The Ohio Schools are redefining their Special Education program and closing the gap in the achievement of students with disabilities. The Ohio schools believe that achievement gaps are not the same as ability gaps, and the education system is responsible for ensuring that high achievement is an attainable goal for all students. Furthermore, the Ohio schools has put forth that meaningful participation of students with disabilities in state assessment is absolutely essential if every child is to be assured access to challenging curriculum and appropriate instruction.
In 2001, the Ohio schools made a major shift in approaching students with disabilities by revising school policy to require students with disabilities to participate in state assessment. Now, content standards are the focus of instruction for all students in every classroom, and a variety of research-based instructional strategies are aligned with the content standards. A coherent array of interventions, supports and services are used to ensure the success of students with disabilities. The policy now is that assessment is a reflection of instruction and instruction is a reflection of assessment, creating a shared responsibility for the education of students with disabilities.
The Ohio schools’ goals for teaching students with disabilities are standards, capacity, and accountability. They will improve access to, participation in, and progress in the general curriculum, based on the Ohio academic standards, for students with disabilities. Encouraging others to consider students with disabilities as general education children first is the capacity goal — assuming they will achieve, rather than assuming they may not achieve. The goal of accountability is to increase the performance of children with disabilities on state and district assessments from which they previously have been exempt.
The Ohio schools developed the following strategies for improvement:
• Redefine special education at the state level to shift focus away from compliance and paperwork to standards-based instruction for all children.
• Implement a statewide monitoring system designed to assess district/educational compliance with federal and state law applicable to students with disabilities.
• Align the work of the Special Education Regional Resource Center (SERRC) network with the priorities of the Ohio schools, including No Child Left Behind, differentiating instruction, positive behavior support, reading/literacy, and progress monitoring.
• Maximize use of federal and state funds earmarked for children with disabilities.
• Develop and disseminate products, tools and services focused on improving results for student who are at risk, including students with disabilities.
• Use the accountability system to leverage change in policy and practice at the local school level.
The Ohio schools are focusing attention and energy on assisting all students to achieve high academic standards. They are preparing and supporting teachers and administrators to ensure that all students are taught what they need in order to succeed. They are adapting the public education structure in a manner to ensure all students will learn the Ohio schools’ academic standards.
This means fewer but more meaningful goals for all students, effective use of student assessment data and resources, a fundamental shift in focus from what is taught to what children learn, and allowing assessment to drive classroom instruction, which is rigorous and aligned to the standards.
The Ohio schools are creating a culture where each student feels valued and is given the ability and tools to succeed, including the students with disabilities.
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By: Patricia Hawke
Posts Tagged ‘General Education’
Ohio Schools Closing the Gap for Students with Disabilities
March 7th, 2010Cooperative Learning Activities – 3 Things to Remember When Using Cooperative Group Learning
February 22nd, 2010
Most students learn better with one-to-one interactions or in small groups where they can follow the conversation better and indicate when they don’t understand. This is one of the big advantages of cooperative group learning.
The peer interaction that takes place during cooperative learning activities is especially helpful because peer language is generally less complex than the teacher’s.
These interactions also give all students a chance to actively participate and try out their own ideas in a small group setting.
These cooperative learning activities work especially well with your ESOL students (second language learners) because cooperative group learning allows them to develop their second language proficiency skills by allowing them to interact with native speakers in a low-anxiety environment.
And the fact of the matter is…interaction with native speakers helps promote second language acquisition.
Unfortunately, as many teachers know, cooperative learning activities are not necessarily easy to pull off.
Here are three things to remember when using cooperative group learning:
1. Vary Grouping Strategies ~ Groups should be arranged based on the purpose of the activity. Usually you will want to form mixed groups of general education students, special education, and ESOL students (non-native speakers). However, sometimes you will want to group ESOL students together so you or an aide can better individualize instruction.
2. Model Activities First ~ Teachers must explicitly show students how to work together. From how to get into groups to what to do for the activity…don’t assume anything!
3. Recognize Effective Group Work ~ Have successful groups share with the whole class why they were effective. You may want to give special recognition or points for successful or improved groups.
By: Adam Waxler
Support Diverse Learners in Mathematics
February 22nd, 2010
“Supporting Diverse Learners: Teacher Collaboration in an Inclusive Classroom,” by Wendy S. Bray, copyrighted in 2005 by The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, focuses on the need of collaboration between general education teachers and special education teachers to facilitate fair and successful learning for each individual student. This article speaks mainly to general education teachers about reform based mathematics and how general classroom teachers can implement this new style of learning in a way that will benefit all students, even special education students. Furthermore, the article searches for ways to help special needs students learn in their own special way, in order to keep up with the other students in their regular classroom.
The article begins by discussing the challenges learning disabled students face when integrated in a classroom that uses the reform-based, constructivist mathematical approach, which focuses on whole group discussions, small group discussions, and problem solving. Some of these problems include: LD students not participating and/or “focusing on nonmathematical aspects of tasks (Bray).” Next, the article discusses how a group of teachers manage this type of classroom. One tactic they implemented is “small, teacher-led groups (Bray)” where the teachers played games and did other activities, encouraging the students to talk about their mathematical thinking.
Another tactic the teachers used is breaking students up into groups according to their ability and what they needed to work on. In these groups teachers did not just tell the students what to do to solve a problem, but instead they asked the students questions to help them figure out on their own what they needed to do. These teachers also gave their students “opportunities for choice (Bray),” which allowed students to choose what they wanted to work on, individually, with a group, or with the teacher. This gave the teachers the opportunities to work with students individually. The end of the article discussed how the three teachers collaborated to discuss the progress of individual students, and what should be done to help them continue to grow.
This article was written by Wendy S. Bray, “a doctoral candidate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Bray).” She is a “former elementary classroom teacher,” and “her research interests include mathematics education and teaching strategies that facilitate learning for students with special needs (Bray).” Her information came from her research, and her information was supported by excerpts from various books and journals of education professionals including: “Effects of Reform-Based Mathematics Instruction on Low Achievers in Five Third-Grade Classrooms” by Baster, Woodward, and Olson; “Mathematical Problem-Solving Process of Primary-Grade Students Identified as LD” by Behrend; “Four Variables for Success” by Coleman; “How Effective Is Inquiry Learning for Students with Mild Disabilities?” by Mastropieri; and “Mathematical Instruction for Elementary Students with Learning Disabilities” by Thornton. She also ascerts that her information supports the Equity Principle, which she also cites from the “National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.”
We have students achieve success in reading and writing through individualized instruction, where they learn at their own pace, so why don’t we do this in math? I feel that the idea that this article circles is a great one. To learn math students need to participate in discovery learning. They need to understand the “why” of mathematics before they are really going to begin to understand and learn the concepts. Students also need to learn at their own pace. Everything is connected in mathematics and if students do not understand one concept before the class moves on to the next, pretty soon that student is going to fall way behind.
This is unfortunately what happens to most learning disabled students that are integrated into the regular classroom. So, in my own classroom I will try to implement the constructivist approach for learning mathematics and simultaneously create an atmosphere where every student can succeed, no matter what pace they learn at. I will do this by creating learning centers around my classroom. The subject of these learning centers will be based on the mini-lesson that is taught the first day. Students will pair up and move around the learning centers at their own pace. The beginning stations will focus on the “why” of the concept, helping students deepen their understanding, so that when they work their way around to the other stations they will be ready to try a variety of ways to solve the problem, with the collaborative help from their partner.
Before each pair moves to the next station I will check their answers to make sure they are progressing in their understanding correctly. We will do this the entire week, giving those students with learning disabilities plenty of time with their partners to understand the concept. Some pairs will finish before the end of the week. These pairs will continue to work on the concept, but at a higher level. At the end of the week the class will discuss what problem-solving techniques they tried and what they have learned.
This article was very useful. I had never thought of grouping students according to ability in math. I have heard the effects of this grouping in other subjects as a valuable way to individualize teaching, and I was surprised that I have yet to see this technique implemented in mathematics. I wholly agreed with all the approaches these teachers took in this article, except for the approach took in the “Opportunities for Choice” section. It seems that the students would just pick something that they were good at if given a choice to work on anything.
I know I wouldn’t choose something that I had trouble with. I am skeptical that this approach would help students very much. Otherwise, this article gave me much insight as how to help students with learning disabilities grow in the classroom with regular classroom students. This approach allowed more opportunities for students to discuss their ideas and deepen their understanding, while providing them with the help they needed to understand concepts that would be integral for their understanding in future lessons.
By: Jamie Burchfield
