Lesson 2 (223 AF)
Based on the information from the Case Scenario above and the information provided in
Lesson 2, answer the following questions in detail.
1.
Do you think Serge’s skills were assessed adequately? Do you think he was correctly identified as learning disabled? Why or why not? Make sure to provide evidence in your response.
I do not believe that Serge’s skills were assessed adequately. I think he was incorrectly identified as learning disabled in reading, written language, and knowledge. I feel that this occurred because he was not given the opportunity to have the tests done in his native language – he was only able to test in Serbian only if he did not understand what was being said. All of his other assessment results, including the Leiter non-verbal intelligence test, were in the average range. This to me shows a direct relationship between his score discrepancies and not understanding English. 2.
Do you think a special education placement was appropriate for Serge? Why or why not? What kind of progress do you think he would have made in a general education setting without individualized instruction?
I do not think that special education placement was appropriate for Serge – he should have been placed as an EL student and received specific language supports after his English proficiency was assessed. However, being placed in special education was beneficial in that he did receive pull-out services for targeted language skills that helped
him with English acquisition and subsequently improved his overall performance and growth in his academics. 3.
Mrs. Evans learned about the cultural background of her students. How do you think this knowledge impacted her teaching?
I think that Mrs. Evans learning about the cultural background of her students made a great impact to her teaching. This helped her to develop a close relationship with Serge,
and likely made him more receptive to her help and support learning English. Understanding Serge’s Serbian refugee background and culture and being sensitive to culturally/societal differences likely made a positive impact on the way she interacted with this student, and helped her to find instruction and supports that he would be most
receptive to.
