Learning to Meet the Needs of Exceptional
Children in an Inclusion Classroom
A Problem-Based Learning Experience
for UNCG students in CUI 375W*
   Initial Reaction Response Guide  Disability
Study Guidelines 		 Internet Resources  A Day in the Life... Guidelines   The Acorn People Reflections  Interview Guidelines Final Decision
Guidelines

The Initial Problem:
    You have been asked to teach a full-inclusion class of 18 students next year.  The class is going to be small because several of your students have identified disabilities or other special needs. You will have the full support of the special education teacher and some of the students have a personal assistant either full-time or part-time.  You will have a full-time assistant, and you may have a University intern if you want one. The class roster contains information about the students in this class.  Read it over carefully and think about what you need to know before you say yes or no to taking on this special class.  You may certainly talk it over with your peers and family members as you decide, but remember--someone has to teach this class and your principal thinks you can do a good job.

Proposed Class List for Room 32 at Madison Elementary School
SALLY ANDERSON - Sally is a young 7 year old with average ability.  She reads on grade level but is weak in math. Sally is the youngest member of her single-parent family. Her mother works in a factory. JENNY MOORE - Jenny is an above average 7 1/2 year old who loves school.  Her reading and math skills are on grade level. Her parents are both teachers.
CHRIS BLOCK - Chris, age 8, has identified Learning Disabilities, which his IEP lists as central auditory processing disorder and dyslexia. He reads and writes at a pre-primer level but is very good in math. Chris’ parents both work in white-collar jobs. MOLLY OLSON - Molly is 8 and repeating second grade because she was sick so much last year.  She contracted meningitis and missed over two months of school.  Until she got sick, Molly was doing fine in second grade and we think that will continue to be the case. Her parents are very supportive and her mother often volunteers at school.
CHRISTY CONNER- Christy is a very bright 7 1/2 year old who excels in spelling, writing, reading and talking.  She has some problems with math, but her parents are both willing to help her at home. SEAN O’TOOLE - Sean is a very smart little boy. He is going to be 7 soon.  His social skills are not quite up to his above average cognitive skills, but he really isn't any trouble in the classroom. He sometimes gets in trouble on the bus and the playground. His parents are recently divorced and he lives with his mom, while his older brother lives with his dad. 
BILLY ECKSTEIN - Billy is a bright 8 year old with specific learning disabilities and a diagnosis of ADHD.  His IEP discusses auditory memory problems and problems with sequencing, organization, and math.  He is taking Ritalin, although his parents were reluctant to allow this. EMILY POOLE - Emily is 8 years old and has an 80% hearing loss due to a high fever contracted when she was a toddler. Emily wears hearing aids and has some residual speech. You will have to wear an auditory trainer.  Emily will go to speech therapy and may have an interpreter for part of the time.  Emily’s younger brother is also in this class. Emily’s parents are very pleased that she is in this inclusion classroom and her mother often volunteers at the school.
FELICIA ESCOBAR - Felicia is a very smart 7 year old.  Although she speaks excellent English and understands Spanish, Felicia does not like to speak Spanish at home or school.  Her parents are bilingual and own a restaurant. GREG POOLE - Greg is an average 7 year old with grade level skills in math and reading. He and Emily are siblings.  Greg can use ASL and may be of help communicating with Emily. 
ANTOINE FISHER - Antoine is a very bright, articulate 7 1/2 year old who loves to read about science-related things. He always has his nose in a book and lives with his grandmother and older brother. KRISTIN SMITH - Kristin is an average 7 1/2 year old who is also working on grade level. Her parents are Jehovah’s Witnesses and very involved with their church and their Amway business. 
BRETT FUNDY - Brett is a 9 year old with mild Down’s Syndrome and is classified as EMH.  His IQ is about 70 and his social skills are age appropriate for second grade.  His speech is very difficult to understand, however, and he does not read or write.  He will receive speech therapy, OT, and PT every week. Brett is new to this school. TERRY SMOTHERS - Terry is an 8 year old boy with Cerebral Palsy.  He will have a personal assistant who is to be hired as soon as possible.  The PA will help Terry use the bathroom and with transfers from his wheelchair to his desk or other special furniture. The PA will also assist Terry in the lunchroom and can help him with his work because Terry cannot control a pencil well enough to write.  Everyone knows Terry at our school, because he has been here since Kindergarten. Although he repeated first grade, we feel he is ready to go on to second grade this year. Terry’s father is a doctor and his mother was a nurse.
PATTY GALLAGHER - Patty is a 10 year old child with a very low IQ and is identified as TMH.  Patty is big for her age and prone to petit mal seizures.  She can dress and feed herself and has the social skills of a 5 year old. Her academic skills are very low as she has a mental age of 3.  Patty has been in our inclusion program for one year and lives with her mother, who is a nurse. ELLEN TRACY - Ellen is a very bright 7 year old with good skills in Reading and Math.  She is quite good friends with Emily and is learning ASL.   Emily is the oldest of 5 children.  Her dad is a minister.
PAM MACDONALD - Pam is also identified as TMH.  She is 9 years old but is small for her age.  Her social skills are coming along nicely and she is also able to feed and dress herself and use the bathroom. Her mental age is also about 3. Pam lives with a very experienced and caring foster family who have other children with disabilities. BOBBY WEEKS - Bobby is new to our school this year. His cumulative folder indicates that he was an above average student in his previous school. We don’t know anything about the family at this time.
NOTE:  All names are pseudonyms. Please adjust the acronyms as needed to match those used in your area.  

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The Initial Reaction Response Guide:

In order to begin  the Inclusion Classroom PBL activity you need to do the following on your own:

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Disability Study Guidelines:
     In your PBL group, divide the disability areas you need to research evenly among the members. Each member should focus on two students to research and write about. Include the following information in written summaries you prepare to share with your PBL group and with the rest of the class:
    I.  For each disability area, describe
         (a) Characteristics of the disability in school-age children.
         (b) Types of accommodations that may be appropriate for children with this disability.
         (c) Supports that are available to a general education teacher who has a child with these special needs.
    II. Design a specific set of strategies and accommodations that you would use with two of the students with disabilities you have researched who need help with reading, writing or math.
   III.  Prepare a written summary of your findings and a list of strategies and accommodations. This should be given to your group members when you share what you’ve learned and presented to the whole class on the assigned date.
NOTE:  You may want to consult the web sites suggested below to help you with your research.

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A Day in the Life... Guidelines for this Assignment:
        Choose a student in your internship class or school who has identified disabilities. Observe and talk with this student several times. Shadow this student for a day if you can. Talk with the student's teachers - both regular education and special education teachers or resource people. Write about your chosen student and address these questions: Top of page

The Acorn People Reflective Journal:
     Use the following questions as a guide for your reflective journal about The Acorn People by Ron Jones:
           1. Pick one of the children from the story. What are that child’s strengths?
               How could you use those strengths in your classroom?
           2. How did the mood change when the children were getting ready to go home from camp?
               Why do you think that happened?
          3.  What have you learned from this book about people who have disabilities?
               How might this impact what you do in your classroom?

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Exceptional Student Support Staff - Interview Guidelines:
       Select a professional or para-professional (such as the school nurse, the school counselor, the special education teacher, the special education assistant, the school psychologist, the social worker, the physical therapist, occupational therapist, adaptive physical education teacher, or speech/language therapist) in your school to interview who works with exceptional children.  Use the checklist below to guide you in planning questions to ask.
 
Interview Presentation Checklist 
Profession presented: Needs work Adequate  Excellent
1.  Job description/responsibilities      
2.  Work with classroom teacher      
3.  Education/training for job      
4.  Referral process      
5.  Future of job      
6.  Communication       
7.  Written handout for class      

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Final Decision Guidelines: Top of page
Internet Resources:

1.  National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities - NICHCY’s website includes information about disabilities, strategies for teachers to use in the classroom, information for parents and other resources.
http://www.nichcy.org

2.  LD OnLine is a service of The Learning Project at WETA, Washington, D.C., in association with The Coordinated Campaign for Learning Disabilities.
http://www.ldonline.org/

3.  The Special Education Home Page:
http://specialed.freeyellow.com/

4.  Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators - Special Ed, Couseling, and School Psychology Links:
http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/edspec.html

5.  Inclusion...Tours, Mine, Ours  - sponsored by the Florida Inclusion Network - a group of teachers who truly believe in inclusion and are facing the daily challenges of creating successful inclusion experiences! http://www.rushservices.com/Inclusion/homepage.htm

6.   Choose SPECIAL NEEDS for links to information about disabilities including learning disabilities, behavior, visual impairment, autism, ADD, gifted, hearing impaired, ESL, and others:
http://rushservices.com/outofthebox/

7.   DisABILITY links page from Internet Resources for Special Children (IRSC) web site. The IRSC web site is maintained by a parent of a child with multiple disabilities who is dedicated to communicating information relating to the needs of children with disABILITIES:
http://www.irsc.org/disability.htm

8.  Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and responses from ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education:
http://ericec.org/faqs.html

9.  Internet Legal Resources about Special Education and Disabilities compiled by the University of Virginia Curry School of Education Office of Special Education:
http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/cise/ose/resources/legal.html

10.  ERIC EC Digests  -  ERIC digests are short reports (1,500 to 2,000 words) that provide a basic overview, plus pertinent references, on topics of interest to the broad educational community.
http://ericec.org/digests/prodfly.html

11.  KidSouce Online resources about educating Gifted and Talented Students. When a child is gifted or talented, their parents and educators are faced with many issues and challenges. These articles and digests provide ideas, guidance and activities for both parents and educators of gifted students.
http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/pages/ed.gifted.html

12.  Gifted Education - A Resource Guide for Teachers from the British Columbia Ministry of Education:
http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/specialed/gifted/toc.htm

13.  Awareness of Chronic Health Conditions: What the Teacher Should Know. Another Resource Guide for Teachers from the British Columbia Ministry of Education
http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/specialed/awareness/contents.htm

14.  Michigan State University offers this online American Sign Language (ASL) browser where you can look up video of thousands of ASL signs and learn interesting things about them. Requires the QuickTime plug-in, which you can download at this site.
http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/

15.  The Center for Disease Control (CDC) Atlanta has a branch about Developmental Disabilities. There are links here to federal agencies that work in the developmental disabilities arena.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/dd/

16.  Information from ARC, which is the national association that supports people with mental retardation and other related developmental disabilties and their familes. This site preovides basic information about topics related to mental retardation.
http://www.thearc.org/info-mr.html

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Created and maintained by Dr. Barbara B. Levin, Associate Professor, CUI Dept., UNCG
Last updated 10/28/01