Inclusion:
Working with Students
with Special Needs
in General Education Classrooms
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Dr. Karen Lea |
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Phone: |
509-891-7219 |
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Office Hours: |
8 a.m. to 5 p.m. PST Monday - Friday |
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Email: |
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Address: |
Virtual Education Software |
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23403 E Mission Avenue, Suite 220F |
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Liberty Lake, WA 99019 |
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Technical Support: |
Introduction
Inclusion: Working with Students with
Special Needs in General Education Classrooms was written to help teachers understand concepts and terms
related to educating students in inclusive classrooms. The course also helps
teachers learn about the continuum of placements school systems can use in
providing special education and related services to students with disabilities.
Information discussed is also designed to help you understand the federal
definition of students entitled to special education services, as well as
procedures you can use in determining whether these students can be educated in
the regular classroom. The course also identifies and describes the roles and
responsibilities of special and general educators in providing special
education services to students educated in inclusive classrooms and
instructional and classroom management strategies teachers can use to work with
these students in the least restrictive environment.
This computer-based
instruction course is a self-supporting program that provides instruction,
structured practice, and evaluation all on your home or school computer. Technical support information can be found in
the Help section of your course.
Course
Materials (Online)
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Title: |
Inclusion:
Working with Students with Special Needs in General Education Classrooms |
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Publisher: |
Virtual Education Software, inc.
2002, Revised 2010, Revised 2015, Revised 2017. Revised 2020, Revised 2024 |
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Instructor: |
Dr. Karen Lea |
Academic Integrity Statement
The structure and
format of most distance-learning courses presume a high level of personal and academic
integrity in completion and submission of coursework. Individuals enrolled in a
distance-learning course are expected to adhere to the following standards of
academic conduct.
Academic Work
Academic work submitted
by the individual (such as papers, assignments, reports, tests) shall be the
student’s own work or appropriately attributed, in part or in whole, to its
correct source. Submission of commercially prepared (or group prepared) materials
as if they are one’s own work is unacceptable.
Aiding Honesty in Others
The individual will
encourage honesty in others by refraining from providing materials or
information to another person with knowledge that these materials or
information will be used improperly.
Violation
of these academic standards will result in the assignment of a failing grade
and subsequent loss of credit for the course.
Level of Application
This course is designed as an
informational course for K-12 regular and special education teachers,
administrators, parents, and related service personnel. Information
discussed is designed to help you better understand current educational models
being used to educate students with disabilities in the general education
classroom. This course will allow you to
compare and identify how school districts in your own area are implementing
inclusion programs, handling current inclusion issues, and some of the practices teachers are using to educate students in
inclusive settings.
Expected Learning Outcomes
As a result of taking this course,
participants will be able to demonstrate their ability to:
·
Explain federal law and
regulations and how these affect educators
·
Correctly use key terms
when communicating with a special education team and guardians
·
Use Response to
Intervention at an initial level
·
Identify characteristics
of special needs students
·
Apply strategies for
effective teaching, including classroom management
·
Choose appropriate
instructional and assessment accommodations and modifications
Course Description
Information provided in this course has been divided into
five chapters, which should be completed in the order in which they are
presented in the program. Once you have completed these five chapters, you
should have a better understanding of the concept of inclusion and how it came
about. You are strongly encouraged to read additional journal articles, books,
and research materials outside the course material to gain a better
understanding of current issues related to educating students with disabilities
in inclusive classrooms.
Chapter
1: The Concept & Federal Definition of Students with Disabilities
This chapter focuses on
federal law and regulations, and key terms and concepts. This is foundational
knowledge for educators to understand their legal responsibility in teaching
all students with special needs. After reading information provided in this
chapter, you should be able to:
·
Describe the federal
definition of students with disabilities
·
Describe the criteria
school systems can use to determine whether a student falls under one of the
categories of disabilities
·
Describe key concepts/terms
·
List and describe federal
legislation and court cases that have contributed to the movement toward
educating students with disabilities in the classroom
·
List and describe the
continuum of settings school systems can use to educate students with disabilities
·
List and describe
characteristics of effective inclusion programs
·
List and describe the
advantages and disadvantages of inclusion
Chapter 2: Federal Laws &
Regulations
Chapter 2 focuses on the
federal laws and regulations. It is important that you understand these since
they do govern your school and your classroom. Reading and hearing about this
information can become overwhelming, so take your time moving through this
section. Having a good foundational knowledge of the laws and regulations will
help you apply strategies that will be discussed later in the course. After
reading the information provided in this chapter, you should be able to:
·
List and describe legal
procedures and criteria school systems and educators are required to use in
evaluating, identifying, and educating students with disabilities, and the
special education and related services needed;
·
List and describe the
provisions specified under IDEA, and the mandate each provision specifies
school systems must use in working with students with special needs;
·
List and describe the
provisions specified under federal regulations and procedures school systems
must use in working with students with special needs;
·
Describe the special
education and related services school systems are mandated to provide to
students with disabilities;
·
Describe the procedural
safeguards parents of students with disabilities are granted under IDEA;
·
Describe the civil rights
students with disabilities are granted under Section 504, and ADA;
·
Describe the purpose of
an Individualized Education Program (IEP) and an Individualized Family Service
Plan and the components or information that needs to be specified in each document;
·
List and describe the
similarities and differences between regulations for the various
education-related acts;
·
List and describe
procedures school systems are expected to go through at the pre-referral and
referral stages;
·
List and describe the
Response to Intervention (RTI) process, and procedures school systems are
expected to go through before a child is referred for an in-depth assessment,
for the purpose of determining whether he/she has a disability and/or is
labeled as a student with a specific learning disability;
·
Describe the roles and
responsibilities of teachers, school-based problem solving
team members, and the multidisciplinary (IEP) team in identifying and providing
special education and related services to students with special needs; and
·
Describe procedures
special and general educators can use to determine whether students with
disabilities can be educated in the general education classroom.
Chapter
3: Special & General Educator Collaboration
This chapter focuses on the impact the
movement toward educating students with special needs in the general education
classroom has had on the roles and responsibilities of special and general
educators, strategies teachers can use to work collaboratively, and procedures
teachers can use to determine whether students need accommodations and
modifications. After reading information provided in this chapter, you should
be able to:
·
Describe the impact the
movement toward educating students with special needs in the general education
classroom has had on teachers;
·
Describe the role and
responsibilities of teachers in terms of educating students with disabilities
in inclusive classrooms;
·
Define the term
“collaboration” and describe different collaborative models special and general
educators can use to provide special education and related services to students
educated in general education classrooms (e.g. co-teaching);
·
List and describe
characteristics that must be in place for special and general educators to
collaborate successfully; and
·
List and describe the
steps special and general educators should go through in setting up their own
collaborative efforts.
Chapter 4: Differentiated Instruction,
Accommodations, & Modifications
Chapter four focuses on why special and general educators
need to differentiate instruction and provide instructional and assessment
accommodations and modifications for students educated in inclusive classrooms.
After reading the information provided in this chapter, you should be able to:
·
Specify regulations that
mandate that students should be provided with adaptations;
·
Define the terms
“differentiated instruction,” “curricular adaptations,” “accommodations,” and
“modifications”;
·
List and describe
instructional accommodations and modifications teachers can provide to students
educated in inclusive classrooms;
·
List and describe the
steps special and general educators can use to determine accommodations and
modifications students may require in inclusive classrooms;
·
Describe steps special
and general educators can go through in determining whether a student will or
will not participate in state- or district-wide assessment programs; and
·
List and describe types
of assessment accommodations teachers can provide for students during
testing.
Chapter 5: Methods for
the Classroom
Chapter five focuses on procedures
special and general educators can use to structure their classroom environment
and manage students’ behaviors. After reading information provided in this
chapter, you should be able to:
·
List and describe factors
that may result in students’ inappropriate classroom behavior;
·
Define “functional
assessment” and describe procedures educators can use to evaluate their
classroom setting;
·
List and describe
strategies educators can use to structure their classroom setting and increase
students’ appropriate classroom behavior and decrease inappropriate classroom
behavior; and
·
List and describe the
importance of identifying the relationship between students’ behaviors and
learning.
Student Expectations
As a student you will be
expected to:
·
Complete all four information sections showing a
competent understanding of the material presented in each section.
·
Complete all four section examinations, showing a
competent understanding of the material presented. You
must obtain an overall score of 70%
or higher, with no individual exam score below 50%, to pass this course. *Please note: Minimum exam score
requirements may vary by college or university; therefore, you should refer to
your course addendum to determine what your minimum exam score requirements
are.
·
Complete a review of any
section on which your examination score was below 50%.
·
Retake any examination,
after completing an information review, to increase that examination score to a
minimum of 50%, making sure to also be achieving an overall exam score of a
minimum 70% (maximum of three attempts). *Please
note: Minimum exam score requirements may vary by college or university;
therefore, you should refer to your course addendum to determine what your
minimum exam score requirements are.
·
Complete a course
evaluation form at the end of the course.
Examinations
At the end of each chapter, you will be expected to complete
an examination designed to assess your
knowledge. You may take these exams a total of three times.
Your last score will save, not the highest score.
After your third attempt, each examination will lock and not allow further access. Your final grade for the
course will be determined by calculating an average score of
all exams. This score will be printed on
your final
certificate. As this
is a self-paced computerized instruction program, you may review course
information as
often as necessary. You will not be able to exit any
examinations until you have answered all questions. If
you
try to exit the exam before you complete
all questions, your information will be lost. You are expected to
complete the entire exam in one sitting.
Instructor Description
Karen Lea holds a Ph.D. in education. Dr. Lea has
fifteen years’ experience teaching at the K-12 level and another fourteen
years’ experience teaching education courses at the undergraduate and
post-graduate level. Currently
she is an Assessment Developer at Western Governor's University. Dr. Lea has been professionally published over fifteen times and has
served on over a dozen panels and boards, including serving on the NCATE (CAEP)
Board of Examiners.
Contacting the Instructor
You may contact the
instructor by emailing karen_lea@virtualeduc.com or by calling (509) 891-7219 Monday
through Friday. Calls made during office hours will be answered within 24
hours. Phone conferences will be limited to ten minutes per student, per day,
given that this is a self-paced instructional program. Please do not contact
the instructor about technical problems, course glitches, or other issues that
involve the operation of the course.
Technical Questions
If you have questions or problems related to the operation
of this course, please try everything twice. If the problem persists
please check our support pages for FAQs and known issues at www.virtualeduc.com and also the Help section of your
course.
If you need personal assistance
then email support@virtualeduc.com or call (509) 891-7219. When contacting technical support, please
know your course version number (it is located at the bottom left side of the
Welcome Screen) and your operating system, and be
seated in front of the computer at the time of your call.
Minimum Computer Requirements
Please refer to VESi’s
website: www.virtualeduc.com or contact VESi if you have further questions about the
compatibility of your operating system.
Refer to the addendum regarding Grading Criteria, Course Completion
Information, Items to be Submitted and how to submit your completed
information. The addendum will also note any additional course assignments that
you may be required to complete that are not listed in this syllabus.
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