1. The least restrictive environment promotes the placement of students with disabilities in classrooms with students without disabilities as much as possible. Several court rulings have contributed to providing rights for students with disabilities beginning with the civil rights movement. Brown v. Topeka Board of Education (1954) determined that schools could not be segregated by race. The idea of schools that are “separate but equal” was proven to be unfair and unconstitutional. This case stands by the idea that all children have the right to a free and public education. It also promotes the idea that students should not be prohibited from attending any particular public schools because this could result in a less adequate educational experience. These ideas can apply to students with all kinds of differences, not only race. Latter on the ideas will be applied to students with special needs.
In 1972 the case of Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania claimed that students with mental retardation have the right to a public education and should be placed in general education classrooms whenever possible. This case made it illegal for a public school to turn away any student because of an intellectual disability. It also implemented the idea of the least restrictive environment by stating that children with intellectual disabilities should be given the opportunity to learn in a general education classroom. Only if a student shows signs that they cannot succeed in a general classroom should they be placed in a segregated environment. The ruling of Mills v. Board of Education of the District of Columbia expands on the Pennsylvania Case and provides the right of a free public education to all students with disabilities. Now all children with disabilities of all kinds are guaranteed a right to a public education and in a general education classroom when possible. This case also requires that special education services be provided to students who need them.
Because of these court rulings, students with disabilities may not be turned away from a public school. And they should be placed in a classroom with students without disabilities when it is possible and provided with special services when needed. When making educational placements schools must consider the benefits for the particular child in a general education classroom compared to a separate special education classroom. Schools must consider the social and emotional affects of the placement. Schools must consider how placing the particular student in a general education classroom will affect the other students, the teacher, and instructional time. Also, schools must look at the resources and supplemental services required to help the student succeed in a general classroom. Students with disabilities should also be offered opportunities to participate in afterschool and extracurricular activities to receive the additional social and academic benefits that other students receive. Each student’s needs to be considered individually and the student should be placed in the least restrictive environment appropriate for his or her abilities.
Salend, S.J. (2010). Creating inclusive classrooms: Effective and reflective practices (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
2. High-incidence disabilities are mild disabilities that appear much more often than low-incidence disabilities. High-incidence disabilities include learning disabilities, mild intellectual disabilities, mild emotional or behavioral disorders and speech and language impairments. These disabilities have many causes which can be biological, environmental, or experiential factors. High-incidence disabilities affect children differently as they grow and can sometimes be hard to recognize. As these children enter elementary school they begin to experience more difficulties and develop frustration, social challenges, and low self-esteem. Usually, students with high-incidence disabilities are in general education classrooms and it is the teacher’s responsibility to provide differentiated instruction and specific learning strategies to meet the student’s needs. Because this category is broad and many of the disabilities cause similar behaviors and characteristics, it is important that the teacher be aware of the different challenges students will face and how to provide extra support. High-incidence disabilities include language and communication difficulties, perceptual and motor difficulties, emotional disturbances, students with oppositional and defiant behaviors, obsessive compulsive disorders, depression, attention deficit disorder and speech disorders.
Low-incidence disabilities occur much less frequently and include physical, sensory, and significant cognitive disabilities. These disabilities have a wide range of effects and students affected by them need different levels of support. Some students have serious physical disabilities that require motor or locomotive assistance and some students have severe cognitive and intellectual impairments which require a lot of academic support. Because low-incidence disabilities are more severe, they are generally diagnosed early, so teachers should be aware of what kind of accommodations and services need to be provided for the student. These disabilities include cerebral palsy, spina bifida, asthma, allergies, Tourette’s Syndrome, diabetes, epilepsy, cancer, autism spectrum disorder, hearing and visual impairments. The type and amount of accommodations these students require can vary greatly and can be challenging for schools.
For a student with a high-incidence disability (such as attention deficit disorder) the classroom teacher will often recognize the problem first. The teacher will initiate the prereferral system or Response-to-Intervention process in which a team of professionals will help the teacher gather information about the student and the student’s difficulties. The team will then implement research based strategies and continue to closely monitor the child’s progress. If the child continues to experience difficulties or the team feels it is necessary, the child will be recommended for a formal evaluation. The school must notify and receive consent from the parents to formally evaluate the child for attention deficit disorder. The planning team will use both formal and informal assessments to determine if the child’s educational performance is impaired by an attention deficit disorder. If the child is affected by ADD and other health, learning, or emotional disorders he or she will be eligible for special education services under the IDEA. If the child is only affected by ADD he or she may be eligible for special education services under Section 504. If the child qualifies under either category the planning team will need to develop an individualized educational plan. The IEP for a child with ADD will usually recommend the child be kept in the general education classroom and it will clarify what supplemental services will be necessary for the child to succeed academically, socially, and emotionally.
The referral process for students with low-incidence disabilities is different because these disabilities are more severe and usually recognized before the child begins school. A parent will usually initiate the process and a planning team will be formed composed of school staff, family members, and related professionals. The IEPs for students with low-incidence disabilities will differ greatly depending on the disability. A student who is visually impaired will most likely be educated in a general education classroom and require accommodations and assistive technology. Since visually impaired students usually have average IQs, the focus of additional services is on making the curriculum accessible. Some families of students with low-incidence disabilities will choose to for the children to attend schools which provide specific strategies that cater to the child’s educational needs.
Learning Disabilities Association of America. (2005). Referral (Child Find). Retrieved from: http://www.ldanatl.org/aboutld/parents/special_ed/referral.asp
Salend, S.J. (2010). Creating inclusive classrooms: Effective and reflective practices (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
3. In order to make the families feel valued and involved in their children’s education, I would begin to build a good relationship with the families at the start of the school year. I would hold an open house encouraging families to visit the classroom, as well as attend community events outside of the school. I would learn about the families of my students so I was aware of cultural values and attitudes that might affect their views towards their children’s education. I would give parents a way to contact me and encourage them to be in touch with comments or questions they have throughout the school year. I would provide information to the families about what we are doing in the classroom in various formats including paper letters, e-mails, pictures, work samples, and phone messages to make sure the information is accessible to everyone. When necessary I would find a translator to help communicate with non-English speaking parents. All the families should know that I want to work with them to give their child a good education.
When planning mid-year conferences, I would contact each family and find a time that would be convenient for them. I would also offer to meet with them somewhere other than the school if that would be better for them. The environment of the meeting would be calm and quiet so both the family and I could speak comfortably. It is important approach the parents with a positive attitude and listen to their concerns and ideas. I would address their concerns and respect their opinions. When talking about their child’s performance and behavior in school I would always mention their strengths first. I would show that I recognize the positive qualities of their child. I would address any difficulties or concerns sensitively and in understandable language being careful not to intimidate the families. Before the meeting I would organize my ideas about the child’s educational progress and find resources to provide for the family that will help explain any concerns I have. This way I will not bring up any problems without showing that I have thought about possible solutions. I would ask the parents questions and encourage them to express their worries. I would be careful not to interrupt or dismiss any of the parent’s thoughts because their concerns are just as valid as mine. We see the child in different settings so we may see different sides of them. After the meeting, I would encourage the parents to give me feedback about how they felt about the meeting and to follow up on any issues we discussed. It is important to keep communication open so we can continue to observe the child’s progress as a team.
Priceless Teaching Strategies. (2008). Effective parent teacher communication: Make parents your valuable allies.
Retrieved from: http://www.priceless-teaching-strategies.com/parent_teacher_communication.html
Salend, S.J. (2010). Creating inclusive classrooms: Effective and reflective practices (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
4. The most important way to fight misconceptions and stereotypes is through educating children about individual differences. Instead of presenting a “norm” in the classroom I would include materials and texts that reflect diversity and represent all of the students. Students would be encouraged to express their own individuality through creative as well as informational projects. I would initiate conversations in which students discuss their differences in a way that shows how each child has unique strengths. I would model a good attitude by treating all students with respect and acknowledging their differences in an appropriate manner. Instruction would be differentiated so all students have opportunities to show their abilities and none feel incapable.
Disabilities would be discussed openly so students had an opportunity to learn the facts and to clarify any misunderstandings. Students with disabilities would have the option of sharing their personal experiences if they felt comfortable doing so. I would educate students about how disabilities affect people by using simulations when appropriate, inviting guest speakers to the classroom, reading books and watching films about individuals with disabilities. For example a class could learn about sensory disabilities by studying about Helen Keller. There is a lot of material available that describes her disabilities, the difficulties she faced, and how much she was able to achieve. Often negative feelings towards individuals with disabilities come from discomfort and a lack of knowledge about the disability. By discussing the disability and its effects openly, students will feel more knowledgeable and comfortable being around individuals with disabilities.
I would also encourage students to be understanding of differences of culture, race, and language. Cultural diversity would be a continuous part of the curriculum because all students have their own cultural background which they should value at all times. Materials that celebrate various cultures such as books, music, and artifacts would be available in the classroom. We would recognize holidays from different cultures as well as discussing how people from different cultures approach daily life in various ways. Children will be able to share information about their own cultures and tell about their personal experiences. Bilingual children will use their language knowledge as a tool in the classroom. Instead of being encouraged to speak only in English, bilingual children can share their expert knowledge with other students who can learn from them. Students who are native Spanish speakers and students who are non-Spanish speaking can work together and help each other translate their work into two languages. This shows children that speaking more than one language is a useful tool and that we can all learn from each other.
I would also confront misconceptions about gender, family differences, religion, and socioeconomic differences by including activities and discussions that encourage children to think critically about these issues. Male and female students will be placed in groups together and encouraged to participate in all activities and pursue their interests regardless of gender. Materials that portray gender bias and encourage stereotypical gender norms will not be present in the classroom. Religions will be taught about in with respect and factual information. No religion will be represented with greater preference than another. Books about children from all different family and economic backgrounds will be used to represent individuals with different backgrounds. Discussions will be used to confront misconceptions and view why differences can be positive.
Stereotyping and discrimination will be discussed to give students the tools to recognize and fight against these negative behaviors. I would ask students to recognize stereotypes they have observed in the community as well as in movies or on television. Students would discuss how these stereotypes affect people and how they would feel if stereotypes were held towards them. The goal in my classroom is to provide a community in which all the students feel comfortable and can learn. It is important that students understand what discrimination is and how it harms individuals. If children are able to create an accepting community they will carry these ideas beyond the classroom.
Salend, S.J. (2010). Creating inclusive classrooms: Effective and reflective practices (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Ch. 9 : Differentiating Large- and Small-Group Instruction
• Whole group instruction is beneficial for building a sense of community in the classroom
• Collaborative discussion teams can be used during whole group lessons as a way for students take breaks from listening and discuss the content with each other. In the Send a Problem technique students make up questions for other groups to answer.
• Help students take notes by providing outlines, highlighting main points in presentations, and teaming students up with peer note takers. Some students can benefit from a speech-control voice controller so they can listen to the presentation again at their own pace.
o Strategic note-taking forms provide cues that help students take effective notes.
o Listening guides list important terms in the order of presentation so the student can follow along and add details.
o A frame outline provides an overview of the information and contains empty spaces that signal where more information needs to be added.
• Teach listening strategies like “Think, Ask why, Listen for what, and Say to self” or the “give me five” strategy”: 1. Eyes on Speaker 2. Mouth Quiet 3. Body Still 4. Ears Listening 5. Hands Free
• Hold student’s attention by giving specific directions to listen carefully, give clear directions, pausing before giving important information to make sure students are listening, limit distractions, present material quickly, ask for student responses often, use repetition, and use different methods to present material and ask for responses.
• Keep students involved in planning and evaluation by providing opportunities for them to set personal goals, respond too and make choices about instructional activities. Encourage them to evaluate their own work and reflect on what they learned and if they reached their goals.
• When instructions is teacher centered establish the purpose of a lesson by explaining the goals, activate prior knowledge, introduce points in small steps that model how to accomplish a task or master a concept, give clear directions and relevant examples, provide time for all students to respond and practice in multiple ways, ask for student responses to check for understanding, give frequent and helpful feedback, give time for independent practices to look for mastery.
• Ask questions to the whole class so all students have time to think about them, aim questions at all students’ skill levels in the classroom, encourage them to respond to each other’s answers. Students can use response cards which allow them all to answer a question independently so the teacher can see how each child answers.
• Process feedback reinforces why an answer is correct or partially correct, corrective feedback how to identify errors and fix them, and instructive feedback provides more information that allows students to expand on the task or content.
• Manual, modeling, oral, or visual prompts guide students through a correct process to help when their as a lack of understanding.
• Homework assignments should consider the strengths and challenges or different families, teachers should communicate with families about homework to make sure it is not causing conflicts or difficulties in the home. Provide consistent homework routines and teach study skills to encourage success with homework.
• In cooperative learning activities students should have positive interdependence so they understand that they need to work together to achieve their goal, individual accountability so each child feels responsible for contributing, face to face interactions, interpersonal skills that show students encouraging each other, and group processing so the students reflect on how they worked together to achieve their goals.
• In class wide peer tutoring the whole class is arranged in pairs and each partner takes a turn tutoring the other.
• In the jigsaw model students form small groups that each become experts at a certain task, then one member from each group joins another group in which they share their learning with each other.
• Establish guidelines for working in groups and discuss what skills are necessary for collaborative learning. Ask your students to reflect on their experiences and provide feedback.
Resources
• Flexible Grouping by Catherine Valentino
• Strategies for Helping Students Develop Team Skills
• School Tools (note taking strategies)
• Collaborative discussion teams can be used during whole group lessons as a way for students take breaks from listening and discuss the content with each other. In the Send a Problem technique students make up questions for other groups to answer.
• Help students take notes by providing outlines, highlighting main points in presentations, and teaming students up with peer note takers. Some students can benefit from a speech-control voice controller so they can listen to the presentation again at their own pace.
o Strategic note-taking forms provide cues that help students take effective notes.
o Listening guides list important terms in the order of presentation so the student can follow along and add details.
o A frame outline provides an overview of the information and contains empty spaces that signal where more information needs to be added.
• Teach listening strategies like “Think, Ask why, Listen for what, and Say to self” or the “give me five” strategy”: 1. Eyes on Speaker 2. Mouth Quiet 3. Body Still 4. Ears Listening 5. Hands Free
• Hold student’s attention by giving specific directions to listen carefully, give clear directions, pausing before giving important information to make sure students are listening, limit distractions, present material quickly, ask for student responses often, use repetition, and use different methods to present material and ask for responses.
• Keep students involved in planning and evaluation by providing opportunities for them to set personal goals, respond too and make choices about instructional activities. Encourage them to evaluate their own work and reflect on what they learned and if they reached their goals.
• When instructions is teacher centered establish the purpose of a lesson by explaining the goals, activate prior knowledge, introduce points in small steps that model how to accomplish a task or master a concept, give clear directions and relevant examples, provide time for all students to respond and practice in multiple ways, ask for student responses to check for understanding, give frequent and helpful feedback, give time for independent practices to look for mastery.
• Ask questions to the whole class so all students have time to think about them, aim questions at all students’ skill levels in the classroom, encourage them to respond to each other’s answers. Students can use response cards which allow them all to answer a question independently so the teacher can see how each child answers.
• Process feedback reinforces why an answer is correct or partially correct, corrective feedback how to identify errors and fix them, and instructive feedback provides more information that allows students to expand on the task or content.
• Manual, modeling, oral, or visual prompts guide students through a correct process to help when their as a lack of understanding.
• Homework assignments should consider the strengths and challenges or different families, teachers should communicate with families about homework to make sure it is not causing conflicts or difficulties in the home. Provide consistent homework routines and teach study skills to encourage success with homework.
• In cooperative learning activities students should have positive interdependence so they understand that they need to work together to achieve their goal, individual accountability so each child feels responsible for contributing, face to face interactions, interpersonal skills that show students encouraging each other, and group processing so the students reflect on how they worked together to achieve their goals.
• In class wide peer tutoring the whole class is arranged in pairs and each partner takes a turn tutoring the other.
• In the jigsaw model students form small groups that each become experts at a certain task, then one member from each group joins another group in which they share their learning with each other.
• Establish guidelines for working in groups and discuss what skills are necessary for collaborative learning. Ask your students to reflect on their experiences and provide feedback.
Resources
• Flexible Grouping by Catherine Valentino
• Strategies for Helping Students Develop Team Skills
• School Tools (note taking strategies)
Ch. 2 (Friend)
When giving basic skills instructions accommodations may need to be made in the selection and sequencing of examples, the rate of introduction of new skills, and direct instruction, practice, and review.
• Preparing example selections carefully can help students learn to differentiate different types of problems. Begin using sets of questions that require only one skill, and then gradually add other skills when students are ready. The examples should be selected and sequenced in similar ways in practice then in assessment.
• When introducing new skills, use small steps and allow opportunity for the mastery of skills. The rate at which new skills are introduced should be based on student’s performance so they can build a strong foundation. Do not reduce expectations for students who are capable of reaching the goals of the general curriculum.
• Retention is gained through direct instruction and sufficient practice. Some students need more frequent practice than others. The frequency of practice for a new skill can be gradually reduced over time.
• Background knowledge influences how much students can comprehend from a new subject matter. The instruction and material used to present new content relies on some background knowledge to be effective.
• The Prep strategy can help determine how much background information to present to the students before a reading assignment. The three stages are previewing the text or lesson and choosing a few important concepts, conducting a brainstorming session, and evaluating the student’s responses to recognize their prior knowledge.
• Anticipation guides help activate prior knowledge by having the students make predictions about what they expect to find in a text.
• Planning think sheets help writers focus on background information, the audience, and the purpose of a paper.
• Organize curriculum around big ideas to make connections across content areas clear to students. Advance organizers, cue words, study guides, and graphic organizers help students to recognize important information and main ideas, and helps students learn how to sort through information on their own.
• When introducing new vocabulary use examples that show what the word is and what the word isn’t. Use synonyms that students are familiar with already. Use positive and negative examples and ask questions to make sure the students understand the new word.
• Students with special needs may have difficulty with unclear written and oral information. They may not recognize that it is unclear and they may not have the tools to figure out what it means.
• When giving oral directions: give specific commands using concrete language, give directions one at a time, demonstrate instructions, use clear words and gestures to prepare the students for new directions.
• Asking questions assesses what your students have learned and helps point out what student’s have not understood. Asking questions helps students develop thinking skills and teaches them how to self-question.
• ‘When asking questions: phrase them clearly so the students know what kind of response you are looking for, ask both higher- and lower-level questions, adapt questions to the different abilities of the student’s in the class, give the student’s sufficient time to answer, give all student’s opportunities to answer.
• There is evidence that suggest parents can help their children succeed by showing affection, displaying interest in their schoolwork, and having high expectations. Parent tutoring does not prove to be as helpful unless the parent uses specific strategies also used in the classroom. Often other home activities can cause home tutoring to be les affective.
• When assigning seatwork to students: explain the task verbally and provide specific auditory or visual accommodations if necessary, add practice examples for the whole class and small groups as needed, provide alternative set of directions, highlight important words, allow students to help each other to make sure that all students have access to the directions.
• When assigning homework: adjust the lengths, offer extra help, set up peer tutoring and study groups, provide auxiliary learning aides, check in with students often, and allow various forms of responses.
• Parents should be over seeing homework and communicating with the school about homework. They can provide a good environment and talk about homework often to encourage students to complete their work.
• Environmental inventory helps teachers find out what modifications are necessary to increase the participation of students with disabilities in the classroom and community environments.
Resources
• Improving Word Identification Skills
• Graphic Organizers and Implications for Universal Design for Learning
• Collaborative Strategic Reading
• Preparing example selections carefully can help students learn to differentiate different types of problems. Begin using sets of questions that require only one skill, and then gradually add other skills when students are ready. The examples should be selected and sequenced in similar ways in practice then in assessment.
• When introducing new skills, use small steps and allow opportunity for the mastery of skills. The rate at which new skills are introduced should be based on student’s performance so they can build a strong foundation. Do not reduce expectations for students who are capable of reaching the goals of the general curriculum.
• Retention is gained through direct instruction and sufficient practice. Some students need more frequent practice than others. The frequency of practice for a new skill can be gradually reduced over time.
• Background knowledge influences how much students can comprehend from a new subject matter. The instruction and material used to present new content relies on some background knowledge to be effective.
• The Prep strategy can help determine how much background information to present to the students before a reading assignment. The three stages are previewing the text or lesson and choosing a few important concepts, conducting a brainstorming session, and evaluating the student’s responses to recognize their prior knowledge.
• Anticipation guides help activate prior knowledge by having the students make predictions about what they expect to find in a text.
• Planning think sheets help writers focus on background information, the audience, and the purpose of a paper.
• Organize curriculum around big ideas to make connections across content areas clear to students. Advance organizers, cue words, study guides, and graphic organizers help students to recognize important information and main ideas, and helps students learn how to sort through information on their own.
• When introducing new vocabulary use examples that show what the word is and what the word isn’t. Use synonyms that students are familiar with already. Use positive and negative examples and ask questions to make sure the students understand the new word.
• Students with special needs may have difficulty with unclear written and oral information. They may not recognize that it is unclear and they may not have the tools to figure out what it means.
• When giving oral directions: give specific commands using concrete language, give directions one at a time, demonstrate instructions, use clear words and gestures to prepare the students for new directions.
• Asking questions assesses what your students have learned and helps point out what student’s have not understood. Asking questions helps students develop thinking skills and teaches them how to self-question.
• ‘When asking questions: phrase them clearly so the students know what kind of response you are looking for, ask both higher- and lower-level questions, adapt questions to the different abilities of the student’s in the class, give the student’s sufficient time to answer, give all student’s opportunities to answer.
• There is evidence that suggest parents can help their children succeed by showing affection, displaying interest in their schoolwork, and having high expectations. Parent tutoring does not prove to be as helpful unless the parent uses specific strategies also used in the classroom. Often other home activities can cause home tutoring to be les affective.
• When assigning seatwork to students: explain the task verbally and provide specific auditory or visual accommodations if necessary, add practice examples for the whole class and small groups as needed, provide alternative set of directions, highlight important words, allow students to help each other to make sure that all students have access to the directions.
• When assigning homework: adjust the lengths, offer extra help, set up peer tutoring and study groups, provide auxiliary learning aides, check in with students often, and allow various forms of responses.
• Parents should be over seeing homework and communicating with the school about homework. They can provide a good environment and talk about homework often to encourage students to complete their work.
• Environmental inventory helps teachers find out what modifications are necessary to increase the participation of students with disabilities in the classroom and community environments.
Resources
• Improving Word Identification Skills
• Graphic Organizers and Implications for Universal Design for Learning
• Collaborative Strategic Reading
Ch. 8: Differentiating Instruction for Diverse Learners
• Educators should differentiate content, process, product, affect, and the learning environment as necessary.
• Teachers need to first identify the concepts, principles, and skills they want to teach and build a curriculum from there adding or reducing the skills taught, carrying the levels of difficulty of the content, and having students demonstrate their knowledge in various ways.
• When creating accommodations: give students choices about what and how they learn, collaborate to establish learning goals, activities, and products, alter the pace of instruction, use a multicultural curriculum, design alternative projects, focus on few objectives, and modify requirements and assessments as needed.
• Multilevel teaching is when students at various levels receive lessons in the same subject but at different levels of difficulty. Multilevel lessons should focus on the same underlying concepts, use various teaching methods, allow students to use different methods to practice the material and display their understanding, use various methods of assessment.
• Curricular overlapping involves focusing on individual skills o different students across the curriculum.
• Tiered assignments allow students to respond in different ways to the same concepts using their individual strengths.
• There are different ways of differentiating instructions. Access differentiation techniques provide access to the curriculum without affecting the expectations of the students; this includes using Braille, sign language, or bilingual dictionaries. Low-impact differentiation techniques alter the way students are taught but only have a minimal impact on the level of curriculum addressed. High-impact differentiation techniques, or modifications, alter the content and the way students are taught.
• Make accommodations of the instructional materials used by: varying the amount students are exposed to or required to complete, use a variety of formats of materials, use supplementary materials, and use materials that present the content at a variety of levels.
• Provide opportunities for students to work in groups and establish relationships as well as work independently. Some students work better on their own, some work better with others.
• When considering strategies to implement: look at how they affect all the students in the classroom as well as adults, consider if they are age appropriate, risk causing embarrassment or isolation, intrude a student’s personal space, or inhibit student cooperation.
• Teacher directed text comprehension strategies including previewing, questioning, reciprocal teaching, and collaborative strategic reading the teacher models specific strategies and helps students learn how to organize information independently.
• Student directed text comprehension strategies, like self-questioning, helps the student thinking about the text and the reasons for reading the text independently and they can learn to form their own ideas about the text.
• Computer software and internet programs can help develop reading comprehension by providing visual and auditory cues to help students decode text and encourage the use of comprehension strategies like summarization.
• A multicultural curriculum helps students: understand events from a variety of perspectives, understand their own and other cultures, promotes racial and ethnic harmony and fights racism and discrimination, and improves students’ abilities to contribute to an accepting society. Multicultural curriculum should cover all content areas, for example studying plants from many different parts of the world.
• Some approaches to teaching a multicultural curriculum are:
o Contributions and additive approach – discuss various important people, events, and issues related to different cultures. This doesn’t inform students about the social and political experiences of people of various cultures.
o Transformation – Students are encouraged to think critically about cultural perspectives and how individuals from different backgrounds are affected differently by the same issues.
o Social action – encourages students to recognize social problems and actively try to discover solutions that are fair.
o Parallel lessons – Covers material about the mainstream culture and other cultures in related content areas.
• When teaching students from diverse backgrounds: focus on verbal interactions, encourage students to talk often, encourage students to think critically, use small groups and cooperative learning, keep the energy level high, and focus on real-world tasks that can affect the community in a positive way.
• With ESL students use Total Physical Response to model repeated practice and emphasize movement. Sheltered English introduces content related vocabulary through the use of cues, gestures, manipulatives, or technology. Teach new words in context so students can relate them to their lives or school work.
Resources
• Electronic library that allows students to listen to or create audio books.
• Integrates information on the internet into instructional activities.
• Helps English Language Learners with reading, listening, speaking, and vocabulary.
• Teachers need to first identify the concepts, principles, and skills they want to teach and build a curriculum from there adding or reducing the skills taught, carrying the levels of difficulty of the content, and having students demonstrate their knowledge in various ways.
• When creating accommodations: give students choices about what and how they learn, collaborate to establish learning goals, activities, and products, alter the pace of instruction, use a multicultural curriculum, design alternative projects, focus on few objectives, and modify requirements and assessments as needed.
• Multilevel teaching is when students at various levels receive lessons in the same subject but at different levels of difficulty. Multilevel lessons should focus on the same underlying concepts, use various teaching methods, allow students to use different methods to practice the material and display their understanding, use various methods of assessment.
• Curricular overlapping involves focusing on individual skills o different students across the curriculum.
• Tiered assignments allow students to respond in different ways to the same concepts using their individual strengths.
• There are different ways of differentiating instructions. Access differentiation techniques provide access to the curriculum without affecting the expectations of the students; this includes using Braille, sign language, or bilingual dictionaries. Low-impact differentiation techniques alter the way students are taught but only have a minimal impact on the level of curriculum addressed. High-impact differentiation techniques, or modifications, alter the content and the way students are taught.
• Make accommodations of the instructional materials used by: varying the amount students are exposed to or required to complete, use a variety of formats of materials, use supplementary materials, and use materials that present the content at a variety of levels.
• Provide opportunities for students to work in groups and establish relationships as well as work independently. Some students work better on their own, some work better with others.
• When considering strategies to implement: look at how they affect all the students in the classroom as well as adults, consider if they are age appropriate, risk causing embarrassment or isolation, intrude a student’s personal space, or inhibit student cooperation.
• Teacher directed text comprehension strategies including previewing, questioning, reciprocal teaching, and collaborative strategic reading the teacher models specific strategies and helps students learn how to organize information independently.
• Student directed text comprehension strategies, like self-questioning, helps the student thinking about the text and the reasons for reading the text independently and they can learn to form their own ideas about the text.
• Computer software and internet programs can help develop reading comprehension by providing visual and auditory cues to help students decode text and encourage the use of comprehension strategies like summarization.
• A multicultural curriculum helps students: understand events from a variety of perspectives, understand their own and other cultures, promotes racial and ethnic harmony and fights racism and discrimination, and improves students’ abilities to contribute to an accepting society. Multicultural curriculum should cover all content areas, for example studying plants from many different parts of the world.
• Some approaches to teaching a multicultural curriculum are:
o Contributions and additive approach – discuss various important people, events, and issues related to different cultures. This doesn’t inform students about the social and political experiences of people of various cultures.
o Transformation – Students are encouraged to think critically about cultural perspectives and how individuals from different backgrounds are affected differently by the same issues.
o Social action – encourages students to recognize social problems and actively try to discover solutions that are fair.
o Parallel lessons – Covers material about the mainstream culture and other cultures in related content areas.
• When teaching students from diverse backgrounds: focus on verbal interactions, encourage students to talk often, encourage students to think critically, use small groups and cooperative learning, keep the energy level high, and focus on real-world tasks that can affect the community in a positive way.
• With ESL students use Total Physical Response to model repeated practice and emphasize movement. Sheltered English introduces content related vocabulary through the use of cues, gestures, manipulatives, or technology. Teach new words in context so students can relate them to their lives or school work.
Resources
• Electronic library that allows students to listen to or create audio books.
• Integrates information on the internet into instructional activities.
• Helps English Language Learners with reading, listening, speaking, and vocabulary.
Ch. 7: Creating a Classroom Environment That Promotes Positive Behavior
• Schools should develop a unified system of rules, procedure, and expectations. They should also promote instruction of social skills and self control. The school staff should evaluate the effectiveness of the behavioral support system and make necessary changes.
• A functional behavioral assessment gathers information to measure a students behavior, determine the reasons for the behaviors, identify the variables which contribute to the behaviors, and plan an appropriate intervention.
• When identifying a problem it is important to consider what the student is or isn’t doing which is causing the problem, how the individual’s cognitive, language, physical and sensory abilities contribute to the behavior, and how the behavior affects the student’s progress as well as other students and adults.
• Perceived function is the reason the student uses a certain behavior. It can be for attention, to receive a desired object, avoiding an undesired activity, or addressing their own needs.
• It is important to consider cultural factors that may contribute to behavior. Students from different cultures may approach time, movement, respect for elders, and individual versus group performance in different ways.
• A behavioral intervention plan focuses on how to change the environment to address students’ behavior characteristics, strengths and challenges to reach goals for specific behaviors.
• Good strategies for promoting positive behavior include building relationships, social skills instruction, antecedent-based intervention, consequences-based interventions, self-management techniques, group-oriented management systems, and behavior reduction techniques.
• It is important for teachers to learn about their students’ interests by interacting with them informally, observing them in different settings, and listening.
• When giving praise, it is just as important to praise effort as it is specific outcomes so that students are encouraged to try.
• Class meetings can be used to allow students to share their opinions and develop their own solutions to conflicts. Use open-ended questions, personalizing questions, and creative thinking questions.
• Social skills instruction explains the importance of specific behaviors and when they are appropriate. You can use role-playing, demonstrations, videos, and give students opportunities to put it into practice.
• Regular routines are important, especially for some students with autism spectrum disorder. Students like to feel in control of their environment and when they do not know what to expect they are more likely to misbehave. Students can be involved in planning the schedule and activities.
• When students help develop the rules, they see how they are responsible for their actions and are more likely to respect them. Students can also work together to write a contract outlining acceptable behavior and appropriate consequences.
• When using reinforcements, make sure they are effective, the children should be interested in them.
• Self-management interventions help the students monitor their own behavior. Students can use a date-collection system, evaluate their own behavior according to a scale, or deliver self selected awards.
• Group-oriented management systems foster cooperation and teach responsibility to the group. However, there can be competition between the groups and sometimes the students feel too much pressure or don’t respond well.
• Positive replacement behaviors must be introduces when trying to decrease misbehaviors. The teacher’s response to behavior should not escalate the undesired behavior. Do not limit a student’s freedom more than necessary when trying to reduce a behavior.
• Redirection is when misbehavior is interrupted and an alternative appropriate behavior is suggested. Planned ignoring is when the teacher ignores an undesired behavior to withhold the attention the student is seeking. This method takes a lot of time and can sometimes seem to increase the behavior at first.
• Cyberbullying is become more prevalent and schools need to include policies against this in its antibullying policies.
• Classrooms can be arranged to provide a calm and positive environment for all students. They should be clean, well lit, odor free, colorful, and reflect all students’ identities. Special accommodations can be made to meet the needs of students with physical or sensory impairments. Students with behavior disorders and ADD should be placed in an area with minimal visual and auditory distractions and have clear physical boundaries.
Resources
• How to Create Behavior Contracts
• Teaching Social Skills
• Positive Consequence Strategies
• A functional behavioral assessment gathers information to measure a students behavior, determine the reasons for the behaviors, identify the variables which contribute to the behaviors, and plan an appropriate intervention.
• When identifying a problem it is important to consider what the student is or isn’t doing which is causing the problem, how the individual’s cognitive, language, physical and sensory abilities contribute to the behavior, and how the behavior affects the student’s progress as well as other students and adults.
• Perceived function is the reason the student uses a certain behavior. It can be for attention, to receive a desired object, avoiding an undesired activity, or addressing their own needs.
• It is important to consider cultural factors that may contribute to behavior. Students from different cultures may approach time, movement, respect for elders, and individual versus group performance in different ways.
• A behavioral intervention plan focuses on how to change the environment to address students’ behavior characteristics, strengths and challenges to reach goals for specific behaviors.
• Good strategies for promoting positive behavior include building relationships, social skills instruction, antecedent-based intervention, consequences-based interventions, self-management techniques, group-oriented management systems, and behavior reduction techniques.
• It is important for teachers to learn about their students’ interests by interacting with them informally, observing them in different settings, and listening.
• When giving praise, it is just as important to praise effort as it is specific outcomes so that students are encouraged to try.
• Class meetings can be used to allow students to share their opinions and develop their own solutions to conflicts. Use open-ended questions, personalizing questions, and creative thinking questions.
• Social skills instruction explains the importance of specific behaviors and when they are appropriate. You can use role-playing, demonstrations, videos, and give students opportunities to put it into practice.
• Regular routines are important, especially for some students with autism spectrum disorder. Students like to feel in control of their environment and when they do not know what to expect they are more likely to misbehave. Students can be involved in planning the schedule and activities.
• When students help develop the rules, they see how they are responsible for their actions and are more likely to respect them. Students can also work together to write a contract outlining acceptable behavior and appropriate consequences.
• When using reinforcements, make sure they are effective, the children should be interested in them.
• Self-management interventions help the students monitor their own behavior. Students can use a date-collection system, evaluate their own behavior according to a scale, or deliver self selected awards.
• Group-oriented management systems foster cooperation and teach responsibility to the group. However, there can be competition between the groups and sometimes the students feel too much pressure or don’t respond well.
• Positive replacement behaviors must be introduces when trying to decrease misbehaviors. The teacher’s response to behavior should not escalate the undesired behavior. Do not limit a student’s freedom more than necessary when trying to reduce a behavior.
• Redirection is when misbehavior is interrupted and an alternative appropriate behavior is suggested. Planned ignoring is when the teacher ignores an undesired behavior to withhold the attention the student is seeking. This method takes a lot of time and can sometimes seem to increase the behavior at first.
• Cyberbullying is become more prevalent and schools need to include policies against this in its antibullying policies.
• Classrooms can be arranged to provide a calm and positive environment for all students. They should be clean, well lit, odor free, colorful, and reflect all students’ identities. Special accommodations can be made to meet the needs of students with physical or sensory impairments. Students with behavior disorders and ADD should be placed in an area with minimal visual and auditory distractions and have clear physical boundaries.
Resources
• How to Create Behavior Contracts
• Teaching Social Skills
• Positive Consequence Strategies
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)