There are thirteen categories of special education. Of the thirteen categories, the most common category students are to be identified with is learning disability. A learning disability is “a neurological condition that interferes with a person’s ability to store, process, or produce information, affecting the person’s ability to read, write, speak, spell, or compute mathematics” (Lerner & Johns, 2012, p. 8). There are many different types of learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia and dysgraphia. People born with a learning disability are just the same as everyone else, they just learn a bit different.
Academic and Social Behavior I observed a special education classroom that consisted of twelve children in the 3rd,
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The book the class was reading was Thank you, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco. I found it very interesting this was the book the class was reading. This book is about a little girl who has trouble reading for many years. It is later discovered the little girl in the story was actually Patricia Polacco, who has dyslexia. I found this book to be relevant to the children. Thank you, Mr. Falker was projected onto the SMART Board for all the children to see. During the shared reading, Mrs. Kelly asked the children questions. Some questions were for the children to think about independently, but other questions were for the children to turn and talk to each other. Amongst other children in the class, of the five boys, Nicholas and Brian had their hand raised plenty of times for the independent questions. This let me know, as well as their teacher know, those two children were attentive during shared reading. Both Nicholas and Brian had good answers anytime they were called on. Turn and talk went smoothly between the boys as well. Brian, Matthew and Nicholas were partners with each other during turn and talk and Ryan turned and talked with his partner. At one point during the turn and talk, Nicholas noticed I was sitting behind them. Even though Nicholas did not know who I was he smiled and waved to me, but never stopped listening to his group. Mrs. Kelly called on Brian’s …show more content…
There is enough room in the classroom that each child has a locker for themselves plus a few extra lockers for materials that might need to be stored. For example, one of the lockers had extra reading books that I assume were not being used at the moment. There were four tables with four desks at each table; however one table had an extra desk. I believe desks being grouped like this are good for the children. This gives children the opportunity to socialize with each other. Socialization is a factor in children’s development. Children need to learn how socialize. Learning disabled students usually have a low self-esteem due to the fact others will consider them “dumb” or “lazy,” but that is not the case. Their brain functions differently from a nondisabled child’s brain. Being called “dumb” and “lazy” can affect their social behavior. That is not to say all learning disabled children do not know how to socialize. Through “peer tutoring with all students, but particularly LD students, facilitates increases in self-esteem” (Byrd, 1990, p. 116). This lets the student know a peer is willing to help them when in need, which will boost their self-esteem. Not only can children socialize with each other by their desks being grouped by tables, but they can also help each other academically. As mentioned before, peer tutoring is a great way to teach other children. Many children learn best through their peers.
The topic of assessment alone raises many debated discussions, among teachers, and to add Special Education students into the polemical dialogue intensifies the debate. As a result, there are several alternative methods in assessing Special Education students within the learning environment. Professionals have created specifically designated techniques in helping these and all students achieve academic success.
A learning disability is defined as any one of various conditions that interfere with an individual's ability to learn, resulting in impaired functioning in language, reasoning, or academic skills. The National Center for Learning Disabilities explains it as a neurological disorder that affects the brain’s ability to receive process, store and respond to information. Basically, among people with learning disabilities there is a noticeable gap between their level of expected achievement and their actual achievement. Doctors and professionals agree there is no way to pin-point any specific causes for learning disabilities. The NCLD says some possible causes may include heredity, problems during pregnancy or birth, head injuries or nutritional deprivation after birth, and exposure to toxic substances.
Tom Smith, Edward Polloway, James Patton, and Carol Dowdy state, a 2008 report shows that 8.96% of the school-age population… have disabilities and of that number, 3.89% or almost half, were identified as learning disabled (2012, p. 160). Learning disabilities has always been a tough diagnosis due to accounting for a lot of factors like behavior, no proper teaching, culture and language, health issues, and other disability affecting learning. Not only that but there are different subject areas of learning disability in math, reading, and writing.
The National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities (1998) have defined learning disabilities as a general term that refers to a heterogeneous group of disorders manifested by significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking reading, writing, reasoning, or mathematical skills (IJCP, 2013). Learning is acquisition of new knowledge, skills or attitude. Children during their early years of development learn to understand the spoken language first and then learn to speak. Subsequently during the school years learn to read, write and do arithmetic according to their age and intellectual capacity. But some children may not be able to learn one or more of these skills as per their age and intellectual capacity (Dr.Shah & Dr. Bhat, 2007).
The classroom is a diverse place where learners from all different genres of life meet. Included in these learners are those that display learning disabilities. According to the British Columbia School Superintendent’s Association, ‘learning disabilities refer to a number of conditions that might affect the acquisition, organization, retention, understanding or use of verbal or nonverbal information. These disorders affect learning in individuals who otherwise demonstrate at least average abilities essential for thinking and/or reasoning’. They also posit that ‘learning disabilities result from impairments in one or more processes related to perceiving, thinking, remembering or learning. These include, but are not limited to language processing,
The classroom that I observed in was arranged in a simple way. In the dramatic play center there was a long coat rack and each hook was labeled with an image and name of the outfit. This was done so the children know where do place the clothing when they are done with it or cleaning up. Also in this center was a cash register, puppets, an oven, refrigerator, ironing board, sing, dishwasher, a table set and a comfy chair. Their block center was small, and sectioned off by a shelf and an arch way in the corner of the room. In this center there was also a table. I felt that they children would not have enough room to build although I did not measure the area. The art center had stamps, children’s art work, an easel, magazines and other essential art supplies. In the same area as the art center was the writing center. In this center was maps, chalk and chalk board, stencils, a ruler, notepads, loose paper and pencils.
For my visitation I went to the public high school in my hometown. Due to time constraints I was not able to visit the school on a weekday when classes were in session. I did however get to witness another part of the special education/inclusion program called the Rooster Buddies. I did, however, get some information on the special education program from an administrator via phone and fax.
specific learning disabilities in the United States of America. The Journal of International Association of Special Education, 10(1), 21-26.
During the late 1980’s and 1990’s the number of children with learning disabilities receiving special education services grew rapidly, but during 1998 and 2007 the number of children classified as having a LD has declined by 7% (Cortiella, 2009). “In 2007, 59% of students with LD spent 80% or more of their in-school time in general education classrooms. In 2000, that figure was just 40%” (Cortiella, 2009). In addition, students with disabilities are spending more time with students in traditional classroom settings. According to the Department of Education, “approximately 6 million children (roughly 10 percent of all school-aged children) receive special education services” (Pardini, 2011).
Although some teachers still use regular boards,most teachers use smart boards to teach. These boards are like ordinary boards except these are controlled by a remote control pen. By just clicking on the board questions can be written in a variety of ways and in any color you want. The final piece of tech that is mainly used in the classroom is a variety of websites that provide tests,quizzes,and assignments that students can access with a certain username and password. Research has found that all types of technology are changing the way teachers teach forever (usnews.com).
In society today, there are many children and parents who face the diagnosis of having a developmental disability that would qualify them for special education and needs. This time can come with many questions for the parents when they realize the specialized care and education their child will need. Most often, questions arise about their schooling and how they will be included with other children, as well as what services are available to their child. How their disability impacts their life is a very valid concern because their education will be impacted. When a disability is discovered, it effects trickle down from the child to the parents, to the teachers and finally the medical and educational specialists.
Before developing an opinion on the matter of inclusion, one must first fully comprehend what a learning disorder is. According to the National Center for Learning Disabilities (2009), a Learning Disorders (LD) is a “specific neurological disorders that affect the brain's ability to store, process or communicate information”. To understand this, Kemp, Segal & Cutter (2010) used the example of a landline telephone. If the phone has faulty wiring, one has trouble communicating with someone they are trying to reach. If there is faulty wiring in the brain, the normal lines of communication are disrupted therefore making it difficult to process information. LDs vary in severity in each individual situation and effect everyone differently. Although LDs are often connected with other disabilities, it’s important to not get LDs confused with other disorders, like autism and down syndrome. Just because a child has a learning disability, one can not assume...
Education is a profession which requires a teacher to be able to communicate with a multitude of students on a variety of levels. There is not a class, or student for that matter, that is identical. Therefore, teachers must be able to identify and help educate students from all different types of backgrounds and at different levels. Teaching a singular subject presents difficulties, but teaching students with disabilities should not be one. There are three main teaching areas that need to be focused on when teaching a student with a learning disability. Teachers need to focus on the strategies that will assist students with reading comprehension skills, writing skills, and maintaining appropriate behaviors in a classroom setting.
When I become a teacher there is no doubt that I will use computers in my classroom and my students will do activities with computers. It is just the way to do things now. There are so many valuable programs out there to help students learn and to help teachers teach that computers are pretty much a necessity in classrooms. In my opinion for an elementary classroom there should be at least five to ten computers in each room. Without the access to the computers it is hard to take advantage of all the wonderful things a computer has to offer. Even using the internet has a source of information for the students or has a tutorial for students who are struggling. There are so many ways that classrooms will benefit from computers.
...assroom. Sometimes there are people that it would not help learn because they need that face-to-face learning. It is just the way that they learn that it could benefit them or it could not . It should be up to the students on it they want to use the old fashion pen and paper or this new technology.