Including All Students in Sevier County Schools
The curriculum
The curriculum will be the same for all of the children. This means that the student who is challenged will participate in the social studies lesson, the science experiments and the music class, along with the other children. The student's life experiences will be enriched, and her ability to communicate and form relationships with her peers increased through being included.
Individuals cannot hope to converse with someone about hockey, on any level, if they have never been to a game. Similarly, a student can have no understanding of the universe if he has not been exposed to the concept that the world is round, nor understand the idea of magnification if there is no chance of looking through a magnifying glass or a microscope.
Differentiated Instruction
DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION (also called Multi-level instruction)
Differentiated instruction is an approach to planning so that one lesson is taught to the entire class while meeting the individual needs of each child. The teacher weaves the individual goals into the classroom content and instructional strategies. The content and the instructional strategies are the vehicles by which the teacher meets the needs of all the students.
Each lesson:
RATIONALE:
STEPS:
1. Identify:
- underlying concepts - What is that all students are to understand. Need to clarify difference between the concepts and the content used to develop the concepts.
- student objectives
2. Method of presentation:
- concept presented in such a way that all students are able to gain varying degrees of knowledge based on their level of understanding
- learning styles of student - auditory, visual, kinesthetic, tactile
- level of cognitive domain - Bloom's Taxonomy
- differentiated participation - based on student's skill level
3. Method of student practice:
- allowance for assignments based on student's needs
- learning styles of student - auditory, visual, kinesthetic, tactile
- level of cognitive ability - Bloom's Taxonomy
- differentiated participation - based on student's skill level
4. Method of evaluation:
- linked to method of performance
- learning styles of student - auditory, visual, kinesthetic, tactile
- level of cognitive ability - Bloom's Taxonomy
- differentiated participation - based on student's skill level
5. Method of presentation: Adaptations may be necessary to the environment, the materials and the mode of presenting the information.
Position in room:
Seating at desk: physically comfortable, conducive to working, provides necessary supports:
General Organization: for easy access to organized materials:
Student materials:
Adapting page set-up:
Adapted devices:
PRESENTATION:
Teacher presentation:
Instructions:
Use multi-sensory information delivery:
Visual, Auditory
Others:
Students involved in presentation:
Method of student practice:
Differentiated Participation:
Differentiated participation may be necessary. Differentiated participation may require adapting how the student participates, adapting how much the student participates, providing adapted equipment or materials or adapting the rules or goals for that student. Each student is to participate according to his or her level of skill.
Methods of student practice:
Requires memory only in order to repeat information
Requires rephrasing or explaining information
Requires the application of knowledge to determine answer
Requires identifying motives or causes, drawing conclusions, or determining evidence
Requires making predictions, producing original communications or problem solving with
more than one possible solution
Requires making judgments or offering supported opinions
Evaluation:
Reporting:
Source:
The Homecoming Model, J. Thousand, T. Fox, R. Reid, J. Godek, W. Williams, & W. Fox,
University of Vermont, 1986.
Making a story
Here is modified work for a student in Grade 6 who is struggling at a Grade 2-3 reading and writing level but who can be motivated to create stories, here is a method I used to help him take control of his writing
process.
First, provide a title:
This title has his name in it and a sport that he is fond of. The title suggests that in the story he does something important. Second, I put a list of words on the board to give him sentence ideas. He chose some words and the teacher added others to give him variety.
Third. In order to encourage him to use variety in his longer sentences we had a session on connecting words and I put two or three at the bottom of each word list. These were always different than the connecting word that he was required to use that day. examples: because, when
Another title I used:
(This theme fascinates him. He likes to speculate on what a person would do if they were lost. He, of course, has much better focus when he is directly interested in the subject.)
In the beginning of Grade 6, this student could only write short sentences with very simple words.
Example:
Joe can golf. Joe hits the ball. Joe has four tees. Joe has a red shirt.
In order to encourage longer sentences, I instituted a daily sentence rule, which we used for the rest of the year.
Monday - Every sentence must have and in it.
Tuesday - Every sentence must have but in it.
Wednesday - Every sentence must have then in it.
Thursday - Every sentence must have into in it.
Friday - Every sentence must have a comma in it.
He had to be guided through the use of these at first, but once he caught on he got quite excited when he could write more than four long sentences in one class period.
By the end of Grade 6 he was able to write more interesting sentences using a wider variety of words. He still could not do well without a word list, but he could read and understand more words on the list and he had a much longer attention span at this task. His sentences made sense and he was able to write about a sequence of events that went together.
Example:
Golfer Joe had a golf tee and a golf ball. He had a golf bag what he put clubs in. He take lunch then he eat a apple. He hit the ball into the club house and everybody run out and yell at him because there mad.
An example: Curriculum adaptations for a blind student
The curriculum should be the same for all children in the class. Goals may be adapted, the characteristics of the task may change, and the information may be simplified. A child with challenging needs may be working on a parallel activity, but should participate in the same learning experience as the other children.
The student with challenging needs has many opportunities to practice functional skills within the regular routines of the day. Those skills include how to play with other children on the playground, how to be quiet in the library, how to carry accurate messages from one person to another, how to
respond when spoken to by an adult, how to share and take turns, how to eat lunch and clear up afterwards, and how to put on shoes and a coat.
The amount and type of adaptation that will be required for each unit of the curriculum will vary according to the needs of the student, the subject matter to be covered and the lesson format being used. One student may be able to achieve the same goals as the other students, with small adjustments to the way in which the material is presented. Another student may be able to achieve a simplified form of the same goals. A third student may require goals that parallel the goals of the lesson but are presented at a more basic level.
You may want to prepare the other children in the class for the different objectives that a particular student will be working towards, so that they will appreciate and applaud the student's achievements.
Have a meeting with the teacher assistant or other adult who will be working with the student in the classroom to decide the goals for each unit of teaching. Decide whether the student who is challenged can be expected to achieve all of the goals, some of the goals, some of the goals if they are simplified, or requires goals that parallel the regular goals. Consider the ways in which the goals might be adapted, and how the characteristics of the task might be changed to meet the individual needs of the student.
Adaptations
Language Arts
Regular objective: Will read a story with a partner.
Adapted objective: Will listen to a story with a partner.
Parallel objective: Will practice reading cards containing environmental print recognizing; store logos, food labels, safety signs.
Parallel objective: Will operate a tape recorder, and listen to a taped story.
Science
Regular objective: Will make snowballs and order them from smallest to largest, and time how long it takes each to melt in the classroom.
Adapted objective: will make snowballs, locate correct position in sequence with peer assistance, and be able to identify largest and smallest.
Parallel objective: Will make snowball, experience "cold", and learn the sign for cold.
Social studies
Regular objective: Learn the location of each room in the school; visit the office, gym, nurses room, library,
furnace room, etc. in order to draw a map of the school.
Adapted objective: The same as the Regular objective: but will require several visits to each room to
remember the locations.
Parallel objective: Will practice orientation and mobility in a wheelchair, to a particular location in the school to deliver a note independently.
Math
Regular objective: Build sets of 10, 9 , 8, etc. and match numbers to sets.
Adapted objective: Build sets to 3 and match numbers
Parallel objective: Rote count to 5
Parallel objective: Will give 1 object when cued
Science
Regular objective: Will build an electric circuit using a diagram and know the associated vocabulary
Adapted objective: Will build an electric circuit, with some assistance, and learn the sight vocabulary: battery,
current, electricity.
Parallel objective: Operate switches to activate a toy, radio, tape recorder, blender.
Goals and objectives for the student who is challenged will be agreed upon for each instructional unit before the unit is taught. Some of the goals will relate to the concepts and content of the unit. Some will relate to the strengths and needs that were identified by the collaborative team, and agreed upon as goals and objectives in the IEP. The teaching of the IEP objectives will be embedded in the regular lessons and routines of the classroom. They do not need to be taught at a separate time, in a separate place.
The indications of learning and growth may be different from those of the other children in the class, but they must be recognized by the teacher as valid. If the teacher values the progress and abilities of the student who is challenged, then the children in the class will also value them.
First, outline the routines and lessons, which the children without disabilities are engaged in on a typical day. List the outline for the day on one side of a flip chart, and then, on the other side, identify the supports or adaptations needed to include the student with challenging needs.
There is often no need to make changes, especially to the regular routines. For example, on arrival at school, the student might well find her coat hook, take off her coat and boots, and sit at her desk the same as all the others.
Perhaps, though, a classmate might be asked to meet the student at the school door to accompany her to the classroom. This helps the student practice the route, and is an opportunity to build a friendship.
Consider whether adaptations or modifications need to be made to the information, the materials, and the instructional process. Decide whether the student will require support to carry out some or all of a lesson or routine, and how the support will be provided.
There will be a range of abilities in the same class, and sometimes that range will be wide. Instruction will be such that students at all levels of thinking can be included and the materials and activities will be open ended to enable all students to participate.
Teachers use prompts or cues for all students. Some students require more intense level of prompting in order to accomplish a task.
Prompts should be given in the least intrusive way, and with the intention of fading them as soon as possible. This is necessary so that the student does not become bound by the prompt. A student may begin to think he or she is not allowed to do the next part of a task until the prompt has been given. If the prompting is constant and static it may discourage the student from trying the next step of the process.
Gradually move through levels of prompts as the student begins to master each task.
1.Physically assist the student to do the task.
2.Then give what physical assistance is necessary to complete the task.
3.Give a gesture, or model the task, so that the student can copy the action.
4.Give a direct verbal prompt, such as: "Pick up your pen."
5.Give an indirect verbal prompt, such as: "What do you do next?"
6.Allow the task itself to provide the prompt, such as waiting for the student to hang a coat on a hook while standing by the coat rack, or waiting for the student to join the line when the other children line up.
Students who are provided with support from a teacher assistant or a volunteer sometimes rely on that person to give the direction, rather than responding to the direction when it is given by the teacher. The teacher can make it clear that when she addresses the whole class the student is included. It may be necessary to cue the student that a direction is about to be given and that it is time to listen.
1.Analyze the task.
2.Break the task into small teachable steps.
3.Analyze the steps the student needs to know in order to complete a task.
4.Determine which steps the student knows well, partially knows, and still needs to learn.
5.Teach to the steps that are partially known, followed by the steps that are still to be learned.
6.Provide additional opportunities for practice to maintain the steps already learned as well as the ones being worked on.
Adapt the goals
Change the task characteristics
Individual achievement and competition are frequently used in the classroom, but learning occurs just as well when children work together in groups. Every member of the group is responsible for helping the others to learn the material, and every member of the group has responsibility for the personal relationships within the group.
Make sure everyone knows the learning goals for the special needs student in the group. The outcome may be the same as for the others in the group, or a simplified version. It could be related to the social interactions and the way in which the student carries out her role.
Be sure the student has a clearly defined role, which truly contributes to the success of the group. She might make sure that all the members of the group are present before beginning, or bring materials to the group meetings. She might take photographs to add information to a final report, or take a turn as leader of the group.
If the student can function without the constant support of the teacher assistant, the other children in the group will have the opportunity to provide support when it is needed, and the dynamics of the group will not be changed by the presence of an adult.
The student who is challenged can work with a peer or a group of students. Activities might include:
Two useful articles on cooperative learning and inclusion may be found at:
http://www.quasar.ualberta.ca/ddc/incl/solomon.htm
http://www.quasar.ualberta.ca/ddc/incl/cooplrn.htm
Class
participation
Write whatever instructional adaptations you plan to make into the daily lesson plans. This means including relevant information on the objectives, the adaptations to the tasks, and the materials needed for the student who is challenged to be able to participate in each lesson. If a substitute teacher or assistant is called to instruct the class, this information must be available.
It requires imagination and commitment to continually adapt the goals of the regular academic curriculum so that the learning is meaningful and has relevance for the student who is challenged. It also demands an awareness of the need to work on those skills which will enable the individual to function with greater independence.
PROGRAM ANALYSIS WORKSHEET (Example only)
Name:____________________________Date Initiated:______________
Curricular area_____________________ Review Date:______________
IS IT APPROPRIATE? MODIFICATIONS
Class_______________________________
Objectives / Goals_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
(*highlight appropriate objectives)
Evaluation______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
(As Is w/adapted presentation/environment, goals, materials, assistance, evaluation)
Individual
Objectives_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
(Materials, criteria, review date)
Evaluation___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Comments_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
(date achieved)____________________________
Group work
Whenever possible, engage your students in group work and hands-on learning. Cooperative efforts will free you to reach students who may, require additional assistance.
Students who are sure of themselves may be able to work with you by speaking briefly to the class, or working with other students. You may also include students with challenges in endeavors to teach others.
Team teaching may also be advantageous from time to time, and sometimes you might bring another teacher who has additional information in a particular subject area into your room.
You may want to begin the lessons by directly involving the students in group work, and at other times it is important to allow students time on their own to work through the various tasks ahead of them. It is the same with students who have a disability. You will have to vary the format of your teaching style as you meet the needs of your students.
Some frequently asked questions related to team teaching and placement
Could you please
describe the placement process that you use to determine what classes the
students with special needs will go into?
Once the general student population is determined, a group of teachers, including a panel of special education teachers and regular education teachers, meets to discuss the potential placement of students with special needs. The receiving teachers are also a part of this meeting, and the students are then placed in a situation that matches the needs of the student with the desires of the teacher.
What curriculum modifications might you make for a student with special needs in Grade 1?
For example, if a child is a non-reader, we would support that classroom in a variety of ways. We may do some small group instruction to a group of students just on letters, sound, simple correlation, and some phonics instruction. If the children are reading in textbooks, then we adapt the material for the students with special needs, and put it on tapes. That way the child can listen to it.
In Math, if the class was looking at adding single digit numbers to ten, and the child is not aware of those numbers, we might create numbers for them in some tactile way. We might get them to trace numbers and make connections between the symbol and the number. If they already have that skill then we may be using their abilities to identify numbers, so that they could see the number and attach it to a number of items. So if the number was two, there might be two cubes that the child would see to correlate the number. Each one is very specific to the individual needs of the child.
It works differently in each classroom, based on what the teacher prefers. I meet with each of the teachers on a weekly basis to do planning and development of materials. We decide at that time who is going to do specific instruction. For example, in a classroom that was introducing a new phonics skill, I might lead whole group instruction to the entire class one day, and then the classroom teacher may do it the next day. Or, if there's a writing lesson to be introduced, I may introduce that and follow that through to completion. So I may be teaching during that particular time block for a period of a week, and the classroom teacher would be supporting me.
We don't set it up so we're replacing one another. It really is a team teaching situation. Each person takes responsibility for instruction, but the planning part of it we do together.
Do you do anything to facilitate friendship between the students with special needs and the other students?
We organize a circle of friends. I think that ideally friendship facilitation is best handled within the confinement of the classroom where there's a strong emphasis on community building within each class. We have six to ten children in a group, and we meet on a weekly basis for about a half an hour. This is not skill instruction time or disability awareness time. It is truly a time for connecting with the children, and the leader's role should be as unobtrusive as possible.
We start by asking children if they would like to participate in a group with some other children. We tell them the intent of getting together is to support one another. We don't direct them at that time that we are specifically forming this group around a child or two children. We just let them know that we're getting together as a group to talk about being friends. Some of the books that are available on this topic are Connecting Students by Beth Schaffner and Barbara Buzzwell and Circles of Friends.
When children with special needs are in their community schools, it allows the community to support the child. It allows them to build relationships that are fluid which will help the students with special needs from their elementary years through to adulthood.
It's such an individual thing. I think what works best is for a team of people to get together to try to figure out why those behaviors are being manifested. I think typically, once a group of people comes together collectively to figure out why the child is behaving in a particular way, then determining a plan is easy. Once you know the antecedent then it's relatively easy to develop a plan for the child.
Oftentimes, for children that are extremely disruptive, one of the tools that's the most effective is the circle of friends. Also it helps for the child to be a part of a classroom where there's a strong sense of community, and where disruptive issues that come up are dealt with as a class. This way the child learns that he is a part of a community, and he is responsible to people other than himself.
Level: Elementary
Topics: Non-communicative child; Problem solving; HELP room; TLC form; Team teaching; Buddy system; Pic sign; Signing; Reading; Eye-hand coordination
Roxie Mountain-Weed
Grade 3 Teacher
Central Elementary School
Commerce City, Colorado
Could you please
describe the students with special needs that you have in
your classroom this year.
I have several children with special needs. I have one little child who is non-communicative. My team teacher and I have tried to learn sign, so that we can teach him. We’re hoping to redirect his behaviours to more appropriate things than spitting, hitting, biting, and pinching.
He has a full-time aide with him, and there is a step by step approach when he’s acting out. He would first of all get a time out in the room, and then if that doesn’t work he is escorted to an outside time-out room. He would then go down to what we call our "HELP" room which, is an acronym for "Helping Everyone Learn Problem Solving." They will process some things with him in the HELP room. There are two special education teachers in the HELP room, as well as a child advocate and a special education paraprofessional.
One of the special education teachers is more versed with academic skills, and the other one is more knowledgeable in behavioral or affective skills. There are two people in there at all times. That way if a student has to be removed from the classroom, there's always still somebody in the HELP room to do that. A lot of times it's the behavioral person, or the special education para, that will come to get the child. Then usually one of the special education people or the child advocate will do the interviewing with the child in the HELP room, so that way a neutral person, so to speak, is the one doing the processing. We’re in a really low economic area, so some of our students really need help with knowing how to process.
Most of the children fill out a TLC form, which is "Think, Learn and Change." During the 'think' part, the student talks about what got them there, and what their motivation was for being in the HELP room. For instance, they might say they were seeking attention, or they wanted revenge. They would also talk about how it affected themselves and others. The "learn" part is their plan. They have to talk about they're going to do, and who may need to be helping them with that plan. They would also decide how often they need to check in with the HELP room to see that everything is working. The "change" piece asks, "How many times will I need to come and check on you? If this doesn't happen, then where should we go from here?"
We also do a lot of things to try to improve students social skills in the classroom. Some students just have scheduled visit times, where they will go to the HELP room.
We do have a leveling system in our classroom that the students go through. So basically if they’re acting out they get a warning, so they’d do a five minute sit-out. Because I team-teach, I have the luxury the person who is not doing the primary teaching can fill out with the child a very scaled down, modified version of a TLC form. That teacher would then process that with them before they come out of the time out area. If the student still couldn’t make it, they would go to the HELP room.
My co-educator and I did put our classrooms together. We each had 22 children, and we put the classes together, so we now have 44 students. Before we joined our classes, we were finding that we were both really frustrated because some of our students needed specialized attention.
By putting our classes together, we’ve made it so that the teaching never stops. That’s because one of us would do the primary teaching, while the one who's the secondary teacher could hold small groups, and essentially control the classroom, so to speak. They're able to answer individual questions while the teaching is going on, and they'd be processing with the time out children. It's been very effective.
There's also a lot of team teaching going on in the sense where I have somebody's class while they're teaching my kids something else.
Our students sit at four to a table. We really try to be in tune to the individual needs, and if you're really going to be an inclusive school, you have to be very aware of what works and what doesn't with your students. So we really try to pick up on who can and cannot be social with other people. Therefore there are some children in our room who do sit at individual desks. We do pull those students in for cooperative learning, so that they're not always totally excluded. Their desk may sit at the end of a table, or it may be three inches from the table.
His curriculum modifications were defined in his IEP, so all I basically have to do is carry it out. There are a lot of things that his aide ends up carrying out more so than I do. My primary goal with him is to improve how he gets along with other children. Also, he does not work well with different adult individuals, which was one of the reasons my teaching partner and I volunteered to take him. That way he would have to be working with two people right off the bat. We do a lot of socializing things with him in the classroom. He's also learning to file, and he delivers the mail in the classroom.
He has pic signs on his desk. The pic signs stand on top of the desk, and then a piece of Plexiglas has been screwed to the desk. With the pic signs he has pictures the teachers, and he also has an activity board where they show him in pictures doing various activities. He also has a daily schedule, which is, "Okay, now we're here, and this is who's going with you. This is who's going to be there."
Have you done anything to facilitate friendships or interaction between the non-communicative student and the other students?
Yes, he does have a buddy time, since part of his IEP goal is to work with other people. We give everybody a chance to work with him. It's also part of his reward system, so if he does his task on time then he gets to choose a buddy to do something with. They’ll usually get to play some type of an educational game. We also had some class meetings where we talked about how frustrating it must be not to be able to communicate. We also talked about how we can communicate. As my co-educator and I are learning sign language, we're teaching the kids sign language also. So when we teach this little child something, we then teach the whole class too.
Could you please describe the CARE reading program?
It stands for Children’s Accelerated Reading Experience. Accelerated doesn't necessarily mean that they're gifted and talented. Rather it means that we move them along farther. We have moved from where we would do what we called individual care with the student, to group care, which is where they read every day. We do what we call a running record of a book that they read the previous day. You do reading skills with them, containing things from the book or in accordance with the book, that you can take out as a teaching skill. They then learn a new book, and they take the old book home to read to their parents at night.
What kinds of curriculum modifications would you make for a student with special needs who had eye-hand coordination difficulties?
An adaptation that we might make is that he would not have to do as many problems as the rest of the class. We definitely believe in quality versus quantity. We may also turn his paper sideways, so that the lines are moving up and down.
Modifications to the writing process would be that we may ask the student to dictate into a tape recorder the story that he's working on. He may also tell one of us his story, which is another neat part about team teaching because it gives you that option. So the teacher may write down his story and then he would have to pick out his favorite sentence and recopy it for handwriting, and to work on the eye-hand coordination.
We have strong district support for inclusion. We’ve really bought into the belief that all children can learn, and that it’s their birthright to belong. You don’t have to earn the right to belong in the classroom.
Level: Elementary
Topics: Team teaching; Circle of Friends; Peer helpers; Principal; Attitude toward inclusion;
Meetings; Rewards; Professional support; Accessibility
Special Education Teacher
Norwood Elementary
Stonewood, West Virginia
I’ve been a special education teacher for a year or two. This county introduced inclusion about four years ago. We currently have about 20 students with special needs in our school.
It works differently with different teachers. In some instances, we might both share some responsibilities of reading. Usually, if it's in the lower grades, we'll work on phonics for a while, and then go into workbook skills. At that point, we would switch roles, so one teacher might teach the lesson while the other teacher would circulate amongst the students. We just trade roles.
In other instances, one teacher might do all the reading while the other would do all the math, but we're both basically in the classroom at the same time. The regular teacher might also take a group of kids to work with them on their reading while I work with the rest of the class or vice versa. I might be stationed in two or three different classrooms, so I just budget my time, so that I'm there when I know that a student is likely to have problems.
What classroom management techniques do you use with students with special needs?
Of course, every individual student has to have their own type of management in the classroom, but we've done a great deal of work with peers which we call Circle of Friends. A lot of times we have problems with students who are not necessarily classified as special education kids. We work with their peers, so that they can help each other, kind of giving either verbal or visual cues when they see that a student is about to act up. They can initiate some kind of plan that will give them a sign that means, "you're losing control".
For example, one little girl didn't realize that everyone had to be quiet when the teacher has chalk in her hand, and she's going to start taking the names down of people who are talking. The little girl wasn't able to interpret that for herself, so her friends would signal her to be quiet, and get to her seat.
Do you find that the students get tired of helping the student with special needs?
The students usually stick it through to the end of the year. They’re always made aware at the very beginning that they can get out of it whenever they want. I meet with them on their lunch time, so they’re aware that they have to give that up. During those meetings, we’ll eat our lunches and talk about what’s going on. I keep notes to remind the kids and myself about what happened last week.
I will sometimes have to make classroom changes. For instance, if a teacher moves the kids too far away from the student with special needs, then I’ll go in and ask the teacher to move them closer together. I can always get a sense of when the kids are getting a little frustrated with each other, and I let them tell that person. They’re free to talk really openly with each other.
I think it's really important to have a principal and an administration who are totally behind inclusion. Initially, we had a lot of complaints from teachers about inclusion. It came to the point that if there were two third grade classes, for instance, one teacher might agree to having a student with special needs while the other teacher would not.
So the principal helped this by kind of forcing the issue, and making everyone accept students with special needs. Now, teachers have no qualms about taking students with special needs. They realize that they're going to get that support, and they're very appreciative of that.
The other thing that has been really helpful is that the teachers have a built-in time once a week to meet with the special education teachers. That way we're able to discuss a student's progress, and make any necessary modifications. If you aren't given the opportunity to build this into your schedule then you have to do it on your lunch break or during your planning period which often don't coincide. That can be extremely frustrating.
The principal also offers the students a lot of encouragement. For instance, if a student has been having problems for a couple of days, and then suddenly they have a good day, one of the teachers will slip the
principal a note to let him know. He would then come into the class to congratulate that student. He also helps with each kid's special reward. For instance, one student I work with loves to use the microphone, so if he has a good day he'll get to make the announcements the next morning or say the Pledge on the intercom.
A lot of times he will sit and eat lunch with the kids. If a particular student is usually pretty good, and then suddenly they're having problems, he'll make a point of going down and eating lunch with them and just kind of talk to them.
We have access to any kind of support we need. We have a guidance counselor who comes in three times a week, as well as psychologists who mostly do the placing and testing of students. We’ll refer to outside agencies if we feel we have a problem that our guidance counselor cannot handle.
Our school is not completely handicap-accessible since it’s an old building. We tried to remodel it a couple of years ago to make it wheelchair accessible, but we couldn’t do it and meet the fire code. So we don’t have any students in wheelchairs. At one time, a student who had been with us since kindergarten had surgery on her back and, due to a doctor’s error, she ended up a paraplegic. They had a great deal of difficulty motivating her. She just gave up. She didn’t want to eat or even get out of bed. We felt it would be to her benefit to be amongst her friends and teachers. So we moved her classroom from the second floor to the first floor. When she had to go up or down stairs, then the principal would carry her.
Classroom management begins with thoughtful planning. At the beginning of the year you need to clearly outline classroom expectations for all students. If rules are clear, then the outlined consequences will be expected when the rules are broken.
Consequences should be consistently maintained and administered, and they should be the same for everyone. Students who have disabilities will break the rules like anyone else, and they should receive similar consequences.
If one particular child taxes your patience, you will have to use an ongoing strategy specific to the child and circumstance. Make sure that you use any ongoing program in a positive way for the student; keep it effective and non-aversive.
Student participation in creating the best learning environment will create a class that manages lessons and time well. As students become more capable and able to take on responsibility, they will want to voice their opinion on aspects of school life. We should be able to listen to their ideas and implement them if feasible.
It is important to teach students that how we act and interact with others is our own responsibility. As teachers, we maintain a positive classroom climate. All of our students must be taught how to interact with others and, of course, we must model respect for them with an impartial and caring attitude. No amount of teaching can overshadow our own actions and behavior. All of our students will benefit from a good role model, particularly in our interactions with students who have challenges.
Unacceptable behavior in a student does not usually appear overnight. We need to have a long term view of the situation to diminish and eliminate problem behavior.
Usually, such behavior indicates that we have not met the needs of the student in some way, and the student is communicating his needs to us. However strongly the message is sent, we need to listen to the student, and we need to respond as quickly and as effectively as possible.
Whatever the behavior -- perhaps it is a loud noise -- you need to record how often a student disrupts the class. You must also record what happens just before and immediately after the behavior occurs. Try to see if others are involved in precipitating events, and if the behavior is a result of their interactions with the student. Look at how long the behavior lasts and how severe it is. Be as specific as possible.
Record other factors for consideration. Is the student involved in work that she cannot grasp, or which is too repetitive? Perhaps the student is upset by something that happened earlier. Be aware of everything in that child’s world on that day and at that particular time.
After you have collected all the information, take further action. Depending upon the severity of the behavior, you may feel that you need to problem-solve with your collaborative team. Make sure that you have agreement from parents and team members about any strategy you will use with the student. For example, if you remove the child from the classroom, and do it on an ongoing basis for a significant amount of time, you may need to show how the strategy does not damage the child's well-being.
When there are significant outbursts that involve other children or hamper the climate of the playground or classroom, you need to ensure that everyone is protected and comfortable. Remove the child for a cooling down period. This may not be a consequence of lasting value for the student, and may not change the behavior, but it will give everyone time to consider what to do next. Do not leave the child alone for long, as this won’t help to change the behavior, and may even strengthen the child’s determination to continue.
What will work at the beginning of the year for a particular need may not work at mid point or year end. If you do find a strategy that is particularly effective then you will find that you will use it consistently with the student, implementing other means and then going back and implementing it again as the need arises.
Role play is an effective way to convey information to the student that his behavior is unacceptable to others.
Role play is most effective when students feel that they are in a safe environment. Therefore, lay out the ground rules before you begin. For example, no one is to speak about any one person in particular, no derisive comments are acceptable, and laughter is also unacceptable. Children with disabilities can and should be involved with role play whenever possible.
If nothing seems to work, go back and review what has been done. You need to look at how long and how consistently a strategy has been maintained. Disorders of any kind are taxing, and there is no one right way to get rid of them. You may have to try several strategies before you find the right one. Once you find an effective means, and you will, you may have to implement it along with some other means before you are fully successful.
The parents are your greatest allies, so confer often with them. They will also need to reinforce appropriate behavior within the home, and you may want to implement a carry-over program between home and school.
Level: Elementary
Topics: Support team; Delegation; Meetings; Problem solving; Vice-principal; Behaviour
management; Rewards
Vice-Principal
Mechanicsville, Virginia
Team meetings are scheduled once a month. The key people that are involved with the student usually attend the meetings. This includes the speech therapist, the occupational therapist, the physical therapist, the special education teacher, the regular teacher, and hopefully the parents. As an administrator, I would sit in on about every other meeting. If there’s something that the team needs from me they will usually cue me to let me know they would like me to attend. As a rule, the child is not present. The participants can bring any issue to the team, but it’s really a chance to review to see what we’ve done, what’s working and what’s not.
We don’t really have a structured way of delegating tasks. During the meetings, one person always takes notes and takes attendance. Everyone is given a copy of the notes at the end of the meeting. This acts as a reminder to them of what they’ve agreed to do, such as do research on some type of equipment or something. We don’t assign a person to lead the meeting, but this responsibility is usually taken on by the special education teacher.
Do you use any particular problem solving techniques during the support team meetings?
At the meeting, everyone gives an update of the positive things they’ve seen with regards to the child. They would then state what problems had developed. Everyone would then brainstorm around that problem. A member of the team may say, "Gee, I’m not seeing it. In my situation, he’s doing fine." This is one piece of information that might help determine that it’s the environment as opposed the skill.
At the beginning of the year, the meetings tend to be a bit threatening, but as the year goes by, the team really comes together. It’s important to let everyone share their opinions during the meeting. When an idea is given it usually comes down to a therapist saying, "Well, I don’t think this is going to work, but I’ll give it a try." Then, when we see each other at the next meeting, we would immediately address that idea by asking whether or not it worked. The therapist will usually say "It worked better than I thought it would" or "No, I really didn’t think it would." It’s important to give everything a fair chance.
While we haven’t had a lot of hostility, the worst problem we have had is people who are aware of the meeting, but do not attend. I think that’s their silent way of showing a little bit of hostility. They’re then not part of the discussion, and when they’re asked to do something, it’s done through a memo.
It’s also important to say that most of our team members have been together for a few years, so they have already worked out their personality differences.
First and foremost, I schedule the entire building based on the where the students with special needs have to be to best facilitate their needs. They’re sort of the core, and everything else goes around them. I also schedule any aides that we would have assigned to the building.
Describe some of your behavior management techniques.
Our goal is to keep the student in the classroom, and to remove them only when it is absolutely necessary. If a child exhibits behaviors that are going to cause harm to themselves or to other students, then we need to have a strategy where they are removed for a certain amount of time until they can go back into the classroom.
Sometimes kids that need time out will come to the office, and those students at higher levels will be asked to fill out a form. The form asks what they did in class, and how they can do better next time. It’s a way for them to pull themselves together, and think. This time out is limited to a half an hour, and then the student would have a conference with either the principal or myself. During the conference, we would listen to the student's side of the story, and ask them why their behavior was inappropriate. We would then ask them what they could do next time. They're supposed to come up with a couple of reasons, but sometimes we have to brainstorm with them to help give them ideas.
We always try to send them back to the classroom thinking, "Okay, I’ve got it under control. If it happens again, this is what I’m going to do."
Some other children are on behavior management plans where they get rewards for good behavior.
We try to stay away from giving the students incentives like candy. The rewards tend to be things like going for a walk, or they may get to eat lunch with their teacher. They may also get to go to the office to say "hi" to the principal, or go the water fountain a few more times during the day. Some of the kids have a reward whereby they go to the kindergarten class and read. Another reward is going to the office for fifteen minutes every afternoon to help with small jobs. For instance, one of the student's reward for today is to count out the ribbons for field day. It’s something that I’m going to have to do anyway, so why not let her do it if it’s going to keep her focused during the day.
Determine how long the student can attend to task and plan for a change in materials, a change in activity, a change in position or a change in the social grouping. Guard against underestimating the student's work limits or exceeding them. Recognize the incidental learning that occurs in informal or free time activities through individual discovery, and avoid over-programming the student's time.
Review the priorities that have been set by considering the following questions:
1.Will the skill be maintained naturally when it is not being worked on in the classroom?
2.Is this a skill that will be used frequently?
3.Is this skill appropriate for the student's peers and therefore for the student?
4.Are the materials appropriate for the student's peers and therefore for the student?
5.Is the activity presented in an age appropriate way?
6.Does the activity enhance the student's image?
7.Does this skill increase the student's independence?
8.Does teaching this skill respect the student's and the family's background and preferences?
9.Is there a good possibility of the skill being learned, or should it be accepted that the student will require help in this area, and the time be spent learning some other skill?
10.Are there social benefits to the student acquiring this skill?
The teacher who organizes the classroom to ensure productivity and comfort of all students will create a successful classroom ecosystem. This is especially so in elementary schools, where students spend most of their time in the same room. Adaptations to classroom ecology might include altering or adding lighting, or finding ways to reduce or muffle noises.
It is best to avoid any adaptation that would isolate the student with special needs. Isolation of any kind because of equipment or behavioral difficulties is not the preferred strategy.
Placement and mobility are two prime factors in classroom ecology.
Learning to get to the classroom and move around inside it is a priority for children with visual impairments. This will be practiced at the beginning of the year, but will also be taught to the student on an ongoing basis throughout the year.
Any wheelchair equipment or augmentative communication device may require extra space, but the student should be surrounded by classmates who do not find the equipment distracting for them.
To facilitate movement during group work, try to use both tables and desks in your room. If you are restricted to rows of desks, they can still be arranged to accommodate group work.
Seating order
If noise is a factor for a student who has trouble hearing, try to situate her in a quiet area. For example, if street noise distracts her, seat her further away from the windows. Hearing impaired students may also want to sit closer to the teacher as they rely on visual cues.
The student who is easily distracted should be seated among students who tend to stay focused, but those students have to be outspoken enough to speak up if that child is distracting them.
If a student has a vision problem, he will want to sit where it is easiest to see the blackboard. Make sure that the student is given additional light if needed. There should be no glare on glass or blackboards.
Health concerns should be considered when you arrange seating. Easy access to the hallway is important to a student who might need to leave the room quickly on occasion.
A child who has behavioral challenges may require a seat within an area of friends or other children who can handle occasional disruptions. You may also consider how many times this child has to leave the classroom, and situate him closer to the classroom door.
You may also want to establish an area where students can go for quiet time. This is not a time-out area, but an area that is used when it’s necessary to retreat for a while to collect composure or thoughts. This nook can be used by any student who needs time alone.
Level: Elementary
Topics: IEP; Behavior management; Community; Friendship; Teacher attitudes; Curriculum;
Teaching assistant; Cooperative learning; Seating; Volunteers
Support Teacher
Bountiful Elementary
Bountiful, Utah
The IEP is designed with the cooperative effort of the student’s IEP team. This should definitely include all of the key people involved in the child’s education and life.
We look at several different areas when creating goals. These areas might include functional academics, social/communication, motor/mobility, personal management, leisure/ play, and some type of age appropriate work related skills. If the child is new to the school or particularly new to being included in a regular classroom, we begin with a temporary IEP that gives us a chance to get to know the student in general, and what specifically they may need to succeed in a regular classroom setting.
Once the team is more familiar with the individual student, then a permanent IEP is put in place. It is crucial that the team work together to design the IEP because it is the diversity of perspective and experience that will create an appropriate IEP. The parents and regular education teacher are key people to be involved. The goals may be set up in specific skills or some activities and routines. The goals are then
accomplished through regular classroom curriculum, community experiences and some individual skill work.
What are some of the behavior management strategies that you employ?
Well, we try to react to behavior proactively. For instance, if you have a student who has difficulty with transitions, then maybe you could develop some type of communication system to let them know that a transition is coming. Or if you have a student who runs, you probably wouldn't seat them next to the door.
We feel that modeling appropriate (and sometimes inappropriate!) behavior is a great benefit to students with disabilities. We try to focus on positive, age appropriate expectations. For example, we use the language "What would a second grader do?", "You need to show me what a fourth grader would do.", etc.
In addition, we try to use some precision commands, and have clear and logical consequences. Using functional analysis, many behaviors seem to stem from communication difficulties, so we try to proactively work with students to express their needs and frustrations before behaviors become explosive.
We also always try to go with the classroom system of behavior management first. So if you have a teacher who has the rules up on the board, and they're stated positively and concretely, then we would try to start from there. We might modify an existing classroom system for a particular student. For example, the class as a whole may be working towards each person earning one sticker during library time, but a particular student may need to earn three stickers during library time.
Would you do anything to try to facilitate friendships between the students with special needs and their classmates?
I think what really made the difference at our school was we started out with kind of a structured system as most schools do. We set up buddy charts, and we did a lot of structured things to get the students to interact. But what made the difference is that relatively quickly we started to normalize things for the kids, and because of that we started to see friendships develop. Some structure was needed for some kids at the beginning, but we quickly removed that structure and worked with more normalized relationships.
You know all the kids coming to the classroom have unique things about them, but we don't have the teachers saying, "Now Johnny's a little bit excitable in the afternoons, so we'd all like you to know, and to be aware of it." We feel that doing a lot of disability awareness type of things almost sends up more red flags. It's like saying this child is a natural part of the classroom, but we're bringing in people to talk about how special they are. We have a tendency to go with "Hey we're all unique," and we encourage teachers to do whole class things, so that the students get to know each other.
We do a lot of community building activities, and within the context of those activities students learn about different people. One of the things they might learn is that a person has a disability, but that's not the dominant thing we try to focus on. One group activity that we do is the Tribes' Community Circle during which the class would spend some time sitting in a circle discussing feelings, experiences, perhaps even the curriculum for the day. Each person would have a chance to share during circle time, but the responses given varied considerably. Some students would give verbal responses, while some would point to an emotion picture. Others may have a journal entry from home to share, or they may hold an object that represents an activity that they liked throughout the day. The Community Circle was done by our teachers every day at the beginning of the year. This helps to build a feeling of trust amongst the class.
When we do focus on specific friendship skills and activities, we do it from a whole class perspective. For example, we do an activity called "Phone Friends". We originally started this for a student with a disability
who needed some after school interaction.....but we did not only assign students to call that one student. Instead, we did a whole class exchange where everyone was calling everyone! The goal was accomplished, and many children had a positive after school experience instead of just the one child with the disability.
Another thing the teachers do is a lot of "getting to know you" activities where you find someone in the class who has something that's the same as you, and someone who has something different from you. Activities like that let kids know that they're a real part of the class.
As a support teacher, have you ever come across teachers who were hostile to the idea of inclusion? If so, have you done anything to try to win them over?
Oh, yes. I remember walking into schools, and I swore everyone was lined up shooting darts at me. At one faculty meeting, I stood up wearing a giant yellow raincoat, and I said, "Okay, throw the rotten fruit. Let's
just get it out in the open. We all know you would prefer that I not be here."
There are a lot of different ways of dealing with this type of situation. Some people will bluntly say, "Hey, we're here. Live with it. It's the law." Other people back off and don't use those teachers as homeroom teachers. I can say that in the 10 years that I've been working in neighborhood schools, I only had two teachers that I really strongly felt that I would not use. Then this year we ended up using one of them anyway, and it was a struggle. We did a lot of talking with that teacher before the school year started. Unfortunately, even though we addressed some of the concerns straight on, and we beefed up the support staff in the room, she was still bound and determined to get "those kids" out of the classroom.
I think that it helps if there's a pervasive attitude of acceptance in the school as a whole, especially if the administrator is in support. That way when that teacher goes to the administrator, the administrator will say,
"Yes, I understand your concerns, but this is how we do it here." Initial support is really important.
You need to work with the teachers to point out the positive things that are happening. Maybe there's a point where the support staff has to take more ownership than the regular education teacher for a while. The support staff could say, "Well, we'll be responsible for this, this and this, and you just need to do this." You have to make sure that you're building on that though, so that you don't stay at that level for very long.
My experience has been that most teachers are really good teachers who are worried. They're worried about how they're going to split their time up amongst 35 students, especially if one student is on a feeding tube and doesn't give anyone much eye contact. Some teachers have a difficult time in seeing educational value for students who are medically fragile. However, I really feel that there are two types of teachers. There are teachers who are up front and accepting about it right away, and then there are teachers who have potential to be up front and accepting.
There are very few teachers who, once they've had the experience, and it's been supported, that they're still against it. I really think that the key is support.
When we first got started with inclusion, I came in telling them I was the one to adapt all the curriculum. It was interesting though, to see the progression because once they saw what my staff and I were doing, the teachers realized that adapting curriculum is not as scary as we think it is. A lot of times it's that we're doing triple digit addition except for one or two students who are working on identifying numbers. So they can all use the piece of paper, they just use it differently. My teachers felt that the trick to adapting curriculum is just knowing what the student needed, so if they had a clear idea of the student's IEP they could look at things differently.
First of all, you should try to make the support person a functioning part of your classroom. Don't just use them for one student but, rather, use them across the classroom. Another important thing is for the regular education teacher to take ownership of the student with special needs. For instance, when a teacher is going around to all the kids' desks and saying, "You're done, you're done, you're done. Oh well, this kid already has an aide telling them that they're done, so I don't have to tell them." The regular classroom teacher really needs to follow through on some of the simple things like that in order to create the sense that he/ she is the teacher. This helps the student feel like they are really accountable to the teacher as much as, if not more so, than the aide. Sometimes when you have an aide in the class it's almost more excluding, because they are perceived as the teacher for that student.
Do you recommend a particular seating arrangement when you have a student with special needs in the class?
I'm a big proponent of cooperative learning. It allows you to teach kids some social skills and how to interact. It gives everyone a chance to be a leader at different times and to take different roles. The classrooms at our school are doing more and more cooperative learning. The kids sit at tables, or if they sit at desks they are grouped together, with different options for grouping the desks at different times. Those are the classrooms that lend themselves to adapting curriculum, to kids working together, and becoming positively interdependent. If I had to choose between a classroom that was more cooperatively group-oriented, and a classroom where everyone was sitting in rows and had their own individual space, I would definitely go with the cooperative one.
Do you have volunteers
who work in the classrooms with students with special
needs?
Yes, we have a very active PTA who volunteer in the classrooms. We have also accessed students from our high school's tutoring program. These students are allowed to leave the high school for a period or two, and they receive credit for working at elementary schools. They might work with the student with special needs to give them some one-on-one attention or they might help that student stay involved in a hectic classroom activity.
Teacher mobility
Teachers put in a few miles within the classroom on any given day, so consider your own mobility around table and desk areas. You’ll want to be able to confer with students easily and quickly in all parts of the room. Also, you may want to create an informal space where you will spend time with the students where they feel that they can talk openly with you.
Whatever you decide to do with your class, take all learning challenges into account. You might want to seek professional advice or information about a specific disability. Contact the Tennessee Department of Education for information that will save you time in accommodating students with challenges.
When you engage students so that they become more responsible for their own leaning and take control of themselves, they realize benefits from being more independent and accountable in the classroom.
Through listening to students, and involving them in planning, you create the enthusiasm necessary to build a community for children that they can call their own.
This is a learning environment, and the students' ideas will be focused and shaped by their teacher. Still, the students need a sense of ownership in a world that is largely owned by adults. Through ownership, they will seriously consider what is necessary to include all other students, and help you create a balanced ecosystem in the classroom.
Accountability
With students who have disabilities, there may be no point of comparison that can be used to measure their achievements and growth within a particular subject area. Like any other student, however, we need to be accountable for student achievement on both a formative and summative basis. Evaluation determines that the students are achieving proposed goals, and that the students' needs are being met.
Use the goals you and your team created in the IEP to account for the student's progress and achievement. Put goals for a student over a two-month period on a sheet. Refer to it daily to remind yourself of what expectations you have for the student.
For example, one of the goals may be to know and say the numbers from 1-10 by the middle of October. By the proposed time the data may show that the student has been able to achieve 1-7. This will determine that you continue to work on the last three numbers while advancing to the next goal. If the student does not achieve the objective within a specified time frame then you may need to change the way you present the work.
If it is appropriate, as the student matures, she should be involved in self evaluation. Some students will know if they have achieved the goals to their satisfaction, and will be able to discuss with the teacher what needs to be improved in any given area. The teacher and student can then work together to set the next objectives and time lines. The student can assist the teacher in selecting work samples in a variety of formats to reflect the growth that has taken place. Anecdotal information can add to the student's description of achievements.
Peers can be invited to contribute to the evaluation process. The students are usually those who are part of the collaborative team. They can provide valuable insight into the growth that has occurred in the student's:
Teacher self-evaluation is key to maintaining good teaching practices. The following are a few things that you may wish to reflect upon in relation to the student's inclusion:
Portfolio assessment involves creating an archive of student products across a range of content areas throughout the school year. They can be periodically reviewed by educators, parents, and students to document progress, process, effort, achievement, and development. Portfolios include checklists, journals, selected daily work samples, projects, tests, lists of after school clubs, teacher observations, and parent and student interviews and surveys. The portfolio assessment is an alternative to the Terra Nova test for all Tennessee students. Every disabled student who is capable of taking the Terra Nova should be encouraged to do so, but when it is not possible for a student’s progress to be measured using a standardized or intellectual measure, then the portfolio is an appropriate and effective alternative.
The items in portfolios will show that the student has been able to achieve expected results within a specific time frame.
Include the student in the evaluation process, whenever possible, and choose work samples that he especially likes or feels are relevant. During the portfolio evaluation, the student is asked if any growth has taken place. He could also be asked what he would like to keep in his portfolio and what he would like to work on in the next time period. Perhaps he could keep a checklist of goals in his binder and record his own accomplishments.
How do I test this
student?
Student tests are modified in the same way as the curriculum, and test content is related to the goals within the individualized education plan. Alternate testing techniques for students with challenges have to be appropriate to the learning style of the student and the student's ability to respond.
For a student who is not able to read a test, present it as an audio tape, or perhaps a peer or a teacher assistant could read it aloud. The student response may be given verbally or recorded on an audio tape.
If the student can write answers to questions, give the test verbally, and allow an appropriate amount of time for the student to write the answers. There may be fewer questions than the number given to the other students, and they may be less complex, but the content remains similar.
Recorded observations of a student performing an activity, based upon specific criteria, may also be used to test the student. For example, she could be asked to plant a seed, and then be asked to name the parts of the seed. In addition, you could ask the student how to maintain a plant, and when and where to plant that particular kind of seed.
A test in math could be to ask the student to count manipulatives, add them together, and verbally reply. Whole numbers instead of decimals could be used. The student could be asked to perform functions on a calculator, and problem solving questions could be given to the student verbally to examine the process of how the student arrived at a particular number. This could be used to correct any difficulty that the student is having within subject areas.
Social studies tests could be as straightforward as asking the student to name geographical areas by pointing to a map, or filling in the blanks, or pointing to an appropriate symbol.
You may find that you want to recheck and validate your findings by asking the student in an alternate way regarding some of the questions that you have given him or her. This will ensure that you are certain about the student's rate of progress. It will also give you the confidence that you can proceed to the next goal for the student within that particular area of study. It is important however, to remember that your other students will not necessarily recall information that was asked on a test from a week ago, and take the time factor and recent reviewing of material into account when you do your recheck.
Reporting procedures
There are many types of reporting procedures that you can use with your students to ensure that parents know what has been accomplished within a specific time frame. It is in fact a requirement of IDEA that you notify parents in a regular and timely manner.
Members of the support team and the parents can assist you in deciding on the evaluation methods that will reflect the student's growth in the best way for you and the student. Whenever possible, however, try to use the regular report card that all students receive. The Sevier County Board of Education sends out six week progress reports, and strongly recommends that mid-term progress reports also be sent. Along with these methods, teachers should be encouraged to interact with parents on a regular basis, via notes, conversations, phone calls or formal meetings. The better the lines of communication between school and home, the better the results for the learner.