Chapter 5: Teaching Diverse Learners II: Academically
Diverse Learners in Today’s Classrooms
Do Federal and State Laws Provide For The Education of Exceptional Learners?
Students with Disabilities and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) - A federal act providing a free and appropriate
education to disabled youth between ages 3 to 21
o Passed originally in 1975
o Purpose-
To ensure that all children with disabilities have access to a free appropriate
public education that emphasizes special education and related services
designed to meet their unique needs
To ensure that the rights of children with disabilities and their parents or
guardians are protected
To assist states and localities to provide for the education of all children with
disabilities
To assess and ensure the effectiveness of efforts to educate children with
disabilities
Students with Disabilities- Children with physical impairments or mental/emotional impairments
or specific learning disabilities and who, by reason thereof, need special education and related
services
Seven Basic Principles for IDEA:
o Zero Rejection
o Nondiscriminatory Evaluation
o Multidisciplinary
Multidisciplinary Assessment (MDA)- A team approach using various methods to
conduct a child’s evaluation
o Free and Appropriate Education (FAPE)- Children must receive education suited to their
age, maturity, condition of disability, past achievement, and parental expectations
o Least Restrictive Placement/Environment
Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)- The principle that, to the maximum extent
appropriate, students with disabilities are to be educated with their peers who
are not disabled
o Procedural Due Process
o Parental and Student Participation
A Committee is Formed for a Student who is eligible for Special Education:
o A parent or parent representative
o At least one regular education teacher
o At least one special education teacher
o A school administrator
o A professional qualified to interpret evaluation results
o Other individuals including related service providers
o The student, when appropriate
Individualized Education Program (IEP) - A plan for meeting and exceptional learner’s educational
needs that specifies goals, objectives, services, and procedures for evaluating progress
Individualized Education Programs and Individualized Family Service Plans
Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP)- A plan designed to help families reach their goals, for
themselves and for their children, with the following support services:
o Speech and language pathology and audiology
o Occupational therapy
o Psychological services
o Parent and family training
o Counseling
What are Mainstreaming and Inclusion?
Adaptive Education- An educational approach aimed at providing learning experiences that help
each student achieve desired educational goals
Mainstreaming- The educational practice of educating students with disabilities with
nondisabled peers
Natural Environments- Educational settings where students would be if they did not have a
disability
The Full-Inclusion Debate
Inclusion- An interpretation of the least restrictive environment concept whereby students with
disabilities receive instruction in general education classrooms
Students educated in natural environments have high academic achievement, greater self-
esteem, and better physical health
Continuum of Services- A full range of educational services available for individuals from the
most restrictive to the least restrictive placements
Teaching Students with Learning and Other Disabilities in an Inclusive Classroom
Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)- Children with ADHD have an unusual degree of
difficulty with attention and self-control, which leads to problems with learning, social
functioning, and behavior that occur in more than one situation and that have been oresent for
a significant length of time
o Children with ADHD have difficulties with:
Attention
Impulse Control
Hyperactivity
Behavior-Control Drugs:
o Riralin
o Dexedrine
o Concerta
Autism:
o Affects 1 in 166 children
o Require support with social interaction and behavior issues
o
Asperger’s Syndrome:
o Have normal intelligence
o More common in boys
o Affects a child’s ability to socialize and communicate
o Problems with social interaction and abstract concepts
o Obsess about peculiar topics
o To help your students with AS:
Use clear, concrete language
Help develop social skills
Monitor peer relationships
How can Professional Collaboration Enhance Education in Inclusive Classrooms?
Consultation- Seeking advice and information from colleagues
Collaboration- To work jointly and cooperatively with other professionals, parents, and
community members
o You will have to work with:
Itinerant Teachers- Professionals who travel from school to school or district to
district and provide assistance and teach students
Resource Teachers- Professionals who provide assistance with matericals and
planning for teachers of exceptional students and teachers in mainstreamed
classrooms
Diagnosticians
Trained to test and analyze students’ strengths and weaknesses
Physical Therapists:
Treat physical disabilities through nonmedical means
Occupational Therapists
Direct activities that develop muscular control and self-help skills
Special Educators
Trained to instruct students with special needs
Speech and Language Pathologists
Diagnose and treat problems in the areas of speech and language
development
Consultations among Teachers and Key Players
Consultation:
o Enables you to understand the goals of inclusion
o Gain important insights
o Consider teaching strategies you might not have thought of on your own
Things to Consider when you Collaborate in Developing an IEP or IFSP:
o Involve Parents
o Collaborate and Cooperate
o Assess Needs
o Consider students’ Learning Styles
How Cooperative Teaching Works in the Inclusive Classroom
Cooperative Learning- The process by which a regular classroom teacher and a special educator
of a person trained in exceptional student education team teach, in the same classroom, a group
of regular and mainstreamed students
How can you Teach Exceptional Learners in Your Classroom?
Steps to Take to Accommodate all of the Students in Your Classroom:
o Get to Know students’ individual learning needs
o Communicate with you administrator or special education staff about additional
training, assistance, or support
o Educate students about accepting and helping students with special needs
Using Assistive Technology
Assistive Technology Device- Any item, device, piece of equipment, or product system – whether
acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized – used to increase, maintain, or
improve the functional abilities of individuals with disabilities
Teaching Gifted Learners
Gifted Learners- those who give evidence of high performance capability in areas such as
intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who
require services or activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop such
capabilities
Gifted- Students with the potential for high performance because of strengths in one or more of
the following areas:
o General intellectual ability
o Specific academic aptitude
o Creative or productive thinking
o Leadership ability
o Ability in visual or performing arts
o Psychomotor activity
To Help Meet Gifted and Talented Children:
o Avoid treating their probing questions as challenges to your authority or expertise
o Provide alternative projects and activities that introduce greater novelty and complexity
o Help students achieve a level of sophistication on advanced material
o Arrange independent studies based on, but extending, the curriculum
o Arrange for students to self-select and self-monitor alternative assignments
o Arrange for students to contract for specific projects and grades
o Allow students the extra time they may need to explore a topic to a satisfying depth
Talented- Exceptional students who demonstrate excellence in drama, art, music, athletics, or
leadership
Acceleration- Involves moving students through the curriculum as rapidly through the
curriculum as they are able to the extent that acceleration is in their best interests
Curriculum Compacting- Students who are gifted and talented study the same themes and
topics as their classmates but in greater depth or detail than their classmates and with greater
opportunities for real-world applications
Enrichment- The process of offering students additional activities and experiences not usually
found in the curriculum
Apprenticeship Programs- Programs that pair students with people in the community for period
of time during which students acquire knowledge and skills through direct observation and
practice
Mentoring Programs- Support systems aimed at enhancing academic success and self-esteem of
at risk students; also programs to help new teachers
Using Differentiated Instruction
Differentiated Instruction (DI)- Using a variety of methods, material, and activities to meet the
learning needs of all students
Guidelines to Help Prepare for Using Differentiated Instruction in the Classroom:
o Differentiated Instruction is more qualitative than quantitative
o Differentiated Instruction provides multiple approaches to assessment
o Differentiated Instruction is student centered
o Differentiated Instruction is a blend of instruction
What Factors Place Students at Risk and Affect Teaching and Learning?
Students at Risk- Students whose living conditions and backgrounds place them at risk for
dropping out of school
Resiliency- The ability to adapt and recover quickly from obstacles and adversity
Poverty
Almost 18% of all children in the U.S. under 18 live in poverty
o 35% of African American children live in poverty
Living in poverty:
o Families do not have the income to purchase adequate health care
o Housing
o Food
o Clothing
o Education services
Substance Abuse
Substance Abuse Includes:
o Illicit Drugs
o Alcohol
o Tobacco
School Violence
Bullying- Intimidating or mistreating someone in a vulnerable situation repeatedly and over time
Delinquent Behaviors- Behavior that violates the rules and regulation of society
Peer Mediation- Programs in which students interact, work with, and counsel other students in
solving social and behavioral problems
What can Schools do to Help Students at Risk?
Compensatory Education
Compensatory Education- Programs that provide students from low-income families with
additional education opportunities beyond those offered in the school’s standard program in
order to compensate or make up for the effects of risk factor
Prevention Programs
Prevention Programs- Programs intended to prevent or inhibit certain behaviors
o Like drug prevention, sex education, and AIDS education programs
Intervention Programs
Intervention Programs- Programs provided by schools and social service agencies designed to
provide support and services to students and their families to help eliminate risk factors and/or
reduce their influence
Early Intervention- Providing care and support from the prenatal period through the first years
of life to enable children to enter school ready to learn
New Strategies
Alternative Schools- Programs designed to give students special services, programs, and support
necessary for them to be successful in school
Actions to take as a teacher to help students with special needs and students at risk:
o Get the specialized training you may need to respond appropriately to students’ needs
and problems
o Be willing to work cooperatively and collaboratively with others to address the
instructional needs of all students
o Actively seek assistance from others in your school, district ,and community to fully
serve students and their families
o Report signs of abuse or neglect promptly and refer students to special programs or for
evaluation for special education or related services
o Be an advocate for students and their families by encouraging other individuals and
agencies to act on these students’ behalf
o Help educate parents and others about how to prevent risk factors from developing or
from adversely affecting their children and their children’s life chances and success in
school
o Keep parents informed on a regular basis about their children’s progress and needs
o Work with parents to help them connect with their children’s development and lives
and help their children with school work and life problems
o Engage students so that they trust you and believe you are doing your best for them
o Communicate to students that you have respect and high expectations for them and
that you believe they are capable of learning
o Provide instruction designed to help all students earn to the best of their ability, develop
positive self-concepts, and build resilience against negative life experiences