Serving special-needs students through inclusion
Your Nation and You
Stephen Winslow

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Your Nation and You could not address elements of education without sharing thoughts and ideas about our most special students.

Students with special needs are all too often left out of discussions. They are all too often overlooked for the simplicity of the mainstream. This week we devote our thoughts to these students that need our attention, our wisdom, our energy and our ingenuity to help prepare them for the future.

Dr. Eileen Wade of Riverside, Texas, joins me again in sharing her thoughts and practices that have come to be a successful cornerstone in her educational strategy.

The inclusive school environment

An attitude of acceptance is essential in facilitating a successful inclusive school environment.

Students with disabilities have frequently been excluded from the general-education setting because of staff and/or parental fear, lack of knowledge or a feeling of inadequacy in regular education teachers and in their ability to teach special-education students.

Dr. Wade states that "the fact is that strategies, techniques and accommodations that special-education teachers use are as practical for the non-disabled students as they are for those qualifying for special education services."

In order to address the differences in the way students learn, all teachers must teach in ways that will accommodate the various student needs found in any one classroom.

Teaching teams

Teaching teams represent an innovative approach that recommends the formation of teams consisting of general- and special-education staff for the purpose of building strong positive relationships necessary to jointly support all students.

One type of team should be a Student Support Team designed to focus all staff on intervention and prevention as opposed to referring students to special education.

Dr. Wade shares that "this team would meet on a weekly basis to discuss student and teacher needs, be chaired by a school administrator, have participation from general as well as special-education teachers, the school counselor, diagnostician and school social worker, and follow a specific format to maintain focus."

A second type of team is a Collaborative Teaching Team. Strategies to promote the success of this team would include identifying specific general- and special-education teachers to work together, selectively scheduling students into specific classes, scheduling special education staff into the general education classroom, identifying the type of service to be provided by the special-education teacher, implementing a system of communication between general- and special-education staff to promote effectiveness, and brainstorming ways to find time to plan together.

Because finding time to plan can sometimes call for creativity, administrative support is another key ingredient in the success of an inclusive program.

Needs-based classrooms

A commitment to providing the least restrictive environment must be the foundation for any program expected to successfully support students with disabilities in the general-education environment.

Dr. Wade states that "programs should be established to address the needs of students, taking into account specific characteristics, and also to address the needs of teachers."

A mutual support system between general- and special-education teachers can be an effective strategy for ensuring student success.

"In the middle school where I worked, we finished our first year of implementing a new program designed to promote optimal success for special-education students. Until this year, our model for providing services to students with disabilities was a very traditional one. Students were in a pull out program for mathematics and/or language arts, depending on their area of disability," Dr. Wade said.

Changing attitudes

Educational needs and attitudes are important factors that may not always be consistent when delivering instruction.

Special-education students need specific modifications and/or accommodations in order for learning to take place; however, certain negative attitudes might be present that could hinder the process.

Dr. Wade says that "these students had generally been in special-education programs for at least a few years and felt uncomfortable coming to the middle school and not fitting in. There was a stigma attached to being in a resource class, and it didn't fare well with the middle-school developmental stage."

Student learning is affected by attitudes about school and peer perception.

Dr. Wade continued: "Also, our faculty, through book studies and consistent professional development, had learned that heterogeneous grouping, using cooperative learning and other best-practices strategies, was the best way for students to learn. In light of this knowledge, we became dissatisfied with the traditional model we were implementing to serve our special-ed population."

Educators decided that this was not the optimal learning environment for students.

"We wanted them to feel comfortable in class, have positive attitudes about their learning, be successful, and still receive special-education services. We began talking about inclusion. In an effort to ensure that we were choosing the best model for our students, we researched the different inclusion models and finally decided that the co-teach model would best serve the needs of our students," stated Dr. Wade.

The co-teach model

In the co-teach model, there are two teachers in the classroom to serve students. One is a special-education teacher, and the other is a regular education teacher.

Students are not aware of this difference between the teachers. Both teachers assist and facilitate the learning of all students. Special-education students are not singled out, and the other students in the class are not even aware that some of their classmates are in the special-education program.

Special-ed students are spread throughout the classroom and participate with other students in cooperative learning groups. Dr. Wade feels an important element to this program is that "the special-education teacher is keeping an eye on the students with disabilities and watching for times when they need help. The special-education teacher also plans with the regular education teacher and modifies tests, materials and assignments, when necessary, according to student need."

Dr. Wade mentioned before that "this past year was the first year of implementation, and the success rate of students with disabilities has been phenomenal."

Student-centered instructional strategies such as pairing students, small group instruction, cooperative learning, discovery and inquiry and project-based learning all work extremely well in promoting student learning within the model.

Dr. Wade adds that "parents are also pleased with this type of arrangement and have given us very positive feedback regarding student attitudes toward school."

Improving the program

This program has not been without its problems. Feedback from teachers in the program has indicated the need not only for a common planning time in the academic team, but also in the personal conference period.

Also, decisions about matching teacher personalities for teaching in the same classroom must be made thoughtfully. Teachers tend to be territorial about their classrooms, and when you have two in the same classroom, it can be difficult to give up a lesson and let your co-teacher teach it, or to have another teacher giving input to improve student understanding.

Dr. Wade has observed that "overall, all teachers in the program are pleased with the progress of the students and also with their own progress as learners. When we first decided to implement the co-teach model, consultants told us that it would be at least three years before everyone was comfortable in their roles and the program ran with optimal success. We have one year down, and there is no going back for us."

Change is always a difficult process, but it is important to recognize that innovative approaches to working with the diverse environment of education is the only way this nation, your nation, will continue to advance in the current struggle to address the educational crisis we are dealing with.

Stephen Winslow's column Your Nation and You appears every Thursday in The Augusta Free Press.
The views expressed by columnists do not necessarily reflect those of management of The Augusta Free Press.
What do you think? Share your thoughts on this story at letters@augustafreepress.com.



(Published 06-24-04/Columns)