Special+Education

SPECIAL EDUCATION ** **// “The goal of special education should be to minimize the impact of disability and maximize the opportunity to participate.” //** **// ~//** Thomas Hehir, 2007

=**//  WHY SHOULD I CARE? //**= As a new teacher, you might be wondering why you should care about special education if you aren’t considering a career that specializes in it. Well, provincial statistics show that a staggering 86 % of all Ontario secondary school students that receive some form of service from special education programs are placed in regular classrooms for more than half of the instructional day. [1] Thus, the likelihood of you teaching a student with special needs in your class should be expected, and the following section dedicated to educating you on the subject will hopefully be of great use to you. =**//  WHAT IS IT? //**= The Ministry of Education defines students with special needs as those that have exceptionalities in the areas of [1]: ·  Behaviour ·  Communication (Autism, Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing, Language Impairment, Speech Impairment, Learning Disability) ·  Intellect (Giftedness, Mild Intellectual Disability, Developmental Disability) ·  Physical Ability (Physical Disability, Blind and Low Vision) ·  Multiple These students would benefit from specific supports such as special education programs or services because they offer unique instructions and assessments different from those provided to the general student populace, allowing for individual achievement and success. Such changes may take the form of simple accommodations or greater modifications to the expectations of a particular course. [2] =**//  WHAT IS THE PROCESS? //**= In order to determine whether a student possesses exceptionality, they must first be formally identified as such by an Identification, Placement, and Review Committee (IPRC). In most recent figures (2004/05), more than 190,000 students were identified by an IPRC in Ontario, and an additional not formally identified 99,000 students were provided with special education programs and services. [3] The regulation governing the identification and placement of students with special needs mandates that the IPRC consider placing the student in a regular classroom (with appropriate special education services) before resorting to placement in a special education class. Those for whom the regular classroom does not meet every need have a range of options available to them including placement in a special education class full time or with partial integration, or with partial withdrawal from regular class to receive instruction by a qualified special education teacher. [4]   Once identified and placed by the IPRC, an Individual Education Plan (IEP) is developed for the student. It is:  ·   A relevant working document outlining the special programs and services to be provided to the student based on the assessment of their strengths and needs  ·   A plan, reflective of parent and student consultation, for the students progress through the curriculum, linked to the Provincial Report card These plans are mandatory for IPRC exceptionally recognized students, but not for non-identified students. [1] = **// WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW AS A NEW TEACHER? //**= New teachers should be aware of all potential scenarios concerning students in their classroom with IEPs [1, 4]: ·  Most students with an IEP will have the same curriculum expectations as those without, except they might have **accommodations** (specialized supports/services provided to help them achieve success) and are assessed according to assessment policies in curriculum documents. Types of Accommodations: **//Instructional// - **changes in teaching strategies **//Environmental//** - changes to the classroom and/or school environment **//Assessment//** - changes required for the student to demonstrate learning ·  In addition to accommodation, some students with an IEP will have certain curriculum expectations **modified** to meet their needs (can be a change in grade level of expectations or increase/decrease to number and/or complexity of learning expectations), assessed according to assessment policies in curriculum documents. In addition, the principal issues the credit depending upon whether they believe the course has been completed successfully or not. ·  Few students may require **alternative** expectations that are not derived from the curriculum documents. Achievement is not assessed using the assessment policies in the curriculum documents, but according to the expectations laid out in the IEP. It is important to note that students will not be granted a credit for the successful completion of this course. =**// WHAT  MUST  I KNOW? //**=

** Ministry of Education **
Provisions involved with special education in Ontario were first introduced into the Education Act by the Education Amendment Act of 1980 (Bill 82). Since then, they have undergone many amendments, however the following principal changes of Bill 82 remain: “- the responsibility of school boards to provide (or to purchase from another board) special education programs and special education services for their exceptional pupils (paragraph 7 of subsection 170(1)); - a special education program is defined as an educational program that is based on and modified by the results of a continuous assessment and evaluation of the pupil and that includes a plan (now referred to as an Individual Education Plan) containing specific objectives and an outline of the educational services that meets the needs of the exceptional pupil (subsection 1(1)); - the responsibility of the Minister (Subsection 8(3)): - to require school boards to implement procedures for the early and ongoing identification of the learning abilities and needs of students; - to define exceptionalities of pupils and to prescribe classes, groups or categories of exceptional pupils and to require the use of these definitions by school boards; - to provide an appeal process for parents concerning special education identification and/or placement decisions; - to ensure that special education programs and services are provided without payment of fees by school boards to their exceptional pupils; - the establishment of an Ontario Special Education Tribunal to provide final and binding arbitration in disagreements between a parent and school board concerning the identification or placement of an exceptional pupil.” [5]

** York Region District School Board **
The board is responsible for developing an IEP for every student that has been identified as exceptional and if they so choose, for those who have not been formally identified. The Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) plays a critical role in providing these students with appropriate educational services by proposing their establishment and development. They also provide additional support to parents/guardians in the form of information, advice and assistance. [6]  “In the York Region District School Board, Special Education provides: =**// WHAT SHOULD I DO AND HOW CAN I DO IT? //**= In order to effectively teach these special individuals, overall, new teachers must [7, 8]: ·  carry out duties as outlined by the Education Act, regulations, and policy documents ·  follow board policies/regulations with regards to special education ·  collaborate with special education teacher in order to remain up-to-date with specialized practices ·  aid in development of IEP with special education staff and parents, as the key curriculum expert by contributing first-hand knowledge of student’s strengths, needs, and interests to help them progress through Ontario curriculum ·  develop any modified or alternative learning expectations required to meet student’s needs, implement program to student in regular class by planning instructions to address those expectations, and assess student’s achievement of them (note: special education teacher will sometimes take responsibility for developing, teaching, and assessing expectations for certain aspects of program) ·  maintain communication with student’s parents, other teachers, professionals, support staff involved with student ·  work with fellow staff to review and update student’s IEP Specific instructions/suggestions for meeting the needs of exceptional students include [4]:
 * the most enabling environments for all exceptional pupils;
 * a continuum of service delivery options in response to pupil needs;
 * the provision of extensive resource staff to support the development of quality programs for exceptional pupils;
 * the integration of all exceptional pupils;
 * supporting preventative approach in programming for all pupils;
 * collaborative planning between special education resource and regular staff; and,
 * monitoring and establishing partnerships.” [6]

** TEACHING APPROACHES **
- use reading material suitable to reading level/learning style of student - provide audiotapes of difficult sections for greater understanding of material - make videotapes, audiotapes, and other audio-visual materials available to offer breadth/depth to learning experience - resources for direct experience with sight and touch (ex. tactile materials) - variety of learning tools (ex. calculators, adapted computers) - opportunities for enrichment, additional reading, etc (ex. problems to solve) in order to extend learning || - team teaching - special interest groupings for projects - peer partners, collaborative groups, cross-age tutoring - implementing mentorship programs - independent study plans || - use of library resource room || - resource teachers - librarians - other professionals || - facilitate independent learning - group work || - allow taped answers - demonstrations - dramatizations - role play ||
 * Use of special resources
 * Use of a variety of teaching-learning strategies
 * Alternative to classroom
 * Collaboration
 * Use of different areas of classroom for different purposes
 * Alternative methods for completion of tasks/presenting information
 * Provide opportunities for performance in areas of special talent ||
 * Consult with parents to provide proper study conditions at home ||
 * Provide for students who need more or less time for completion of assignments/achievement of learning expectations ||
 * Simplify language of instruction ||
 * Integrate exceptional students into regular classroom by providing all students with strategies for understanding and accepting them ||

** CURRICULUM **

 * Create module on learning and study skills to promote acquisition of skills such as formulating a work plan, taking notes, reading, and studying ||
 * Supply additional material to enforce and extend learning ||
 * Provide modified curriculum or alternative (different from provincial curriculum) expectations, as appropriate, to ensure needs are met ||
 * Modify delivery of cooperative education programs ||
 * Provide opportunities to gain knowledge/skills needed for successful transition to postsecondary education, apprenticeship programs, work, or living independently in the community ||

** ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES AND STRATEGIES **
A generic lesson plan template to include students with special needs: http://www.greenfield.durham.sch.uk/Wordfiles/Lesson_Plan.doc An excellent checklist promoting accommodations, modifications & interventions to help create an inclusive classroom for students of all needs: http://specialed.about.com/od/teacherstrategies/a/modify.htm The following is a checklist for test accommodations that should be considered for those students with disabilities: http://www.teachervision.fen.com/tv/printables/AccomCheck.pdf =** //  WHERE CAN I GO TO FIND MORE INFORMATION? // **=
 * Be flexible with time requirements for completion of assignments/assessment tasks ||
 * Alter format of assessment materials ||
 * Make a quiet space available for assessment to take place ||
 * Simplify test instructions and language of questions ||
 * Allot for use of scribes, tape recorders, word processors, or oral response ||
 * Consider allowing the retaking of tests/redoing of assignments for performance improvement ||
 * Present alternative homework assignments ||
 * Base assessment on full range of student work (ex. portfolios, interviews, demonstrations, dramatizations, journals, peer evaluations, self evaluations) ||

An excellent resource that outlines and describes a variety of software for different adaptive technologies that would benefit students with exceptionalities. http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/adaptivetech/Technologies/index.html

A wonderfully detailed website that explores “Special Education for Special Children”. Many learning disabilities are identified and explained and there is a great supply of suggestions for what teachers and parents can do about them. http://www.geocities.com/Athens/4611/

Everything you would want to know about an IEP from its development to its implementation. Also included is an example of what a template of an IEP form might look like. http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/speced/guide/resource/iepresguid.pdf

= **// REFERENCES  //** =

[1] Building Futures. January 12, 2009. Ministry of Education. February 13, 2009. http://building-futures.ca/eng/resources.html

[2] Special Education. January 29, 2009. Ministry of Education. February 14, 2009. http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/parents/speced.html

[3] An Introduction to Special Education in Ontario. September 24, 2008. Ministry of Education. February 12, 2009. http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/speced/ontario.html

[4] Ontario Secondary Schools, Grades 9 to 12. Program and Diploma Requirements. February 18, 2009. Ministry of Education. February 18, 2009. http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/curricul/secondary/oss/oss.pdf

[5] The Education Act on Special Education. September 24, 2008. Ministry of Education. February 15, 2009. http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/speced/edact.html

[6] An Introduction to Special Education in Ontario. February 18, 2009. York Region District School Board. February 18, 2009. http://www.yrdsb.edu.on.ca/page.cfm?id=CCS000001

[7] Shared Solutions. February 18, 2009. Ministry of Education. February 12, 2009. http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/speced/shared.pdf

[8] The Individual Education Plan (IEP), A Resource Guide (2004). September 24, 2008. Ministry of Education. February 13, 2009. http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/speced/guide/resource/iepresguid.pdf