Special Education

 

 

Special Education is an ongoing issue within our nation's school system. There are many arguments as to what is best for providing to students who have varying needs and abilities in classroom instruction. Some believe that an isolated special education classroom is the best way for students with disabilities to learn whereas other believe that including students in general education classrooms as much as possible is what is truly best for the student as a whole.

 

Since there is no set in stone list of characteristics that can be checked off to decide what is best for students, it is important for instructors to work with all students at an individual level in order to best find what their needs are within the instructional setting. Some students may need something as simple as a few extra minutes to take a test, whereas other students may need to completely remove themself from the classroom during a particular portion of the day to receive helpful instruction that is used to improve their knowledge over the subject they struggle with.

 

As a future educator, I hope that when I enter the classroom I am accompanied by a group of smiling faces who may not have the same abilities in learning, but all of what it takes to be the best that can be day in and day out. 

Response To Intervention - RTI

Students have different needs in the classroom setting and because of this teachers need to take action to best help students succeed after exploring the different needs of the various students. Teachers intervene on student thinking and based on what they learn about how students think, they decide which tier of RTI (Response to Intervention) is most beneficial to that student as an individual.

In IDEA 2004, RTI is described as a discrepancy model in which shows a combination of achievement tests and cognitive tests scores in order to find where students lie on the pyramid.

The process of RTI begins with testing and universal screenings that show both general education and special education teachers what the needs are of students in the classroom. At the beginning of the year benchmarks are made in which the students should be able to meet at a particular time within the year. If the student does not meet the benchmark then intervention is put into play. With intervention, students work towards a particular goal that can be modified based on the student's responses and knowledge presented to the test facilitator.

There are three tiers that make up RTI, each of the tiers having a set of characteristics that goes along with it. There are many instance in which students are not in a set tier of RTI, but rather the characteristics that the student has overlaps in different tiers of the RTI pyramid.

Tier one of RTI is general education. In order to decide if students belong in this tier of instruction students must be given differentiating instruction that screens what they know entirely. If a student struggles in the subject of reading, which is the most common subject that is covered in RTI, they may have to move from the general education tier onto the second tier.

The second tier of RTI is small group instruction. Students should not be moved from tier one to tier two until tier one is done with complete fidelity and confidence that the student is indeed behind in their studies and need to be placed within a small group to get further instruction on their area of need, such as reading.

When students continue to struggle in a particular area of instruction, further intervention is to be made. After the student is unable to achieve their goals in a particular subject while working with small groups, the student will then be moved to the third tier of instruction, special education.

It is important to keep in mind that the pyramid is not set in stone and that students are able to move throughout the pyramid. If the students show that they are improving in the area of study that they struggled with previously, they can move down the pyramid after intervention is made rather than just staying where they are or simply continuing to move up the pyramid.


Differentiated Instruction

In order for all students to be successful, teachers must differentiate their instruction to meet the needs that their students have. Instruction can either be geared up towards students who are showing capabilities of knowing more than their counterparts, or geared down towards students that struggle with instruction being given. It is important to have differentiation within the classroom so that all students are able to succeed and not be asked to do something that is relatively easy or difficult for them.

In order to differentiate instruction successfully, it is up to the teacher to have a complete understanding on how the students in the classroom think and their ability level towards multiple subjects in school. Another key point to make when working with differentiating instruction is to not make it apparent to the students which level of instruction their peers are receiving compared to that of the level of instruction that they are receiving.

RIDER Strategy

When working on reading comprehension, one strategy in which can be used with students who may have a Learning Disability in reading is known as the RIDER strategy.With this strategy, students are asked to focus more on the book that they are working with in order to better their reading comprehension skills.

With the RIDER strategy, students are asked to do the following:

• Read the text. Students read a portion of their book and then move onto the next step
• Imagine the scene that is being told in the story. Students create a visual in their head or on paper, depending on how the teacher decides to implement the strategy, that helps them in understanding the context of the story.
• Describe the image that was created and explain how it relates to the text
• Evaluate what was just described. During this step, the student is asked questions in relation to the image and description that they have created to further their understanding of what is being read. 
• Repeat the process. 

This strategy can work in several different ways. If the student needs extra support with their comprehension skills the teacher can provide pictures for the "I" phase of the RIDER strategy. This is beneficial to students because they have the choice of what image best relates to the reading, rather than having to create an image of their own. The strategy can be done for multiple levels of reading. Some students who take part in this strategy may only read a few words before they are asked to create an image of what it is that they are reading whereas other students that teachers may have in their classroom will complete chapters at a time before completing the RIDER strategy. Differentiation like this makes this strategy beneficial for students with a wide range of ability levels to put into use.

Students With Various Needs

As a teacher, you can expect to find a range of students in your classroom. Some of the students you are likely to encounter may have special needs in which will require you, as the teacher, to provide them with differentiated instruction than that of other students within your classroom.

The most common disability that is seen in classrooms is a Learning Disability, or LD. Students who have LD range from needing assistance in reading, writing, and math, but  the most common Learning Disability is reading. These students are below the grade level that their age correlates with in a particular subject and because of this need extra assistance in the subject that relates to their Learning Disability. Academic performance is below average for students who have Learning Disabilities due to the difficult time they have with remembering material learned and keeping attention throughout class, but every student who has a Learning Disability has a different list of characteristics that relates to them and their own struggles in learning. Since there is no set of characteristics that fits with every student who has a learning disability, it is important for you, as the teacher, to focus on the needs of one particular student at a time and create a setting that is best for them to learn. It is also important to remember that just because the student has a Learning Disability in one particular subject, does not mean that the student will be restricted in other areas of study. With the use of various types of strategy instruction, students with Learning Disabilities can improve their knowledge over several areas of study. Strategies used in learning allow for students to better their understanding of a subject through an approach that may be different than that of their peers.

Another disability that may arise in the classroom setting are Emotional Behavioral Disorders, or EBDs for short. Just like Learning Disabilities, there are a number of Emotional Behavioral Disorders. Most students that have EBDs struggle in the classroom when it comes to working with others. Students with EBDs are sometimes known to be aggressive, passive, immature, or even depressed. These are only a few of the characteristics that one can expect to find in a student who has an Emotional Behavioral Disorder. Since there is a long list of differing characteristics that go along with the disability it is clear to see that there is not a set in stone way in which to best educate students who have an EBD. Students with EBDs must be worked with at an individual level that will best help them in learning based off the traits they possess. When working on improving the learning of a student with an EBD, it is also important to focus on improving the way in which the student views themselves and others. A large portion of their inability to do well in a certain subject is due to their behavior rather than their knowledge regarding the subject. There are ways in which strategy instruction can help students with EBDs as well.

Students who have Mild Intellectual Disabilities may also end up in a classroom where they will not be at the same level of learning as their peers because of the struggles that they have with learning due to their disability. Students who are identified as having a Mild Intellectual Disability have an IQ that is less than 70 and can sometimes have a physical condition that also accompanies their intellectual disability, such as having Cerebral Palsy. Students with Mild Intellectual Disabilities are often placed in Special Education classes, but are a part of general education classrooms as often as possible in order to improve their relationships with their peers. Special Education classes allow for students with Mild Intellectual Disabilities to complete tasks given to them at a pace in which they are capable of working at.

Teachers encounter students with a large range of needs and ability levels. It is important that teachers present information to students in the best way that the student, as an individual, is able to obtain. In order to do this for the entire class, teachers often have to differentiate instruction so that each student is able to succeed and continue to grow as a learner.