Chapter Summaries 1-5, 13

Chapter One: The Foundation for Educating Students with Special Needs

• Special education refers to instruction that is created to meet the unique needs of individual children who have been identified as being disabled by state and federal criteria.  Many services are provided to students eligible for special education at public schools free of costs.  These services include instruction in general or special education classrooms, instruction of life and work skills, specialized assistance in PE and vocational preparation, related services (speech/language therapy, transportation to and from school in special vehicles, and physical therapy), and supplementary aids and services (preferential seating, computer access, and instructional adjustments). 
• The history of special education begins with nonexistence of any programs to offer help and assistance to those with disabilities.  Many disabled children were institutionalized, educated by private agencies, or did not attend school.  In the twenties, there were classes offered for the mild/moderately disabled kids.  By the fifties, special education classes were offered but only taught manual skills such as beading.  By the sixties, research showed that segregated special education classes were not as good for the students as they had previously been believed to be.  Many court cases made way for changes in special education, such as the Brown vs. Brown case and the civil rights movement which affected it because the 14^th amendment made it unlawful to discriminate against any group. 
• The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the most updated version of the Public Law.  According to http://idea.ed.gov/, “The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a law ensuring services to children with disabilities throughout the nation. IDEA governs how states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education and related services to more than 6.5 million eligible infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities.” The act enables general education teachers to be a member of the team that writes the student’s educational plan and states that disabled students are to be assessed in the same way as other students.  It states that special education teachers must be highly qualified in the core subjects which they are to teach.  According to IDEA, students with one or more of the following disabilities are eligible for services.
• Emotional Disturbance
• Autism
• Hearing Impairments
• Visual Impairments
• Deaf-Blindness
• Orthopedic Impairments
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Other Health Impairments
• Multiple Disabilities
• Developmental Delays which include children ages 3-9 who have delays in physical, cognitive, communication, social-emotional, or adaptive development.  Not all states identify students using this term.  According to my research, South Carolina does use this term.  On http://www.scdhec.gov/health/mch/cshcn/programs/babynet/ , it states that Baby Net is an intervention program for children under three with developmental delays. 
• The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 was signed by George W. Bush at the beginning of 2002.  The text refers to the act as being the “most sweeping federal education legislation ever enacted” (Friend, 14).  The NCLB focus on accountability and raising academic expectations and goals.  By 2013-2014, the goal is for all students (including those with disabilities) to be reading and doing mathematics at grade level.  It’s core focus is on adequate yearly progress (AYP).  According to http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/30/notebook/main2867441.shtml, many states have been accused of lowering the bar so that they will have met their goals by 2013.  In my opinion, too much accountability has been placed on the NCLB Act.  Schools who do not met their goals may be denied funding, but aren’t those the schools that need the money in reality? 
• Inclusion practices include those which special education students are put in the regular classroom and much as possible.  This has also been referred to as mainstreaming. 

Chapter Two: Special Education Procedures and Services

• General Education teachers face many responsibilities.  Some of these responsibilities include (1) identifying students with special needs that are serious enough to seek input from other colleagues, (2) implementing strategies and activities as part of a response to intervention procedures, (3) providing day-to-day instruction, participating in writing IEPS as a member of a multidisciplinary team, (4) collaborating with parents regarding student strengths and needs, (5) contributing to discussions of students as a member of an intervention assistance team, (6) and communicating with colleagues regarding students with disabilities.
• There are several types of Special Education teachers.  These teachers are most likely to have on-going contact with students who have disabilities.  They are responsible for (1) managing and coordinating the services a student receives including writing and implementing the IEP, (2) providing direct and indirect instruction to students who are assigned to them, and (3) may consult with teachers about a student suspected of having a disability and work with these teachers to see if the student needs to be referred. 
• Consulting teachers may work with teachers of high incidence disability students to monitor their progress and address concerns about them.
• Resource teachers divide time among students, working with teachers of students who have disabilities.  They are often responsible for co-teaching students with disabilities.
• Inclusion specialists/Support Facilitators are responsible for providing student instruction, problem solving with teachers, and coordinating the services which each student receives. 
• Itinerant teachers travel between two or more schools to provide services to students (often to those with hearing or vision disabilities).  According to http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1906922/, "Itinerant teachers are usually qualified school teachers who have had some formal training in the education of children with visual impairment, either through a residential course or a distance education program (e.g. a three-year diploma in Special Educational Needs). These teachers travel around local mainstream schools and communities to offer advice, resources, and support to visually impaired children, their teachers, and their parents."
• Transition Specialists work in high school settings to help prepare students to leave school for vocational training, employment, or postsecondary education.  They work with community businesses to arrange student job sites and resolve problems with current student workers. 
• Other specialists and related service providers include:
• Counselors- work with students with disabilities and may assess them on social/emotional functioning, including areas of self-concept, motivation, attitude towards school, peers/teachers, and social skills.  They can also work with entire classes on how to deal with having a classmate who has a disability.
• Speech and Language Therapists- individuals who specialize in meeting students' communication needs.
• Social Workers- may work with teachers and families in many different ways.  They may work to help students meet their needs in regards to disabilities, or deal with cases such as abuse/neglect.
• Physical Therapists- assess students' needs and provide interventions related to gross motor skills. 
• Occupational Therapists- work with students on their fine motor skills.
• Adaptive Physical Educators- work with students when typical PE programs do not work for a particular student due to problems with fine or gross motor skills.  This educator works directly with the student, teachers, and physical education teacher to help the student learn needed skills.
• Nurses- attend to students' medical needs.  According to http://www.nasn.org/Default.aspx?tabid=274, "The school nurse is a team member who participates in the identification and evaluation of students who may be eligible for services under IDEA. Through shared responsibility with other team members, the school nurse assists in the planning and implementation of Individual Education Plans or Individual Family Service Plans, as needed. The school nurse ensures the safe delivery of necessary health services to eligible children with disabilities through participation on the multidisciplinary educational team and direct care with the student. As a member of this multidisciplinary education team, the school nurse assists in identifying children who may need special educational or health-related services. "
• Administrators- have the role of being knowledgeable about the entire school community and district policies in regards to special education and parental concerns. 
• Special Education Coordinators/Supervisors- are used in large urban and suburban areas where it is difficult to ensure that all students' needs are met in regards to special education.  They alleviate the pressure on principals and can explain services and options to parents, problem solve when issues arise, and monitor to ensure that all students with disabilities receive the required support.
• Paraprofessionals are those who can help with daily classroom tasks, or serve as assistants to those students with disabilities.  They may work one-on-one or serve a group of students. 
• Since the IDEA act of 2004, depending upon the state and district, there are two ways that the process of formally addressing student learning and behavior concerns can begin with:
• (1) An Intervention Assistance Team: includes all general education teachers, special services personnel, and an administrator.
• (2) Response to Intervention: Procedure for analyzing students' learning problems.  R & I calls for the systematic use of intensive, research based interventions as a means for deciding whether a learning disability exists.
• A Multidisciplinary Team (MDF) consists of parents, educators, and others who assume for making educated decisions regarding the student.
• An IEP, or individualized education program exists as the document that outlines all the special education services the student is to receive.  The general education teacher plays an important role in developing IEP's.  According to http://www.teachervision.fen.com/special-education/resource/5582.html, general educators should:
1. Know how to communicate effectively and work within a team context.
2. Know how to observe special education students and record their behaviors objectively in order to help IEP teams track these students' progress.
3. Describe a student's performance and behaviors to emphasize the student's strengths.
• Some general educators will need to learn how to describe a student's progress, weaknesses, and needs in appropriate, positive language. The idea is to describe the progress the student is making, no matter how small, and to focus on how to get to the next step. For example, "Jim can't add" is vague, derogatory, and doesn't describe what Jim can do. "Jim can count up to twenty by ones. We are working on having him count to fifty." is more positive, accurate, and points to the next goal.
4. Convey to the other IEP team members an acceptance and willingness to actively participate in the IEP process.
5. Be willing to try new approaches in working with students with special needs.
6. Be willing to ask for additional assistance when this is needed.

Chapter Three: Building Partnerships through Collaboration

·         Shared problem solving is the basis for many of the collaborative activities that school professionals undertake on behalf of students with disabilities.  It's more complex than when teachers problem solve alone, because the needs, expectations, and ideas of all the participants must be blended into shared understandings and mutually agreed-on solutions.  There are steps to shared problem solving including: (1) Discover a shared need, (2) Identify the problem, including gathering information, compiling it, analyzing it, and reaching consensus about the nature of a student's problem, (3) Come up with a wide range of solutions, all free of judgment, (4) Evaluate ideas by considering whether they are likely to resolve the problem and are feasible, (5) Plan specifics, (6) Implement the solution, and (7) Evaluate outcomes.  At this time, three possibilities exist. First, if the solution has been effective, it may be considered a success.  It will be continued to maintain results, discontinued if no longer needed, or gradually phased out.  Second, if the solution seems to have a positive effect, but isn't ideal for another reason, then it will be modified.  Last, the solution is judged to be ineffective and the team must find a different solution, find additional solutions, or reconsider whether the problem has been accurately identified. 

·         Co-teaching occurs when two or more educators share the instruction for a single group of students, typically in a single classroom setting.  There are six types of co-teaching.  These include (1) One teach, one observe, (2) Station Teaching, (3) Parallel Teaching, (4) Alternative teaching, (5) Teaming, (6) One Teach, one assist.

·         A consultation is a specialized problem-solving process in which one professional who has particular expertise assists another professional (or parent) who needs the benefit of that expertise. 

·         There are many complexities of collaboration, including disagreements which may occur.  Professionals must view the situation from another's point of view, re-evaluate solutions, and be aware of their own attitude. 

·         Collaboration exists in schools with inclusion.  It consists of any activity in which individuals work together with others.  The text states that “true collaboration exists only on teams when all members feel their contributions are valued and the goal is clear, when they share decision making, and when they sense they are respected”. 

• There are several characteristics of collaboration including:

1.)    Collaboration is voluntary.

2.)    Collaboration is based on parity.  All teachers must believe that their contributions are equal.

3.)    Collaboration requires a shared goal.

4.)    Collaboration includes shared responsibility for key decisions.

5.)    Collaboration includes shared accountability for outcomes.

6.)    Collaboration is based on shared resources.

7.)    Collaboration is emergent.

8.)    There are prerequisites for collaboration.  Everyone gets better with more experience.

9.)     It reflects on your own personal belief system.  For it to occur, “all the people participating need to feel that their shared effort will result in an outcome that is better than could be accomplished by any one participant, even if the outcome is somewhat different from what each person envisioned at the outset”.

10.)            It refines your interaction skills (communication skills and steps to productive interactions).

11.)            It contributes to a supportive environment.

·         It is important to form positive relationships with the families of all students.  It is crucial to the education of a child with disabilities.  Parents can help you to understand their child’s strengths and needs, serve as an advocate for their child and ensure that they receive adequate supports.  The text states that “Parents are you allies in educating students.”  When parents help their kids with practice skills at home, reward for accomplishments at school, and keep messages to the child consistent to yours as the teacher, then student learning is maximized.

·         You do not understand what it’s like to be the parent of a child with a disability unless you are one!  Therefore, teachers must strive to recognize that the range of interactions you have with parents are influenced in part by the stresses they are experiencing, their prior dealings with school personnel, and their own beliefs about their child and his/her future.

·         Parents may have different reactions to their child having a disability, including: grief, ambivalence, and optimism.

·         Paraprofessionals shouldn’t engage in initial teaching or make instructional decisions alone.  They need communication and feedback, and need to know about teacher expectations.  According to http://www.nrcpara.org/, the National Resource Center for Paraprofessionals has a to address policy questions and other needs of the field, provide technical assistance and share information about policy questions, management practices, regulatory procedures, and training models that will enable administrators and staff-developers to improve the recruitment, deployment, supervision, and career development of paraprofessionals.

·         The U.S. Department of Education lists qualifications for paraprofessionals on http://ed.gov/admins/tchrqual/qual/paraprofessional.html.

·         South Carolina’s qualifications for paraprofessionals are listed on http://www.scteachers.org/titleii/newpara.cfm.

Chapter Four: Assessing Student's Needs

• Assessment is the process of gathering information to monitor progress and to make educational decisions when necessary.  The most common ways of gathering data are through standardized testing and informal tests created by the teacher.  According to http://www.nasponline.org/about_nasp/pospaper_eca.aspx, the National Association of School Psychologists believes that the "early identification of developmental and learning problems in infants and young children (ages birth through five years) is essential because of young children's broad and rapid development."
• There exists six areas of decision making including: screening, diagnosis, program placement, curriculum placement, instructional evaluation, and program evaluating. 
• Screening is what determines whether or not a student's performance differs from his/her peers enough to implement further assessments to determine whether that student as a disability. 
• The diagnosis is the decision which determines whether or not a student is eligible for special education services.
• Program Placement declares where a student's specialized services take place.  Today there is much emphasis on doing all that can be done inside of the general education class first. 
• Curriculum placement determines at which level instruction begins for a student.  For example, this could include what reading level books a teach uses in her classroom. 
• Instructional evaluation determines whether or not there will be a change in procedures implemented for a child, or if they will remain the same.  For example, a teacher could quiz students weekly to see if a certain strategy is helping them learn information.
• Program evaluations determine whether a student's special education program will be continued, modified, or terminated.
• Information sources used for programming include: high stakes achievement tests, standardized achievement test, psychological tests, alternate assessments, and curriculum-based assessments. 
• High-stakes tests are designed to see if students have attained certain standards.  According to http://www.ecs.org/html/issue.asp?issueid=12&subIssueID=33 , "Using assessment tests for “high-stakes” purposes such as grade promotion, graduation or school review is gaining public support as a way to determine how good a job public schools are doing. Policymakers see high-stakes tests as a way to raise standards and achievement and hold students and educators accountable."
• Standardized achievement tests measure what students retained from the curriculum.  Psychological tests determine whether a student has cognitive or learning disabilities.  Alternate assessments work on more individualized curriculum and do not have to meet the same requirements as those students graduating with a standard diploma. 
• “The Office of Exceptional Children ensures that all children with disabilities in the state have available a free and appropriate public education (FAPE), protects the rights of these children and their parents, and provides leadership to school districts and state-operated programs in the provision of appropriate special educational services” (http://ed.sc.gov/agency/Standards-and-Learning/Exceptional-Children/old/ec/ ).

Chapter Five: Planning Instruction by Analyzing Classroom & Student Needs

·         Despite a teacher’s best efforts, there are always going to be students who require a more individualized approach.  The INCLUDE strategy is for these students.

·         INCLUDE gives teachers a systematic process for accommodating students based on their individual needs and the classroom demands on or expectations of the teacher.

·         IDEA entitles students with disabilities to “access”, “participation”, and “progress” in the general education curriculum.  These entitlements were reinforced by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. 

·         INCLUDE is based on two key assumptions: (1) Student performance in school is the result of an interaction between the student and the instructional environment.  What happens in a classroom can either minimize the impact of students’ special needs on their learning or magnify it, making accommodations necessary.  (2) By carefully analyzing students’ learning needs and the specific demands of the classroom environment, teachers can reasonably accommodate most students with special needs in their classrooms.

·         INCLUDE contains elements of both universal design and differentiated instruction.  Universal design is the idea that instructional materials, methods, and assessments designed with built-in supports are more likely to be compatible with learners with special needs than those without such supports.  Differentiated instruction follows the idea that a variety of teaching and learning strategies are necessary to meet the range of needs evident in any given classroom. 

·         Instructional accommodations are typically defined as services or supports provided to help students gain full access to class content and instruction, and to demonstrate accurately what they know.

·         According to http://jaspercountyschools.schoolinsites.com/Default.asp?L=1&LMID=&PN=Pages&DivisionID=6672&DepartmentID=&SubDepartmentID=&SubP=Level2&PageID=10417&SubPageID=8200 , “A standard 'accommodation' is defined for South Carolina state assessments as a change in the testing environment, procedures, or presentation to a test that does not alter what the test measures or the comparability of scores. The purpose of accommodations is to enable students to participate in an assessment in a way that allows knowledge and skills to be assessed rather than disabilities.”

·         An inclusive classroom is managed by: physical organization, routines for classroom behavior, classroom climate, behavior management, and use of time.  On http://cte.udel.edu/publications/handbook-graduate-assistants/getting-started/positive-classroom-climate.html, the University of Delaware pinpoints how to achieve a positive classroom climate. 

·         On http://www.learnerslink.com/curriculum.htm, effective strategies are listed to improve student performance.  The site discusses differentiated instruction and how one size does not fit all when pertaining to student education.

·         Manipulatives and models:

a.      Select materials that suit the concept and developmental stage of the students

b.      Use a variety of materials

c.       Use verbal explanations whenever possible to accompany object manipulation

d.      Encourage active interaction

e.      Elicit student explanations of their manipulations or use of models

f.        Present clear guidelines for handling manipulatives to prevent management problems

g.       Move your students beyond the concrete level when they are ready

·         Elements of Direct Instruction:

o       Review and check the previous days work

• Present new content or skills
• Provide guided student practice
• Provide feedback and correction
• Provide independent student practice
• Review frequently

·         INCLUDE

o       Step 1: Identify Classroom Demands- (classroom management, classroom grouping, instructional materials, instructional methods)

o       Step 2: Note student learning strengths and needs- (academics, social-emotional development, physical development)

o       Step 3: Check for potential areas of student success

o       Step 4: Look for potential problem areas

o       Step 5: Use information to brainstorm ways to differentiate instruction (accommodations, modifications)

o       Step 6: Differentiate instruction- (select age-appropriate strategies, select the easiest approach first, select accommodations and modifications you agree with, determine whether you are dealing with a “can’t” or a “won’t”, give students choices, and select strategies with demonstrated effectiveness)

o       Step 7: Evaluate student progress

 

Chapter Thirteen: Building Social Relationships

·         Social skills refer to when students with disabilities and other exceptional needs learn appropriate social behaviors and develop friendships.

·         A circle of friends takes place when a new student, especially one with many special needs, joins a class group, and the students in the group learn to build a circle of friends around that student. 

·         The first component in promoting positive interactions among students with and without disabilities is to provide opportunities for them to interact. 

·         Nurturing Support and Friendship: Circle of friends, general friendship-building strategies, resolving support and friendship problems, parents and friendship

·         Teachers should promote positive peer relationships as part of their automatic teaching behavior.

·         Teachers can provide information about individuals with disabilities by informing through direct instruction, using video and print media, and by demonstrating and using adaptive technology.

·         Peer tutoring is a system of instruction in which pairs of students with relatively equal standing are given formal roles for promoting each other’s achievement.  Tutees are students who receive the instruction from peer tutors.

·         Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS) is another highly structured peer tutoring program that has been repeatedly demonstrated through research to be effective for students with disabilities.

·         According to http://www.cec.sped.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=5445 , “Peer Assisted Learning Strategies is a type of classwide peer tutoring that is used to improve reading and math skills. Teachers pair lower and high performing students, and the partners work on different activities that address the skills that are causing problems. The pairs are changed regularly, giving all students the opportunity to act as coaches and players.”

·         Classroom Peer Tutoring is where all the students in a class take on the roles of tutor and tutee in turn and follow a set of clear steps for helping each other to learn.  The website, http://www.specialconnections.ku.edu/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/specconn/main.php?cat=instruction&section=cwpt/main offers more detailed information on CWPT.

·         Cooperative learning is a student centered instructional approach in which students work in small, mixed-ability groups with a shared learning goal. 

·         Developing Cooperative Learning Programs: form cooperative learning groups, prepare students for cooperative learning, select curricular content, choose a cooperative learning program, and monitor program effectiveness.

·         In a jigsaw classroom, students are assigned to heterogeneous work groups.  Each member of the work group is also assigned to a separate expert group.  Work groups meet and decide which member to assign to which expert group. 

·         Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (CIRC) is a cooperative learning program designed to help students in elementary and middle schools work on reading, writing, and other language arts.  CIRC has 3 main components: activities related to the basal reading materials, direct instruction for reading comprehension, and integration of writing with language arts.  The website, http://www.promisingpractices.net/program.asp?programid=142 lists more detailed information on Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition.