Learning_Disabilities_and_the_Classroom

Learning Disabilities and the Classroom Linda Marshall Grand Canyon University Learning Disabilities and Strategies SPE 359 Tricia Troiano May 25, 2012 Learning Disabilities and the Classroom It is 8:15 Monday morning, the class is going crazy. The kids’ are screaming, there are paper airplanes flying all over the room. Kids are everyone and I have no control. One third of the class is students with learning disabilities and I am lost. Someone please help me gain control. When visiting with April’s classroom I observed all the students were actively involved. We discussed what skills she felt were important in maintain, organizing and planning her classroom management. Classroom management includes how the teacher delivers the curriculum and the environment in which the students learn. April feels it is extremely important that as a teacher with learning disability students you need to be consistent. Students need structure and consistent during their learning process. Keeping the students engaged during the learning process helps them to learn what is relevant and then there is less opportunity for behavior issues to arise. Another key point according to April is to make sure that what you are teaching is relevant and worth their times. Try to have a point in your lesson that relates to the world today. Give them examples of how things you are teaching can apply to them in today’s world. I asked April how she handled behavior issues. She first replied “Model respect and live by the golden rule” (A. Houghton, personal communication, May 22, 2012). If she should have a behavioral issue she said it was essential to remove the audience. If a student does not have an audience to watch them act up they will normally cease the behavior. Once the problem stops she talks with the student about the problem and how the situation could have been handled different. They talk about the choices they could have made and what can she do to help with making sure the issue does not happen again. April feels that it is important that a teacher never argue with a student. This can lead to a power struggle and both parties involved might say things that they really do not mean. April said “Remember you can’t teach if the students aren’t behaving” (A. Houghton, personal communication, May 22, 2012) April teaches high school English and does not do much grouping, but when she does she allows the students to pick the groups. Students seem to work better if they can choose who they want to work with. Make sure that all groups have a clearly defined role for each member. In April’s class she felt that it is important that you have a structure lesson plan. This not only benefits the student but it helps the teacher be more prepared and less stressed. When working on a lesson plan you need to focus on something that is going to get their attention. Using real life experiences that the students can relate to can help them to understand why they may need to learn a specific topic. Most students do better if they have a basic structure to follow. You can add to your lesson depending on the objective needed. She likes to get her students using the Bloom’s hierarchy. April has a clear behavior expectations posted on the wall for all students to see along with being an example of how they should act in her class. On the topic of record keeping he has a file of all the modifications and accommodation on the L file alone with all my lesson plans for the year. I have learned over the years that student learn from each other so I let the students write lesson plans using a fill in the blanks lesson plan. After they all finish writing their lesson plan the students are allowed to teach the class. When I give homework, I have the students grade the papers immediately so that we can get feedback right away. I normally do not take late work but if a student does want to turn in late work then they have to come in for tutoring. This is a way to make sure the student understands the work and if they are having a problem then I can help them immediately. In the high school most of our instructional materials is chosen by the district or the state department of education. April said that she uses the same differentiation strategies for the Gifted and Talent learners that she uses with the learning disability learner. Some of these strategies included, provided the students with a graphic organizers to process and master learning in chunks. Another strategy is to use assistive technology to provide a diversity of education aids that will help the students to practice the teaching objectives. Provided collaborative peer pair groups so that all students feel important and are included in the learning process. . I really was impressed at the structure and the environment in April’s class. All the students seem to really enjoyed being in her class. By the way she taught and had the whole class involved you could not tell which students were special education students unless you know the students. There was a student in the one class that had a physical impairment and all the class would chip on to help him but never made him feel bad about the help. If teachers could follow April’s examples I believe there would be less behavior problems and more learning in the classroom. In choose my special education team My Special Education team includes 1. Sue is an elementary teacher who has taught kindergarten through fifth grade. She has taught in regular education and special education 2. April teaches High School English. I feel she would be a great asset to any special education team because of her ability to talk and work with all children. She has taught for about fifteen years. 3. Holly is a special education teacher who is certified in k-12 and regular education ec Holly has also worked with behavior students and is real involved in communicating with the parents. 4. Jose the single father of a student (Jesus) who is LD but also has some anger issues due to his mother being deported back to Mexico. 5. Jared is the vice principal who will serve as the administrator; Jared has been a vice principal for about five years but has been in the education system fir 10 years. 6. Gina is the diagnostician, 7. Micial is Jesus school counselor and 8. Mike is school psychologist who has worked with Jesus the last 3 years on his behavior problems. 9. Jesus is a high school student is LD but has anger issues but after testing he was found out not to be emotional disturbed just has a learning disability. I looked at the people that I tough would be a benefit not only to me in this course but to the student in the special education program. Reference Houton, A. (2012, March 22). (L. Marshall, Interviewer)