Collaborative Teaching: Special Education for Inclusive Classrooms

Introduction:

The idea of having an online textbook is exactly what every teacher needs to have. The benefit are endless to this kind of research and information. What I like about this online textbook is that is can easily be the first place to go for ideas on  how to deal with parents, staff and the community, with any kind of problems in the educational classroom.

Partnerships with Parents

Objectives:
List ways to improve relationships with families.
List activities to engage and support parents.
List ways to train teachers to work with parents.

List ways to improve relationships with families.

Joyce Epstein of Johns Hopkins University has developed five ways to improve the partnership with parents   Epstein suggests that every school could be doing a few consistent things:

Help all families establish home environments to support learning.
Design more effective forms of communication to reach parents.
Provide ideas to parents on how to help the child at home
Recruit and train parent leaders.


Epstein also suggests six types of family involvement.
Help all families establish home environments to support learning.
Design more effective forms of communication to reach parents.
Recruit and organize parent help and support.
Provide ideas to parents on how to help a child at home.
Recruit and train parent leaders.
Identify and utilize resource from available community groups and agencies.

 List activities to engage and support parents.
Rutherford and Billig conducted research that focused on how schools and districts involve families and the community as partners in the education process. The studies show how important it is for the success of the student for all parties involved to work together. The staff, community, teacher and parents all need to be on the same page with the same goals.

Responsibility and decision making are shared by a everyone involved in the students life. The most important tool is that the parents believe in the program or curriculum. To many times the parents are not as educated about what is going on at the school. The school, staff and teachers need to take an active role in getting the parents involved. The school can do much more than say parent involvement is wanted, it can actively set goals to achieve relationships. Having the parents get involved even to the point of home grading and monitoring is very important.
Training Teachers to Work with Parents

Cook, Tessier, and Klein have developed a list of things to NOT do with dealing with the parents. Having a positive reaction about teaching methods concerning their children is always the first step in parents relationship:
Professional ignorance
Professional hopelessness
Referral ad infinitum
Veil of secrecy
Deaf ear syndrome
Professional omniscience
Professional omnipotence
Parents as patients
Management of Health Issues in Regular Classrooms
Objectives:
Describe the rarity of serious health care needs of children
List and describe the most important considerations in disease prevention
Describe best practices for physical management for children with health care needs

Describe the rarity of serious health care needs of children
The truth of thee matter is, the chance’s of actually having to deal with a major disability or health concern is almost the same as winning the lottery. Laws have provided special provisions for students whose lives are at risk.  If a severe medical conditions is given a specialized educational services outside of the classroom would be provided. However, student with special physical needs must have support or the school would be breaking the law.  A “worst case scenario” would have to be dealt with by the school administration and outside help.

List and describe the most important considerations in disease prevention
Although serious health care issues and needs are very rare, schools are obligated to provide the necessary support service such as administration of medication and management health needs. There are some common considerations given to general health care involve hand washing, protection from exposure to body fluids and first aid. Therefore all schools should have universal precautions that include:

Hand washing
Gloves
Disinfecting
Medications

 Describe the best practices for physical management of children with health care needs

In most schools the physical facilities are appropriate as set by the (ADA) so there should be few problems handling the physical needs of students who require physical management. Many schools are or have been renovated to accommodate most physical disabilities but certain considerations are important such as:

Proper lifting techniques
Transferring from wheelchair to chair or toilet
Wheelchair safety
Keeping floors and halls free to allow for easy wheelchair movement
Proper access doors and ramps


Management of Special Equipment and Adaptive Devices
Objectives:

Define assistive devices in terms of IDEA and Technology Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1988
List at least six types of devices to aid those with disabilities, including magnification, voice input, alternative input, augmented communication, word processing aids and environmental control
List federal sources of interest to educators in serving assistive and augmentation needs of students with disabilities

 Define assistive devices in terms of IDEA and Technology Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1988

Assistive technology refers to any devices or services that can be used to help with the education process. This term is used to describe devices that compensate for functional limitations and communications. These types of devices can be simple or complex and are designed to learn and live more normal lives. Assistive technology should be included in the IEP of a student and describe what devices and services should be used to help with the education process.

 List at least six types of devices to aid those with disabilities, including magnification, voice input, alternative input, augmented communication, word processing aids and environmental control

Assistive technologies has been aided by the development of computer and microcomputers. These technologies are designed to assist students with various disabilities to have educational opportunities that would not be possible without these current inventions. The best news is that technology and other devices are become more affordable and easier to find. All assistive devices can be categorized in one of these broad categories:

Magnification
Voice input
Alternative input
Augmented communication
Word-processing aids
Environmental controls
List federal sources of interest to educators in serving assistive and augmentation needs of students with disabilities

The goal here is to serve the interest of both educators and the needs of their students with disabilities. These accommodations are clearly defined by federal government standards and are readily available to educators. Some of these centers of interest are:

The “Tech Act” Program (NIPRR) – The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research under the US Department of Education have programs focusing on research and development of new assistive technologies and information
National Science Foundation – sponsors a number of programs associated with the NIDRR that are focused research and development of new assistive technologies benefiting people with disabilities
Rehabilitative Engineering Research Center (RERC) Adaptive Computers and Information Systems whose objective is to make all electronic devices and systems accessible to individuals with disabilities
RERC on Application of Technology to the Rehabilitation of Children with Orthopedic Disabilities advancing state-of-the-art applications of technology to children with orthopedic disabilities
RERC on Augmentation and Alternative Communication whose objective is to provide a balanced advanced approach to researching and development of augmentative and alternate communication devices and techniques
RERC on Hearing Enhancement and Assistive Devices for technological solutions for the hearing impaired
RERC on Modifications to Worksites and Educational Settings assisting the promotion of technology to enhance the autonomy of people with severe disabilities
RERC on Prosthetic and Orthotics to develop a more scientific and technical base for prosthetic/orthotic advancement
RERC on Technology for Blindness and Visual Impairments whose objective is to support development and evaluation of new technology for the visually impaired
RERC on Technology to Improve Wheelchair Mobility

 Conclusion:

To many times a teacher can feel lost with the rules and regulations of the educational system, this online textbook can answer most of your questions. After teaching for 4 years I am beginning to develop materials and ideas for my curriculum that go beyond the basic course structure. Dealing with parents and family is becoming an important part of my course work.

Also, there is now a need to make all the assignments and lectures beneficial for all of the different learning styles of the students even if they might be of a disability nature. Not all students learn the same way. Today the use of technology is most important in the classroom and if the base education is already developed with this in mind, adding any devices to help with a disability will be achieved a lot easier.