Dr. Victoria Pettis

Summer Cohort 2006

EDUL 6023

September 25, 2006

 

 

EDUL 6023: Managing Special Education Programs in Schools (1 hour)


This course provides essential knowledge and skills regarding due process, individualized education programs, and evaluation and assessment of exceptional students.                                                            

NOTE:  In the assignment below, I created a list of 11 effective inclusive strategies to serve students with disabilities.

 

 

 

Activity 3: Strategies for Inclusive Efforts

 

Eleven Effective Inclusive Strategies to Serve Students with Disabilities

 

The following list reflects 18 years of tried and true strategies that really amounts to good teaching for all students:  

 

1. On the first day of school or during the first week of school, students should work together to expand/elaborate on these two class rules: Be appropriate. Be responsible.

2. Although the teachers has high expectations for all of his/her students, he/she will make any academic and/or behavioral accommodations/modifications necessary for students with disabilities, as required by educational plans such as 504, IEPs, BIPs, etc. The teacher will do his/her best to honor any “reasonable” parent requests (i.e., sign agenda, give advance notification of tests, quizzes, projects, etc.) that will ensure student success.

3. Whatever subject you are responsible for teaching – core or elective – be prepared to differentiate the content in order to reach all of your students.

4. Whatever subject you are responsible for teaching – core or elective – appeal to the students’ seven intelligences. Offer them choices that will appeal to their special strength, skill, or talent.

5. Whatever subject you are responsible for teaching – core or elective – present content that is engaging and relevant to the lives of your students. Even if the content is boring, the teacher should link information to students and their lives. Let course content have real meaning for students.

6. Use such strategies as peer tutoring, peer coaching, cooperative learning, and reciprocal teaching as strategies when students are learning content. Remember these strategies must be taught, and it will take students time to learn how to work with others. Don’t give up the first time these strategies fail.

7. Learn to deliver instruction in several different ways – i.e., written (visual), verbal (audio), hands-on, etc.) so that all students have an equal chance at success in the classroom.

8. When needed, increase or decrease the pace for learning to allow for maximum student success. This may translate to creating individual timelines for completing certain class asignments.

9. When giving students assignments, if at all possible, give students the opportunity to suggest (and do) alternative assignments (which still relate to the objective students are trying to achieve).

10. Hold students accountable and responsible for homework and class assignments. They should be expected to turn in assignments on time and assignments should reflect their BEST work. When assignments are late, they should be taken but docked for lateness. Students should be asked to redo assignments that are illegible, incomplete, or are poor in content or appearance.

11. Do NOT wait until there is a problem before you contact parents. Establish a friendly rapport with them during these crucial times: before school starts (meet and greet parents during school or grade level orientations or send a postcard home introducing yourself to the parent and/or student; first day (or days) of school (send home a “parent homework” assignment[1] where parents can write you a personal letter telling you anything he/she wants you to know about his/her child or spend the first few weeks of school establishing first contact by phone all); special events such as Open House, field trips, etc.; and during the school year (make frequent contacts (positive and negative) with parents about grades and behavior through teacher emails, phone calls, notes in the agenda, letters to parents, teacher newsletter, etc.)

 


[1] I tried this parent homework assignment – which I titled “The Million Words or Less” Parent Homework Assignment – for the first time this year. It was a hit with parents in both my gifted and average 7th grade English classes.