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Reference List for Literature Review

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Special Education News: Educating Children with Special Needs

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Special Education is a specialized area of education which uses unique instructional methods, materials, learning aids, and equipment to meet the educational needs of children with learning disabilities.

Remedial instruction aims to improve a skill or ability in each student. Using various techniques, such a more practice or explanation, repeating the information and devoting more time to working on the skills, the teachers guide each student through the educational process. A student that might, for example, have a low reading level might be given remediation on a one on one basis, phonic instruction and practice reading text aloud.

Any teacher with a bachelors degree in education can join a course on Special Education. There are many collegiate institutions that offer bachelors and masters degree programs in special education. Many organization offer short term programs to aid teachers in becoming more specialized in the area of special education. The most advisable course for those seeking to aid children with learning disabilities is to join courses that last for up to a year.

Special education instructors work with youths and children with a wide range of disabilities. A small percentage of these special education teachers work with students with mental retardation or autism and primarily teach them life skills and basic competency. The majority of special education teachers work with youths with mild to moderate learning disabilities. They use the general education curriculum and modify it to meet each child's individual needs. Most special education instruction teach students at the elementary, middle and secondary levels., though there are some teachers for infants and toddlers. Special education programs provide instruction for specific learning difficulties and disabilities, such as speech and language impairments, emotional disturb ands, hearing and visual impairments, autism and other health impairments. Students are tested and listed under of one of the categories and then paired with teachers that are prepared to work with each group. One of the most critical steps in aiding children with learning disabilities is early detection and intervention and most special education teachers are well qualified to aid the students in overcoming their disabilities.

Special education teachers use various techniques to promote learning. Depending on the disability, teaching methods can include individualized instruction, problem-solving assignments, and small group work. When students need special accommodations in order to take a test, special education teachers see that appropriate ones are provided, such as having the questions read orally or lengthening the time allowed to take the test. Special education teachers help to develop an Individualized Education Program ( IEP) for each special education student. The IEP sets personalized goals for each student and is tailored to the student's individual needs and ability. Teachers work closely with parents to inform them of their child's progress and suggest techniques to promote learning at home. They are involved in the students' behavioral, social, and academic development, helping the students develop emotionally, feel comfortable in social situations, and be aware of socially acceptable behavior. Special education teachers communicate and work together with parents, social workers, school psychologists, speech therapists, occupational and physical therapists, school administrators, and other teachers.

Educators specializing in Special Education use varied techniques to help promote learning. While each child and their disability is different there are standard methods that can aid both the student and the teacher. Some of the most common of these are individualized instruction, problem solving assignments and working in small groups. If a student needs special accommodations to take a test, special education teachers provide the appropriate assistance, such as extending the time needed to take the test or reading the questions aloud. Special education instructors help to organize an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for each student. The IEP sets goals geared specifically for each students needs and ability.

top of: Educating Children with Special Needs

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Remedial instruction aims to improve a skill or ability in each student. Using various techniques, such a more practice or explanation, repeating the information and devoting more time to working on the skills, the teachers guide each student through the educational process.

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Effective Teaching Strategies to encourage
learning behavior

(2013)

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Allison,
R. Canyon Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies: The Lived Experiences

(2012) p. 36-31

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Meeting Students' Needs Through Scaffolding

2012

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Journeys: DI for Students with Special Needs

(Chard, D)

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Teaching students with...

(Background Info)

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Faculty control the curriculum in the classroom, and determine how curriculum is taught, and how it is assessed. Students who learn differently than how the course is taught, struggle. Students who are unable to meet time constraints due to processing delays, are penalized during timed exams, even though they may know the content thoroughly. If courses are universally designed, to be effective for the different learning styles of students, then there becomes less need for students to require LOA's.

Students are usually the experts on their own disabilities, so do not hesitate to ask them if you need more information about how they learn best. You can also contact the student's assigned Disability Specialist at DSP.

It is helpful to announce at the beginning of the semester, "Students who have Letters of Accommodations from the Disabled Students' Program, please see me during my office hours." You should put a few paragraphs into your course syllabus welcoming students with disabilities and inviting them to visit you for a discussion of their disability-related academic needs. These paragraphs might read as follows:
If you need disability-related accommodations in this class and have an LOA, have emergency medical information you wish to share with me, or need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please inform me immediately. Please see me privately after class or at my office. The Disabled Students' Program (DSP) is the campus office responsible for authorizing disability-related academic accommodations, in cooperation with the students themselves, and their instructors. Students who need academic accommodations, or have questions about their eligibility, should contact DSP, located at 260 César Chávez Student Center. Students may call 642-0518 (voice), 642-6376 (TTY), or e-mail dsp@berkelely.edu.
Recommendations for Inclusive Classrooms

Evening the Playing Field

The intent of LOA's is to provide an even playing field for students with disabilities who have documented functional limitations. Accommodations help mitigate the impact of the disability.

For example, students with slower auditory processing speeds, and/or motor skills may require additional time on exams in order to help compensate for the extended time it takes them to complete the same process as students without the same disability.

How to Build an Even Playing Field

An even playing field begins with the construction of the syllabi. The more pre work done to insure inclusivity, the less surprised and inconvenienced one will be, when a student presents an LOA requiring specific accommodations not already built into the curriculum.

The following questions go beyond the curriculum content, and focus on access and inclusion:

What do I want my students to know?

What do I want my students to be able to do?

What lasting impact do I want to have?

What challenges to inclusion might my presentation style create?

How can I plan my presentations to provide meaningful access to all members of my class, and minimize the need for individual accommodations, without compromising the essential components that I've identified, and in the most inclusive way possible?

The following categories discuss common accommodations found in LOA's, with an explanation as to how to plan ahead to help mitigate any potential curriculum conflicts.

Absences/Attendance Leniency

Some students experience recurrence of a chronic condition requiring bed rest and/or hospitalization. In most situations students are able to make up the incomplete work, but they may need extra time. Students are responsible for meeting with the faculty immediately after such an absence, to negotiate extensions on assignments.

Syllabi

Clearly define course requirements, the dates of exams and when assignments are due. Provide advance notice of any changes.

Lectures

Teach to generalize and to consolidate information.

Go for gist, meaning, and patterns. Try not to get bogged down in details.

Use scripts and teach strategies selectively.

Make sure all expectations are direct and explicit. Don't require students to "read between the lines" to glean your intentions. Don't expect the student to automatically generalize instructions.

Office Visits/Contacts

Provide direct feedback to the student when you observe areas of academic difficulty.

Encourage use of resources designed to help students with study skills, particularly organizational skills.

Avoid idioms, double meaning, and sarcasm, unless you plan to explain your usage.

Written Assignments

If the student has poor handwriting, allow use of a computer if easier for the student.

Use the student's preoccupying interest to help focus/motivate students. Suggest ways to integrate this interest into the course, such as related paper topics.

Proctoring

Make sure the setting for tests takes into consideration any sensitivity to sound, light, touch, etc.

Medical conditions, including medication side-effects, can cause problems with fatigue and stamina which adversely affect attention and concentration. For these reasons, students with medical conditions may need extended time on exams.

Tardiness

Students with some medical conditions may become dizzy and disoriented, or may lack physical stamina. Thus they may be unable to quickly get from one location on campus to another. For these reasons, a student may be late getting to class. Please be patient when this happens.

Preferential seating may be necessary to meet student needs. In a few situations, students may be unable to use the type of chair provided in a particular classroom. If they are forced to stand during class, students may need podiums on which to rest open books and write.

Field Trips/Non-Classroom

Instructors in courses requiring field trips or internships need to work with their students and the Disabled Students' Program to be sure the students' needs are met. For example, the students may require assistance with transportation, specific seating arrangements, accessible environment, and/or frequent rest-breaks.

How DSP Can Assist Instructors at UC Berkeley

The staff of the Disabled Students' Program are happy to assist you. At your invitation we can attend meetings of instructors and GSI's to discuss academic issues of postsecondary students with disabilities and effective instructional methods for these students. Please telephone us at (510) 642-0518, visit us at 260 César Chávez Student Center, or e-mail dsp@berkelely.edu.

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Faculty control the curriculum in the classroom, and determine how curriculum is taught, and how it is assessed. Students who learn differently than how the course is taught, struggle. Students who are unable to meet time constraints due to processing delays, are penalized during timed exams, even though they may know the content thoroughly.

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Learning Styles and VI

(Preda, 2011)

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Learning Styles & Learning Disabilities

-Research/Study/Comparisons

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Learning Style Research - Learning Disabilities

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Students with learning disabilities require instruction that responds to their unique traits. Although LD students' learning styles vary, when their teachers focus on how they prefer to learn rather than on their assumed inability and pacing limitation, those learners' achievement begins to reflect significantly improved learning curves (Brunner & Majewski, 1990; Stone, 1992).

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Understanding Different Learning Styles

(1992)

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The classroom environment can also have a big effect on the amount of learning that occurs. Here again, people are different and have different environmental preferences. Nevertheless, understand what effects the learning process is important to know. Some of the common learning styles and environmental factors that should be considered when attempting to create the best learning conditions are listed below.

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Tips for Teachers

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What works

(Mulligan, 2011)

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Teaching Students with Disabilities

(Brown & Johnson, 2003. p. 21-24)

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Possible Resources:

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Areas to explore:

-Differentiating Instruction

-Effective Programs (Self-contained,

inclusion, day treatment)

-Adaptive Curriculum

-Are students making adequate progress?

-Are curriculum modifications and adaptations

enough?

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Spec Ed teachers struggle with a balance of teaching grade-level

curriculum because most students are below grade-level, alongside

of mastering IEP goals/objectives. Effective practices, studying of learning

styles, etc. will help teachers with a more effective teaching and learning

process.

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Action Research Project:

Different learning styles among different disabilities.

What teaching practices are effective, what aren't.

What practices are beneficial to each individual disability.