How does the Identification of Students with Special Needs, Legislation, and Instructional Differentiation Relate to My Practice and My School? SPE 550 Caleb Fledderjohann

Background of Paper I used my experience and knowledge through my student teaching that I completed at Wilmington High School

Identification Early identification of students with special needs  Use resources early on in a students career, hoping to help the student gain independence later in their academic career Example: Parents of a senior at WHS want their child on a IEP, so it will benefit them as the student moves onto college

Legislation Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet( ) – deaf Samuel Gridley Howe ( ) – blind Edouard O. Seguin ( ) – severely mentally handicapped The Association for Children with Learning Disabilities (ACLD) – 1963, parents from Evanston, Illinois put together a conference in Chicago.

Legislation Modern movement for special education – Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA) of 1975  Came through Kennedy and Johnson era’s but fully signed into implementation as a bill by Gerald Ford in 1975  Free and Appropriate Education (FAPE)  Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA)  No Child Left Behind

Legislation Example: The entire process of legislating the special education industry makes it possible for us to have careers in this field

Instructional Differentiation Pro-active approach to differentiation  “As inclusive educators, we argue that disability is an enacted, interactional process and not an empirical, stable fact or condition. We recommend planning responsive lessons that differentiate instruction for all students from the outset, instead of modifying ones for disabled students” Broderick, Mehta-Parekh, and Reid (2005).

Instructional Differentiation Different examples:  Tiered assignments  Curriculum compacting  Flexible pacing  Self-directed learning  Problem-based learning  Learning contracts

Instructional Differentiation Gifted and Talented  Usually underfunded and/or overlooked  3 Methods: Subject acceleration Differentiated assignments Full-grade acceleration

References Broderick, A., Metha-Parekh, H., & Reid, D.K. (2005). Differentiating instruction for disabled students in inclusive classrooms. Theory into Practice, 44(3), Duke University TIP (2010). Instructional strategies – differentiation. Retrieved from History of Special Education. (n.d.). In Education Encyclopedia. Retrieved from educationhttp:// education Hyde, S. (2008). Academic options for gifted students. Retrieved from Kirk, S.A. (1977). Specific learning disabilities. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology (Winter), Mostert, M.P., & Crockett, J.B. (2000). Reclaiming the history of special education for more effective practices. Exceptionality 8(2), pp