Finding a Research Topic and Exploring the Library
Students with disabilities are covered under the Federal Law of free and appropriate education, also knowns as FAPE. This law ensures that students with disabilities are serviced in the best environment that will not negatively impact their educational access due to their disability. Some students with disabilities needs are best met in an inclusive setting. This would include a special education teacher and a general education teacher. In some co-teaching classrooms, there is the misunderstanding of what co-teaching or inclusion should look like, or for some, how to evaluate its effectiveness. Dr, Maureen Pugach (March 2011) states in her article that special educators often take a back seat in the general education classroom, as opposed to truly co-teaching. Teachers who co-teach should be co-planning and co-assessing. However, there seems to be an abstention of these practices in the inclusion setting. There is a true benefit to students academically, socially and emotionally when there are two teachers fully invested in the inclusive classroom model.
My Topic of Interest and Why It Is Important to Me A true inclusive model classroom should encompass co-planning, co-instructing, and co-assessing. These tools will hold both teachers accountable and valued in the classroom. There are documented studies where special education teachers feel like glorified teaching assistants. Unfortunately, the experience of being on both
General education should promote collaboration to increase an effective quality education for student in an inclusive classroom (Argan, 2014). This can be done a multitude of ways. Paraeducators can be included in planning activities in the classroom (Argan, 2014). By incorporating paraeducators, general education teachers and special education teachers can get a different perspective on how an activity may look or what
As a paraprofessional, it can at difficult, stressful, and complicating at times. The reason why I say this is because our duties vary from day to day activities, as I can relate to it. One of the major objectives during a day is that I have to remind the general education teacher that inclusion is the best way for my students to learn. It is essential to have a structured system of order, and this means that all students should receive the same expectations in a classroom regardless of a disability. My personal thoughts of inclusion are very similar to majority of teachers. It means to me that students with disabilities will be enrolled in general education classrooms, not just that, but the individual expectations should be similar to other
Produce a briefing document for a new member of staff who will be delivering classes in your specialist area embedding functional skills. The document should demonstrate your understanding of:
According to the foundations of Inclusion video the three key elements to the best inclusive practice are: access, participation and support. Access is allowing the student to get the education they deserve and making it easier on them. Students with disabilities should be allowed to have recess and go on fieldtrips with other students and teachers should help them accomplish that. Teachers are also encouraged to modify lesson plans so everyone in the classroom understands. Participation helps to make sure the student engages and fully understands what is being taught. Teachers can help with participation by interacting with the student and helping them to understand in different ways other than just speaking with them. Lastly, is support
Preparing regular education teachers to address the diverse needs of children with special needs in inclusive set up.
Tremblay, P. (n.d.). Comparative Outcomes of Two Instructional Models for Students with Learning Disabilities: Inclusion with Co-Teaching and Solo-Taught Special Education. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 251-258. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
Today, under the provisions of IDEA many teachers must be prepared to help students at a variety of different levels including students with disabilities (14). More specifically the “Least Restrictive Environment,” provisions helps students with disabilities to receive time in general education classrooms with their peers (14). To learn more about this provision, special education in general, and to gain the perspective of a general education teacher working with children receiving special education, I spoke with a general education working at an inclusive school (22).
The necessity of education for students throughout the United States and the world continues to grow, making it necessary for teachers in all areas. Though most special education teachers work in public school settings, the need for teachers in residential areas or as tutors in homes or hospital settings still remains ("Teachers-Special Education"). Within the school setting, special educators can take on different roles. Their role may include supporting the general education teacher in the regular education classroom or they may offer resources in a special education setting. The term “inclusion” is often used for special education services offered by supports and accommodations in a regular education classroom with grade level curriculum. “Pull out” services are often in a special education classroom in smaller group settings with academics adjusted to meet their needs. The duties of a special education teacher often combine these responsibilities by determining what will best meet the needs of students.
Collaboration in the world of education has become an increasingly popular method of addressing a variety of school issues, such as curriculum design, behavioral plans, professional development and management of resources. One of the areas in which collaboration is becoming more popular is co-teaching in special education, where special education teachers and general education teachers share the planning and instruction responsibilities for inclusion classrooms (Friend & Cook, 2010). As academic standards for the education of students with disabilities are held to the same standards as their typical peers due to the No Child Left Behind Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the co-teaching model has been increasingly
I also believe that a key element of inclusion is maintaining a close relationship between me and the special education teachers and paraprofessionals that I will be working with. If it is at all possible to work together in one classroom, I believe that this will benefit all my students.
Students with special needs need deserve the same education general education students are presented with. The philosophy of “ Disability Inclusion” concentrates on creating a safe, loving, and effective learning environment for students who suffer from physical, learning, and behavioral disabilities. When a student with disabilities is placed in the same environment as a non-disabled student, the results show wonderful improvement. When we are able to discover the strength of the student we are able to see just how much the student can improve in an inclusion classroom. Disability Inclusion not only sets a new beginning for an equal education of special education students, but it allows for more interaction with the child, and a more hands-on assessment.
Another upside of Inclusion would be the development of friendships. If disabled children were in separated classroom, or schools, they would not have a wide variety of peers to bond with. In inclusive classrooms, children with disabilities can learn from children without disabilities, or vice versa. They will have more opportunities to open up and accept each other and learn to appreciate diversity. With these benefits, there are also downfalls. Inclusion can cause, not only for the non-disabled children to fail, but also for the disabled. For instance, some students who are disabled need extra help, but “…it can be difficult for a teacher to provide these accommodations without distracting the rest of the students” (Jessica Cook). Students with special needs will need extra attention, and while the teacher is helping the special needs student, he will be neglecting the other non-special needs students that also need help. Even the other way around, the teacher would help the non-special needs students, and would start neglecting the special needs students. This could possibly cause students to slowly, or maybe even drastically, start failing. Another example would be that regular teachers are not as “…fully trained as a special education teacher when it comes to providing for the educational, behavioral and physical needs of students with special needs” (Jessica Cook). Some people may say that they can always pair a regular teacher with another
Many children have had learning disabilities for many years. Each year more and more of these children are being helped. Schools are working to improve their special education programs and to have all kinds of students work together in the same classroom. The practice of inclusion was started because educators felt that special needs students would achieve more in traditional classrooms with non-learning disabled students than they would in special education classes. However, research findings suggest that there really is no difference in academic achievement levels for special needs students when they are placed in regular classrooms.
Within the past decades and a big discussion has occurred regarding the most appropriate setting within which to provide education for students in special education. Although the change in the educational environment is significant for handicapped student the concepts of inclusion also bring up new issues for the regular education classroom teachers.
Orr (2009) conducted interviews with special education teachers and the attitudes they have seen in their schools since inclusion was implemented in their schools. Orr (2009) chose fifteen teachers, which included fourteen female and one male teacher who agreed to participate in the study so it was a purposive criterion sample. Twelve of the fifteen teachers taught in a suburban area, two in a rural area, and one in an urban area; but they varied in the age they taught and school. Seven of the fifteen teachers taught in a self-contained classroom while the remaining eight taught in a resource room, where they only saw a student for less than an hour or two a day. Another pattern that showed was that many teachers found that they did not receive any classes that focused on differentiation or inclusion while completing their undergraduate work (Orr 2009). These results are important when considering the implementation of inclusion because it may mean that there is a need to reteach teachers. It is important to consider professional development classes district-wide before implementing inclusion in the classroom.