Thus, the idea of inclusion was born, an idea that suggests students with special needs be paired alongside students who are gifted, students with different cultural and ethnic backgrounds, and students who have different modes of learning (Tomlinson et al., 2003).
Despite this, evidence exists to suggest that the self-contained special education classroom still serves the needs of many students with special needs, suggesting that fears related to special education students' inferior treatment may not related to this particular classroom arrangement. Zigmond et al. (1999) found that students with learning disabilities did not show optimum academic results when integrated into the inclusion classroom. The authors write that students with learning disabilities are often placed in special education for a reason -- because they do not benefit from traditional education. However, the authors do contend that determining where to place such students is never easy. In his brief comparison of education to baseball, VanSciver (2005) writes "NCLB dictates that educators disaggregate student performance data into cells determined by various criteria, suggesting that the performance of the students in the different categories is determined by conditions unique to their groups. It would follow that strategies for improving the scores of the students in those categories would be specifically designed to meet their needs" (pg. 535). VanSciver (2005) continues by suggesting that the fact that students are not taught in these categories makes educating them more complicated. Agran, Alper and Wehmeyer (2002), although they support the inclusion classroom, found in a survey of teachers that many do not support the idea of having students with severe disabilities included into the general education classroom. Indeed, the authors found that a majority of the teachers surveyed "did not believe that access to the general curriculum is appropriate for students with severe disabilities and that these students should not be held accountable to the same performance standards as typical peers" (pg. 129). Although the authors concluded that this opinion meant teachers found access to the general curriculum to be more important for students with mild disabilities, it can also be interpreted to mean that teachers view the self-contained special education classroom as the place where students will find the greatest degree of aid in their education. However, Cawley et al. (2002) found that students with severe emotional disabilities did not negatively affect the learning environment when included with general education students in a science experiment that was implemented and designed by research project staff and teachers. In addition, Cawley et al. (2002) found that the rates of general education and special needs students passing the course were comparable. What this suggests is not that the self-contained special education classroom be done away with, but that it be reserved for those students who need it, while others can receive the benefit of differentiated general education classrooms.
However, just because a student is a member of a self-contained special education classroom does not mean that student cannot be a recipient of differentiated instruction. Much to the contrary, students in self-contained special education classrooms are best served when they receive education that is personalized or tailored to their needs. This gives special education students the best chance of competing with their general education peers after graduation. Smith and Urquhart (1996) offer one example of this through a science classroom. Children who had been identified as having special education needs when it comes to reading and writing were assessed using questioners that required reading and writing for scientific understanding. Although the students, as could be expected, performed poorly, when they were asked to design a model for other students using what they had learned, their completion of the task in addition to the discussions between them as observed by the teacher, suggested comprehension. Based on this, the authors argue that "some children identified as having special educational needs, particularly those whose scientific understanding is often assessed through their difficulties with some of the skills associated with literacy and sometimes numeracy can contribute to their own and others' scientific understanding through collaborative talk" (Smith and Urquhart, 1996, pg. 152). Thus, this is one method through which teachers could provide differentiated assessment to students in the self-contained special education classroom.
According to Armstrong (2003) the history of special education is fraught with difficulties experienced by students in previous eras who had been classified as needing special education services. Often times, these students were excluded and did...
However, giving educators greater flexibility enabled schools to more effectively respond to the increased demographic diversity of America and the needs of students. In schools with multicultural populations, including lessons in cultural tolerance, incorporating cultural diversity into the history and literature classes, and even on a very basic level, simplifying some of the language for ESL students in science and math classes when mainstreaming those students made education more responsive
In addition, students in the same classroom can focus on problems that range in complexity, with some students describing the process for reducing fractions and others designing and explaining binomial equations," (Kluth & Straut 2001). In short, teachers can give students some discretion in demonstrating how they know the concept in a way that is fun and meaningful to the child, such as asking an artistically-minded child to create
In the most recent study, conducted by Philliber Research Associates for the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving 188 children enrolled in 14 childcare centers were evaluated and findings report significant gains for children in the 'Creative Curriculum' classroom. These children "made statistically significant gains in the cognitive/language profile, motor profile, and self-help profile over what would be expected of children of the same age during the same amount of
7. What policies should be taken into account for the curriculum design? Institutional policies concerning the disciplines being offered should be taken into account (Keating). Case Study #2: Philmore College 1. What parameters must the curriculum committee consider when designing the courses? The design parameters that should be considered by the curriculum committee should include "all components (title, purpose, and description; outcomes, teaching-learning strategies, content, classes; opportunities for students to demonstrate learning and faculty evaluation of
' Musical intelligence can be deployed through the use of teaching 'times tables songs' and visual intelligence can be stimulated through the use of allowing students to create colorful classroom displays, perhaps even drawing upon student's interpersonal intelligence as well by assigning different teams a single 'table,' like six, to illustrate with pictures. Although I believe that multiple intelligences can be incorporated into any classroom, with the right degree of creativity
The district must then serve as the interpreter of specific and global need for the district, based on its particular composition and the state where needed. (Koppang, 2004, p. 154) Choose two of the eleven major functions as described in the Power point presentation and describe how these functions are instantiated in the Tempe document. Give examples to illustrate the ways that each function can be implemented. (I do not
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now