STEP BY STEP - WORKING IN AN INCLUSION CLASSROOM

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STEP BY STEP - WORKING IN AN INCLUSION CLASSROOM

• Chances are that in the field of special
  education you will probably be hired as a teacher
  in one of three possible settings resource room,
  self contained special class or an inclusion
  setting.

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INCLUSION

• Step I-learn as much about the students as
  possible before school begins
• The very first step in setting up the room
  involves your potential students. What we want to
  do is find out as much information about each
  student as possible. Schools have a wealth of
  available materials on each child if you know
  where to look. When dealing with students with
  disabilities, information on the child can be
  found in the following possible places

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INCLUSION

• Permanent record folder this folder which
  contains all the basic information on the child
  is usually stored in the main office.
• Past teachers reports these items may be among
  those found in the permanent record folder or may
  be part of the childs report card forms.
• Past report cards these items will offer a
  pattern of performance including strength and
  weakness areas. These should also be contained in
  the permanent record folder.

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INCLUSION

• Group achievement scores These materials, if
  accurate, can also provide a pattern of strengths
  and weaknesses. However, be very careful about
  drawing any conclusions from low scores unless
  other information backs up your impressions i.e.
  classroom performance, teachers reports.
  Sometimes children who are experiencing academic
  problems may not try as hard as possible for fear
  of failure. Consequently, the resulting scores
  may not reflect true achievement levels.

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INCLUSION

• Number and types of schools attended you should
  be able to ascertain this information by the
  school names on the report cards found in the
  permanent folder. For some children with
  disabilities this may be their first year in a
  mainstreamed school. They may require added
  attention and support in the transition.

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INCLUSION

• Medical records this information can be gathered
  from the school nurses office. Pay close
  attention to vision and hearing levels,
  medications, allergies, and any other medical
  issues that might need attention in the
  classroom.

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INCLUSION

• IEP a very crucial piece of information is the
  childs most recent Individual Educational Plan.
  This piece of information is usually not found in
  the permanent record folder. It can be obtained
  from several sources including
• a-the office of Pupil Personnel Services
• b-the psychologists file on the child
• c-the special education folder on the child. This
  file is normally passed from teacher to teacher.
  However this folder may be in a main file in the
  office of the special education coordinator for
  your building.

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INCLUSION

• Health alerts this piece of medical information
  may be found on the front page of the childs
  IEP. If something is noted then find out as much
  as possible on that condition. You want to sound
  knowledgeable when speaking with parents about
  their childs special health issues.

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INCLUSION

• Classification find out as much as possible
  about the childs specific disability
  classification as you can. You may already be
  knowledgeable about the disability but it never
  hurts to learn more. This knowledge base can only
  gain you respect from staff and parents. A very
  good source for learning about all kinds of
  classification disabilities is NICHCY.org.

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INCLUSION

• Modifications look for the classroom and test
  modifications that the child is entitled to have.
  These are listed somewhere in the IEP.
  Investigate each modification thoroughly and
  fully understand what is involved and the
  possible reasons as to why the child was granted
  this in the first place. You will need to fully
  understand these modifications since you will be
  communicating and explaining them to all the
  childs teachers.

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INCLUSION

• Accommodations there may be times when a child
  is entitled to some classroom accommodation.
  Examples of these might be special furniture,
  filters for lighting, acoustic enhancements etc.
  Again investigate and become knowledgeable of
  each accommodation.

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INCLUSION

• Related services the IEP will also contain a
  section on the related services that the child is
  entitled to have while in school.

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INCLUSION

• Assistive technology some children may be
  entitled to assistive technology i.e. word
  processor. This should appear on the childs IEP.
  If there is some required technology find out
  everything you can. There are numerous sites that
  you can visit on the Internet.
• http//www.atto.buffalo.edu.

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INCLUSION

• Ability levels It is important to determine, if
  possible, the childs ability levels. These
  levels which are measured by many sources can
  usually be found in several areas
• a-the permanent record folder look for a group
  IQ test, or a test that offers a score labeled
  School Abilities Index. These group measures
  may offer some insight. Again, be careful of
  using low scores to determine ability for the
  same reasons as mentioned previously.
• b-the psychologists office look up the last
  triennial report which should have some measure
  of ability noted.
• c-The childs IEP the IEP may contain an ability
  level. These may be listed under the Wechsler
  Scales of Intelligence or the Stanford Binet Test
  of Intelligence.
• d-Past teachers comments about the childs
  ability levels.

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INCLUSION

• Step II- Meet with your team teacher before
  school begins.

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INCLUSION

• A major component to the success of an inclusion
  classroom is the nature of the relationship
  between the special education teacher and the
  regular education teacher. There are many
  questions and issues that need to be discussed to
  prevent misconceptions, frustration or dissension
  from occurring. Some of these issues are as
  follows

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INCLUSION

• -talk about roles and clearly define the
  professional responsibilities so that there is no
  confusion

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INCLUSION

• -talk about similarities and differences in
  teaching styles and how that might affect the
  students and the presentation of information.
  Even though teaching styles may be different,
  they can compliment each other.

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INCLUSION

• -talk about the delivery systems to be used in
  the classroom There are several different
  methods for instruction and assistance to the
  children in an inclusion setting.
• Alternative delivery systems are management
  systems that provide support for students and
  maximize learning while being presented with the
  core curriculum in an inclusion setting.

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INCLUSION

• The goal of alternative delivery systems is to
  develop many creative ways of working together
  for the benefit of all students.
• There are many different approaches and it is
  best to find one on which you and your team
  teacher agree. Some examples which you my want to
  suggest if the regular education teacher is not
  aware are

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Inclusion

• Team Teaching
• Cooperative teaching is an educational approach
  in which general and special educators, as well
  as specialists from other categorical programs,
  are simultaneously present in the general
  education classroom, sharing responsibility for
  some specific classroom instruction.
• This approach allows the integration of the
  teaching to be successful since the classroom
  teacher is teamed with the specialist.

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INCLUSION

• General and special educators jointly plan to
  teach academic subject content to all students.
  The general education teacher remains responsible
  for the entire class while the special educator
  is responsible for implementing the IEP goals for
  special education students.

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INCLUSION

• Complementary Instruction
• In this approach the general education teacher
  assumes primary responsibility for teaching
  specific subject matter. The specialist has
  responsibility for teaching academic survival
  skills necessary for the student to access and
  master the core curriculum

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INCLUSION

• The content may be delivered in the classroom and
  complemented when the special education student
  is pulled out of the classroom to another
  setting.
• The critical difference between complementary
  instruction and the traditional pullout program
  is that two professionals prepare instruction
  together and it is delivered in the general
  classroom.

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INCLUSION

• Supportive Learning Activities
• The general educator introduces academic content
  and the specialist develops and implements
  learning activities designed to reinforce the
  specific content.
• The educators work together to develop and
  deliver the instructional content in the regular
  classroom even though each is responsible for a
  particular phase of development.

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INCLUSION

• One Teach/One Support
• In this type of delivery system the regular
  education teacher is responsible for teaching the
  curriculum.
• The role of the special education teacher is to
  move from each child with a disability to the
  next and assist in answering questions,
  monitoring class notes, explaining the material
  and assignments, and working closely with the
  students to help level the playing field.

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INCLUSION

• Step III-Setting up your classroom (Inclusion
  class) in this instance there is really very
  little to do. If you are hired for an elementary
  inclusion class the regular education teacher
  will set up the room.
• In this case assist the teacher, making
  suggestions if you feel they will better serve
  the population of children with disabilities i.e.
  quiet corner or study carrel to avoid
  distractions

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INCLUSION

• If you are hired as an inclusion teacher at the
  high school, then there may be less to do with
  setting up the room since many various teachers
  will be using that setting. However, again assist
  the teacher and suggest anything that you feel
  might help.