Understanding the Learner Nov 16

COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, SCIENCE AND EDUCATIONCOLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, SCIENCE AND EDUCATION

ASSIGNMENT COMPLETED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THEASSIGNMENT COMPLETED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENTS IN THE ADVANCE PLACEMENT PROGRAMREQUIREMENTS IN THE ADVANCE PLACEMENT PROGRAM

PREPARED BY:PREPARED BY:

MARY ANN ADRIANOMARY ANN ADRIANO

SUBMITTED TO:SUBMITTED TO:

MRS. CHRISE COTTERRELMRS. CHRISE COTTERREL

LecturerLecturer

REQUIRED:

“OUR CLASSROOM’S TODAY CONSIST OF A DIVERSE SET OF STUDENTS

WHICH INCLUDE GENDER, RACE, RELIGION, SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS, SPECIAL

NEEDS AND SEXUALITY.”

Choose any two diversities and identify and discuss at least four ways in which the teacher can

help to foster a healthy relationship among the different groups within the classroom.

INTRODUCTION

Today's classrooms are filled with diverse students with a variety of needs and abilities

including; students with disabilities and gifted/talented students, students coming from different

race, religion, socio-economic status, gender and sexual orientation. While diversity is enriching,

it also brings challenges, especially in a time when all students are expected to meet standards

and perform on a mandated tests. If schools are to meet these challenges of educating increased

numbers of children with diverse needs, teachers must embrace instruction and curricula that

engage and encourage all students. Research about including children with disabilities indicates

the importance of several interrelated educational strategies that a teacher could perform to foster

a healthy relation: mixed student grouping; appropriate physical environment and materials;

collaboration and instructional teaming with other teachers and professional and support coming

from administrators, families, and the community. In this paper I will specifically talk about

students with special needs and those coming from a “lower” socio-economic status and how

teachers should deal with difficulties concerning these groups.

HIGH EXPECTATION

Teachers should have high expectations for all students. The reasons behind increased

success are the same reasons that prompt use of developmentally appropriate practice and an

inclusive curriculum, according to Knapp, Shields, and Turnbull (1995): "By concentrating on

assets... teachers are predisposed to see more potential in the children they are teaching and are

able to treat the children's experiences and backgrounds as resources for learning rather than

constraints on it" (p. 184).

In contrast, identifying students as low-ability seems to lower teacher expectations and subject

those students to an inferior education, notes Villegas (1991):

"Once students are considered to be deficient in some way or other, teachers begin to treat them

differently... The evidence is overwhelming. When compared to their 'high-ability' peers, 'low-

ability' students are called on less often in class…, and prompted less often in the case of

incorrect responses" (p. 4).

It does not take a research study to confirm what most of us know intuitively: Having high

expectations for all students is a worthwhile goal. As teachers, we have tremendous power in

determining whether or not this goal is achieved.

Some teachers unconsciously send different messages to “low” achievers than to “high”

achievers. Low achievers often receive insincere praise, less feedback, and more criticism. In

addition, these students tend to be called on less often and given less time to respond.

Teacher can foster a good relationship by having and communicating high expectations to the

entire class from day one. This action will send a message of acknowledging the importance or

the value of each individual in the class. For the group of students with exceptionalities, this is

very important in the sense that it gives a feeling of being a part or belonging and not being

pitied. This will in turn give positive attitude because students intuitively sense that the teacher

has a genuine interest and belief in them. For example, instead of placing troubled students in the

back of the room where they are often forgotten the teacher put them right in the front row. Such

a gesture sets the expectation that all students are an integral part of a successful classroom

dynamic, and they all must participate in order for the class to succeed.

STUDENT GROUPING PRACTICES

Student grouping practices is very prevalent in the Jamaica School System. These

practices such as placing “low-income” students with “low ability” groups and grouping students

with disabilities often have the effect of reducing equity. This kind of practice will isolate

students and limit their opportunities for interaction.

Teachers must be able to identify the individual needs of each child, including any needs for

accommodation and support.

Observation and conversation, if necessary, with family members can help the teacher build

upon the child’s strengths, regardless of whether the child is disabled or is from low socio-

economic background. This kind of action will obtain positive results in empowering students. It

is a positive contrast to the approach that labels a child and produces a program to provide what

he or she lacks.

When circumstances permit, schools should include students with disabilities in general

education classrooms to promote learning as well as social relationships.

LABELLING

Teachers should not judge or label a child before they get to know them. Every child has

abilities. Labeling causes these students to be isolated. Children want to fit in and feel as normal

as possible. Labeling is very hurtful and can make a student feel very bad.

Students need positivity in their lives if they are going to succeed and labeling them is far from

positive.

One concern is the categorical labels do not always accurately reflect the characteristics of the

children. Additionally, labeling may stigmatize the child, and once a child is labeled, it may be

difficult to change the label. Some believe that attaching a label to a child may well produce a

self-fulfilling prophecy, notes Rothstein and Johnson, 2009.

Students should not be labeled by their disabilities since it is only a part of who they are and not

the big picture. They have goals and ambitions like everyone else, they do have a desire to learn,

they have interests and hobbies, and they also have things that they are good at.

There is also the issue of self fulfilling prophecy as well. If a child keeps hearing that they are

dumb, stupid, or cannot learn then they are going to believe that they would not amount to

anything and eventually give up trying.

Teachers should practice tolerance, deeper patience and understanding. The labels become the

defining characteristic of the person, denying their complex whole, and the use of labels for

identifying 'special education needs' fails to properly locate failure in the education system.

When a child is labeled, he or she can end up not getting the education services needed resulting

in an inadequate education.

PARENTS IN DENIAL STAGE

Denial is characterized by feelings of confusion, numbness, disorganization, and helplessness

(Seligman & Darling, 1989). When parents are faced with someone telling them that their child

has a disorder, a disability, or other problems requiring formal intervention, they may

understandably respond, “There must be some mistake,” “Give him some time and he’ll be fine,”

and we’ll help her” (Hartwig, 1984).

Sometimes, teacher will be confronted by denying parents. This especially happens when a

teacher has to tell the parents that their child is failing or should be referred for special testing.

As Hartwig had said, at times, the parents may act as if they did not hear. They may ignore the

advice, or they may go to their doctors for another diagnosis. Also, in looking for someone to

blame, parents may or might convert on blaming the teacher for the child’s slow progress.

In such an instance, the teacher should try to help parents understand that his/her main interest is

not why the child is not learning but in how to help the child overcome the learning problems

that have been identified. While the parents are in the stage, the child might not get the attention

that they need at home. If the teacher believes that this is the case, then they should take

necessary steps to get parents to collaborate with them. Some of the ways that a teacher can

make parents to participate in their child’s progress is to share with them the school’s finding and

discussing with them the activities that their children are doing.

CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT

Appropriate arrangement of the physical environment in the classroom is important for

all students. Certain features of classroom environment are recognized as pivotal to the

successful classroom management, including, for example, classroom layout and organization,

class rules and routines, and organization of resources (Leggett, 2005; Newton, 2005). The

classroom arrangement affects the level of involvement of the children and the quality of

interaction between the teacher and the student. The teacher must structure the physical space to

involve all children in many different types of group activities. Classroom arrangement must

address the needs of the student. For example, maintaining predictable order for a child with

hearing or visual impairment or placing “slow learners” to the front of the class allowing more

interaction.

School and classroom settings must have adequate space and be barrier-free. They should

provide spatial accommodations for children with special needs to allow for equipment that

makes it possible for them to participate in the classroom. Adaptive equipment to help disabled

children participate in classroom activities may include ramps, or trays that can be placed across

wheelchair arms to enable children to use manipulatives.

COLLABORATION

Teachers may and will feel overwhelmed by the many responsibilities required of them in

a diverse classroom. How can a teacher meet the individual needs of many different children

while developing and presenting the curriculum and ensuring opportunities for all? The answer is

that the teacher cannot do the job alone. Instead, schools can provide support through

collaboration with other professionals, instructional teaming within the classroom, and assistance

from others.

One way to collaborate is to have one teacher deliver the lesson to the entire class while

the other teacher (or specialist) moves around the room helping and observing students, making

notes and monitoring the students. The teacher and the specialist circulates arounf the room

paraphrasing and clarifying information presented by the lead teacher (Gransbery, 1998).

By collaborating with other professionals and specialists, schools can provide an

approach that identifies appropriate strategies (educational) and intervention services for children

with special needs. In this way, the combined expertise of a variety of professionals-such as

classroom and special education teachers, counselors and assessment specialists inside the school

building, and social workers and healthcare professionals outside the school building-provides

insight into each student’s needs. Through collaboration, the educational team can design

programs and implement strategies to help individual children achieve their educational goals.

For example, if there is collaboration between a general teacher and a special education teacher

within the same classroom, then, general education teacher can follow the curriculum while the

special education teacher will device or adapt classroom materials to match the learning styles,

strengths, and special needs of each of their students.

In addition, schools can take action to involve children's parents and families in school activities

and decision making. Involvement of parents as active and empowered members of the school

will link school staff with the diverse learner. Teachers can use parents as resource people by

asking them to share cultural recipes, stories and or artifacts.

OTHER WAYS IN WHICH TEACHERS CAN FOSTER A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP:

Use naturalistic teaching strategies to respond to individual students within the context of

naturally occurring classroom activities. Such strategies are helpful for enabling children

to reach individual goals and for challenging insensitive behavior when it occurs.

Eliminate stereotypical and inaccurate materials from the classroom.

EFERENCE

Gorman, J.C. (2004). Working with challenging parents of students with special needs.

California: Corwin Press.

Howley, M., & Rose, R. (2007). The Practical Guide to Special Educational Needs in Inclusive

Primary Classroom. California: Paul Chapman Publishing.

Knapp, M.S., Shields, P.M., & Turnbull, B.J. (1995). Conclusion: Teaching for meaning in high-

poverty classrooms. In M.S. Knapp & Associates (Eds.), Teaching for meaning in high-

poverty classrooms. New York: Teachers College Press.

Rothstein, L. & Johnson, S.F. Special Education law. (4th Edition). California: Sage Publication.

Villegas, A.M. (1991, December). Culturally responsive pedagogy for the 1990s and beyond

(Trends and Issues Paper No. 6). Washington, DC: ERIC Clearinghouse on Teacher

Education.

Labelling theory (Definition). Retrieved from the Wikipedia Website:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labeling_theory

Ministry of Education Website: http://www.moec.gov.jm/

Partridge, Stephanie. The Negative Impact of Student "Labeling" in the Classroom. Retrieved from

Associated Content Website:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/83934/the_negative_impact_of_student_labeling.html?

cat=4

Resource Manual for Teachers of Students with Exceptionalities. Downloaded from the Ministry of

Education Website: http://www.moec.gov.jm/