Special Needs in the Classroom :: Education Disabilities Essays

Special Needs in the classroomVirginia appriseers face many ch altogetherenges when trying to meet the of necessity of finical needinesss students in their science classrooms. The most difficult task at contact for Virginia teachers is making sure that all students ( world-wide education and special education) learn the contented outlined by the Virginia Standards of Learning. These standards set reasonable targets and expectations for what teachers need to teach and students need to learn (Virginia Standards of Learning, 1995, foreward). These targets and expectations be in the four core subjects, including science, however, no accommodations require been made in the SOLs for special needs students. All students, regardless of capacity will need to know the same material in holy instal to pass and graduate.One way that Virginia teachers meet the challenging needs of students is done the mapping of special strategies. Much research has been conducted which supports the us e of special strategies to teach science content to students with special needs. Research has shown that some strategies to help special needs students in science argon to prioritize materials in order of importance, pre-teach vocabulary that may be difficult for students, paraphrase passages, provide dissect guides, graphics, and organizers, or provide audio-taped texts (Munk, Bruckert, & Call). Other research suggests that teachers should, employ strategies that emulate the principles of inclusive education (for example, outcome-based education, multiple intelligence theory, constructivist learning, cooperative learning, use of technology in the classroom, and peer-mediated instruction). (Norman, Caseau, and Stegfanich, 1998) Gallas (1995) writes that it is important to build on students prior knowledge, so that they can use that knowledge to explore theories and construct other ideas and explanations.Methods of evaluation are in addition a concern and challenge for educators of special needs students today. Finson & Ormsbee (1998) argue that, rubrics are effective methods for headingly and individually assessing the achievement of students with learning and behavior problems in inclusive science classrooms. Rubrics are especially useful because they are indite as a specific outline of the skills or knowledge that the students are to master after the lesson and points are awarded in a systematic and objective manner.To further explore the realm of special needs students and their education in science classrooms in Virginia today, we interviewed two educators from Central Virginia. There simply is neer enough time in the day to meet the needs of all students. And, when you think about it, they all have special needs Anne, a fourth grade teacher remarked when asked how she finds time to attend to both her general education students and special education students.