Session 13 - Inclusion

What are you curious about?
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.

• Check out their website at http://www.ncat.edu/

What can I do to be the best to accommodate all of my students?

• You will learn more about all of this as you take WF ED 413, and complete the Chapter 49-2 requirements associated with the AEE coursework. As we talked about with our guest speaker, the classes help prepare you for the experiences that you will have in the classroom.
• Seek out experiences now to work with students with special needs.

AEE 311 Final Exam scheduled time.

• Let's discuss in class.

If you have an officer that is a special needs student, how do you do what is best for the student, but also for the program? 

• I believe this is determined on a case-by-case basis, but the main thing is to consider the person and what is best for them. If you do this, then the rest of the program will take care of itself, and you would be amazed how other officers and members "step up" to help when needed.

Legislation dealing with inclusion?

• Check out http://www.education.com/reference/article/mainstreaming-inclusion/ for a good read on special needs and legislation

What percent of students in agricultural education classrooms are special needs? (The following link answers about 3 different questions that were asked on the ticket out)!

• Check out https://www.ffa.org/FFAResources/Publications/ffapulse/201303/advisors/Pages/How-advisors-can-support-special-needs-students.aspx for a good read, and just one percentage (23%) that is probably typical in agricultural education/other career and technical education areas. Fourteen percent of students nationwide are covered under IDEA as special needs.

What did you learn?

What state supervisors perceive to be barriers to inclusion.

Why inclusion is important.

That agricultural educators can implement various strategies to be inclusive.

This class session connect to other classes that I have taken!

I learned that there is actually legislation connected to working with special needs students in our classrooms. I learned that I should serve on IEP teams in the future.

The importance of working with guidance counselors.

Strategies and opinions.

Inclusion and mainstreaming

What inclusion is and other factors dealing with inclusion, mainstreaming, and tracking.

Socio-economic status factors are a major factor of experience conflicts.

What do you want to learn more about?

Opportunities to gain experience with special needs learners.

• Check out http://www.volunteermatch.org/search/orgs.jsp?r=20.0&l=State+College%2C+PA+16801%2C+USA You can type in keywords such as special needs or disability and find organizations that you can partner with to help others. Also, you can search in areas other than State College. I just used this in my example.

Dealing with parents who question my decision.

• We do some work with this in AEE 413, and you have an opportunity to communicate with an upset "parent" in one of the assignments in that class.

Fundraising for students that can't afford official dress.

• We also talk about fundraising in AEE 413, and there are many models out there to help students "earn" their jacket and/or official dress through fundraising. There are a few examples/stories at ffa.org

Different adaptations and accommodations for students, and how to follow a student's IEP.

• The IEP will help provide specific strategies to support the student; thus, the importance of getting involved in IEP teams so that you understand how the paperwork is developed, and utilized.

Can we include 49-2 modules on a resume, or is it just assumed by employers that we have had done something like this?

• Hmmm.... very interesting thought/question. I would think that it would be fine to list these, as long as you were specific in your description of the modules. School administrators will understand the regulations through PDE; thus, they would know that you complete coursework and/or associated modules, but they would still probably like to see that you have not only been trained, but that you felt it was worthy to list on your resume!

How are IEP meetings run... what are the roles of various people, etc.

• Here is what is required by law... http://idea.ed.gov/explore/view/p/,root,dynamic,TopicalBrief,9,
• Here is an easier one to read/understand :-) http://www.readingrockets.org/article/211/

How much do teachers tolerate from a special needs student prior to removing them from the class?

• Read the following blog. It may help you understand this question. You, as the teacher, have the responsibility to educate all students in your class, so you do not need to think that a student with special needs can't be taken out of your class, especially for disruptive or dangerous behaviors. http://www.wrightslaw.com/blog/?p=3212

How do teachers minimize the negative perceptions of other students towards a student with a disability to make inclusion successful?

• While the entire article at http://www.readingrockets.org/article/26319/ is a good one, I would suggest scrolling down to "Intervening with Students" to get a pretty good response to this question.