Title Page ……………………………………………………1
Section
I
Introduction
to Learning Disabilities………………………...2
Section
II
Criteria
used for making classification decisions……………4
Section
III
Summary
of Observations…………………………………...6
Section
IV
The
difference in learning for normal children and
Learning
for disabled ………………………………………10
Section
V
Related
Research……………………………………………11
Section
VI
References…………………………………………………..13
Section
VII
Special
Provisions…………………………………………..14
Section
VIII
Learning
Center…………………………………………….16
Research Awareness Project
On Learning Disabilities
Observation Site:
Russellville Upper Elementary School
By Marcia Garcia
Section I
Introduction to Learning Disabilities
One way of looking at learning disabilities is, imagine you have a huge umbrella and all kinds of different people are trying to fit under that one umbrella. The umbrella sheltering them is preventing them from getting wet, and having to risk being different from others under the umbrella. The fact is they are different. If we exclude the label “learning disabled”, people are still considered different individuals. Everyone learns in his or her own way. There are some people that do better in one subject than another. Learning disabilities is defined as “ disorders involved in understanding or in using spoken or written language that results in substantial difficulties in listening, speaking, reading, written expressions, or mathematics. Other conditions such as emotional disturbances or sensory impairments may occur along with a learning disability but are not the cause of the learning disability”(Turnbull, Shank, Smith, Leal, 2001).
It is often very hard to detect a learning disability in children, because they have so many different characteristics. Fifteen percent of the United States population has some type of learning disability, according to the National Institute of Health. The most common learning disability is in basic reading and language skills. Difficulties in reading can be very critical for the student because reading is so important to individual performance in most academic subjects and to other school activities. Students with reading disabilities may show word recognition errors. Severe reading problems are referred to as dyslexia. Dyslexia is a language-based disability in which a person has trouble understanding words, sentences, or paragraphs. Another common learning disability is Dysgraphia. Dysgraphia is a writing disability in which a person finds it hard to form letters or write within a defined space. Students may also have trouble with spelling and common spelling errors. A mathematical disability in which a person has a difficult time solving arithmetic problems and grasping math concepts is called Dyscalculia. Any learning disability with a Dys in front of it is a partial inability. Any disability with an A in front of it is a total inability. Here are some personality characteristics of learning disabled children: hyperactivity, easily fatigued, attention deficit, slowness in finishing, careless and inaccurate, poor emotional control and overly excitable. There are so many different characteristics. Some of these may seem harmless, and others seem worse. This is why it makes it so hard to distinguish a child as having a learning disability because some of the characteristics seem normal.
Section
II
Criteria
Used For Making Classification Decisions
Students identified as having a learning disability display a number of characteristics. There are different traits to be looked at such as: Intelligence- does not perform at expected achievement levels, Academic-short attention span, Reading-letter and word reversals and inversions, Writing-inability to form letters or digits correctly, Arithmetic-difficulty in solving math problems, Behavior-hyperactivity, Communicative Abilities-fails to grasp certain word meanings, and Physical characteristics-poor coordination. It is evident almost all children posses one or more of these characteristics. However, the child is diagnosed with a learning disability by the magnitude or severity of his/her present characteristics. The next step is for the child to be tested for a specific learning disability.
In order for a child to be tested for a learning disability he or she must have demonstrated a discrepancy in ability and actual achievement. The students must also demonstrate an educational need that otherwise will not be met without special educational services. The most commonly used test in the field of learning disabilities is the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children III, also known as WISC-III (Turnbull, Shank, Smith, Leal, 2001). This test mainly measures two different scales, performance and verbal. The performance scale measures mathematical skills, and the verbal scale measures reading and writing skills. The two scores combined determine the overall IQ score.
Section
III
Summary Of
Observation
Each child in the classroom I observed had different levels of disabilities. There was usually any where from four to seven students in the classroom. The most common learning disability was math and reading. Most of the students have very short attention spans. My involvement in the classroom was unlimited. I was able to go around to different students, and observe their work and behavior. On a couple of my visits I was able to sit down with a student and help with their reading. There was three teachers in there total, so the students were able to get the attention they needed. In the next part of the section it will explain in a little more detain about each visit to the school.
Visit I:
This was my first time going to the Russellville Upper Elementary School. Five students came walking through the door at about 10:15. This class is to help students with a reading disability. Basically the only thing I did was observed the teacher and the students, and how the class was conducted. I observed on how the classroom was set up to accommodate each individual. The students were well aware of my presence in the classroom, and for the first half hour the students were very distracted.
Visit II:
When I walked in today the students were broke into groups. They were practicing their reading skills. There were only four students here today. The teacher had to send for one of her students, she explained to me it was not uncommon for them to forget. The teacher passed out a packet with a story on it and each student took turns reading. At the end of the story they answered the questions together.
Visit III:
The students were sitting at their desks and the teacher was discussing the different months of the year. Most of the children had a hard time sitting still. There were a number of times the teacher had to get onto them about listening and not talking. After she finished talking she handed out a worksheet for them to work on. One student was having a hard time comprehending a set of simple directions. I went around and helped some students. There is one child who refused to do his work. The teacher finally got angry and went over and talked to him in private.
Visit IV:
When I arrived today, everyone was working on the calendars from the previous day. They were working on the months of November, December, and January. The teacher put up some important dates and they had to write them on their calendars. When they finished with their work they had free time. Most of the students like to color during their free time or play with the legos. There was on student who said he was not feeling well and kept putting his head down on his desk. The teacher said in the past he is known to fake being sick, so she didn’t think much of it. About ten minutes later he ran to the sink and got sick. This was a wonderful day.
Visit V:
I heard a remark today that kind of bothered me. One of the students seen another classmate getting into trouble and was sent to the principals office. He made the comment that they were so lucky because they didn’t have to learn and do work in class. Today I went during their math lesson. It is unbelievable, how each student is on such a different level. The levels range from kindergarten to fifth grade. All except one student finished their assignment.
Visit VI:
As soon as I got to the school, the teacher had to step out of the classroom for a few minutes. She asked me if I could help read a story to her group. As soon as she left the class they all started getting a little out of hand until one of the other teachers got onto them. One student said that he left his pencil on his desk in his other classroom. He insisted that he needed it, but the teacher did not go for it. She tried to give him another pencil and he threw a fit.
Visit VII:
Today the students did their make up work so they could get caught up. I couldn’t believe how much work some students were behind. One thing I have observed in the class, the students are absent quite often. After they finished their make up work they got to use their points to buy stuff from their classroom store. The children seem to really enjoy that; it also motivated them to finish their work. One little girl had a piece of chocolate to take home. The teacher was very worried because she is not allowed to have chocolate. She said she was taking it home to her sister.
Visit VIII:
Today was Halloween, so I brought candy for the class. The class mainly had a free day as long as all their work was done.
Visit IX:
The class went through their regular schedule. I worked with one student today; he had missed two days of school. This caused him to fall behind quite a bit. We sat down and went through his reading assignments. He reads on a third grade level. We were only able to get through two assignments. The whole time he was trying to read too fast and this would cause him to add and skip words. He did manage to answer all the questions correctly.
Visit X:
Today was my last visit. Half the class was gone today on a field trip, so there were only four students in the class. I sat down with the same student as on my previous visit, and worked on some more reading assignments. I got him to slow down a bit on his reading, and he did much better. After he finished his assignments he was able to have some free time. He went over to the computer and played some spelling games. I was very impressed. As I was watching him I heard another student yell at the teacher, he was really testing her patience. She finally started deducting points from his behavior card. This is what the use to buy stuff at the class store. He just yelled at her and said he didn’t care.
Section IV
The Difference In Learning For Normal Children and Learning Disabled
A. The developments of the students I have been observing is different form those in the “normal classroom”. The students in this class are all learning disabled. Several have attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Dysgraphia. There are certain subjects that need more emphasis on than others. The students in this class range from first grade up to the fifth grade level in their work. Every student is supposed to be at the fifth grade level. They have a very hard time comprehending at the same level as normal students. The students in this class are much slower. Although they are still able to attend a “normal class”, they are given extra help in certain subjects.
B. The experience of going out and observing in a learning disabled classroom has been a wonderful experience. I was able to get a first hand look at what it is like to work how different the students learn. I was able to get the feel of what a teacher goes through to deal with learning disabled children. There are a total of three teachers in the classroom, so this makes it little easier on them. This also gives students the attention they need. My experience at this school has affected me a great deal. I would really love to work in a classroom like this, and I have taken this into consideration. I really enjoyed working with each student and the teachers, and helping them as much as I could.
Section V
Related Research
Summary:
Learning Disabilities are a life lone issue. They cannot be cured or fixed. Proper support and the right intervention, children can move on with normal lives. “It has been estimated that there are 120,000-180,000 learning disabled children with above average IQ’s in the American school system today” (Little, 2001). When a child is gifted and learning disabled at the same time, it makes it very hard for the school to decide on where to put them. They don’t qualify to be in the gifted program because of their learning disability, and they aren’t qualified to go to a resource program because of their giftedness. The IQ test creates a problem for ESL students. ESL students do not have the complex second-language knowledge, and this makes it hard for them to completely understand these tests (Gunderson, 2001). The people giving the test may not possess the knowledge of the students’ cultural background. It is important to have knowledge about every student’s background. Teachers can use parents to gain this knowledge, so it is important to get to know them. Parents can help their children with their learning disabilities as long as they have the proper training. There are workshops provided for teachers, caregivers, parents, and siblings of children such as the Frustration, Anxiety, and Tension City workshops (Lavoie, 1999). Technology today can help students with disabilities. “ The use of adaptive technology does not “cure” an LD. These tools tend to be compensatory rather than remedial (The Exceptional Parent, 2001). For example and talking calculator may be helpful to a child with Dyscalculia. Another important consideration to be made is creating an inclusive classroom. Students with disabilities need an environment that allows them to develop functional-emotional capacities. There are three basic principles in creating an inclusive classroom: Learning Centers, Observing and sharing information, and Leaning in small groups. It is important to meet each child at his/her own level (Greenspan, 2001).
Application:
These
articles will tremendously help teachers, parents, and the students. First of all, they give information on how
to detect a learning disability. They
also talk about what you should be looking for. I thought they were very helpful in determining if it is
necessary to take a step further in determining if a child is disabled. They also discussed how students could
misinterpret the IQ tests, and I feel this is important for teachers and
parents to be aware of. A normal child
may be mistakenly put into a resource room when it is not necessary for
them. They also give good tips on how
to set up your classroom. So overall
all five of these articles would be very informative for teachers, parents, and
students.
Section VI
References:
Greenspan, S. “ Creating an Inclusive Classroom.” Scholastic Early Childhood Today v. 16 no.1 (2001) 33-34
Gunderson, L. “ The evils of the use of IQ tests to define learning disabilities in first and second language learners.” The Reading Teacher v. 55 no 1 (2001)48-55
Lavoie, R. “ How Hard Can This Be?” Instructor v. 109 no 2 (1999)
Little, C. “ A Closer Look at Gifted Children with Disabilities.” Gifted Child Today v. 24 no 3 (2001) 46-53
Turnbull, Shank, Smith, Leal. Exceptional Lives Special Education in Today’s Schools New Jersey: Pearson, 2001.
“ Working Together: People with Learning Disabilities and Computer Technology.” The Exceptional Parent v. 31 (2001): 36-9
Section VII
Special Provisions
There were many special provisions for this classroom in order to accommodate every student. There are several students that have Attention Deficit Disorder, so in order to accommodate them the teacher didn’t have very much distraction on the walls. In the class there is a specific seating arrangement. One child sits in the front because she has a hard time hearing. There are several students whom disrupt the class by talking to each other, so they are sat away from each other. One sits in the back and one sits in the front.
Since there is such a great span between learning levels, the teacher has to give tests accordingly. The range goes from kindergarten to fourth grade. The tests are modified for each student, depending on the level the student is at. The tests they are given are pretty much repetitive; they are just set up in a different format.
The teacher tries not to focus as much on disciplinary action, rather she rewards the students for good behavior and getting their work done. She uses a point system. They may earn points with good behavior, turning in work, good grades on their papers and tests. At the end of each week the teacher lets them add up their points, and they are able to buy stuff at their classroom store such as candy, pencils, and little toys.
Although I feel the teacher provides good provisions for each child, I feel the children get bored in there easily. They do the same thing everyday. However, this may help them get into a routine. I just feel the students would enjoy going to their resource room if they had more of a variety of lessons. This could reduce the amount of absenteeism.
Section VIII
Learning Center
The traditional seating arrangement of students sitting in rows is almost in the past. This seating arrangement discourages any interaction among classmates. This also goes for students with learning disabilities. Here is an example of a math center, which is modified for students with learning disabilities. First of all, any loud projects should be away from quiet projects. The math center can include all kinds of sections. Here are some sections that can be used in the math center: (1) Math Games- Bingo (the numbers should be modified for the level the students are on). (2) Flash Cards Center- Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication (every students is at a different level, so it is important to have flash cards to accommodate each one). (3) Calculator Center- students use calculators to check work, and play games (a talking calculator would be helpful for a student with dyscalculia). (4) Concrete Object Center- Coins, Beans, Color Counters (These will help the student if they are still at a concrete level). Learning centers should also be made fun no matter if the students have a learning disability or not. Children learn best when their interest is high.