us. I welcome all of your comments.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Week 2 January 23: Communicating and Collaborating with Other Professionals and Families
Welcome to Week 2's posting on communicating and collaborating with other professionals and families.
An audio of the chapter has been provided. For the chapter audio, ignore references in the audio to week numbers, dates, chapter numbers, page numbers, assignments, the discussion board,names...thank you. The core of the audio speaks to the current chapter topic in your edition of the text book. https://edocs.uis.edu/jherr3/www/TEP224F2010/TEP224Ch2.mp3
Chapter 3 of the text introduces the concepts of consultation, collaboration, and co-teaching as a general education teacher working with all sorts of people for students with exceptionalities. It would be a very difficult task to have to teach students with exceptionalities if the general education teacher did not have the input and assistance of those specifically trained to provide the best education for such students. Consultation skills require pre-planned time and space meets for the general education teacher and special education consultant to be able to work through the consultation process. When accessing the skills of a consultant, it is important to note that the job of the consultant is to provide expert intervention information pertaining to the student's special education need, but it is the job of the consultee (usually a general education teacher) to implement that interv
ention. Collaboration on the other hand allows the general education teacher and special education teacher to meet at a specific place and time, over the course of a school year to plan, discuss and implement together how to best teach students with exceptionalities in the general education classroom. This co-planning usually co-incides with co-teaching. The general education teacher and special education teacher decide how they will both teach the same lesson in the same classroom to both regular education and students with exceptionalities: will one teacher teach the entire lesson or both share? will one teach the lesson while the other teacher circulates the room helping specific students? will they put the students in groups by ability and each work with the separate groups? These are all planning and teaching decisions introduces the concepts of consultation, collaboration, and co-teaching as a general education teacher working with all sorts of people for students with exceptionalities. It would be a very difficult task to have to teach students with exceptionalities if the general education teacher did not have the input and assistance of those specifically trained to provide the best education for such students. Consultation skills require pre-planned time and space meets for the general education teacher and special education consultant to be able to work through the consultation process. When accessing the skills of a consultant, it is important to note that the job of the consultant is to provide expert intervention information pertaining to the student's special education need, but it is the job of the consultee (usually a general education teacher) to implement that intervention. Collaboration on the other hand allows the general education teacher and special education teacher to meet at a specific place and time, over the course of a school year to plan, discuss and implement together how to best teach students with exceptionalities in the general education classroom. This co-planning usually co-incides with co-teaching. The general education teacher and special education teacher decide how they will both teach the same lesson in the same classroom to both regular education and students with exceptionalities: will one teacher teach the entire lesson or both share? will one teach the lesson while the other teacher circulates the room helping specific students? will they put the students in groups by ability and each work with the separate groups? These are all planning and teaching decisions that must be made ahead of class time in order to achieve success for all students.
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How to use this information in the classroom:Become familiar with the Illinois Interactive Report Card Website, offering data and statistics concerning schools and districts in the state of Illinois, including data concerning students and subgroups. Go to the website, select by school or by district to search for AYP reports as well as other pertinent data.
Find out who your special education building and district experts are. Most school districts have a district special education specialist or director. Most schools have a special education teacher in the building. If you know that students with exceptionalities are going to be placed in your classroom, then began to immediately establish a working, professional relationship with those who will also be directing the education of such students: the school counselor, nurse, administrator, special education teacher, aides, community advocates for students with special needs.
Establish a relationship with exceptional students' parents as soon as possible. Initiate the contact if the parent does not. As a matter of fact, it helps immensely if you will put to use the one desktop computer in the classroom (hopefully it is Internet-ready, connected to the district and outside world!) by seeking out email addresses of each student's parent or contact as soon as possible. Most parents have at least one email address nowadays, either a work email or personal one. Using email whenever possible provides a wonderful way to give parents explicit information, receive feedback from them in kind and also provide a paper trail of documentation that you can save or store in that student folder on your computer's hard drive. I recommend you also save/store/back up the information to a portable flash drive or diskette.
Another excellent communication tool for parents is a classroom website. As daunting as that may sound, even teachers with next to no computer skills can get assistance in setting up a classroom website. There are easy programs available to facilitate setting up a website. I recommend starting with your district technology department to see what the district first offers in the line of technology assistance for teachers.
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Week Two Posting - The following article talks about the eight components of the co-teaching relationship - Coteaching.pdf. Each component is obviously very important. Which do you think is the most important component and why? After reading the chapter, listening to the audio, post your comments in 200 words or more to the Week 2 blog posting for the question provided. Don't forget to visit the Blog Posting Rubric I emailed to you last week, before you post.
An audio of the chapter has been provided. For the chapter audio, ignore references in the audio to week numbers, dates, chapter numbers, page numbers, assignments, the discussion board,names...thank you. The core of the audio speaks to the current chapter topic in your edition of the text book. https://edocs.uis.edu/jherr3/www/TEP224F2010/TEP224Ch2.mp3
Chapter 3 of the text introduces the concepts of consultation, collaboration, and co-teaching as a general education teacher working with all sorts of people for students with exceptionalities. It would be a very difficult task to have to teach students with exceptionalities if the general education teacher did not have the input and assistance of those specifically trained to provide the best education for such students. Consultation skills require pre-planned time and space meets for the general education teacher and special education consultant to be able to work through the consultation process. When accessing the skills of a consultant, it is important to note that the job of the consultant is to provide expert intervention information pertaining to the student's special education need, but it is the job of the consultee (usually a general education teacher) to implement that interv
ention. Collaboration on the other hand allows the general education teacher and special education teacher to meet at a specific place and time, over the course of a school year to plan, discuss and implement together how to best teach students with exceptionalities in the general education classroom. This co-planning usually co-incides with co-teaching. The general education teacher and special education teacher decide how they will both teach the same lesson in the same classroom to both regular education and students with exceptionalities: will one teacher teach the entire lesson or both share? will one teach the lesson while the other teacher circulates the room helping specific students? will they put the students in groups by ability and each work with the separate groups? These are all planning and teaching decisions introduces the concepts of consultation, collaboration, and co-teaching as a general education teacher working with all sorts of people for students with exceptionalities. It would be a very difficult task to have to teach students with exceptionalities if the general education teacher did not have the input and assistance of those specifically trained to provide the best education for such students. Consultation skills require pre-planned time and space meets for the general education teacher and special education consultant to be able to work through the consultation process. When accessing the skills of a consultant, it is important to note that the job of the consultant is to provide expert intervention information pertaining to the student's special education need, but it is the job of the consultee (usually a general education teacher) to implement that intervention. Collaboration on the other hand allows the general education teacher and special education teacher to meet at a specific place and time, over the course of a school year to plan, discuss and implement together how to best teach students with exceptionalities in the general education classroom. This co-planning usually co-incides with co-teaching. The general education teacher and special education teacher decide how they will both teach the same lesson in the same classroom to both regular education and students with exceptionalities: will one teacher teach the entire lesson or both share? will one teach the lesson while the other teacher circulates the room helping specific students? will they put the students in groups by ability and each work with the separate groups? These are all planning and teaching decisions that must be made ahead of class time in order to achieve success for all students.=======================================================================================
How to use this information in the classroom:Become familiar with the Illinois Interactive Report Card Website, offering data and statistics concerning schools and districts in the state of Illinois, including data concerning students and subgroups. Go to the website, select by school or by district to search for AYP reports as well as other pertinent data.
Find out who your special education building and district experts are. Most school districts have a district special education specialist or director. Most schools have a special education teacher in the building. If you know that students with exceptionalities are going to be placed in your classroom, then began to immediately establish a working, professional relationship with those who will also be directing the education of such students: the school counselor, nurse, administrator, special education teacher, aides, community advocates for students with special needs.
Establish a relationship with exceptional students' parents as soon as possible. Initiate the contact if the parent does not. As a matter of fact, it helps immensely if you will put to use the one desktop computer in the classroom (hopefully it is Internet-ready, connected to the district and outside world!) by seeking out email addresses of each student's parent or contact as soon as possible. Most parents have at least one email address nowadays, either a work email or personal one. Using email whenever possible provides a wonderful way to give parents explicit information, receive feedback from them in kind and also provide a paper trail of documentation that you can save or store in that student folder on your computer's hard drive. I recommend you also save/store/back up the information to a portable flash drive or diskette.
Another excellent communication tool for parents is a classroom website. As daunting as that may sound, even teachers with next to no computer skills can get assistance in setting up a classroom website. There are easy programs available to facilitate setting up a website. I recommend starting with your district technology department to see what the district first offers in the line of technology assistance for teachers.
=================================================================================
Week Two Posting - The following article talks about the eight components of the co-teaching relationship - Coteaching.pdf. Each component is obviously very important. Which do you think is the most important component and why? After reading the chapter, listening to the audio, post your comments in 200 words or more to the Week 2 blog posting for the question provided. Don't forget to visit the Blog Posting Rubric I emailed to you last week, before you post.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Week 1 January 18: Special Education and Inclusive Schooling
Hello! Welcome to your first week of Exceptional Child for Teachers.
These websites provide specific 'legalese' concerning the IDEA but out of this are very specific key elements that you as a K-12 classroom public school educator should pay special attention to and that is what the phrases "free and appropriate public education", "least restrictive environment" , "individualized education plan" , "non-discriminatory evaluation", "due process", "advocacy", and "parent participation" all mean . It is no longer left up to the special education teacher to know the laws governing special education, as now exceptional students are more and more mainstreamed or included in general education or regular education classrooms: your classroom.
While this course is not a special education course, it does provide familiarization with the laws that govern the education of students who receive services from special education. As the number of students placed in general education increases, collaboration between general education teachers and special education teachers is essential, in spite of the ongoing debate at opposite ends of the spectrum between those who believe all students should be taught in a regular education classroom versus those who believe exceptional students should be contained or taught separately.
Begin this lesson by reading one of my favorite online biographies of Chris Burke Also, read the interview with Elizabeth Diller on page three in the textbook.. Personally reflect for several minutes on what are some of your feelings and attitudes about the possibility of having students with disabilities in your classroom when you are teaching?
________________________________________
Become very familiar with the history of the federal laws for the education of exceptional learners as shared below:
IDEA and the Vocational Rehabilitation Act The expansion of these laws now referred to as IDEA has provided for the assurance that all children with disabilities receive an appropriate education through special services. No child with disabilities can be excluded from education but are allowed by law to receive a 'free and appropriate public education.' (Vaughn, et. al, 2011).
Free and appropriate public education -Of course, the interpretation of a 'free and appropriate public education' has been and continues to be an issue in education. How does the school (district) decide what is free and appropriate for such students? If the school decides in err of the student, in some cases, the school (district) is sued. For example, several students and families sued the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in a case that a proposed settlement was offered due to the district not offering a free and appropriate public education to such students according to the plaintiffs ( Lydia Gaskins, et al. vs. the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ).
Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) - One of the main components of the IDEA law is the concept of Least Restrict Environment(LRE) along with a Continuum of Services. LRE "is the setting most like that of nondisabled students that also meets each child's educational needs. Inherent within the LRE is the notion of continuum of services. Continuum of Services means that a full range of service options for students with disabilities will be provided by the school system." (Vaughn, et. al, 2011).
Individualized Education Plan (IEP) (see a sample IEP on pages 13-16). Another main component of the IDEA law is the Individualized Education Plan (IEP). An IEP must be developed for each student identified as a special needs students or student with a disability, according to IDEA (Vaughn, et. al, 2004). The purpose of the IEP is to provide an outline of specific educational services needed by the student as agreed upon by a Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) of educators, parents and specialists. This outline provides documentation of the student's abilities, disabilities, when the special services will begin/end, how the student will be measured in terms of progress, what services will be provided, measurable annual goals that will be set for the student to accomplish and how parents will be informed of this progress. If you have not experienced the mountain of paperwork that seems to follow the exceptional student, the IEP is at the top of that heap. While the IEP is not a legal contract, it is a plan that has been thoughtfully put together by all involved in the education of the exceptional child and should be used as such in the classroom. Actually, it wouldn't be a bad idea to have an IEP for every student in your classroom as the IEP provides individualized personal data that is specific to that particular student's educational needs. Once a plan is in place for each student, it could be used as documentation for what each student is expected to do and for the teacher to provide adapted, differentiated instruction to fit each student's true educational needs in that classroom.
Just what are the responsibilities of classroom teachers to the education of exceptional students?
Responsibilities of Classroom Teachers (as adapted from Vaughn et al) Who is responsible for the IEP? The special services or special education teacher and the Multidisciplinary Team are responsible for the IEP. The classroom teacher is responsible for insuring that objectives on the IEP pertaining to his or her classroom are carried out as feasibly as possible. Can I be held responsible if a student in my class does not accomplish all of the objectives in the IEP? Teachers can not be held responsible for lack of accomplish of all of the objectives on the IEP unless "it can be proven that teachers have not made efforts to fulfill their responsibilities." What if I was unable to attend the meeting at which the child's IEP was developed? Then you should get a copy of the IEP from the special services teacher and find out what objectives on the IEP are expected to be accomplished in your classroom. What should I do if I feel a student is not making adequate progress on his or her IEP? You should maintain communication with the special services teacher or MDT concerning the progress of the student in your classroom. Make use of any available resources to you in the building, especially the special services or special education teacher. Keep documentation of the student's progress (ex. emails to/from key people concerning the student; student work). What does it mean to adapt instruction for students with disabilities? Adaptations can be beneficial for all students regardless of whether they have a disability or not.
So, pragmatically speaking, how does this information in chapter one of the text pan out into the classroom?
Pragmatically Speaking - Here's How to use this information in the classroom:
1. Become very familiar with the basic terminology of special education and services provided to exceptional children. This will be the language of exchange between you, the classroom teacher, other teachers, special education specialists, counselors, psychologists, parents, and others involved in the education of exceptional children.
2. Become very familiar with the process of special education in your school building, district. There is still great latitude between how special education and related services for exceptional children are executed from one school building to the next. Some schools may provide full inclusion for exceptional students with related services interventions in the regular education classroom, whereas others may lean more towards providing partial inclusion with exceptional students spending time in physical education, music and electives type courses with regular education students while attending separate special education or resource rooms for the rest of the school day. Examples: ISBE Special Education guidelines (for Special Education services).
3. Learn more about other schooling configurations for exceptional students in your area such as The Hope School (Springfield, Illinois); The UIS Office of Disability Services (they have a lab as well) ; The Illinois School for the Deaf (more info at this website as well).
4. Ongoing documentation of behaviors, needs, academic progress is of utmost to the success of exceptional students in the general education classroom. Set up a folder on your computer for each student and store/save all electronic information pertaining to the student in it; and/or start a paper folder for each student. This type of teacher-observation documentation is very crucial to the IEP process and consultative special education meetings about the exceptional student.
5. For more information: click on each of the following websites: Education Integration and Including Students with Disabilities in the Regular Education Classroom.
FOR THIS WEEK'S POSTINGS [optional === not required to post WEEK 1]
For this week’s posting comments, read the link files in the paragraphs below and choose a set of questions to respond to in your comment. According to this report, one common complaint of schools not making the AYP (annual yearly progress -- visit http://www.isbe.net/ayp/default.htm for background information on NCLB) is that it is due to the low scores reported on students with disabilities, LEP (limited English Proficiency), various ethnic groups, and low income students. What is the measurement for the students with disabilities subgroup in Illinois? How are they evaluated for progress under NCLB? Should this subgroup not be included in reporting of NCLB scores? Why or why not?
Edward Rust, Jr, chairman and CEO of State Farm has been named as the new chair of a commission organized to make recommendations to NCLB, which is up for reauthorization ...he was chosen by people such as Bill and Melinda Gates. Will these new faces with new money be instrumental in finally getting some money shifted to those schools that are suffering from inadequacies (sorry, this really is a lead-in question, but I don't know how else to word it...feel free to challenge, however...your grade will not suffer for doing so...)
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/288658-1 - This link points to the one of the latest Aspen Institute's commission hearings on NCLB and school performance. Much of the hearing points to NCLB and its poor implementation of achieving successful performance rates for students. What are we doing? If NCLB is reauthorized, how can higher performance be raised among all students? Is NCLB useful to improving marginal students' success in schools? Why or why not?
Note: Read all of the articles, links and form your responses from any of the preceding leading questions.
I relate to you a story of my brother, Gary Joe and how he was eventually excluded from the general education classroom because of his learning disability. This was possible because his time was before laws were enacted that now have evolved to be known as the IDEA or Individuals with Disability Education Act (2004) that states 'all children with disabilities receive an appropriate education through special services. No child with disabilities can be excluded from education but are allowed by law to receive a 'free and appropriate public education.' (Vaughn, et. al, 2011). Public schools now are legally bound to pay attention to this provision whereas before if they decided with no consultation that a student was not fit for a particular public school setting, the schools could reject that student.
While this course is not a special education course, it does provide familiarization with the laws that govern the education of students who receive services from special education. As the number of students placed in general education increases, collaboration between general education teachers and special education teachers is essential, in spite of the ongoing debate at opposite ends of the spectrum between those who believe all students should be taught in a regular education classroom versus those who believe exceptional students should be contained or taught separately.
Begin this lesson by reading one of my favorite online biographies of Chris Burke Also, read the interview with Elizabeth Diller on page three in the textbook.. Personally reflect for several minutes on what are some of your feelings and attitudes about the possibility of having students with disabilities in your classroom when you are teaching?
________________________________________
Become very familiar with the history of the federal laws for the education of exceptional learners as shared below:
IDEA and the Vocational Rehabilitation Act The expansion of these laws now referred to as IDEA has provided for the assurance that all children with disabilities receive an appropriate education through special services. No child with disabilities can be excluded from education but are allowed by law to receive a 'free and appropriate public education.' (Vaughn, et. al, 2011).
Free and appropriate public education -Of course, the interpretation of a 'free and appropriate public education' has been and continues to be an issue in education. How does the school (district) decide what is free and appropriate for such students? If the school decides in err of the student, in some cases, the school (district) is sued. For example, several students and families sued the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in a case that a proposed settlement was offered due to the district not offering a free and appropriate public education to such students according to the plaintiffs ( Lydia Gaskins, et al. vs. the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ).
Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) - One of the main components of the IDEA law is the concept of Least Restrict Environment(LRE) along with a Continuum of Services. LRE "is the setting most like that of nondisabled students that also meets each child's educational needs. Inherent within the LRE is the notion of continuum of services. Continuum of Services means that a full range of service options for students with disabilities will be provided by the school system." (Vaughn, et. al, 2011).
Individualized Education Plan (IEP) (see a sample IEP on pages 13-16). Another main component of the IDEA law is the Individualized Education Plan (IEP). An IEP must be developed for each student identified as a special needs students or student with a disability, according to IDEA (Vaughn, et. al, 2004). The purpose of the IEP is to provide an outline of specific educational services needed by the student as agreed upon by a Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) of educators, parents and specialists. This outline provides documentation of the student's abilities, disabilities, when the special services will begin/end, how the student will be measured in terms of progress, what services will be provided, measurable annual goals that will be set for the student to accomplish and how parents will be informed of this progress. If you have not experienced the mountain of paperwork that seems to follow the exceptional student, the IEP is at the top of that heap. While the IEP is not a legal contract, it is a plan that has been thoughtfully put together by all involved in the education of the exceptional child and should be used as such in the classroom. Actually, it wouldn't be a bad idea to have an IEP for every student in your classroom as the IEP provides individualized personal data that is specific to that particular student's educational needs. Once a plan is in place for each student, it could be used as documentation for what each student is expected to do and for the teacher to provide adapted, differentiated instruction to fit each student's true educational needs in that classroom.
Just what are the responsibilities of classroom teachers to the education of exceptional students?
Responsibilities of Classroom Teachers (as adapted from Vaughn et al) Who is responsible for the IEP? The special services or special education teacher and the Multidisciplinary Team are responsible for the IEP. The classroom teacher is responsible for insuring that objectives on the IEP pertaining to his or her classroom are carried out as feasibly as possible. Can I be held responsible if a student in my class does not accomplish all of the objectives in the IEP? Teachers can not be held responsible for lack of accomplish of all of the objectives on the IEP unless "it can be proven that teachers have not made efforts to fulfill their responsibilities." What if I was unable to attend the meeting at which the child's IEP was developed? Then you should get a copy of the IEP from the special services teacher and find out what objectives on the IEP are expected to be accomplished in your classroom. What should I do if I feel a student is not making adequate progress on his or her IEP? You should maintain communication with the special services teacher or MDT concerning the progress of the student in your classroom. Make use of any available resources to you in the building, especially the special services or special education teacher. Keep documentation of the student's progress (ex. emails to/from key people concerning the student; student work). What does it mean to adapt instruction for students with disabilities? Adaptations can be beneficial for all students regardless of whether they have a disability or not.
So, pragmatically speaking, how does this information in chapter one of the text pan out into the classroom?
Pragmatically Speaking - Here's How to use this information in the classroom:
1. Become very familiar with the basic terminology of special education and services provided to exceptional children. This will be the language of exchange between you, the classroom teacher, other teachers, special education specialists, counselors, psychologists, parents, and others involved in the education of exceptional children.
2. Become very familiar with the process of special education in your school building, district. There is still great latitude between how special education and related services for exceptional children are executed from one school building to the next. Some schools may provide full inclusion for exceptional students with related services interventions in the regular education classroom, whereas others may lean more towards providing partial inclusion with exceptional students spending time in physical education, music and electives type courses with regular education students while attending separate special education or resource rooms for the rest of the school day. Examples: ISBE Special Education guidelines (for Special Education services).
3. Learn more about other schooling configurations for exceptional students in your area such as The Hope School (Springfield, Illinois); The UIS Office of Disability Services (they have a lab as well) ; The Illinois School for the Deaf (more info at this website as well).
4. Ongoing documentation of behaviors, needs, academic progress is of utmost to the success of exceptional students in the general education classroom. Set up a folder on your computer for each student and store/save all electronic information pertaining to the student in it; and/or start a paper folder for each student. This type of teacher-observation documentation is very crucial to the IEP process and consultative special education meetings about the exceptional student.
5. For more information: click on each of the following websites: Education Integration and Including Students with Disabilities in the Regular Education Classroom.
FOR THIS WEEK'S POSTINGS [optional === not required to post WEEK 1]
For this week’s posting comments, read the link files in the paragraphs below and choose a set of questions to respond to in your comment. According to this report, one common complaint of schools not making the AYP (annual yearly progress -- visit http://www.isbe.net/ayp/default.htm for background information on NCLB) is that it is due to the low scores reported on students with disabilities, LEP (limited English Proficiency), various ethnic groups, and low income students. What is the measurement for the students with disabilities subgroup in Illinois? How are they evaluated for progress under NCLB? Should this subgroup not be included in reporting of NCLB scores? Why or why not?
Edward Rust, Jr, chairman and CEO of State Farm has been named as the new chair of a commission organized to make recommendations to NCLB, which is up for reauthorization ...he was chosen by people such as Bill and Melinda Gates. Will these new faces with new money be instrumental in finally getting some money shifted to those schools that are suffering from inadequacies (sorry, this really is a lead-in question, but I don't know how else to word it...feel free to challenge, however...your grade will not suffer for doing so...)
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/288658-1 - This link points to the one of the latest Aspen Institute's commission hearings on NCLB and school performance. Much of the hearing points to NCLB and its poor implementation of achieving successful performance rates for students. What are we doing? If NCLB is reauthorized, how can higher performance be raised among all students? Is NCLB useful to improving marginal students' success in schools? Why or why not?
Note: Read all of the articles, links and form your responses from any of the preceding leading questions.
Introduce Yourself!
Some of you I have taught in other courses. I look forward to your introductions, though, as this is an online course, most of our communication will be via this blog and email. So, let your classmates and me know who you are. Comment to this post with a one-two paragraph introduction of yourself . Include in the introduction a discussion of your background, family and why you chose to be in the teaching profession. If you have an experience to share concerning a childhood exception, feel free to share that if you wish.
If you do not have a Google account and have not uploaded a photo in that account, then go to google.com, click on Sign In and set up an account, upload a photo in your profile for free. Once you've done that, come back to this blog and post your introduction; a photo from the google account should automatically show each time you comment to the blog postings. Post by Saturday, January 22, midnight.
Looking forward to meeting you!
Dr. Herring
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