Chapter 2 Chapter Two:
2.1 Objectives of Chapter Two:
By the end of this day, participants will be able to:
- Know about the components of special education.
- Understand the role of Normal Distribution Curve in classifying students into different categories.
- Know the concept of exceptional students.
- Distinguish the characteristics of exceptional students.
- Enumerate the different categories of exceptional students.
- Determine the learning characteristics of exceptional students.
- Determine the social characteristics of exceptional students.
- Determine the behavioral characteristics of exceptional students. (Singer-Dudek 2004)
2.2 Activity: (Components or Areas of special education)
A short 7-minute video will be shown, and each group is required to summarize the main elements of the video in light of what was studied last time. open link
2.3 Who Are Exceptional Students?
Exceptional students comprise the population of students with disabilities (Disabilities can involve seeing, hearing, talking, thinking, moving, emotional/behavioral health involving self and relationships with others, and other biological/organ functioning) who require specialized educational services as well as students who are characterized as gifted or talented. Approximately 10% of students in the United States are diagnosed with disabilities, whereas approximately 2 to 3% of the population is considered to be gifted or talented.
The term “exceptional” has often been used to describe unusual, unique, or outstanding qualities of people or objects. Consider the following phrases: “His artwork is exceptional” and “She is exceptionally bright.” In this case, the term “exceptional” refers to students who learn and develop differently from most others or students who have exceptional learning styles, exceptional talents, or exceptional behaviors. Exceptional students are those who fall outside of the normal range of development. Some disabilities are identified at birth or soon after birth, whereas others go undetected until the students enter school, where learning problems first become apparent. In the case of gifted or talented students, their abilities may also go undetected until they reach school.
Some exceptional students have learning problems, some have behavioral problems, some have communication difficulties, and some have social deficits. Many students with exceptionalities have two or more of these problems, although they may also excel in certain areas. Students who are gifted or talented may also display behavioral or social difficulties. For exceptional students, the most important distinctions are made in the area of educational needs.
2.4 Characteristics of Exceptional Students:
Exceptional students include students across 13 disability categories and students who are gifted or talented. Although some disabilities are diagnosed based solely on behavioral characteristics, no two students are alike. However, it is possible to give some general overviews of student characteristics across three broad categories: learning, social, and behavior.
2.4.1 Learning Characteristics:
Some exceptional students excel in certain areas or learn better through certain modes of instruction. Some students, such as students with autism or mental retardation, excel in the areas of memory and fact retention but are severely deficient in the areas of language and social skills. Similarly, students with specific learning disabilities may experience difficulty in one area (e.g., verbal reasoning) but excel in another (e.g., math). Gifted and talented students and students with certain disabilities may possess one or more of what Gardner identified as multiple intelligences (e.g., bodily/kinesthetic, logical/mathematical, linguistic, spatial, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic). Some exceptional students are visual learners, others learn kinesthetically, and still others learn through multiple modes of instruction. It is recommended that instruction always be presented in several ways and that students be exposed to various instructional methods, including hands-on activities, to enhance learning.
On the other hand, many exceptional students experience severe learning difficulties. Possible sources of learning problems may result from attention and memory difficulties, motivational difficulties, and/or organizational problems. Still other problems may result from a lack of generalization. Generalization can fail to occur across settings (e.g., from school to home), across individuals (e.g., from teachers to parents), and across stimuli (e.g., instructional materials presented in different formats). Teachers must plan for generalization and teach across settings, individuals, and stimuli to ensure that responses learned under one condition are emitted under other conditions. There are several strategies available to remedy learning problems after the source of the problems has been identified.
Although some learning problems may result directly from a cognitive delay, as is the case with students with mental retardation and students with autism, other learning problems may occur due to other factors. Behavioral problems may impede learning but may also result from inappropriate instruction. If the task presented to a student is too difficult or too easy, if the pace of instruction is too fast or too slow, or if the size of the task is too large or too small, frustration or boredom may result. Frustration and boredom may lead to behavior problems. Gifted and talented students may also emit inappropriate behaviors due to boredom in their classes. Teachers must always ensure that these students have the prerequisite skills to perform the task under instruction and that they are properly motivated. It is important to figure out the learning styles of exceptional students to ensure that instruction will maximize their learning.
Because the learning styles and characteristics of exceptional students are so diverse, the IEP (individual education plan) becomes a critical document for ensuring that students are receiving the specialized and individualized instruction they need. Certain instructional modifications that have been useful in improving learning will be outlined in the IEP to assist teachers in providing the best education possible to their exceptional students. Sometimes, however, exceptional students experience poor academic performance as a result of other factors such as social or behavioral problems that impede learning.
2.4.3 Behavioral Characteristics:
Behavior problems are probably most common among exceptional students. Behavior problems may range from assaultive behaviors (e.g., hitting, screaming, throwing objects) to severe withdrawal. Behavioral issues may also include inappropriate or bizarre behaviors (e.g., stereotypy, self-talk, self-injurious behaviors). The important thing for educators and parents to realize is that all behavior has a purpose or function. Sometimes, bad behavior is the result of an inability to communicate due to a lack of language skills. Other bad behaviors may result from attempts to gain attention or to escape or avoid an aversive task. Still other behaviors (e.g., stereotypy) are emitted because the behaviors themselves are reinforcing (e.g., sensory stimulation).
Attention-seeking and escape behaviors are often mistaken for willful disobedience or are seen as a result of the disability itself. Often, fictitious explanations of behavior result from placing the locus of control within the child (or within the parents) instead of looking to environmental variables to explain behavior. From a behavioral standpoint, all behavior is controlled by its consequences. This means that a student will continue to emit only behaviors that are reinforced or that are followed by desirable consequences. If the child screams in an attempt to gain attention and an adult responds to the child’s screams, the child is more likely to scream to gain attention in the future. The consequences that educators and parents deliver, such as telling the screaming student to be quiet or asking the student what he or she wants, do not serve the purposes that were intended. Attention comes in many forms, including speaking to the child and making eye contact with the child. Escape behaviors are maintained by consequences that allow the child to get out of doing the task.
Functional behavior assessment involves determining what the function or purpose of the behavior is or what consequences are maintaining the behavior. Functional behavior assessments also seek to identify the antecedents or precursors for behavior as well as environmental and motivational variables. Behavior that continues to occur is behavior that is reinforced. The function of the behavior may be communication, attention seeking, escape, or sensory reinforcement. Under IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), functional behavior assessments must be conducted for all aberrant behavior. Behavior plans then become part of the student’s IEP (individual education plan).
2.5 Assessment of Exceptional Students:
Under IDEA, students are entitled to nondiscriminatory evaluation. This means that they are evaluated using a variety of measures, including both formal and informal assessments. Students with disabilities should participate in the same assessments as their nondisabled peers to the maximum extent possible. This means that many students with special needs are required to participate in statewide assessments such as standardized achievement tests. Exceptional students may be easily identified by their scores on standardized tests such as intelligence quotient (IQ) tests. The bell-shaped curve refers to the distribution of scores from such tests. The majority of students fall in the middle of the distribution or the average range. Very few students fall at the extreme low or high ends of the spectrum or outside of the normal range. Students who fall at the extreme high end of the spectrum are typically students who are gifted or talented, whereas students who fall at the extreme low end of the scale are typically students with cognitive delays.
Not surprisingly, students with disabilities often perform poorly on standardized tests. There are several alternative assessment options available for students with disabilities. One of these is criterion-referenced assessment. Some commercial criterion-referenced assessments exist (e.g., Sparrow and colleagues’ Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales), whereas many are teacher-made. A criterion-referenced assessment consists of an inventory or hierarchy of repertoires across several domains, including social skills, communication skills, academic skills, leisure skills, self-help skills, and maladaptive behavior. These inventories provide a way of identifying which repertoires a student has mastered and which skills need to be taught. Identification of deficits leads to easier selection of goals. Criterion-referenced assessments are time-consuming because they may contain hundreds of items that need to be assessed with individual students, but the end result is a clear picture of the student’s current skill levels.
Portfolio assessments include several different components, including samples of the student’s work, progress reports and evaluations, and (sometimes) student self-evaluations. Portfolios demonstrate a student’s progress over time in that samples of the student’s work or tests are taken over the course of a school year or several years. For example, a writing sample taken in June may be substantially better than one taken in September. Videotapes or audiotapes may also be included in portfolio assessments.
Curriculum assessments involve teacher-made tests or assessments that come with commercially published curricula. Curricular assessments allow real measurement of student progress through items that have been taught directly over the course of the school year. Other forms of assessment may be extremely valuable, although they are considered to be “informal” assessments. These may include reviews of records and past progress reports, observations of the student in the classroom environment, anecdotal reports, and interviews with parents, teachers, and even the student himself or herself. Informal assessments can be valuable in obtaining information that could not be obtained from standardized or criterion-referenced tests.
2.6 What Is STEM Education?
STEM education is an interdisciplinary approach to learning where rigorous academic concepts are coupled with real-world lessons as students apply science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in contexts that make connections between school, community, work, and the global enterprise enabling the development of STEM literacy and with it the ability to compete in the new economy.
2.7 Activity: True or False of STEM Education:
1-Technology means additional computers and hardware for schools and students.
2- STEM Education consists only of science and mathematics.
3- STEM Education addresses workforce issues.
4- Mathematics Education is not part of science education.
2.8 Corrected Misconceptions of STEM Education:
1- False. Sometimes the best technology for instruction includes low-tech/no-tech solutions.
2- False. Technology and Engineering play vital roles in STEM Education.
3- False. STEM is important for those who will pursue STEM careers, but STEM literate citizens are better prepared for today’s society.
4- False. There are often overlap between the subjects with opportunities to discuss the content areas collectively.
2.9 Abstract of a research:
There is a huge push for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in the United States. The push is supported by government and leading organizations due to the current global economy, international ranking of U.S. students in mathematics and science, and shortages of people pursuing STEM careers. One solution for alleviating potential shortages is to include people with disabilities in STEM education. There are barriers for students with disabilities in pursuing STEM careers including lack of role models and mentors, appropriate instruction, low expectations and lack of encouragement from influential adults. There are several strategies that can be used to increase student access to STEM content including, the use of UDL, technology, and accommodations. Advantages with students with disabilities include increased self-confidence, self-advocacy and self-determination skills. (GREEN 2014)
2.4.2 Social Characteristics:
Exceptional students may also experience difficulties with social interactions. They may appear awkward in social situations, have difficulty in making friends, and respond differently to social situations. Often, exceptional students may have the language skills to communicate but lack knowledge of the rules of conversation such as body language, proximity, turn taking, and staying on topic. The conversational skills of students with disabilities might seem egocentric or one-sided. These students might not listen to the responses of other students or might not play the role of both speaker and listener in conversations. Exceptional students often do not learn from appropriate modeling, do not pick up subtle cues, and do not interpret the feelings of others appropriately. Gifted or talented students may also emit awkward social behavior, perhaps because their level of maturity is above that of their same-aged peers or because they have not had experiences similar to those of their peers. Difficulties with social skills may also lead to behavior problems.