Isabelle Fryatt
EIS 265
Dr. Castleman
02/15/15
Supporting Learning Disabled and LGBTQIA Students
As a future teacher candidate, it is important to become as familiarized as possible with the various differences and experiences students may have within a single school or classroom. Having knowledge of other cultures, exceptionalities, and ethnic experiences will make understanding students’ views and perspectives easier and more comprehensive while also creating a safer and community-like atmosphere within the classroom. Students with learning disabilities (LD) are the largest groups of students with exceptionalities in the classroom today (“Fast Facts,’ 2013). LD students have held this ranking since the 1980’s. The numbers for the next leading group of exceptional students in the classroom (speech/language impaired students) are almost half that of LD students (“Fast Facts,’ 2013). Students with learning disabilities may not seem that different from their neurotypical peers. They may have trouble learning in some academic areas, even when provided highly effective instruction, but do fine in others (Fuchs, Fuchs, Mathes, Lipsey, and Roberts, 2002). The unevenness in their academic development is a main characteristic for LD students (Torgesen, 2002). Other typical characteristics that might be found include low achievement rates, easily distracted, lack of social skills, lack of motivation, and difficulty with information-processing (Rosenberg, 2011, p. 142). Of students
The issue the author has presented in chapter 5 is what should educators teach students with moderate and severe developmental disabilities. The author states that she became interested in studying how students with moderate and severe disabilities might meet grade level academic content expectations mandated by No Child Left Behind. Despite the lack of evidence on teaching grade level academic content to students with cognitive disabilities, the federal government required schools to include students with moderate to severe disabilities in school accountability systems.
Before I can delve into my students’ racial and cultural backgrounds, I must first look at my own. I am a white American, born and raised in Minnesota. My ancestors moved to America from France and Norway; however, in my family, our traditions are more Norwegian than French. For example, every Christmas we make lefse and krumkake, two traditional Norwegian foods, as a family. Growing up in Minnesota I have seen many fellow students and teachers who come from similar backgrounds, meaning of European decent. It was not until college that I met people from various locations around the world who have very different cultural backgrounds. It is my belief, that in order for me to be the best teacher I can be, that I need to be open to difference and willing to expand my horizons.
These students have normal and sometimes above normal intelligence but they struggling with problems that hinder them from learning and progressing like other students. More recently it is thought that a student with learning disability could show one of more than 500,000 combinations of cognitive or socioemotional problems (Heward, 2010). Learning disabilities cause students to struggle with so many things in school such as academics, emotions, and socializing and learning disabilities also cause students to have problems away from school. Students with learning disabilities may experience problems with learning to read or comprehend what they read, learning to do math or develop mathematical reasoning, learning vocabulary, spelling or the written language, and learning to get along with others and exhibit appropriate social skills. They may also have problems with paying attention, hyperactivity, and sometimes behavior,
Teachers must learn about their student’s cultures if they want to educate them to the best of their ability. Many of the students in culturally diverse classrooms will want to learn in different ways. Some will want to learn in pairs, groups, as a class, or just alone. If the teacher is educated in their culture then lessons can be adjusted to appeal to every student as much as possible instead of forcing some to forget about their culture and learn like others. Students from
Today in classrooms there will be any students that come from different backgrounds. It is the teacher’s reasonability to make sure that each student feels welcoming in the classroom whether they come from a different background or not. Teachers need to make sure that they know their students and were their students come from. By doing this the teacher can create relationships with their students and the teacher can use that information to incorporate in the classroom.
Today’s modern classroom is diverse. This creates a number of challenges for teachers who need to create a balance of high standards while meeting the needs of their students. The U.S. Department of Education reported that almost ninety-six percent of general education teachers have students in their classroom with learning disabilities. This report also showed that there are over six million students with disability classifications in the United States (26th Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities
Prior to tailoring learning to the student’s needs, it deems necessary to establish the Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) through additional testing and a specialized team observations. Once students are labeled as needing special education teachers can create specific problems
This chapter discussed the study of students with severe and multiple disabilities and how they share the same history as other disciplines within special education. The book also states that the disabilities the students may have either appeared before, during, or after birth. However, another interesting fact that the book stated is how this group of students is known to be the smallest among all students with disabilities. Another interesting fact is students are limited in their cognitive ability, academic achievement, social and emotional development and behavior skills. It also stated that with the help and support from professional and parents the expectation for the students to succeed should remain high. With the hopes to one day
Growing, developing and learning are the facts of life for all children. Each day children are faced with many new concepts and various challenges. Can you imagine how it feels for a child to face not only new challenges life has, but to face these challenges while living with a learning disability? These challenges are met not just when they begin school either. Students suffer from learning disabilities from the moment they begin learning, not when they start school. Learning disabilities are real and they affect millions of people. “One such disability that affects over approximately 15 percent of the total American population is dyslexia” ( Nosek 5).
On the other study conducted by Waldron, the results show that children with learning disabilities did poor on math compared to children without learning disabilities. Programs to help children with learning disabilities improve in math should be enforce in every school to help these children succeed. The dropout rate on children with learning disabilities was 14.1 percent on a longitudinal study conducted by Doren. The reason for dropouts was that children with learning disabilities felt they were not compatible academically as children without learning disabilities. They felt disadvantaged compared to the other children. This shows that children with learning disabilities are in greater danger to dropping out of school. Programs designated for children with learning disabilities to help them on their reading, math, and writing would drop the rate and help those students graduate
In today’s educational environment, all students expect to receive the same level of instruction from schools and all students must meet the same set of standards. Expectations for students with learning disabilities are the same as students without any learning difficulties. It is now unacceptable for schools or teachers to expect less from one segment of students because they have physical disabilities, learning disabilities, discipline problems, or come from poor backgrounds. Standardize testing has resulted in making every student count as much as their peers and the most positive impact has been seen with the lowest ability students. Schools have developed new approaches to reach these previously underserved students while
According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, students with disabilities should be placed in a “least restrictive environment.” One of the main ideas of this act was to improve the learning experiences of students with disabilities by giving them learning opportunities outside of a special education classroom. The number of students with disabilities being placed in their general education classrooms is increasing more and more each year. The U.S Department of Education’s 27th annual report to Congress on the implementation of The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2005) indicates that the number of students with disabilities in general education classrooms has risen to almost 50 percent. This is about a 17 percent increase from the 1997 U.S
While observing the student with a learning disability, I observed a few interesting qualities that this student had that stood out from the other students. One of the qualities that I observed was that he was quiet. Unlike the rest of his class who would turn around and talk with the kids behind them, he would just sit there and wait for further instructions. Another interesting observation that I made was that my student would be interested in his work, but as time went on he began to lose interest in his work and would need someone to remind him to stay on a task which was one of his accommodations. I found that his ability to become unmotivated was more prevalent when he was taking notes with the class off the Smart Board compared to when the class was in a group discussion and the teacher was asking open ended questions.
Incessant disengagement is a prevalent issue for students with disabilities. Students with disabilities are known to have more off-task behaviors and classroom disruptions than their typically developing peers. (Rock, 2005). Low levels of on-task behavior can be a significant problem for teachers and students. Research demonstrates that there is a strong correlation between learning and academic engaged time. “In a seminal investigation of students’ engaged academic behavior in secondary classrooms, Frederick (1977) found that high-achieving students were academically engaged 75% of the time, compared to 51% for low-achieving students. The longer students remain disengaged from tasks, the more likely their academic performances will suffer, resulting in undesirable outcomes” (Rock, 2005). In addition, more students with disabilities being included in general education classrooms than ever before. Developmental disabilities are a group of conditions due to an impairment in physical, learning, language, or behavior areas (e.g., autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, vision or hearing impairment, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, and specific learning disabilities) (CDC, 2015). According to the National Center for Educational Statistics (2015), between 1989 and 2013, the percentage of students with disabilities who were in a general education class for 80 percent or more of the school
Instructional choice is a fundamental area of teaching students with learning difficulties that needs consideration. It should be explicit. Nothing left to chance. Effective teaching practices are those which provide all students with maximum opportunities to learn. The term ‘learning difficulties’ is a general one used widely and without much precision. Usually, the term applies to approximately 10 to 16% of the school population and refers to those students who have general problems in learning (DETYA, 2000). Students with learning disability display inadequacies in cognitive processes that have