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Reflections about differentiated instruction
Reflections about differentiated instruction
Differentiated instruction differs from traditional classroom instruction
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In this response, I will define learning disabilities and general characteristics of individuals with learning disabilities. I will also discuss the eligibility criteria that is required for an individual to receive placement in special education. Finally, I will discuss the impact that tiered systems have had on the category learning disabilities. According to Smith, Polloway, Patton & Dowdy (2012), learning disabilities are defined as “a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or using language, spoken or written,” which might affect an individual’s ability to “listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculation” (p. 154). This category does not include students that display …show more content…
In this three tiered system, a team is created to help support struggling students within the school. The first tier of instruction, called tier one, involves general education instruction. The teacher utilizes least-instructive strategies of instruction that allow diverse learners to be successful. The strategies that are used at tier one should meet the needs of the majority of the students within the classroom. According to Smith et al (2012), 80-90% of students should benefit from tier one instruction (p. 76). Tier two instruction should provide additional instruction within small groups. The interventions should be determined by student needs. These interventions can be completed by an interventionist or the general education teacher. Progress monitoring is regular to determine student academic growth. Tier three interventions are intensive, research-based interventions. Groups should be small, with one to three students per instructor. Only five to ten percent of students should need tier two interventions, and less than five percent of students should require tier three (Smith et al, 2012, p. 76-77). This process helps struggling students make academic gains. This is extremely beneficial for students that have skill deficits, but not necessarily a disability. If students are not able to make progress after having a variety of response-to-intervention supports at tier one, two and three, districts can look at referral. This helps ensure that only students that require specialized services are referred for special education services. The RTI process has been shown to “reduce unnecessary testing and placement in special education, improve student performance, and improve the attitude of teacher and their skill in handling more challenging students” (Smith et al, 2012, p.
Instruction in Tier 1 is administered to all students and consists of research based core instruction and behavior practices provided by highly qualified teachers, universal screening recommended three times a year, frequent progress monitoring with data documenting rate of growth and improvement and differentiated instruction. (Okaloosa Schools website, 2014-2015) Integrated strategies in Tier 1 might include classroom management practices to define and establish classroom expectation for behaviors and instruction time, increased opportunities to respond using choral responses and including social and emotional content in literacy with discussion questions that center on empathy, problem solving and cause and effect. (McIntosh & Goodman, 2016, p.
Basically, there are two parts to a learning disability: one is processing and the second
RtI was designed to provide early intervention to students that are experiencing difficulties in developing literacy skills. Throughout RtI, assessment data is collected to monitor student progress, and is used to determine if the intervention should be continued or modified (Smetana 2010). A common consensus is that the RtI framework consists of three tiers: Tier I, Tier II, and Tier III. In Tier I, primary interventions are used that differentiate instruction, routines, and accommodations to the students that need little to no interventions. The students in this tier are often times classified with the color green.
The setup of RTI’s are; to give teachers effective instruction, monitor progress, if child is not responding get more instruction, monitor progress again, and if student is still not responding qualify as special education. School psychologist looked at RTI’s as a problem solving model and labeled the model along with the early intervention program described in 4 steps. Step 1 was compromise the problem and identify, this is when teachers and...
... all the teachers, except for the multi-disability teacher, having an Intervention Specialist licensure. This allows the teachers to teach students in a cross-categorical situation in promoting academic excellence. The RTI program is designed to further enhance the needs of students with disabilities, under Title I, and is also taught by qualified and licensed teachers (personal communication, July 10, 2009).
I believe that it’s a good decision to study and have knowledge about this Multi-Tier Support system. Any instructor who is really committed to the students should get a better understanding of it, to find out if his students are at risk or not of academic failure or falling behind. This system help him to rethink if he needs to modify the instruction activities in a way that facilitates the absorption of the core curriculum for students that are not succeeding. Appropriate and immediate feedback should be provided if the teacher is able to assess the areas that a child is having difficulties and respond with an specific strategy that leads him to progress. As an outcome of early intervention, ongoing support and efficient teaching all learners will benefit from MTSS.
A learning disability is defined as any one of various conditions that interfere with an individual's ability to learn, resulting in impaired functioning in language, reasoning, or academic skills. The National Center for Learning Disabilities explains it as a neurological disorder that affects the brain’s ability to receive process, store and respond to information. Basically, among people with learning disabilities there is a noticeable gap between their level of expected achievement and their actual achievement. Doctors and professionals agree there is no way to pin-point any specific causes for learning disabilities. The NCLD says some possible causes may include heredity, problems during pregnancy or birth, head injuries or nutritional deprivation after birth, and exposure to toxic substances.
These difficulties vary in severity, may persist across the lifespan, and may affect one or more areas of a person's life, including learning, work, and social and emotional functioning. Federal regulations for implementing the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act use the term "specific learning disabilities" disorders in one or more central nervous system processes involved in perceiving, understanding, and using verbal or nonverbal information (Gerber and Reiff 1994). The "Specific" indicates that the disability affects only certain learning processes. Although adults with LD consistently describe being labeled as stupid or slow learners (Brown, Druck, and Corcoran in Gerber and Reiff 1994), they usually have average or above average intelligence. People with learning disabilities are the largest segment of the disability population, and growing numbers of college students identify themselves as having LD (Gerber and Reiff 1994)....
Santa Barbara, CA: Learning Works, 1996. Print. The. Girod, Christina M. Learning Disabilities. San Diego, CA: Lucent, 2001. Print.
The classroom is a diverse place where learners from all different genres of life meet. Included in these learners are those that display learning disabilities. According to the British Columbia School Superintendent’s Association, ‘learning disabilities refer to a number of conditions that might affect the acquisition, organization, retention, understanding or use of verbal or nonverbal information. These disorders affect learning in individuals who otherwise demonstrate at least average abilities essential for thinking and/or reasoning’. They also posit that ‘learning disabilities result from impairments in one or more processes related to perceiving, thinking, remembering or learning. These include, but are not limited to language processing,
Response to intervention is divided into three different levels of intervention. Each level builds upon the previous one. The multi-level tiers are known as Tier 1: The Whole Class, Tier 2: Small Group Interventions, and Tier 3: Intense Interventions. Tier 1 is always dealing with the class as a whole. Whatever instruction or teaching method the teacher is using must include every student that is in the classroom. The instruction or teaching
The impact of having a learning disability are lifelong. A student with a learning disability may always need extra help to get through certain aspects of life after they graduate high school. If the student is going to college accommodations and specific learning strategies will need to be used to help them through their courses. Their personal lives may also be affected due to a learning disability. “For example, Johnson and Blalock found that, of the 93 adults studied in an LD clinic sample, 36% continued to receive counseling or psychotherapy for low self-esteem, social isolation, anxiety, depression, and frustration.” (1987) The difficulties associated with learning disabilities can affect them daily and their past experiences with it can follow them into adulthood and bring up unhappy memories of struggling with learning disabilities as a child.
specific learning disabilities in the United States of America. The Journal of International Association of Special Education, 10(1), 21-26.
In today’s educational environment, all students expect to receive the same level of instruction from schools and all students must meet the same set of standards. Expectations for students with learning disabilities are the same as students without any learning difficulties. It is now unacceptable for schools or teachers to expect less from one segment of students because they have physical disabilities, learning disabilities, discipline problems, or come from poor backgrounds. Standardize testing has resulted in making every student count as much as their peers and the most positive impact has been seen with the lowest ability students. Schools have developed new approaches to reach these previously underserved students while maintaining passing scores for the whole student body. To ensure academic success, teachers employ a multi-strategy approach to develop students of differing abilities and backgrounds. Every student is different in what skills and experiences they bring to the classroom; their personality, background, and interests are as varied as the ways in which teachers can choose to instruct them. Differentiated instruction has been an effective method in which teachers can engage students of various backgrounds and achieve whole-class success. When using differentiated instruction, teachers develop lesson strategies for each student or groups of students that provide different avenues of learning but all avenues arrive at the same learning goal.
Education is a profession which requires a teacher to be able to communicate with a multitude of students on a variety of levels. There is not a class, or student for that matter, that is identical. Therefore, teachers must be able to identify and help educate students from all different types of backgrounds and at different levels. Teaching a singular subject presents difficulties, but teaching students with disabilities should not be one. There are three main teaching areas that need to be focused on when teaching a student with a learning disability. Teachers need to focus on the strategies that will assist students with reading comprehension skills, writing skills, and maintaining appropriate behaviors in a classroom setting.