I wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed this class. I feel that I am now better prepared to teach all students, including those with special needs. It was helpful just to get exposure to material on the various exceptionalities our students may possess. Learning about the different categories of exceptionalities was beneficial. It was nice to get definitions for various exceptionalities that students may be designated under. There were many terms that I had heard reference to before, but did not fully understand before this course. It will be nice to have the wikis to refer back to if I come across any of the disorders researched while I am in my practicum.
Also, learning the process of creating IPPs, and then carrying out the plans, will definitely be beneficial. Those documents now seem much less mysterious.
As with all of our courses in PS1 and PS2, we covered a lot of material in a short amount of time. I do not really think there is any way of changing that. The material that was covered all seemed to be important knowledge that will benefit us all. I think the introduction to theory and access to resources is what we require from these courses. There really is not time to go into a greater amount of depth without sacrificing the range of topics covered.
Thank you for sharing your expertise with us. You did a wonderful job of teaching us, despite an often unruly class.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Monday, February 4, 2008
Web Activity
All teachers are responsible for helping their students learn. We must monitor whether or not our students understand the material we are teaching them. We are also responsible for creating an environment where students feel safe and secure. When teachers have students with exceptional needs, our responsibilities remain the same. We need to teach in a way that allows all our students to learn. We must use differentiated instruction in order to do this. We also need to develop a classroom community, so that all students know they are accepted and welcome in our classroom.
Questions:
1.What is inclusion? What are the benefits of inclusionary settings?
Inclusion means that ALL students belong in a regular classroom. All students have varying abilities in different areas. Students with special needs can be a part of the classroom community just as much as every other child. Inclusionary settings benefit not only students with special needs, but their peers as well. Students with special needs get an opportunity for much-needed social interactions. The rest of the students in the classroom are exposed to children who may be different than them, and they learn to value diversity. For everyone involved, inclusive classrooms help to develop respect for others and for ourselves.
2.Once it has been determined that a learner requires the services of special education, what decision-making would be undertaken at the school level?
At this point the school must:
· Obtain the parents’ informed written consent for specialized assessments or referral.
· If the parents refuse consent, the reasons for the refusal must be documented and placed in the student record along with any actions undertaken by the school board to obtain consent.
· Develop and implement written procedures for early identification, referral and assessment of students with special education needs.
· Involve parents and, when appropriate, students in the screening, identification and referral process.
· Request information from parents that is relevant to the student’s education.
· Provide information to school staff and parents that describes the characteristics used to identify special education needs of students.
· Develop or utilize formal and informal checklists, screening tools and/or standardized assessments that will assist in the early identification of students.
· Use a number of assessment strategies and data to determine eligibility for special education programming and services.
· Report the results of assessments to parents, teachers and others involved with students’ programming.
· Use the results of assessments to make decisions, develop IPPs, assign support services and/or determine adapted or modified programming for students.
· Use assessment data to develop, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of programming and services provided to students with special education needs (Standards for Special Education, 2004).
·
3.What is the meaning of each of the four terms defined within the Special Education Standards document? What does this mean for you as a teacher?
1.) Access: Students with special education needs are entitled to have access in a school year to an education program. Students with special education needs receive adapted or modified programming that enables and improves learning.
2.) Appropriateness: Educational programming and services are designed around the assessed needs of students and are provided by qualified staff who are knowledgeable and skilled. They decide what programming is appropriate for the students in question.
3.) Accountability: The obligation to answer for the execution of one’s assigned responsibilities.
4.) Appeals: Timely, fair and open processes protect the rights of students and parents and address differences of opinion about the education of students with special education needs (Standards for Special Education, 2004).
For teachers, this means that we have a responsibility to modify our instruction so that it is accessible to ALL students; we must work with other professionals to decide what programming modifications are appropriate for each student; we need to hold ourselves accountable for any program modifications that we make; and finally, we need to be open to the opinions of the parents of the student who requires specialized programming.
4.Who are the children who are considered to be students with special needs in Alberta schools? List the most frequently occurring disabilities by identifying the most frequent 4 categories (grades 1-12). Also note 2 categories that have decreased over the past few years. Briefly define each of these 6 exceptionalities. Briefly note a prediction as to why there has been an increase in some areas of exceptionality and a decrease in other areas.
The four most frequent categories in grades one to twelve, according to the statistics for 2006/2007, are: learning disability, severe emotional/behavioural disability, mild cognitive disability and severe physical or mental disability.
Two categories that have decreased in the past few years are: gifted and talented and emotional/behavioural disability.
1.) Learning Disability: This is a disorder of thinking and reasoning. It is an “invisible” disability; students with learning disabilities may not look any different than their peers.
2.) Severe Emotional/Behavioural Disability: This term describes chronic, extreme and pervasive behaviours which require close and constant supervision, high levels of structure and intensive support services.
3.) Mild Cognitive Disability: This describes students who are mildly delayed in adaptive and social behaviour. Students with this disability have IQs that range from 50 to 75.
4.) Severe Physical or Medical Disability: This refers to a condition that creates a significant impact on the affected student’s ability to function in a school environment.
5.) Gifted or Talented: This refers to students who show exceptional potential and/or performance across a wide range of abilities whether it be in general intellectual, specific academic aptitude, creative or productive thinking, social, musical, artistic or kinesthetic realms.
6.) Emotional/Behavioural Disability: This includes students who have a number of observable maladaptive behaviours in areas such as social skills, attention, mood, personal responsibility and accountability, physical violence and destructiveness.
*Note* I predict that the reason the amount of students in some categories have increased and others have decreased is a result of changing definitions of how a child in each category would behave. Some definitions may have become more broad, and therefore include more children, while the definitions for other disabilities may have narrowed or been refined.
6.List the twelve essential items required within an IPP:
1.) Specialized assessment data
2.) Current level of performance and achievement
3.) Identification of strengths and areas of need
4.) Measurable goals and objectives
5.) Procedures for evaluating progress related to IPP goals
6.) Identification of coordinated support services
7.) Medical information
8.) Classroom accommodations
9.) Planning for transition
10.) Review of progress related to IPP goals
11.) Year-end summary
12.) Informed parent consent
7.Give your own example of a strength, an area of need and a measurable goal based on the reading and examples provided.
Give one example of an accommodation strategy.
Strength: Is very talented at drawing.
Area of need: Lacks social skills.
Measurable Goal: Student X will initiate a conversation with a peer at least once a day.
Accommodation Strategy: Allow Student X to work with group members who are understanding and sympathetic. Increase the size of the groups gradually to build up Student X’s confidence in relating to peers.
9.Find a chapter that you find most relevant. Give one example of a strategy that you feel is most salient to you.
Chapter 12 is most relevant for me, as I hope to teach in Junior and Senior High Schools. A strategy that I would use is a curriculum matrix. I am a visual person, so this idea sounds like it would be very helpful. It would allow myself and the student who I am working with to see where we need to focus our attention.
Questions:
1.What is inclusion? What are the benefits of inclusionary settings?
Inclusion means that ALL students belong in a regular classroom. All students have varying abilities in different areas. Students with special needs can be a part of the classroom community just as much as every other child. Inclusionary settings benefit not only students with special needs, but their peers as well. Students with special needs get an opportunity for much-needed social interactions. The rest of the students in the classroom are exposed to children who may be different than them, and they learn to value diversity. For everyone involved, inclusive classrooms help to develop respect for others and for ourselves.
2.Once it has been determined that a learner requires the services of special education, what decision-making would be undertaken at the school level?
At this point the school must:
· Obtain the parents’ informed written consent for specialized assessments or referral.
· If the parents refuse consent, the reasons for the refusal must be documented and placed in the student record along with any actions undertaken by the school board to obtain consent.
· Develop and implement written procedures for early identification, referral and assessment of students with special education needs.
· Involve parents and, when appropriate, students in the screening, identification and referral process.
· Request information from parents that is relevant to the student’s education.
· Provide information to school staff and parents that describes the characteristics used to identify special education needs of students.
· Develop or utilize formal and informal checklists, screening tools and/or standardized assessments that will assist in the early identification of students.
· Use a number of assessment strategies and data to determine eligibility for special education programming and services.
· Report the results of assessments to parents, teachers and others involved with students’ programming.
· Use the results of assessments to make decisions, develop IPPs, assign support services and/or determine adapted or modified programming for students.
· Use assessment data to develop, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of programming and services provided to students with special education needs (Standards for Special Education, 2004).
·
3.What is the meaning of each of the four terms defined within the Special Education Standards document? What does this mean for you as a teacher?
1.) Access: Students with special education needs are entitled to have access in a school year to an education program. Students with special education needs receive adapted or modified programming that enables and improves learning.
2.) Appropriateness: Educational programming and services are designed around the assessed needs of students and are provided by qualified staff who are knowledgeable and skilled. They decide what programming is appropriate for the students in question.
3.) Accountability: The obligation to answer for the execution of one’s assigned responsibilities.
4.) Appeals: Timely, fair and open processes protect the rights of students and parents and address differences of opinion about the education of students with special education needs (Standards for Special Education, 2004).
For teachers, this means that we have a responsibility to modify our instruction so that it is accessible to ALL students; we must work with other professionals to decide what programming modifications are appropriate for each student; we need to hold ourselves accountable for any program modifications that we make; and finally, we need to be open to the opinions of the parents of the student who requires specialized programming.
4.Who are the children who are considered to be students with special needs in Alberta schools? List the most frequently occurring disabilities by identifying the most frequent 4 categories (grades 1-12). Also note 2 categories that have decreased over the past few years. Briefly define each of these 6 exceptionalities. Briefly note a prediction as to why there has been an increase in some areas of exceptionality and a decrease in other areas.
The four most frequent categories in grades one to twelve, according to the statistics for 2006/2007, are: learning disability, severe emotional/behavioural disability, mild cognitive disability and severe physical or mental disability.
Two categories that have decreased in the past few years are: gifted and talented and emotional/behavioural disability.
1.) Learning Disability: This is a disorder of thinking and reasoning. It is an “invisible” disability; students with learning disabilities may not look any different than their peers.
2.) Severe Emotional/Behavioural Disability: This term describes chronic, extreme and pervasive behaviours which require close and constant supervision, high levels of structure and intensive support services.
3.) Mild Cognitive Disability: This describes students who are mildly delayed in adaptive and social behaviour. Students with this disability have IQs that range from 50 to 75.
4.) Severe Physical or Medical Disability: This refers to a condition that creates a significant impact on the affected student’s ability to function in a school environment.
5.) Gifted or Talented: This refers to students who show exceptional potential and/or performance across a wide range of abilities whether it be in general intellectual, specific academic aptitude, creative or productive thinking, social, musical, artistic or kinesthetic realms.
6.) Emotional/Behavioural Disability: This includes students who have a number of observable maladaptive behaviours in areas such as social skills, attention, mood, personal responsibility and accountability, physical violence and destructiveness.
*Note* I predict that the reason the amount of students in some categories have increased and others have decreased is a result of changing definitions of how a child in each category would behave. Some definitions may have become more broad, and therefore include more children, while the definitions for other disabilities may have narrowed or been refined.
6.List the twelve essential items required within an IPP:
1.) Specialized assessment data
2.) Current level of performance and achievement
3.) Identification of strengths and areas of need
4.) Measurable goals and objectives
5.) Procedures for evaluating progress related to IPP goals
6.) Identification of coordinated support services
7.) Medical information
8.) Classroom accommodations
9.) Planning for transition
10.) Review of progress related to IPP goals
11.) Year-end summary
12.) Informed parent consent
7.Give your own example of a strength, an area of need and a measurable goal based on the reading and examples provided.
Give one example of an accommodation strategy.
Strength: Is very talented at drawing.
Area of need: Lacks social skills.
Measurable Goal: Student X will initiate a conversation with a peer at least once a day.
Accommodation Strategy: Allow Student X to work with group members who are understanding and sympathetic. Increase the size of the groups gradually to build up Student X’s confidence in relating to peers.
9.Find a chapter that you find most relevant. Give one example of a strategy that you feel is most salient to you.
Chapter 12 is most relevant for me, as I hope to teach in Junior and Senior High Schools. A strategy that I would use is a curriculum matrix. I am a visual person, so this idea sounds like it would be very helpful. It would allow myself and the student who I am working with to see where we need to focus our attention.
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