Teaching in today's classrooms can be a daunting experience. The responsibilities of teachers seem to be increasing at the same time as resources for education are diminishing. In recent years, teachers increasingly are expected to deal with a wide range of problems -- from students with severe academic deficiencies, to students whose first language is not English, to students who are suffering the effects of parental substance abuse. With the current trend toward inclusion -- placing special-education students in regular classes -- educators often find themselves teaching students with problems they have little preparation for dealing with.
The strategies below will help regular-education teachers ease special-education
students' transition to regular classes.
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WHAT YOU CAN DO
Connect
with the student. Try to gain the student's trust by listening attentively
to what he says and showing respect for his thoughts and concerns. Find
a few minutes every so often to talk with him about his interests and
hobbies. Help him start the day out on a positive note by giving him a
high five or making an upbeat comment when he walks in the door. The student
will feel more comfortable in your classroom, and make better choices,
if he feels supported and accepted by you.
Catch
the student being good. The most basic application of behavior modification
principles is to praise students when they are displaying appropriate
behavior. Because of their frequent experience with frustration and failure
in school, special-education students have a particular need for a pat
on the back. Your challenge with this kind of student, especially if you
have a large class, is to identify areas of deficiency, catch him when
he is performing well in those areas, and praise him immediately and genuinely.
Give
the student clear and simple directions. State directions with a minimum
of words. If you go over every detail, he might miss key points. You might
have the student repeat directions so you are confident he understands
them. If you are explaining a complex task, give him one or two instructions
at a time. You also might demonstrate directions and then have the student
follow them while you observe him.
Provide
the student with a classroom buddy. The buddy should be a mature,
responsible classmate who can help the student with classroom tasks when
you are unavailable. A variation of this strategy is to group students
at tables, with students expected to help one another when questions or
problems arise.
Adapt
homework to the student's needs. If an assignment appears overwhelming
for the student, consider shortening it. For example, you might have him
do only odd numbered problems, or have him write a two-paragraph rather
than a four-paragraph composition. As his confidence and skills improve,
you can increase the length of the assignment. If the student's skills
are well below the level of his classmates, consider giving him a different
assignment altogether. If the act of writing is especially hard for the
student, allow him to do the assignment on a computer. If motivation is
a factor, design assignments to reflect his interests and strengths.
Break
a task into smaller, more doable parts. Special-needs students might
be overwhelmed by large or complex tasks. Feeling there is little chance
they can finish the task, they might give up quickly or not even attempt
it. Breaking tasks into more manageable parts might give the student more
confidence that he can complete them successfully. As an example, rather
than giving him a whole page of math problems to do at once, assign two
or three problems, check his performance, and then assign a few more.
Develop
a signaling system to help keep the student on task. If the student
has difficulty staying on task, you might want to find some way to signal
him that he needs to pay attention or get back to work. That might be
as simple as walking by his desk, making eye contact with him, or pausing
while you are speaking. Or it might be a private signal that you work
out with him such as scratching your head, raising your eyebrows, tugging
on your ear, or winking.
Seek
parental support. Invite the student's parents in for a meeting to
apprise them of his progress and obtain their perspective. Find out what
strategies they have found successful with their child and what suggestions
they have for dealing with him in class. That also is a good opportunity
to develop a daily or weekly communication system so you can inform parents
of their child's performance, and so they can keep you posted about any
concerns.
If
the student exhibits behavioral problems, try to determine the reason
for his behavior through careful observation. Note the circumstances
of his behavior, including what happens right before and after the incidents,
when they usually occur, where the student is when he engages in the unacceptable
behavior, and whether his behavior is directed towards a particular student.
Use that information to figure out what is triggering and reinforcing
the behavior. It might be that he is trying to get your attention or the
attention of other students, to get back at another student or get the
other student in trouble, or to divert attention from his academic problems.
If you can identify the underlying reason for his behavior, you've got
a better chance of eliminating it.
Develop
a behavior modification system to improve an inappropriate or negative
behavior. Provide the student with classroom privileges or material
rewards if he shows evidence of progress in the identified area. Let's
say the concern is with the student calling out: Divide a 3 x 5 card into
ten boxes and tape it to the student's desk. Set a timer for 30 minutes
at the beginning of the day. If the student does not call out within the
30-minute period, put your initials in a box and reset the timer. If he
does call out, reset the timer immediately but do not initial the card.
When all ten boxes are initialed, provide the student with an agreed-upon
reward or privilege. Adjust the length of the period and the number of
boxes needed to obtain a reward according to the age of the student and
the severity of the problem.
Connect
with the student. Try to gain the student's trust by listening attentively
to what he says and showing respect for his thoughts and concerns. Find
a few minutes every so often to talk with him about his interests and
hobbies. Help him start the day out on a positive note by giving him a
high five or making an upbeat comment when he walks in the door. The student
will feel more comfortable in your classroom, and make better choices,
if he feels supported and accepted by you. 
