laTransformation
The field of special education has seen many changes in the past two decades, from the right to a free and appropriate education for all students, to the educational placement of students with exceptionalities within general education classrooms. Although some notable changes have been made, we still have a long way to go before we can say with certainty that there are no issues when considering the academic placement of students with exceptionalities. The same goes for issues with resources and materials for English Language Learners (ELL), or the costs to purchase assistive technology devices. Through continued research and studying, certain issues are more prevalent than others, requiring the need for additional research studies, action, advocacy, and needed changes.
For this Discussion, you will examine theories, research, and current issues in today’s educational system that have an impact on special education and create problem statements for future research.
To prepare:
Review all module Learning Resources.
Enter the Grand City community and locate West Ridge Middle School. Review the case study video titled, “The New Student.”
Think about the issues you have identified from the case study throughout the course.
Create two problem statements based on the issues you identified in the case study related to Jamal. As you work on your problem statements, consider how these might provide the basis/inspiration for future research that could effect positive social change in the field of special education.
By Day 7 of Week 9
Respond to two or more of your colleagues’ problem statements in any of the following ways:
Offer suggestions related to your colleague’s problem statements with regard to whether they are clear and/or measurable.
Explain why you believe the identified problem statements are practical and beneficial to the field of special education (i.e., how each might be utilized in practice and/or affect positive social change).
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Classmate 1 Kimberly Walker Discussion 1 – Module 7
I believe there will be a running theme of problem statements for our discussion question this week. The video focuses on Jamal’s prior learning and lack of testing. The video also focuses on Jamal’s social and emotional issues when it comes to facing academic challenges.
Problem statement 1: With no prior testing the school must begin the process of identifying Jamal’s specific areas of need. Evaluation/testing should take place immediately to help identify the supports Jamal needs for his academics and his needs for both social and emotional growth. Having up-to-date testing will allow the team to communicate with Jamal’s mom and bridge the gap of home and school. The evaluation results will also bring the team together to form a plan of success to help motivate Jamal as he begins his new academic journey. McInerney, (2020) explains poorly motivated kids have lower self-esteem, are more insecure about their ability to fit in at school or in other learning situations, and have higher subjective perceptions that school is not for them than other students.
Problem statement 2: The school and members of the team, should take time to get to know Jamal. Jamal would benefit from meeting with the counselor and talking about developing relationships with his teachers where he feels safe to talk about his struggles with his peers. Schonert-Reichl, (2017) states students benefit from profound learning and excellent social and emotional development in classrooms with close teacher-child relationships. There should be support offered that benefits Jamal, celebrates his areas of success, and teach him how to work through his academic frustrations that seem to lead to issues with his peers and work completion.
McInerney, D. M. (2020). Helping kids achieve their best: Understanding and using motivation in the classroom. Routledge.
Schonert-Reichl, K. A. (2017). Social and emotional learning and teachers. The future of children, 137-155.
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Classmate 2 TRICIA EVANS. Discussion 1 – Module 7
Problem Statement # 1: Jamal’s mom communicated that he is unable to associate letters with sounds. This would indicate that he demonstrates some signs of “Dyslexia”. Jamal communicated eloquently that he “Hated Reading”, but he liked Math. It is evident that Jamal has some cognitive deficits due to unavailability of resources and his limited time in school. The team members that will be working with Jamal, should recommended testing to determine his deficit. Until the testing has been agreed upon for Jamal, Jamal’s teachers should collect observational data, make anecdotal notes in addition to collecting work samples of work that Jamal has completed.
Problem Statement # 2: Jamal has been exposed to violence, and as a result of that violence his father died. This exposure can impact Jamal’s social and emotional behavior negatively. This was evidenced in the conversation where Jamal communicated that he fought the students who made fun of him, when he struggled to read. Nas.edu (2020) states that school should be a place where students are given the opportunity to develop good emotional and behavioral relationships. Jamal’s team should have training in the utilization of social and emotional learning strategies, so that they can foster a supportive relationship, Jamal. This relationship will serve to reduce Jamal’s aggressive behavior and encourage him to build on his strengths in art, athletics, and math. Reichl-Schonert- (2017) states that teachers are the drivers for the success of (SEL) and with a warm learning environment students will be successful emotionally and academically.
References
Reichl-Schonert, K.A. (2017). Social and Emotional Learning and Teachers. www.futureofchildren.org
Special Education. (2020). https://www.specialeducationguide.com/pre-k-12/what -is-special-education/the-importance-of-the-assessment-process/
The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (2017). http://www.nas.edu/MEB-HEALTH
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