Managing+Special+Groups

toc =Teaching Remedial Classes=

Learner Characteristics
The __Classroom Management For Middle and High School Teachers__ by Edmund T. Emmer and Carolyn M. Evertson states that students in remedial classes are usually achieving two or more grade levels below the average students in that grade. The fact that they have fallen behind may result from a number of reasons. They often feel discouraged because of this and will choose to believe that school is not important to them. These students may often be late or tardy for class because they are not doing well in school, of course the absences only make this worse causing them to fall further behind and continuing this cycle. This isn’t to say that all the students are the same and there will usually be a wide range of achievement levels, learning disabilities, goals, other talents, and family background. In “Adolescent Readers’ Perceptions of Remedial Reading Classes” Kathleen Donaldson and Pamela Halsey state that most students are chosen to be in remedial reading classes based on whether they score below the 40th percentile in reading on standardized exams; and that “schools often place these students in programs without student and/or parental consent.” In fact the article focuses on students at a school who received standardized test scores from the previous year after the next year had already started and pulled students who scored poorly out of the elective classes they were currently in and placed them in a remedial Reading class. Donaldson and Halsey feel that practices like this only add to the discouragement of these students.

Establishing Your Management System
In establishing a management system for remedial classes the book instructs teachers to spend extra class time and attention to explaining rules, procedures, and routines at the beginning of the year. In an article on education.com titled “Classroom Management techniques” R. Pierangelo and G. Giuliani say that it is important for teachers to not be overly critical or overly demanding of the students as this will only discourage them further. The article provides a list of things teachers can do to help classroom management: “Display daily class schedule with times so that the student has a structured idea of the day ahead, change seating, and provide examples of what is expected.”

Monitoring Behavior
Effective classroom management means being aware of what is going on in your classroom. The book advices that teachers keep their eyes on students and scan the room frequently. In a situation when you notice inappropriate behavior it is best deal with it promptly by using eye contact, proximity, or verbal cues that redirect the attention to class work.

Managing Student Work
In Classroom Management Emmer and Evertson state that “The cornerstone of managing student work in lower-level classes is an emphasis on daily and weekly grades.” They feel that a system in which the teacher provides frequent feedback will make it more difficult for students to fall behind. Another suggestion given is to have students compute and record their own weekly grade. This helps them to keep track of their own progress as well as providing them with a clear example of the way averages suffer if one or more assignments have not been completed. Another method presented by R. Pierangelo and G. Giuliani on education.com is to “use color coding of materials to foster organizational skills, and develop a homework plan with parental support.”

Planning and Presenting Instruction
Our book gives three tips for ways in which to plan and present instruction. The first is to “organize classroom instruction into short activity segments with frequent assessments of student understanding.” It is best to avoid long periods of seat work, instead the authors advise that teachers break the class period into cycles where they aren’t doing the same activity for more than twenty five minutes. The second tip is to make sure that you make directions and instructions very clear to the students. Make sure you do not present too much information at one time. The third tip is to teach study skills within lessons. Many of the students will have never developed proper study skills, in order for them to improve and achieve well on assessments they need to learn how to study. Joan Quinn a Special Education teacher in MSAD 9 says that she provides “a routine which is scaffolded so that the lessons start with more familiar, high success material and then move into the new material, in other words start with review and then move on to application of new concepts and skills.”

=Students With Special Needs=

[|Content Mastery Classroom] (CMC)
Classroom Management defines a content mastery classroom as one in which “students may come from a core subject class for extra help on assignments, new material, or projects, or to have extra time to take or study for tests.” The benefit of this kind of program is that it allows special education students to be integrated into the regular classroom but provides extra support for them when it is needed. The “Guidelines and Procedures” at the content mastery center state that it is important that teachers “provide copies of lesson plans, worksheets, tests, project information, answer keys, and other instructional materials to the content mastery prior to their introduction and use.”

Inclusion
Inclusion for special education students is a program in which students participate in as many general education classes as possible. In this situation usually the special education and general education teachers work together to meet the needs of the students. The special education may be in the general education room working with the student or students and at other times will not be in the class. It is important for the general and special ed teachers to plan and coordinate effectively. Joan Quinn adds that “co-teaching is more appropriate when the special needs students aren’t too far behind the regular ed students; but when they are several years behind in certain areas like reading or math they need to be provided with individual instruction in their zone of proximal development.” In an article titled “Inclusion: The Pros and Cons,” Carl Savich measures the advantages and disadvantages of the Inclusion program. He found that “the benefits of inclusion consisted of, in general, reduced cost, the development of greater self-esteem and social skills in students with disabilities, and a greater integration of students with diverse needs. Equity and equality were fostered for all students…The cons or disadvantages of inclusion were that time and attention were diverted from regular and advanced students with a concomitant lowering of standards.” His final conclusion was that the pros outweigh the cons and that educators need to continue to find “more effective integration strategies and techniques.”

Students with Emotional and/or Behavioral Problems
Our book describes these students as being different from others “mainly in the degree of emotionality and their ability to regulate their behavior in response to these emotions rather tan in the types of feelings they have.” Methods given for helping these students are to reduce known stressors, and provide a positive, supportive, structured, and predictable environment. Another key is to recognize behavioral cues that are likely to precede an outburst so that an escalating situation can be prevented. Quinn adds that these students “can be the most difficult to include in the classroom depending on how disruptive their behaviors become. In general they require an individualized behavior plan with frequent reinforcement of targeted desired behaviors and specified consequences for challenging behavior.”

Students with Serious Social Deficits, Often Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Every individual with Autism Spectrum Disorder is different but there are certain characteristics that are identified with the disorder. These include very poor social skills tending to stand too close, avoiding eye contact, talking too long and loudly, and talking a lot about factual matters that do not interest their peers. They also tend to develop a set way of doing things and can suffer from severe anxiety when a routine is interrupted. The book lists a number of teaching strategies to help support these students:
 * //Use visual cues and prompts because there visual intelligence is more highly developed then verbal.//
 * //Avoid giving both an auditory and visual task at the same time. These students are often unable to process both inputs simultaneously.//
 * //Make instructions because they tend to have difficulty remembering sequences.//
 * //Do not insist that they maintain eye contact with you.//
 * //Capitalize on students’ strengths and weakness. Reward them for completion by allowing them to engage in activities that interest them.//
 * //Give specific social feedback and step-by-step instructions; this is to try to avoid any difficult or awkward situations in the class room.//

Joan Quinn adds that the biggest challenge is that these students generally “aren’t motivated in the way that typical kids are motivated, wanting to belong to the classroom means nothing to them.” She further adds that “it is important to meet their sensory needs. If they are hypersensitive to light, noise, or crowding than you need to provide accommodations, and they may require frequent breaks.”

Students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Classroom Management states that behavioral characteristics for these students include “distractibility, short attention span, impulsiveness, an inability to organize, and a high level of movement.” The symptoms also “vary in degree as well as combination.” It is best to have a positive, relaxed, low-keyed approach that includes predictability and structure. Other suggestions provided include: Quinn adds that the students need to be placed in close proximity to the teacher. Also for seat work you can provide a study corral, head phones, or wiggle cushions.
 * //Be sure you have the students attention when giving oral instructions.//
 * //Make directions clear and breif.//
 * //Instructions that involve a series of steps should be written as well as provided in oral form.//
 * //Remind them that accuracy is more important than speed.//
 * //Don’t penalize them for messy work that does not impact the objectives of the assignment.//

Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
With some crucial modifications these students can function in the regular classroom. It is important that in such a situation you consult with a teacher specializing in auditory disabilities. Other important things to consider are to make sure that you are facing the student when speaking to allow effective lip reading and use an overhead projector instead of a chalkboard to prevent having your back to the students when speaking. It is also important to check frequently for understanding as they are often reluctant to ask for help. In some schools interpreters may be provided for the student. These interpreters accompany students in the general education classroom and serve as a communication bridge between the teacher and student.

Students Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired
The book gives the following suggestions for helping students who are blind or visually impaired
 * //Read aloud anything that is written on chalkboard or projector.//
 * //Allow students to use tape recorders.//
 * //When possible, use tactile models and hands-on activities along wit oral descriptions to demonstrate concepts.//
 * //Encourage students to ask for help.//
 * //Seat students with partial vision with their back to the window so they are not affected by a glare.//
 * //They may miss social cues and need assistance in social interactions.//

Quinn adds that at the beginning of the year it is important that the student learn his or her way around that classroom, as well as the school building if it is new to them. She also added that “teachers must be taught to give directions that are very precise and verbally describe everything… It is also very useful to have an ed tech that can be prepare material for the student ahead of time and can be available for assistance if needed.”

No Child Left Behind
This legislation requires standardized testing of all students. The book says that this testing may be particularly stressful for special needs students. It is important to recommend provisions that can be made for the student such as small groups, frequent breaks, and different formats. Another piece of advice is to assure the students that they can have as much time as they need to complete the test. Quinn’s views on No Child Left Behind are not positive. She feels that “it is not realistic [and] it is not grounded in any kind of research.”