I feel that to best understand and help struggling students, it’s important to understand the process of learning and theories behind it. “A child’s ability to learn depends on the child’s current maturational status” (Lerner & Johns, 2015, p. 131). Developmentally, “each individual has a preset rate of growth for various human functions, including cognitive abilities” (Lerner & Johns, 2015, p. 131). Various abilities mature at different rates, however, there are certain milestones that children and adolescents hit within an age range; this includes learning. This should be kept in mind, as teaching needs to be at the appropriate difficulty level for the student; this is called the Zone of Proximal Development. Each students zone is different, however, a majority of a general education classroom will fall into the same zone, as they are alike developmentally. It becomes difficult to determine this level when students fall above or below their typically developing peers. …show more content…
Understanding the theory of learning will aide those servicing students in special education because they will have a better understanding of the process of it. Some challenging behavior may be typical for that age group or may be a learned behavior. While this can be difficult for teachers, most students respond positively to lower level behavioral interventions that can be implemented for the entire classroom. Positive reinforcement, redirecting, or setting clear, concise classroom rules are all easy to implement behavioral supports that can help to curb challenging behavior in typically developing students, as well as students who may have higher level behavioral
Special education teachers make a conscious decision to work on a daily basis with students who display various disabilities. Some of the disabilities include autism, negative social and emotional behaviors, mental retardation, multiple disabilities, mobility disabilities, traumatic brain injuries, as well as students who suffer from being blind and deaf. When these disabilities interfere with the daily educational activities of a child, the child is in need of the valuable opportunities provided in a self-contained classroom.
Mrs .Sikkema said she has foyr high achiever students and two students who are on behavioral plans (Sikkema,2015,personal communication). She also said it is important to document and observe the students so you can understand their needs. I like how Mrs. Sikkema meet the learning needs of all the children in her classroom. Mrs.Sikkema help me to do my lesson plan in a timely manner. When I observe the classroom I was shock that the students was well behaved and attentive to the students. I have a lot of expereiences implementing different leson plans which was time consumer but it help me to do be able to implemnent a lesson plan in the future. Differentiated Instruction for Exceptional Learners provides an introduction to children and youth with a wide range of exceptional educational needs. There are five learning style auditory, visual, tactile, kinesthetic, and tactile/ kinesthetic (Differeitate Instructional
Critical response journal three is a reflective entry to detailed questions and thoughts pertaining to managing student behavior and promoting effective behavior in special needs students. Effective classroom practices and positive behavioral support approaches help to foster student success in the school environment.
In special education it is vital to have an understanding of human behavior and how it relates to learning disabilities. It is imperative to have a grasp of the concepts of the models and how it relates to the educators of tomorrow. (Wheeler, John J., Richey, David Dean, 2010) Understanding models of behavior also helps to have a more cohesive and positive classroom.
Many special education students struggle to learn the curricula material when the information is organized and expressed by standard strategies and through general special education programs. However, customizing lesson plans and teaching strategies according to the particular needs of each individual student can help motivate each student to thrive and finish school. The customized plans can enable the students to more effectively comprehend the information, become engaged by the course material, and remain encouraged by the improved test scores. The customized lesson plans should also include strict attendance and scheduling procedures to help enhance the stable atmosphere of the educational experience and to help monitor the progress of the students (Allensworth and Easton, 2007). Additionally, another strategy that can reduce the dropout rates is to maintain close relationships with the parents. Ensuring that the teachers establish positive relationships with the families can enable the parents to understand the needs of their children, the tactics being implemented by the teachers, and help the parents encourage their children to remain focused and enthusiastic about the courses. Thus, schools can help reduce the dropout rates of the students by customizing lessons in ways that are most conducive for each individual student
To strengthen / enrich behavior modification strategies that result to positive outcomes, it is recommended that SPED teachers attend seminars and training-workshops with the most recent development and breakthroughs of behavior modification strategies to retool themselves with the fast changing development of special education. A training design for this is proposed in this study.
Special education teachers are trained to work with children who have a wide range of disabilities. One of the primary responsibilities of a special education teacher is to assess her students' cognitive abilities, and modifies the standard age-appropriate curriculum to create a custom plan for the student. This plan is called an individual education program(IEP). An IEP often includes a number of social and emotional development goals as well as specific academic areas to be taught. The special education teacher’s core task is to meet each of the goals established in the students’ IEPs. In some cases, the special education teacher is located in a separate classroom. When this is the case the teacher will creates lessons geared to meet the objectives of the students’ IEPs. In many instances, special education students are placed in regular classrooms. In that situation, the special education teacher attends classes with her students. She often will work with students on life skills and behavior modification techniques as well. Skills that special educational teachers should possess include, better than average stress management, great multi-tasking abilities, quick thinking, and creative problem solving. A special education teacher must be able to think outside the box and develop an array of teaching methods and techniques to meet the needs of each individual student. Special education requires a vast amount of detailed record keeping, so it is essential for these teachers
Naturally, these students are easier frustrated. You may notice these students struggling with time sensitive tasks. Often, these student experience difficulty identifying key points within a lesson. Fortunately, there are some accommodations to help motivate students of all ages who struggle with this disorder, depending on their particular needs. These students often need a more structured, cut-and-dry curriculum. Students may require additional time to completes tasks. Focus on evaluating completed tasks, rather than what hasn’t been finished. Some students may require assistance with organizational methods. Some students may need help with recalling information. The key to success for these students is to identify specific struggle that the student faces and to guide them to a
Special education is instruction tailored to the unique learning needs of an exceptional student. A host of characteristics may make a student ‘exceptional,’ including sensory, physical, cognitive, or communication abilities that differ from those of same-age peers in a way that is relevant to the student’s education. IDEA specifies 13 disability categories that call for special education if the student requires alternate materials, teaching techniques, equipment, and/or environments to learn as a result of a disability. Special education instruction is more controlled in pace, complexity, persistence, structure, reinforcement, teacher-pupil ratio, content, and progress tracking in comparison to what the student’s peers experience in the general education classroom. Some students will require accommodations, or changes to how they learn, whereas other students will excel from modifications, or changes to what they learn. Sample accommodations are
He believed that interactions and the environment that a child is in, influences them in a large way. He also believed that young children are curious and are actively involved in their own learning and the discovery and development. In order to gain and understand Vygotsky’s theories on cognitive development, we must understand two main principles are Zone of actual development (ZAD) and Zone of proximal development (ZEP) which is his main
Every student is different and have different learning styles. What will work for some, might not work well for others. Every student can learn, it’s up to us as educators to make all challenges, opportunities for learning. As a special education teacher my mission to educate, prepare,
Another theoretical approach applies more so to school counseling because it involves finding and implementing interventions for students with behavioral issues in school which would include behaviors caused by disabilities. Thompson discusses a behavior intervention model that
Special education students have severe behavior or emotional issues that can disturb the classroom learning environment for themselves and the non-disabled peers. Disabled students often act out from not feeling accepted, frustration from the difficult material, and their cognitive obstacles. According to the article Time to leave inclusion out, seventy percent of teachers blamed the inclusion of children with special needs for increasingly bad behavior in the classroom.
Educators preserve technique before educating learners’ abilities effectively influence students. Ordinarily, the effectiveness of an educator entrusts dynamic various strategies educate learners. However, learners retain brilliant approach ahead of comprehending findings. I acquire a personal philosophy through reading chapter three & chapter 4 in Foundations of American Education. My personal philosophy is Behaviorism seeing it is similar to the school I worked at as an Teacher’s Assistant. The ideas are similar to what I do currently. The ensuing paper presents my philosophy on special education seeing purpose of schooling, nature of learnings, curriculum,
The main contents of sociocultural theory include: mediation, zone of proximal development, private and inner speech as well as activity theory. And the zone of proximal development(ZPD) which was first put forward by Lev Vygotsky was considered as an another major concept in this theory. It is actually the gap between actual competence level (what problem level a child is able to independently solve), and the potential development level (what problem level could a child solve with guidance from a tutor). In Vygotsky’s view, learning is an interactive, interpersonal activity. The learner can continue expose to knowledge through the social interaction and internalize the external knowledge. Based on the above ideological foundation, the concept of scaffolding Instruction was put forward. Cognitive development in the zone of proximal development stresses the role of a social partner of the student (a teacher or a more skilled person). The instructor becomes a supportive tool for the student to set up their own structure of knowledge by instructive language. And the knowledge of language in