Midterm Exam

1.  (Chapter 1) (Special Education Foundations) Discuss the role the Civil Rights Movement had on contributing to new approaches in special education. Be sure to include reference to pertinent court cases and legislation to support your discussion.
1. The Civil Rights Movement originally focused on the rights of African Americans but expanded to include people with disabilities.  In 1954, the Brown vs. Board of Education was the first court case to have a significant impact.  The U.S Supreme Court ruled that it was unlawful to discriminate against any groups of people.  It also established that school segregation denied equal educational opportunities for all students.  From then on, there was a new concept of integration that was introduced into public education, which protected students’ rights to equal opportunities.  There were many other court cases that affected special education.  In 1982, in the court case of Board of Education of Hendrick Hudson School District vs. Rowley, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that special education services must provide an appropriate education for everyone.  In 1993, in the court of Doe vs. Withers, Doe’s history teacher, Withers failed to make accommodations for him therefore causing Doe to fail.   In Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973, all students are prevented of discrimination in programs that receives federal funds.  In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed and protects all individuals with disabilities from discrimination and requires most employers to make reasonable accommodations for them.  In 1990, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was the revision to Public Law 94-142.  This law added to accommodations to children from birth to age 5.  It also recognized that most students with disabilities spend all or most of their time in general education settings.  The most recent law passed in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which pushed for all students to be at grade-level at the end of each school year.

2.  (Chapter 2)  (Special Education Laws and Services) Identify and explain the tiers of Response to Intervention (RtI).  When is this process implemented and what is is its significance for educators and students?   (Suggested resources – the Friend text and the IRIS Center -- http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/rti01_overview/chalcycle.htm.)

a.       Response to Intervention (RtI) is an approach for the identification of learning disabilities based on whether student learning progress improve or fails to improve after the student receives increasingly intense, research-based interventions.  There are three ties of Response to Intervention with a universal screening for all students.  In tier one, students receive effective, research-validated instruction in the general education setting. Student progress is monitored on a weekly basis (Iris Center).  In tier two, students whose progress is less than desired receive different or additional support from the classroom teacher or another educational professional. Student progress continues to be monitored (Iris Center).  In tier three, students whose progress is still insufficient in response to Tier 2 instruction may receive even more intensive instruction, and then depending on a state’s or district’s policies, students may qualify for special education services or may receive an evaluation for the identification of a learning disability (Iris Center).  This process is implemented with struggling readers and students with suspected learning disabilities.  Response to Intervention is most likely implemented in the elementary level, but it can occur whenever professionals determine a student is experiencing learning problems that are significant and interfering with achievement.  The significance of Response to Intervention for teachers and students is to eliminate inadequate instruction as the reason for reading problems.

3. (Chapter 3) (Collaboration) You are having a parent conference with Jerome’s father tomorrow about Jerome’s progress in controlling his disruptive behavior. This is the first meeting since initiating a behavior management plan that you and Jerome’s father worked out at your last conference. Using the shared problem-solving model described in chapter 3, describe what you should do to prepare for tomorrow’s conference.  What steps should be taken after the conference?
1. The shared problem-solving model is “a process used by groups of processionals and parents for identifying problems, generating potential solutions, selecting and implementing solutions, and evaluating the effectiveness of solutions” (Friend, 2009, p.532).  The first step in the preparations is to identify the problem.  The problem is Jerome’s progress in controlling his disruptive behavior.  In this step of the model, I would explain some of the instances where Jerome acted out or caused disruption in the classroom.  I would give specific examples of Jerome’s behavior.  The next step, I would propose possible solutions.  Since Jerome already have a behavior management plan in place, it would be appropriate to adjust this plan to improve his behavior.  In this step, the teachers and parent would brainstorm more ideas for behavior management which require being open and creative to new ideas.  We would focus in on specifics and evaluate ideas.  The steps to be taken after the conference would be to implement the solution.  We would implement the new behavior management plan.  After the plan has been in place for some time, we would reevaluate the plan and evaluate the outcomes.  The most important aspect of this process is communication between the teachers and parents throughout all the steps.

4. (Chapter 5) (Planning Instruction – INCLUDE Strategy) You have just learned that the new student who is to join your class has speech impairment. The student’s file does not thoroughly describe the areas of strength or need, but rather indicates generally that the student has trouble with articulation. Based on this limited information, outline how you would use the INCLUDE strategy to help meet the educational needs of your new student. 
1. Step one is to identify classroom demands (Friend, 2009, p. 154).

                                                              i.      As a teacher, I would make sure to implement proximity.  I would try to write any instructions that I verbalize on the board.  I would have the student’s desk closer to the front of the classroom, which is where I would be teaching for the majority of the time.  I would make sure to use a microphone when teaching and allow the student to have a recorder to use for taking notes.  For this student, I need to make sure that how the classroom is organized does not affect the student’s learning.

2. Step two is to note student learning strengths and needs (Friend, 2009, p. 154).

                                                              i.      I would need to analyze the student’s academics understanding and learning.  I would also need to see what the student’s social-emotional development is in the classroom as well as his interpersonal skills and personal-psychological adjustments.  It is also important to analyze the student’s physical development and to see whether or not the students might have any other learning disabilities.

3. Step three is to check for potential areas of student success (Friend, 2009, p. 154).

                                                              i.      Because of the student’s learning difficulties, the student might be self-conscious.  It is important for me to assign activities that will help the student become successful.  It is important for the student to recognize his own potential and his ability to succeed.

4. Step four is to look for potential problem areas (Friend, 2009, p. 154).

                                                              i.      In this step, “student learning needs are reviewed within a particular instructional context, and potential mismatches are identified” (158).

5. Step five is to use information to brainstorm ways to differentiate instruction (Friend, 2009, p. 154).

                                                              i.      In this step, I must work towards making accommodations or modifications for the student.  I can provide accommodations through instructional methods, materials, grouping and classroom management (159).  Through the accommodations and modifications, I must constantly evaluate that the focus is on the student.

6. Step six is to differentiate instruction (Friend, 2009, p. 154).

                                                              i.      In this step, I work towards implementing the ideas for modifications and accommodations.  During this step, I must make sure to give the student choices and keep the strategies age-appropriate.

7. Step seven is to evaluate student progress (Friend, 2009, p. 154).

                                                              i.      In this step, I evaluate the student progress and reevaluate the strategies.

5. See attachments for bulleted chapter notes on chapter 1 through 5 and chapter 13 or see blog: http://edee409inclusionguidekcgriffin.blogspot.com/