Those students who are not among the average would be
labeled as disabled or talented/gifted. These two groups of students must be
identified with certain criteria, and be given the opportunity to participate
in specially created curriculums. As I have
mentioned previously in an earlier blog, I have experience with the
talented/gifted students with a separate advanced Literature class, and have
multiple students within my classroom
that are labeled as students who require Special Education services. However, I
am in neither of the groups, I am among the average. Again, it is important for
me to learn the meaning of the two ends, so that I can better teach these
individuals in my classroom.
Although we have an advanced class and inclusion type
curriculum for SPED, we do have RtI within our schedule every day so that ALL
levels are receiving some type of extra help. This helps individualize the
intervention for each tier. Just like the talented/gifted or SPED
identification criteria, there are also assessments used to identify who
belongs to which tier.
Ch. 9 Question: What if students who have been
identified as talented and gifted, and those who are included within the SPED
program, are within the same classroom, what would be the best way to teach? I
have recently been exposed to more information about co-teaching with a special
education teacher, is this a route that would lead to a successful classroom?
I love that you brought up co-teaching! I do think this would be the best way to handle that situation! Special educators and general educators working together end up helping the whole population. Research shows that this combination improves not only the performance of kids in special education, but also those who are of the general education population. I do think this is an under-utilized approach for teachers to take and I think situations like the one you mentioned would be greatly improved by this setup!
ReplyDeleteSo HARD to reach ALL the kids in the class when they're made up of TAG and SPED kids. I'm sure co-teaching is an excellent way to address the issue and meet everyone's needs. However, I have had minimal success, at best, with co-teaching. The "co-teacher" assumed that she was in the room to work with "her" students and only "her" students (the sped kiddos). We did not take turns presenting the concept or topic. I did the instruction, and she pulled a small group to work with. It ran more like an intervention. :(
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