Ensuring Progress in the General Education Curriculum

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Ensuring Progress in the General Education
Curriculum

• Chapter 2

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View Heather and Star Video

• Who do you think will take the MAP test in 2
  years?
• Should Heather be required to take it in just the
  same way as her peers without disabilities?
• Should Star?
• If not, what accommodations are reasonable?
• Should either of them be exempted and have an
  alternative assessment?

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Progress in the General Education Curriculum

• IDEA - IEP requirements
• Standards-based reform
• NCLB Academic standards, student achievement
  standards, and alternate achievement standards
• IEP accommodations
• Raise standards
• Problems in standards-based reform

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Issues of Diversity

• 2003 European American and Asian/Pacific
  Islander students scored higher on assessments
  than African American, Latino, and Native
  American/Alaskan Native students
• Average reading scores for fourth and eighth
  grades students on free lunch are lower
• Large gaps between European American, African
  American and Latino students remain unchanged
  since 1990

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Low-wealth children engage in far less academic
work

• By Oct. of first grade, a middle/high-SES child
  reads 12 words per reading session a low-SES
  child reads 0 words
• By April, the middle/high-SES child reads 81
  words a low-SES child reads 32 words
• By the end of first grade, middle/high-SES have
  seen approximately 19,000 words low-SES about
  10,000
• By the end of the sixth grade, a child of poverty
  would need to go to school an additional
  year-and-a-half to have the same academic
  experience

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Demographics in Special Education

• Race General Special Population Education
  
• White 66.2 63.6
• Black 14.8 20.2
• Hispanic 14.8 13.2
• Am. Indian 1.0 1.3
• Asian/Pacific 3.8 1.7

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Supplementary Aids and Services

• Universal design for learning
• Access
• Classroom ecology
• Education and assistive technology
• Assessment and task modifications
• Teacher, paraprofessional, or peer support
• See Figure 2-1

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What Universal Design Means

• In the world of architecture and building,
  adaptability is subtle, integrated into the
  design, and benefits everyone.
• A shift from thinking why we should make changes
  to accommodate a few people in wheelchairs to an
  appreciation of how much better things can be for
  all of us

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Fundamental shifts in our ideas of teaching and
learning

• Students with disabilities fall along a continuum
  of learner differences, just as other students
  do
• Teachers should make adjustments for all
  students, not just those with disabilities
• Curriculum materials should be as varied and
  diverse as the learning styles and needs in the
  classroom, rather than textbook-centered
  (currently possible with digital and on-line
  resources)
• Rather than trying to adjust the students to
  learn from a set curriculum, the curriculum
  should be flexible to accommodate a range of
  student differences.

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Principles of Universal Design

• Principle 1 Equitable Use
• The design is useful and marketable to people
  with diverse abilities

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Equitable Use

• Adjustable chairs

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Inequitable use

• Chairs in the room or office

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Principles of Universal Design

• Principle 2 Flexibility in Use
• The design accommodates a wide range of
  individual preferences and abilities

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Flexible in Use

• Latch doorknob

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Flexible in Use

• Push opener

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Inflexible in Use

• Round doorknob

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Accessible for use

• Push door opener

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Principles of Universal Design

• Principle Three Simple and Intuitive Use
• Use of the design is easy to understand
  regardless of the users experience, knowledge,
  language skills, or current concentration level

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Principles of Universal Design

• Principle 4 Perceptible Information
• The design communicates necessary information
  effectively to the user, regardless of ambient
  conditions or the user's sensory abilities.
• round thermostat

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Perceptible Information

• Fire alarm with strobe light

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Perceptible Information

• ATM with large buttons

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Principles of Universal Design

• Principle Five Tolerance for Error
• The design minimizes hazards and the adverse
  consequences of accidental or unintended actions

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Tolerance for Errorlow?

• Bathroom entranceway

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Tolerance for Errorhigh?

• Outside power door button for entry system

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Tolerance for Error?? Lets Look
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Principles of Universal Design

• Principle Six Low Physical Effort
• The design can be used efficiently and
  comfortably and with a minimum of fatigue.
• door handle

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Principles of Universal Design

• Principle Seven Size and Space for Approach and
  Use
• Appropriate size and space is provided for
  approach, reach, manipulation, and use regardless
  of user's body size, posture, or mobility.
• subway gate

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Student-Placement Trends

• 50 of students with disabilities in gen. ed. 80
  of the time or more
• 28 of student in gen. ed. 40-79 of the time
• 19 of students in gen. ed.0-39 of the time
• 3 of students in residential facilities
• 0.7 of students in separate facility
• 0.5 of students in home/hospital

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Characteristics of Inclusion

• Home-school placement
• Principle of natural proportions
• Restructuring teaching and learning
• Age-and grade-appropriate placements
• Eliminating the continuum of placements
• Increasing amount of time in general education
• Perspectives parents, teachers, and students
• See Figure 2-7

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Inclusion Refer to Figure 2-7

• What are your thoughts on this topic?
• Get into your discussion group and discuss
• What are the pros and cons for inclusion?
• If you were a parent of a child with a
  disability, what would you want?
• Which disability category would you see less
  likely to be included, and why?
• Which disability category would you see most
  likely to be included, and why?

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Designing an IEP (see Figure 2-8)

• Determine supplementary aids
• Determine specially designed instruction
• Address life-skills content
• Specify related services