9. What Every Teacher Should Know About Working with Special Learners

Course Description:

Participants will identify special programs for students, the laws that govern those programs and how children benefit from their services. Participants will review Information on programs for gifted learners, handicapped students, and students with learning disabilities.

Participants will review current research in regard to learning disorders and some of the tools to help those students experience success in the regular classroom. Learners will also examine how to modify for various needs and how to incorporate gifted strategies into the regular classroom.

Instruction is focused on providing participants with information and practice that will lead to self-awareness and classroom implementation of effective strategies.

The successful practitioner of Working with Special Learners will:

  • Identify special programs within the school.
  • Identify terminology and acronyms for special programs.
  • Gain awareness of the law in regard to special programs and the role of the regular classroom teacher.
  • Examine how the special needs brain works.
  • Be aware of the process for referral to special programs.
  • Examine ways to work in partnership with the special programs staff.
  • Determine the responsibility of the regular education teacher.
  • Identify ways to reinforce the special program within the classroom.
  • Build into the classroom gifted strategies that work for all populations.

Objectives:

Participants will know: (declarative knowledge)

  • The terminology related to special programs.
  • The overview of the law concerning special programs.
  • The connections between current brain research and special needs children.
  • The connections between Multiple Intelligences and special populations.
  • The responsibility of the regular education teacher.
  • The identification processes for special needs in students.
  • The difference in Title I, Compensatory Education and Special Education.
  • The roles of special programs in the regular education classroom.
  • The acronyms used by special programs and what they mean.
  • The differences in behavior problems and learning problems.
  • Inclusion and its implications for the regular classroom.
  • How English Language Learners (ELL) and English as a Second Language (ESL) help students to gain success in the classroom.

Participants will be able to: (procedural knowledge)

  • Differentiate instruction.
  • Understand the significance of special programs in the context of the whole child.
  • Discuss the history and rules regarding special programs.
  • Compare and contrast special programs such as Title I, Section 504, Compensatory Education, and Special Education.
  • Develop tools to help all learners to be successful in the regular classroom.
  • Design and implement a plan for using gifted strategies in the regular classroom.
  • Define and explain inclusion.
  • Build a plan with another teacher for emergencies.
  • Make recommendations for special services.
  • Identify special needs in students.
  • Identify and use a variety of web sites for special needs students

Procedures:

Each lesson includes activating prior knowledge, tutorials, assignments, and Learning Log reflections. Participants will use information from the instructor along with readings from the bibliography and exploration of Web sites to build their knowledge about and confidence in working with special programs. The course is designed to be interactive between and among the instructor and other participants.

Participants will design and implement several tools related to the teaching and learning involved in working with special programs. They will use the Toolbox and Conference Center to share and compare ideas with other participants, and they will write their reflections in the Learning Log. The instructor will offer feedback through e-mail and the Conference Center.

Content:

Lesson 1 – Terminology and Concepts Related to special programs

Lesson 2 – Terminology Test

Lesson 3 – Impact on Learning

Lesson 4 – Connections to Brain Research

Lesson 5 – Connections to Multiple Intelligences

Lesson 6 – Modeling and Guided Practice for working with special programs

Lesson 7 – Application in the Classroom

Lesson 8 – Post Test

Lesson 9 – Reflections

Evaluation:

Assessment Tasks:
• Task 1 – The learner will complete the Terminology Test with a mastery level of 90%. (Lesson One)
• Task 2 – The learner will identify common acronyms and their meaning. (Lesson One)
• Task 3 – The learner will create a chart of special programs available to assist at-risk students using criteria provided. (Lesson Three)
• Task 4 - The learner will review web sites in their state in regard to laws and procedures for special programs. (Lesson Three)
• Task 5 – The learners will discuss with their colleagues how and what they have learned about the brain. They will list sources and information. (Lesson Four).
• Task 6 – Learners will use the Toolkit menu to mind map the major attributes of the brain and learning as described in the lesson. (Lesson Five).
• Task 7 – Learners will apply the mind maps designed in Task 6 to classroom students. (Lesson Four).
• Task 8 – Learners will discuss their beliefs about intelligence. (Lesson Five).
• Task 9 – Learners will use a graphic organizer to show the effects of using MI for special learners. (Lesson Five).
• Task 10 – Learners will write a one-page essay on how to build interpersonal and intrapersonal skills in students. (Lesson Five).
• Task 11 – The learner will chart student learning needs and the differentiation strategy(s) that help meet that need.(Lesson Six)
• Task 12 – The learner will discuss in writing a student that have currently or have had that needed intervention. (Lesson Six)
• Task 13 – The learner will create a plan for working with individual differences for a specific student. (Lesson Six)
• Task 14 – The learner will complete a PMI. (Lesson Seven).
• Task 15 – The learner will design a use a personal screening device for their own classroom. (Lesson Seven)
• Task 16 - The learner will use the online Learning Log throughout the course to reflect on the learning and to respond to the instructor’s specific questions. (Lessons One – Nine)
• Task 17 -The learner will complete the Post Test with a mastery level of 90%. (Lesson Eight)

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For more information, please contact: info@whateveryteachershouldknow.com