Accommodations and Modifications in the Classroom As educators, we are taught that each student is unique and has a learning style all their own, and a student with disabilities is no different. According to Storm (2018), accommodations “change how a student learns material” and modifications “change what a student is taught or expected to learn” (p. 1). Depending on the student’s disability, an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 can stipulate what type(s) of accommodations and modifications the student will receive to help them be academically successful. Accommodations can also be informal and used with students struggling with grade-level curriculum. For example, in a classroom of twenty-five students, accommodations can help …show more content…
1). Accommodations and modifications can be used with classroom instruction, tests, standardize testing, and extracurricular classes, like gym, music, and art. Classroom accommodations are physical or environmental changes that impact learning outcomes. They can be as simple as changing up the instructional presentation (visual, auditory, multi-sensory), or the students environment (where they are located in the room), and can become more complicated by incorporating technology or assistive technology to enhance the learning out comes. Modifications can be as simple as rewording answers for a test, allowing more time on an assignment, shortening the length of the assignment, the use of alternative books or material being studied, and the use of word banks for answer choices on …show more content…
The ideal is to pair an achieving student with a lower achieving student for structured reading sessions. Some of the benefits of this type of accommodation are increased social motivation, increased motivation to achieve learning outcomes through collaboration, helps gain knowledge from each other through practice and reinforcement, strategy where students change roles, improvement in academic achievement, improvement in cognitive gains, provides a more one-on-one relationship for learning, is an economically and educationally effective intervention for both students, and gives the teachers a way to accommodate a diverse classroom of learners with different reading levels in content areas. If implemented correctly, peer tutoring can be a successful inclusive accommodation (strategy) that engages students simultaneously. The collaborative aspect encourages positive social interaction that requires effective communication from a different diverse perspective. By creating a rich environment, both students become more knowledgeable through cooperative learning by increasing their self-confidence. Peer tutoring is an “effective educational strategy for classrooms of diverse learners because it promotes academic gains as well as social enhancement” (The Access Center, 2018, p. 9).
(2) According to Sheremeta (2011), chunking is “manageable units
The Section 504 Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was designed to meet the needs of students with disabilities and who do not fall under or qualify for special education services. For example, a student that is perfectly capable of meeting all curricular requirements on assessments and assignments but cannot hear very well will fall under the 504 act. They will not necessarily meet the special education qualifications of the IDEA. Therefore, they will not be classified as special education students and will not receive the same services as special education students, even though they need modifications and accommodations to ensure their overall success. A major curricular impact of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is that all educators are legally required to provide students that meet the requirements to be qualified or classified as a 504 student with the same course of study as general educations students without making changes to their course work. Educators do this by way of allowing additional time on assignments and assessments. They also do this by changing the environment or method of lesson delivery to said students if and when necessary to ensure
There are many individuals who contribute to the education of the student with special needs. Their roles and responsibilities are varied, and each play an important part in the education of the student with disabilities. In the early years of special education, individuals with disabilities were not educated in the traditional classroom. Many of the students were left at home to be taught by their parents, or, sent away to institutions if the families were unable to care for them. In addition, some were education in private schools at the cost of the families. It was not until the 1970’s that special education became acceptable in the public schools. The passing of legislation made it possible for all students to have a right to a free and public education, regardless of their disabilities. The individual with disabilities education act (IDEA) opened the door to education for all students and therefore a change in special education.
PALS accommodates learners with different levels of academic ability. This strategy can be implemented for students with learning disabilities, ELLs, general education students, and high-achievers. Therefore, PALS is great for inclusion classrooms. In addition, students work with their peers, rather than constantly with the teacher. This is advantageous for several reasons. It can be more motivating for students, it promotes collaboration and interaction. In addition, if students are working with each other, the teacher’s time is freed to work with students individually and provide the necessary levels of support and feedback. Furthermore, the skills learned
Wedl, R. J. (2005). An alternative to traditional eligibility criteria for students with disabilities. In Response to Intervention (pp. 1-19). Education Evolving.
During a test, these students were taken to another classroom area so that the inclusion teacher was able to read the test to them. Self-reading in the inclusion classroom is sometimes avoided as much as possible. The inclusion teacher also stated that there have been tests where the amount of information was lessened to avoid additional frustration being added as they are already struggling with reading the test information. According to the general education teacher, students on occasion are encouraged to read out loud. However, there is more of a push for them to participate in classroom or group discussion. Students that are asked to read aloud are based on their ability. This type of interaction makes for a comfortable learning environment and participation with their peers. She stated that she tries to pre-teach information that they will be covering on that day in the form of a warm up when the kids first enter the classroom. Then when they are exposed to the information later on in the class, it is not a total shock of information to
In 1991 the Public Law 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act was replaced by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This law was passed to provide free and appropriate public education to every child with a disability. It requires that each child with a disability “have access to the program best suited to that child’s special needs which is as close as possible to a normal child’s educational program” (Martin, 1978). The Individualized education program (IEP) was developed to help provide a written record of students’ needs and procedures for each child that receives special education services. The IEP will list all the services to be provided, the student's performance level, academic performance, and modifications in place for the student.
Students with learning disabilities can learn; each student has his or her own strengths and weaknesses. Educators must continue to focus on the strengths of each student and building on them, creating a stronger student and person. Identifying the weakness is at the core of getting a student help with their learning disability, but after this initial identification and placement, the focus should shift to the strengths and adjusting the student’s schoolwork to reflect these strengths. For instance, if a student is weak in reading but has wonderful group interaction skills and is good with his or her hands, the students' reading tasks should then be shifted to reflect these st...
It is required that the student be placed in the setting most like that of typical peers in which they can succeed when provided with needed supports and services (Friend, 2014). In other words, children with disabilities are to be educated with children who are not disabled to the maximum extent appropriate. Removal may only occur when education in regular classes, with the use of supplementary aids and services, cannot be achieved satisfactorily (Yell, 2006).
The majority of students with disabilities should be in an inclusive setting. These students are generally placed based on the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). Furthermore, the majority of these students are able to keep up academically with their peers, even
Woodward, M., & Johnson, C. T. (2009, November). Reading Intervention Models: Challenges of Classroom Support and Separated Instruction. The Reading Teacher, 63(3).
High Incidence disabilities are mild disabilities that affect most of the special education students in schools today. “Approximately 36 percent of all students with disabilities served under IDEA have specific learning disabilities.” (Turnbull, Turnbull, Wehmeyer & Shogren, 2016 p. 104)The three areas that fall under the title of a high incidence disabilities are learning disabilities, mild intellectual disabilities, and emotional/ behavioral disorders. Students with high incidence disabilities are taught and spend most of their time in the general education classroom. They are supported in the classroom with accommodations, modifications, paraprofessionals and related services to help them succeed. They may spend a portion of their day receiving support from a special education teacher, or another related service providers such as a speech pathologist, physical therapist, occupational therapist, or social worker outside of the classroom. It becomes apparent when students start school which ones have a high incidence disability. This is because when they start school educators begin to notice they are different from their peers sometimes socially, behaviorally, or they begin to struggle academically. They all share some similar traits such as a short attention span and lower academic skills in certain areas or subjects. They may also have difficulties with their behavior or social development. At that point they may be referred to for testing or an evaluation to see what might be going on with the student.
Effective teachers evaluate their classroom environment in comparison to their students’ academic, functional, behavior and social needs. After taking this into consideration, the teacher should make appropriate accommodations and/or modifications to ensure all student success in the classroom. Despite a teacher’s highest expectation for students, students who require a more individualized approach will always be of concern. The INCLUDE strategy is provided for these students who require an individualized approach. INCLUDE allows teachers a strategy for making adaptations or accommodations based on individual student needs, along with the teacher’s expectations in the classroom. (Friend & Bursuck, 2006)
Special education is no longer restricted to schools that cater for specific disabilities. Increasingly mainstream classrooms must cater for a diverse range of abilities and be inclusive of children with disabilities, therefore providing special education (Heward as cited on Pearson Prentice Hall, 2010). In catering for all children within a class, teachers also need to provide intervention as necessary. Intervention according to Heward (as cited on Education.com, 2011) intends to reduce, eliminate and/or limit the hurdles faced by students with disabilities that may prevent them from maximising their learning and becoming productive members of society. This essay will discuss how teachers can provide all three kinds of intervention; preventive, remedial and compensatory on behalf of individual students who may require it (Pearson Prentice Hall, 2010). Each type of intervention will be explored with examples to demonstrate the possible use of each one and the potential issues that may be associated with them.
Likewise students with learning disabilities have not been able to accomplish the level of low achieving of children that are not disabled. In the manual, Assessing Special Education Students (ASES) Van De Zande. J and Lazanes, S (2011) Explains accommodations are procedures and practices that can ensure that students, parents, and educators have a right measure of what students with disabilities can do, for them to understand well what the inclusion program is about and how it works. According with Foley, R. M. (1999) accommodations for children with special needs begin in the classroom to assure that students with special needs are engaged in based instruction
Accommodations will help students achieve these academic goals, which can be instructional or environmental changes that help students to successfully understand and respond to the regular curriculum. These kinds of accommodations may be a change of seating in the classroom, sitting up front during story time or allowing more time on an exam. For example, a child who may have dyslexia needs to have an additional 20 minutes on exams, or have test questions and answers read to them aloud. These are accommodations made in order for the student to have the best chance of success. A student, who does not have a learning disability, doesn’t need those accommodations and would not necessarily benefit if they were given to