Casework: Module One- Disability, Ability and Responsibility
Reading through Module One was very interesting to me as I have finally been placed in my TAB experience. Yesterday I was told that most, sometimes all of the children in ECDP (Early Childhood Development Program) classrooms have a reason to be there. Many of them have speech/language or fine/gross motor concerns for their developmental level. There is also a high amount of Program Unit Funded children as well. Most of the children in my classroom have an IPP and are given high amounts of individualized instruction throughout the day. We also have 3 to 4 Educational assistants in our class at a time (16-20 students).
This chapter discussed the idea of inclusion, which is clearly the goal of ECDP in having these children brought into the school system as early as age 3. The authors talked about the desire for teachers to label the children in their class early and have adequate assessments done in order to receive enough funding to support the children's needs. I am finding that there is an overwhelming amount of support through EA's, speech therapists, occupational therapists, as well as mental and physical health workers that work together to ensure that each child will be able to have the support they need to start in Kindergarten next year.
In comparison with my own experiences in the school system, I can only distinctly remember those children who were moderate to severely disabled and were almost always in a segregated classroom. Although they were in our classroom, I remember that most of their time they were taken out to work with other special needs students and their teachers. This has been a huge step forward in my opinion for classrooms towards inclusion. Now, those students who need extra support are almost always given that in the natural setting of the classroom. This provides their support workers to see how their behaviours and abilities are accepted in the classroom community.
Another thing that I remember is that as a student, I didn't notice any of the types of disabilities that I am aware of and see everyday in the classroom now. Learning disabilities such as dyslexia or language comprehension difficulties often (definitely not always!!) exist in students who are disruptive in class and not bonded well with their peers. When I think back at my elementary classroom and think of the students in there that stood out to me as annoying and disruptive and I wonder if they struggled from disability that was not considered appropriately by the teacher.
This chapter has made me think about the responsibility of teachers to be inclusive to all students with all varying degrees of abilities. I have begun to question my own assumptions about the needs for diagnosing and assessing and when this is appropriate. My experiences in ECDP have tied in extremely well to this module, and from the looks of it more to come!
Case 1, Module 1
Case One, Module One
Christopher will need extra support due to his new diagnosis. The goals of his new resources should be designed to catch him up in the areas of mathematics and language arts so that he can participate in as much of the regular programming as possible. I think that Ms. Melrose is very correct in her desire to keep Christopher in the classroom. Children that suffer from various disabilities often suffer even greater challenges socially. These students are often, at the least, misunderstood by the majority of students and at the worst, a target for bullying. I am assuming that one of the reasons that she wishes Christopher remains in the classroom is to continue the social benefits that being taught in a group setting has. When students are interacting with each other and with the adults in the room, the teacher is provided many opportunities to teach to particular behaviours that the children exhibit.
Much of the influence I have had working in early childhood classrooms has shown me that the trend to remove students from their classroom and away from their peers for specialized instruction is declining. I was first surprised that this was even the schools choice to remove Christopher for his extra support. From what I have seen, the support always comes into the classroom and adapts to the natural learning environment of children.
There is much to consider when making a decision about whether children should remain in the classroom or be taken out to receive the support they need to manage their disability. I am interested in hearing my own peers experiences with this? Are students with various disabilities in your classrooms often removed?
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Considered Response Module 1, Case 1
Considered Response: Module One, Case One
I can understand what the text book is saying in its call for inclusion by eliminating the labelling that occurs for children in the school system. I agree that teachers are equipped and capable of teaching all students with diverse needs. I believe that a teachers attitudes towards the disabilities and their outlook on the child's abilities will be a defining factor in their success socially and academically. As I read through a case completed by a peer, she discussed how she had two very different teacher approaches to inclusion. Teachers who have a way to include the services required for some disabilities without making it a disruption to the learning have mastered what policies mean to be inclusive.
The thing that I struggled with when reading this module, is that I find it hard not to agree with teachers' desires to have these children assessed and diagnosed at a young age. Schools need to put in the effort to identify the needs of their students. The fact is that money will bring to them professionals that have been specifically trained to help children find ways to be successful at school with their disabilities. If these resources are spent in the correct way, we are still able to promote inclusive education for children with disabilities.
I wanted to elaborate a little bit on how the discussion of inclusion in this module was evident in my TAB classroom. An Early Childhood Development Program is designed to consist of a quarter of the children with severe learning or physical disabilities, one quarter mild/moderate disabilities and one half normally function children. However, in my class there are only a few that fall within expected development. Because there is such a high rate of disabilities within the classroom, these teachers need to focus on making their plans inclusive, every day. The lessons/centres are designed in mind of the children with the greatest difficulty but can be easily adapted to provide challenges to those more advanced. All of the difficulties these children have, usually within speech or fine/gross motor areas are met by the special resources hired within the classroom environment.
In this module, we studied the story of a young man named Christopher Melrose who was recently diagnosed with a learning disability. The school took the position that they wanted to provide Christopher with extra support outside of the classroom. His mother was opposed to this solution. I have identified a few of the reasons for her concerns with this as the stigma that is involved with being in a special needs classroom, the effects on his self esteem, and the loss of teaching time that would happen in the classroom with regards to interactions with peers and adults. To have a better understanding of the appropriate way to manage this situation so that the child is receiving the needed support and the mom is content with both decisions I will give some resources and support for both points of view.
Inclusive Education for Christopher
Hornby (2011) talks about the importance of social inclusion within schools, we must then ensure that the school as a society including all of its members begins to be more understanding of the needs of these special needs students. In reading my peers responses to this case, a common theme was the concern for self esteem of the children involved. Schools need to design
In a notice designed to help people understand how the administration has a big impact on how important the school is as a society in order to promote inclusive education listed several reasons why having a separate program for helping children with special needs are. They listed;
- Separate programs track and marginalize students of color and students of lower social classes.
- Separate programs are costly.
- Separate programs require personnel to expend a tremendous amount of resources in determining eligibility.
- Separate programs result in some students receiving services and others being denied.
- Separate programs fragment a student’s day.
- Separate programs blame and label students.
- Separate programs enable educators and students not to change.
- Separate programs prevent transfer of educator and student knowledge back to integrated environments.
(Salisbury, 2005). The important points that they mention in this are the ones that are effecting the esteem and learning experiences of the students.
Special Education classes for Christopher
Special education professionals and parents alike are concerned that regular education teachers have neither the time, nor the expertise to meet their children's needs. "The learning disabilities field seems to recognize that being treated as an individual can usually be found more easily outside the regular classroom" (Inclusion, pros and cons, 2012)
In Christopher's case, if the school feels that it is entirely in his best interest to be removed from the classroom in order to provide the best education they need to explain that his needs are best met by a professional trained in areas of Learning disabilities. In a report which defined the population of disabled students in the school system, one-third of parents felt that their childs needs were not met because their school did not have the staffing or the services required. The fact that Christopher's school is willing to provide extra support to him needs to be recognized by his parents and an agreement reached.
Conclusion
Although there is clearly not only one correct answer to the dilemma faced by the Melrose's, the school and the parents have to form a plan that works in the best interest of Christopher. They need to have open communication and work together to ensure that his educational and social needs are being met within the school. The push for inclusive education as is described in module one is a good start to help the parents know that the school system is aware of the stigmatism associated with sepecial needs classrooms and they will work on as much inclusive practice as possible with respect to his individual needs.
References
Educational services and the disabled child. (2008). Retrieved January 26, 2012 from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/81-004-x/2006005/9588-eng.htm
Hornby, G. (2011). Inclusive education for children with special educational needs: A critique. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 58 (3).
Inclusion: The pros and cons. (2012). Issues...About Change, 3 (4). Retrieved from http://www.sedl.org/change/issues/issues43/concerns.html
Salisbury, C. & McGregor, G. (2005). Principles for Inclusive Schools. Retrieved January 26, 2012 from http://www.urbanschools.org/pdf/principals.inclusive.LETTER.pdf
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Assignment 3, Module 2: Case Study One
Joan is faced with some challenges in her new teaching position, both teaching a new grade level as well as teaching behavioural students in an inclusive classroom. I have had previous experience working in a group home settings with children (and supporting these children in their classrooms) who were experiencing extreme social and emotional disturbances which resulted in severe behavioural issues for the children. I know from this, that routine is the number one thing when considering behaviour management plans for these children. I feel that it is imperative that Joan set up fairly strict routines for her classroom, and this needs to start in September. Although this is especially important for the children in her class with behaviour concerns, it will also be beneficial to the class as a whole.
When clear routines are established, students know what is expected of them right away and this sets them up to consider their options when choosing to follow the rules or not. This means that Joan also needs to be consistent with her consequences for not following what she asks as well as providing ample positive feedback when the routine/rules are followed. These students need to be made aware of their choices in every situation and aware of what will happen for them in every situation. For example, if Joan set up the rule that before students can leave at the end of the day, the chairs must be placed on top of their desk, this must be consistent every day with no exceptions and a clear consequence such as if it is not done the students cannot leave the classroom. This way, if a student does not wish to put up his chair she can remind him of his choices, the positive one being put up his/her chair and as a result go home with the rest of the class; the other choice is the negative one of not putting up his chair resulting in him/her staying behind after the bell and not joining friends on the bus, schoolyard etc.
I have found that children who are identified as having behaviour issues in the classroom, often (not always) come from unstable and unsupportive homes. They respond very well to structure and some “tough love” as this might not of been present at home. Although Joan might struggle with being so strict at first, she will find that she is better able to form a relationship with her students that allows for greater instructional time and less behaviour modification time in the classroom.
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Assignment 4, Module 2: Case 2
Mr. Jackson is a rare teacher if he has never taught children who did not respond well to his teaching methods! David needs to do some research on his own to help to understand the types of learning disabilities that Ben and John have. Having some background knowledge of their type of disorder will provide him with information from other people and teachers who have had children with this type of LD in their classroom. Hearing their experiences and strategies would be a good resource for him to have as his first time in teaching these students. Often, the stories that staff tell in PLC, PD or staff room sharing give teachers a sense of second hand experience.
Aside from researching the cases of other students with the same disability, David also needs to get to know these students and get a clear understanding of the way that they learn. Before he is able to be effective in his math teaching he could try using different assessment techniques to see their mathematical capabilities in a concrete way. Although I understand the time and resource constraints in a classroom, it would be beneficial for David to test these students in a way that he (or a support staff) is available to break down the learning sequence and ask questions while the process is happening. Asking “why”, “how” or “what was was your thinking” during their math lesson will help the teacher see where their struggles lay.
Often children like this can go unnoticed in a class such as applied math, however these children will hopefully be funded for extra support that will be able to speak aloud and stop problems with the boys mathematical thinking as it is happening. For example, if the child struggles with order of operations or is not sure what the question means, hindering them from solving the problems the Educational Assistant will be able to help them slow down the process.
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Assignment 7, Module 4
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Assignment 5: Module 3, Case 1
In module 3, there is discussion about presenting material in a way that is engaging and not redundant to learners. Many children, not only those with disability might be successful in learning by having greater options in their methods of showing their work. For example, the chart showing, “say it, show it, model it, different media,” offers examples of the different ways that the students can gather material. In a geography class I believe there is a great deal of room for representing learning in different ways. If Monisha has open ended options/ response and assessment accommodations for all of her students she will avoid it looking as though she has made special accommodations for Brian. Her and Brians other supports can design projects that are most suitable to his learning needs to ensure he is capable.
Monisha will most likely have to create an IPP/IEP for Brian. Depending of the severity of the learning disabilities and Brians unique strengths within geography, Monisha will likely need to make some curriculum modifications that will be included in his IPP. For example, if Brian is struggling in Geography because he cannot remember the names of places without a prompt, he may have a goal such as; Brian will be able to label a map of the capital cities in Canada by selecting from a list of cities.
The module says that in this creation of the IEP, Monisha will likely develop as an educator as Brians needs will help to remind her of the complex needs that a class of learners comes with. If Monisha has made many changes in her classroom with regards to accomodations for assessment and other communication changes she should monitor the success of these changes. As she sees her students increase in confidence and abilities in geography she will be able to recognize what works for each group of students. As she continues to do this she will become more capable of creating the meaningful and engaging lesson plans that she hopes for.
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Assignment 6: Module 3, Case 2
As a student who suffered from test anxiety throughout highschool and university, I can entirely relate to the concerns that Tracy is having regarding her diploma exams. Students like Tracy, and others who do not have exceptions, depend on the small amount of testing that is predictable; the time, the length, the location, etc. Changing the routine for Tracy will increase her anxiety around the test which will affect her results.
Children/adolescents with AD/HD require special circumstances for exams or other assignments that require long periods of direct focusing. Having them write a test in a room full of their peers could be hugely distracting. Things that you or I may not notice such as someone twirling a pen, or breathing heavily will be a distraction to Tracy's attention that the test is demanding. There are direct reasons (likely outlined in her IPP) that state that she is to be doing tests in a resource room. When these plans were made for Tracy, there would have been a great deal of thought placed into this arrangement and clear reasons of why this exception will make her more successful in her studies. To change this on her for final tests is setting her up for failure.
The fact that Tracy is managing to remain about on par with her classmates is evidence of a successful learning plan for her as an individual. The school needs to support her in a way that continues what they have been doing thus far for her. Although the school is going through renovations, they should still be able to provide a quiet place for Tracy to complete her exams that will remove her from distractions.
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Assignment 7, Module 4
Step 1: What is known: Gathering referral information
Mrs. Janes seems to be caught off guard by the registration of Salim in her class. The information that the principle gave her was:
- Living in a motel with mom on 7th ave.
- Awaiting to find out about Refugee status
The information that I think will be important for Mrs. Janes to gather is:
- English proficiency- in speaking, understanding directions, reading and comprehension
- Whether he attended school in his previous home, and how consistent his attendance was
- Literacy and Mathmatical skills that are within his zone of instructional readiness(if it was the case that he did attend English school). She could possibly sit with him and do some pre-tests for this grade level and not only record his answers but analyze the skills he is utilizing to reach answers or understand what he is reading.
Strengths and Concerns:
- Mrs. Janes is likely concerned about the level of English that he has first of all
- Concerned about what to do with him while providing individualized attention to other students
- Concerned about the importance he may place on school because it was not a priority to most people in his country as it was war torn and the children often had other responsibilities
- Some concern about interactions with the students in the class. I am sure that she hopes he will find a friend that will help to accustom him to rules and routines in the classroom.
- She may be concerned that the war torn country that he comes from could have had a negative impact on his behaviour which will change the culture of the classroom as it is now
- It was difficult to record any of Salim's strengths from the video as there was no evidence of him interacting, however his knowledge and history coming from a war torn country with very different values and norms will be a strength that hopefully he will be able to enrich the learning in the class and help the other students to understand different points of view.
Step 2: What might be happening and why: Generating hypotheses
Now add the information provided by others at the school meeting and any other available information. Create a list of possible contributing factors. Consider possibilities that have not yet been mentioned. In addition to the referral information, you can find clues in the discussion of teachers, and in the exhibits. As a rule of thumb, you should be able to think of at least seven possible contributors:
1) Involvement in the education system in previous home
2) The interest of the child in becoming involved with classmates and learning.
3) Communication between parents, home, teachers, school and government agencies such as the immigration centre that the one teacher talks about.
4) If there is no English, lack of understanding any basic directions.
5) Cultural differences which could affect the student teacher relationship (ex: if his culture didnt allow looking women in the eye, the teacher needs to be aware of this and know how to respond respectfully).
6) Culture shock as he is introduced to the new freedoms he has in Canada/America
7) As the family awaits the result of their refugee status, parents are really stressed causing negative effect on the children (their mood could affect the children's mood or their time to interact with parents).
8)
While the family moves in and awaits status, they are probably not able to provide children with adequate nurturing that is needed entering a new classroom not knowing anyone.
9)
The child himself might be worrying about whether he will be staying in this new environment or sent back home, which could cause him to not able to focus.
Step 3: What you need to find out: Checking hypotheses by collecting more information
These are possible ways to collect more information on the hypotheses mentioned above:
1) To find out previous involvement in schools, it would be important to ask the family or student. The teacher could also do internet/phone research to find out more about the state of the country during the time Salim lived there.
2) The teacher can encourage play within the classroom with games that do not involve a lot of english speaking. They can gauge if the child is showing interest which might be noticed in his emotions such as smiling or laughing.
3) To understand the parents level of communication she will need to test this out by meeting with/interviewing the family. It might be a good idea to have a few people there at once so that they can help eachother with issues such as language barriers. The teacher should introduce them to the methods of communication such as the agenda or letters home that the family should become familiar with.
4) Coming to know Salim's english proficiency will happen through general conversations with him and
through observation of him interacting with peers.
5) To understand cultural differences Mrs. Janes could research the country he comes from and get a general understanding of basic customs. She will have to explain and model different ways that are appropriate in our culture.
6) Mrs. Janes will have to just watch for signs that Salim is uncomfortable in different situations and see how she can help him. Maybe she could partner him with a mature student in her class that would be helpful.
7) To understand how the family is getting through this difficult time, Mrs. Janes will have to observe behaviours during interview. She can offer support by suggesting different places the family can go for help so that there is as little impact on the children as possible.
8) To see if the child is given enough nurturing and support at home would be very difficult. Her role will just have to be as supportive as possible while at school and be empathetic of his situation.
9) To find out if the child is worrying she might have to have Salim see a counsellor outside of the classroom. Meeting with him and his family will also be helpful in determining more information.
Step 4: What you think is happening: Arriving at tentative judgements
This is clearly a very unstable time for Salim and his family. I would make the judgement that his home-life is going to have a major effect on how he responds at school. His parents are unsure of status and this uncertainty must be a strong source of difficulties. His abilities to understand the English Language is also going to be an area that she needs to focus on with him for a while. She will need to provide a lot of individualized attention into determining how much of the language he can read and understand in the literature and in conversation.
Step 5: What you say: Reporting your findings
Mrs. Janes will need to focus on getting extra support in the classroom for Salim that is based on his needs. She needs to provide a supportive and understanding classroom environment that will help him to see that his move is going to be a positive experience where he will be safe and cared for in a school environment. As Mrs. Janes goes through all of the strategies to help her assessment for learning, she will hopefully be able to identify areas that need the most help for Salim and the school will be supportive in providing these services for him and his family. Having an interpreter available as the teacher suggested will hopefully be an effective method to help Salim learn in the classroom. His family might need outside support to help them to become familiar with the differences in Canada.
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Assignment 8: Module 5 Step 1: What is known: Gathering referral information
This is the information listed in principle notes, psycho-educational assessments, and her case-team meeting:
- Tammy is artistically motivated and talented
- Tammy struggles in her classes and is close to not passing due to lack of completion of written work
- She attends tutoring, and other extra curricular classes that sometimes take her longer than she feels the other students take
The information that I think will be important for her case team to gather is:
- The effectiveness of the tutoring she is provided and what skills are being covered
- What is being lost between her great ideas and how she transfers that to the paper
- More testing to determine if the gifted LD is the correct designation for Tammy. If so, what supports are available to her in and out of school?
Strengths and Concerns:
- Tammy is artistically talented
- Tammy scores high on spoken/listening language/comprehension in standardized tests, but low in mathematical reasoning and written expression on standardized tests
- She is very successful in classes where she has to express herself through arts such as drama
- Concern for her written work
- Concern that she doodles during class (parents and teachers worried about this).
- Concern that things are not being handed in, which could result in her failing
Step 2: What might be happening and why: Generating hypotheses
These are some reasons that Tammy might not be successful in her written work:
1) When she is writing work down, is she losing focus at a consistent point?
2) Does her doodling in class actually help her focus?
3) Are there any sensory needs that could be affecting Tammy during her writing time?
4) Is the method she is using for her written work an effective tool for her?
5) The dad seems unsupportive of her desire to be involved in art, only pushing for university.
6) Teaching methods and curriculum delivery could not be engaging or interesting to her.
7) As many people in the videos seem to think, there could be an underlying LD (Gifted) .
Step 3: What you need to find out: Checking hypotheses by collecting more information
These are possible ways to collect more information on the hypotheses mentioned above:
1) Sitting down with Tammy and having her discuss her thinking process out loud so that the teacher can see where misunderstandings are.
2) Teach-test with and without doodling to see if Tammy's doodling is indeed helping her. Teach again afterwards to ensure the learning is happening.
3) Test out different sensory objects available at the school to see if Tammy is provided relief which could increase her written work: example lap weight, heavy work, chewing gum etc.
4) Maybe she could use a computer or other speech tool to help her translate her ideas to paper. Test if these methods improve her grades.
5) Interview the family and the student to find out more about how she is supported and provide evidence of successful artists.
6) Try different curriculum modifications and see if her interest in completing work changes.
7) Have her assessed by professionals in conjunction with reports from family and herself to determine if she should be labelled Gifted/LD. This will allow for funding and increased support in the school.
What does the designation Gifted/ Learning Disabled mean:
Students who are designated Gifted/ Learning Disabled are students who have a unique and extraordinary talent in one area, but often struggle with some aspects of learning. These students are considered very bright with high IQ's, but may have a difficult time reading, writing or with mathematical reasoning which greatly affects their success in the classroom. Because the students in this category are very bright and can understand that they have difficulties for a specific reason, it is important to ensure that they understand both their strengths and their weaknesses. Having this knowledge will help to motivate them to improve themselves in their area of struggle. They can often slip through the class because they do not show negative results in school until later than elementary. It is important to recognize that these students do need extra support and individualized plans to strengthen their weak areas. The teachers that are planning for Tammy and other students need to recognize her strengths and provide an environment for her where her artistic talents are nurtured and encouraged.
