Observe this week how your cooperating teacher effectively (or ineffectively) teaches the students with special needs in the classroom. Reflect upon the following questions as you post your blog entry.
What modifications or adoptions are made wtihin the course content or curriculum to meet the needs of the individual learner? How does the teacher utilize large group, small group, and/or individualized instruction to meet the learning needs of students? How are student interests and student choice incorporated in to the students' learning opportunities?
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In my classroom there are a couple students with special needs, but they are not major problems. They are mostly speech or social problems. The teacher includes them in every activity that the rest of the class is doing, they are not really treated any differently inside the classroom. I don't really know if the rest of the class even knows that the students with special needs actually have special needs. They do not treat them any differently and still include them in their games and things like that. Usually in the morning, a therapist will come and get the student and work with them one on one for about 30-45 minutes. Even then, the teacher just says that they are going to play with Ms. so and so, she doesn't let the rest of the class know that he is getting help for a problem. After therapy, the student comes back and just joins right in with whatever the rest of the class is doing at the time, picking up right where he or she left off.
ReplyDeleteI am doing my observing at Duchesne High School. This is a Private Catholic School so there are just a few kids with disabilities. One has Asbergers, and the other has a slight case of Cerebral Palsy. The student with asbergers isn't in the classes I observe, but the student with Cerebral Palsy is in one and plays football. I got to monitor the adaptions on the field and in the classroom by observing the teacher, and helping coach the team. I don't think there is an IEP for this student because the parents want him to participate with the class as a whole. There are occasions when he struggles to perform on the PE activity, or on the field. Alot of PE activities are group activities so he gets to work with others. When there is a problem the kids will help him get through it and he always does. This kid has a big heart. The only adaption that is provided for him is if he has a long walk to his next class they will let him leave early to make it by the bell. As far as his choice in the learning opportunities, he never sits out, he always participates and does everything to the best of his abilities.
ReplyDeleteSarah, I think it is very important that the student participates om a daily basis with the rest of his or her peers. This is important to me because this child gets the everyday life experiences in and out of the classroom to help him or her succeed in the future. I think if they are excluded, they will fall behind socially, which can hurt them in the classroom. The one question I have is about not letting the rest of the class no what is going on. I think it is important for them to know because they can learn alot from these students with disabilities like: how to help them, how to cope with this, and what these type of problems include.
ReplyDeleteIn the junior high classroom I am observing in, there are no disablities but rather, difficulties. Some of the students have problems with paying attention or understanding directions, so the teacher will repeat directions multiple times, making sure to make eyecontact with students that struggle with that.
ReplyDeleteAlso, within the class, the teacher has the students share projects in small groups because the students are more comfortable sharing with a few peers than presenting in front of the entire class.
Andrew, I think it is awesome that you get to observe a student with Ceberal Palsy interacting with other students. I was able to work with multiple kids that had Ceberal Palsy this summer, and they had huge hearts as well! Kids with disabilities seem to appreciate everything so much more, and I feel we can really learn from them. To be honest, society has this mindset that because they are different they and strange and intimidating but that's so far from the truth. I feel that the interaction between all types of students prepares them for the big world.
ReplyDeleteAlly, I think sometimes having kids with difficulties paying attention or understanding things can be jsut as hard to work with as kids with disabilities. I think it is important that the kids are still treated equally. I like the fact that your teacher repeats things aloud to the whole class, but makes eye contact with a specific person. It gives attention to the specific individual without calling them out and possibly embarassing them in front of the class.
ReplyDeleteI'm observing at Francis Howell High. There are some kids I've seen or heard about that have disabilites or need special help, but none are in the classes I observe. There is a student with Asbergers that helps set up the different activites and sporting events around campus at Howell. I have interacted with him a lot and he seems like a very bright kid. Though I don't have an extensive background with disabilities, the student is very easy to get along with, and being a senior, he seems to be comfortable around most of the students, faculty and coaches.
ReplyDeleteAndrew, i agree with your statement about the kids falling behind socially if they arent included with the class. i have a cousin who has special needs and most of the day he is kept in the classroom with the other students. this has helped him tremendously with his socail skills.
ReplyDeleteI am observing in a high school speech class and there really arent any special needs students. There is however one student with Aspergers, but it is very mild and hardly noticable. I dont think the other students even know that he has a learning disability. Occasionally the student needs to be worked with one-on-one with certain assignments, but that is the only special attention that i have noticed that he needs. As for the more severe special needs students, there is an entirely seperate area of classrooms for them. These classes are geared more towards their needs and the students usually have a para with them. They do however eat lunch with the other students which helps them with their social skills.
ReplyDeleteIn the class I am observing there is one child with a special need. He has kind of a speech impediment and a type of walking disability. He is very active and very intelligent just as all the other students and can do everything that the other students can. From what I have seen the teacher treats him equal as all the other students, he does the same work, has the same rules and follow the same routines as the other students. He understands well and very capable of completing tasks and doing what his teacher says.
ReplyDeleteSarah the student in my classroom gets treated almost just like yours do except for he doesn't have a therapists come in (from what I have seen). But he gets treated equally and participates with everyone else in all the activities, group work and lessons.
ReplyDeleteToday was my first day of observing and i could not see of any kids with specail needs in any of my teachers classes. There were students who are not very good at cooperating with the teacher. Mr. Woods took care of these problem students by not allowing them to participate in group activities when a majority of the problems were taking place. The students would sit up by the teachers desk and work on their own. It seemed to be effective and the student worked on his homework and finished it all before the class period was over.
ReplyDeleteMatt - Many times you may not outwardly notice a student who may have a disability. Sounds like your host teacher has good classroom management. Maybe the child does better individually.
ReplyDeleteTraneika - What a wonderful observation! Too many times we don't hold students with special needs to the same standard as we hold the other kids. And many times they are more than capable! Sounds like your host teacher doesn't allow the disabilities to be excuses!!!!
Nicole - Do you think kids are more accepting now of students not exactly like them? I remember kids mercilessly making fun of kids that were "different." I feel that students now are more accepting. With your experience with your cousin or in your observation school are the kids pretty cool to the kids with special needs?
Very true. I also think the student did work better individually. He was concentrating intensly and working very hard.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I have observed in my classroom so far, there are few kids with serious special needs. There are, however, a few kids who may have ADHD or ADD. The teacher is very serious with these kids. He expects all the kids to be attentive and behave. One day this week, one kid came into class and started annoying the other kids in the class right away; he was using a really high voice and going up to the other kids and getting in their faces. The teacher called the kid to himself and was not joking when he told him that if he would not settle down, he would not be allowed in the classroom. This may also be a discipline problem as I dont know for sure if the kid had any condition that would make him act that way. On the other hand, in the 7th grade choir there is a girl who is in a wheelchair. He always waits for her as they get into a circle to sing and is accommodating. There is no need to reformat the curriculum or anything like that because she is able to learn at the same rate as everything else.
ReplyDeleteso in my class of what i know there is one bot who has ADHD. this is his first year of school so everything is really hard for him. for him to sit down through a story or lesson and listen for directions.. he really doesn't like to do centers and just wants to play the whole time. the main thing the teacher does is remind him of his actions. because alot of time he just starts screaming on what he wants and throws a fit. if the kids or teachers do not listen the main thing she does is tells him is to use his words. to ask or tell the people how he feels or what he wants. for being ADHD is they can't have tons of sugar just adds to the crazyness so we watch what he eats for lunch and snack. he is just one of the students who gets a little help and at time when he can't be controlled pulled from class and talked to away from the other students.
ReplyDeletei feel like in everyones class they have a kid with ADD or ADHD its so common now. and i think its important that all of us learn how to deal with these students to help them. because they are the ones who struggle and get mad because they can't do it and end up dropping out of school. as teachers its our job to make learning fun and interesting and to inspire these kids. and watching all of the teachers we get to observe we learn from them and figure out what we would do in situations with ADD or ADHD students
ReplyDeleteIn the classroom I am observing in, there are two students with Autism. They have a para that works directly with them and they are only actually in the classroom for a short time a few times throughout the day. One of them can write letters and so enjoys doing "morning work" (with help) like the rest of the class. They are very accepted and the students enjoy it when they are there for independant reading. The students take turns reading stories to them. There are also some who qualify, with their IQ scores for extra math help. The teacher stays after school 30 min 2-3 dsys a week to help them. She says there are some who didn't qualify but who need help in class and so she has math groups in class. Anyone who feels they need help and also those she chooses get it. She does the same with reading. She has one student who is behaviorally defiant (with no diagnosis). This students desk is close to her own, and during lessons keeps her on task and from causing too much problems by taking things away, telling her to sit up, that she needs to focus her questions and comments on what the discussion is on, etc without missing a beat. It's great to watch.
ReplyDeleteTraneika, I also think it is great that your teacher treats her student just like all the rest. In a classroom I was in last year, there was a student that had a specific disability. He knew he was different and tried to use it to his advantage. He was obviously accomodated to his needs as far as his IEP went, but when discipline became an issue, he was treated like anyone else. He only needed a warning though and he changed his behavior quickly.
ReplyDeleteThe teacher that I am observing doesn't seem to pay special attention to the students with special needs. He is a music teacher however, and he knows that all students move at different paces, so he is patient with the students. He doesn't really have problems with struggling students, as long as the students are willing to work and practice their instruments.
ReplyDeleteKristina is right. It is absolutely essential that teachers are trained how to effectively teach children with special needs such as ADD and ADHD. These children are at a high risk to drop out of school, so they need help more than anybody else.
ReplyDeletethe teacher that I am observing does't really teache special needs students because in that high school they slpit them up and they have specific teachers who work with the special needs students including those with learning disabilities. what my teachers does do though is spends extra time with the the students who are struggling to focus or just have a hard time in his class as well as others. he will even rearrange a lesson plan if he needs to.
ReplyDeleteAndrew, I wish I could observing a classroom like your I think it would be a good experience.
ReplyDeleteI am observing at Mckevely School and there is a class I sat in on that was special needs students. They were all at different levels of learning but what is hard for them other students may pick up on really easily and thats why they might be in this class to help them and push them to catch the rest of the grade. Or they might be in there to get the help they need and see thier limits. But the kids in there were between first and fifth graders. It was hard for me to tell what grade they were in because some knew what was going on and some couldnt sit still. The teacher I thought did a great job trying to get them all involved in the activity and to keep thier attention. She gives them breaks to release some of the stress and she explained some of the activities that they may do. It was different because in a usual class i have never seen anyone do this before. But a great Idea because it seemed to calm them down and easier to focus.
ReplyDeleteIn the classroom I'm observing there aren't really any students with special needs. There are however, as many of you mentioned, students who have some difficulties in paying attention. Discipline is sometimes an issue in the classroom I'm observing, there are a few students who do get up a lot, and constantly try to provoke other students. Still, the teacher always seems to know what to do, she talks to them about their behavior without showing any anger at them, rather she lets them realize what they did was wrong. Recently, the teacher changed the seating arrangement, putting the desks in groups of four and assigning seats so that those students who tend to get into arguments are further away from each other and in places they are more likely to pay attention.
ReplyDeleteMrs.Bishop- I agree with you. This class I sat in on the psychologist that i was with didnt tell me anything about this class she wanted to see if I had noticed anything. After they left for lunch I told her what I thought about the class. I couldnt tell anything was wrong with these kids. They seemed young i told her but she told me yes they seem young but thats because they are behind and she explained what type of class this was. It was a class of kids that had special needs and I couldnt believe all the kids in there had a special need but thats because I couldnt tell from a first look. I didnt know what was going on really she just wanted me to observe then she would tell me what was really going on.
ReplyDeleteI think what Traneika's host teacher does by treating the student with special needs in the same way she does everyone else is really good because many times these students are completely capable of doing everything everyone else can. Often, though, they get treated like they cannot do stuff, which can result in making them think or feel like they really can't.
ReplyDeleteAll of the kids in my elem. class have special needs and they all have a different specialist coming in to evaluate them every other day or some kids every week. The specialist comes in and 'plays' with the student most of the class period. The student might have to color something or play a bingo game with letters or cut something out. Meanwhile the rest of the class just goes along with the normal schedule, fitness, music, story time, etc. The kids know that someone is missing but they know that they are sometimes gone too and later on they might get to do the same activity. Whatever the therepist might have came in that day and worked with someone on it gets emphasized in activity most of the time. The activies the teachers assign are fun and seem like games to the kids but they are ways to see how they are improving or need to work on something.
ReplyDeleteI do my practicum at a private school and there really aren't any special needs kids. There is one boy who is a tiny bit slower than the rest of the students and the teacher has to go over stuff with him a lot more and make sure he is understanding. The students usually do things in pairs or small groups. She likes them to ask each other their questions. This seems to work really good. The teacher gets to spend more times observing the groups and watching for anyone that may be struggling, instead of just answering questions. The students sometimes get to vote on what they do, this incorporates their opinions and wants. They really like this.
ReplyDeleteras631...that is really cool that your teacher cares enough to do that. Some teacher will just move on. I think that is really awesome they he would adjust lesson plans.
ReplyDeleteMrs. Bishop i think your right about kids now days being more understanding and more acceptable of other kids who dont look or act like them. the class & school i am observing at is made up of special needs kids some neeeding more help or attention than others. the class i am in however i could not tell right off the bat that any of them might have had a disability or needed extra help in anything. Of course growing up with kids making fun of other kids in wheel chairs and such i expected the kids to make fun of a kid in another class in a special kind of wheel chair on our way outside but they didnt they either said hi or kept on walking outside. So thursday they really surprised me. They were told they would have special friends come join them for music. When the special friends got there i saw it was the boy in the special wheel chair and three other kids some with braces on their legs and one being held in because she cannot really walk yet. Instead of ignoring them and only dancing with each other the kids tried to dance with some of kids who seemed excited and capable of dancing with them. after music they were given a couple minutes to ask ?'s. They had some really good ones"why are they wearing braces? why is he in this chair?" and were all very respectful and kind to their new friends. Their reactions to one of the other kids' brains not fully being able to work surprised me too they didnt make fun they didnt laugh they just asked when was it going to be able to work. Another thing i noticed was that the teachers were not sugar coating anything they were being open and honest with the kids which i think made it better because they really can understand what is going on we just tend to underestimate them because they are little. These kids understood and were coureous to the other kids who were different than them. The kids in the class i am observing are 5 by the way isnt that refreshing.
ReplyDeletei enjoy when we get to break into small groups in classes, because it lets each persons individual talents shine in the project. I like large group also, but i much prefer small groups
ReplyDeletei like how Florencia teacher moved their students around in the classroom. I always like when the teacher moved us around in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Kylie - I think it's good your teacher lets the kids work in smaller groups and ask each other questions. Makes it easier on the teacher and gives the other kids a chance to remember what they were taught or apply it.
ReplyDeleteI am observing a band class in a Catholic grade school, and I know that there are very few children in the school as a whole with disabilities. None of these children are in the band as far as I've seen, but some of the kids do struggle with self-esteem and other issues that sometimes affect their classroom performance. I don't think any of them have ADD or ADHD, but a few have days where they get really distracted. The teacher just pulls them back in and reminds them to focus on the task at hand.
ReplyDeleteFlorencia, I think that your teacher's idea was a good one. Sometimes separating students who tend to talk and get distracted either by conversations or arguments can do wonders for the classroom and the individual students. Of course, if the students distract themselves it might not help much.
ReplyDeleteI observe at Henderson Elementary school. There are two students in my class that learned at a slower pace than the other students. Everyday at a certain time these two students would leave class for scheduled time with a different teacher to get extra help in the areas they were struggling in. Also the teacher that i was observing would have one on one time with them to make sure they understand what they are working on. Other than that, these two students are in the class room with the rest of the students.
ReplyDeleteIn the school I was observing, I didn't see any students with any special needs, except for a deaf student having a signer in the class with them. I knew the school had a large enough hearing impared student population because the school had a sign language club.
ReplyDeleteAnna Frkovic: That is nice of the teacher to make sure the students are understanding what it is that they are working on. It shows that the teacher is trying to make sure all their students and being taught what they need to know.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Florencia. When my teacher does a lesson on the mat if a couple students aren't paying attention she seperates them to make sure no one is getting distracted.
ReplyDeleteIn the class that I am observing that is a student that can’t talk and he has a device that talks for him when he touches the corresponding picture. He also has an aide with him at all times. When it comes to group activities the teacher does not treat him any differently, he is a very bright child and the teacher expects the same out of him as the other students. She just reminds the other students to be quite so they can hear the computer. When it comes to group discussions the students have partners including the special needs child. But he is paired with a child that is slower on picking up stuff but by no means is special needs and I feel like he is getting the short end of the stick because he does not get to discuss as well as the other students. Another thing that is different for the special needs child compared to the other students is that he can give hand signals (thumbs up or thumbs down) to state whether he is feeling ok or not. There are some days that he has trouble sitting still so he is them removed from the class and taken to the special needs class room where he does the same work just in an environment that will not be distracting to the other students
ReplyDeleteI have noticed a lot of people saying that they like that special needs students are being intermingled with the other students. I agree with this. Just because they are not what is seen as “normal” or as “special needs” doesn’t mean that they won’t benefit from interacting with their peers. I believe that having the children interact, “normal” and “special needs” helps both groups of people. If special needs students are kept apart it could just hurt them more.
ReplyDeleteThere aren't any kids in my class with special needs. However, when i was in classes throughout the years most of the kids with special needs had a helper with them that would walk through their classes for them
ReplyDeletei agree with trent in how he likes small group assignments. I prefer these over assignments that i have to work on by myself.
ReplyDeleteI in my class we have one student with special needs, he has something like autism... he is not a problem, he is in his world but he tries hard to be part of our activities, but sometimes he is just thinking in other things and their classmates understand.
ReplyDeleteI don't have any classes with special needs students. Some teachers have had students vote on whether or not they will do group work or individual work. Although, some students will work by themselves if they don't want to do groups or work in groups when they don't want to work by themselves.
ReplyDeleteI am agree with lauren comments... "special" and "normal" kids get benefits interacting with each other... kids have to be aware and know about the real world. special needs kids are part of our world.
ReplyDeleteKylie, I think that what that teacher does is a really good idea. And if the kids like it, then more power to them.
ReplyDeleteMy teacher does not currently teach any students with special needs. However, she does have about four students in her class who get extra help with reading. This is a third grade class in the Francis Howell School District. When it's time for reading the four students who need additional help quietly leave the classroom and see the reading tutor for about half an hour. Then they quietly return to their classroom and sit down. The teacher will give the students a look and kind of point when its time for them to leave, so she does it with out causing a lot of attention. This allows the students to not feel so bad about themselves, or as if they are seperated from their classmates.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Lauren in that it's important to put special needs students in a normal classroom. This will benefit both parties, because it will expose the children in the normal classroom to different types of people and help them learn to be patient and accepting. It will also help the special needs students because it will help them adjust to the real world if they are introduced to different people and experiences at an early age.
ReplyDelete