Wine,+Jordan+Inclusion+Strategies+in+Science

1. Introduction: Jordan Wine

Hello, my name is Jordan Wine; I was born and raised in Ashland, Oregon. Growing up I was the third child of five kids. I’m a basketball fanatic and die hard Portland Trailblazers fan. I enjoy traveling and have made many international trips to India, Thailand, and France, to name a few. Also I enjoy, playing music, backpacking, playing cards, board games, puzzles and reading a good sci-fi novel. I have a beautiful wife, Janine, and two wonderful daughters, Gertie, three-years old, and Ginger, one-year old.

In 2005, I graduated from SOU with a B.S., in Physics and I’m currently in my first year of the two-year Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program. My initial career goal is to finish the amazing two-year MAT program and become a high school physics instructor. Also, I would like to travel abroad helping educate students in developing countries.

Formerly, as a science and math tutor, physical education coach, and missionary, I have demonstrated my ability to work well with teenagers, both one-on-one and in groups. Helping students realize their own capabilities is personally gratifying; doing so inspires me to be a teacher.

My greatest fears of being a teacher is the low paying salary that comes with it. ;-) Just kidding! I would have to say being unprepared for the unexpected. Which I believe is normal feeling for every teacher. I know eventually, once I get comfortable with my surroundings and a little experience under my belt that fear will subside.

Growing up, I faced many extremely difficult learning situations due to a hearing impairment. At fifteen months of age, I became ill and lost all of my hearing in my right ear and then some in my left. Before the advancement in hearing aid technology, I was very dependent on reading lips to understand what someone was saying. So in school settings it was hard for me to follow along with what the instructor was saying each time he/she turned their heads out of my view. I can remember being exhausted each day from struggling to understand lectures and keep notes. However from this experience, I developed new techniques and tools to help me cope with my hearing impairment and used them to help me succeed in school. From my own learning differences, I believe, I will be able to connect with other students facing similar issues, as well as be an inspiration for other students.

From this course, I want a better understanding of how to spot a student with a learning disability from their behaviors, understand the many different learning styles and strategies that works for students with disabilities, what services and resources are available for students and families, and how to implement a lesson plan that includes students with learning difficulties.

2. Inclusion Strategies in Science. The main reason I chose this topic was because of my interest as a future science teacher. I wanted to have the resources available to assist me in understanding and accommodating all students with various disabilities. I find there is a lack of knowledge among science teachers on how to include students of disabilities in the science classroom and I believe all students, disabled or not, should be given the tools necessary to succeed in a science classroom.

3. Top 5 Things I've Learned From My Research 1. Collaboration: From my research I discovered how science teachers need to get involved in the development of students IEP's and collaborate with SPED teachers in creating interventions and strategies to accommodate students with a disability. The importance of this is, SPED teachers do not understand in full details what goes in the science classroom. By collaborating with the SPED teacher about the physical setup of the science classroom and structure of your lesson plan. She could pinpoint areas that needs to be adjusted to accommodate students with a disability. 2. Being Prepared: This requires you to have the physical environment, materials, and assistive technologies prepared to accommodate students with disabilities. In the science classroom as well as the science lab. There are many traditional lab equipment that does not accommodate students with disabilities. Especially, for students that have a visual impairment and students in wheelchairs. 3. Use "Big Ideas": When teaching new science context, it is best to incorporate what the students are learning from all their other classes into your lesson plan, by collaborating with the students other teachers. 4. Use multiple modalities: Studies have shown, an exponential increases in the students learning with the more senses (visual, auditory, touch, smell and taste) you can implement into your lesson plan. And science is a great class for student's with disabilities because it can incorporate all 5 senses in learning. 5. Use Inquiry Based Learning: By having students observe, use known knowledge, use critical thinking, ask questions, seek and interpret evidence, discuss ideas and hypothesis, write and explore new understandings, and read to compare their ideas, will strengthens their ability to learn.

4. My Top Resource [|Disabilities, Teaching Strategies, and Resources]

By far my favorite site in understanding inclusion in the science classroom. It is a user friendly site which offers over 800 strategies for 8 general types of disabilities, developed over the last 40 years by science teachers, special education teachers, and by teachers in school for the deaf and blind. These many strategies include teaching strategies, learning environments, and assistive technologies. Not only is it a great site for science teachers but for teachers of other content areas as well.

5. Eight Additional Resources Each resource is ranked on a scale of 1 - 5 stars, where 5 is the highest.

media type="youtube" key="RynXLeOe-7I" height="315" width="420" align="right" It is very informative and entertaining. It is about preparing students with disabilities for a future in STEM, acronym for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Many of the strategies the STEM team uses is helpful for science teacher to use in their general education classes as well. Some of the main key points of the video was, to teach students to be self advocates, provide assistive technologies and software support, physical access to laboratories and equipment for individuals with mobility impairments, alternative formats to printed text and visual aids for students with visual impairment, organizational tools for students with learning disabilities, visual options for material presented orally for students with hearing impairment, and multiple learning and testing options which benefits students with learning and other disabilities. The video also shows actual scientists in the science field that had disabilities as well, which is encouraging to students who feel they cannot succeed in science.

[|Working Together: Science Teachers and Students with Disabilities] I was not able to embed this video but you can click the link to access it. In this videos students learn to be self-advocates, where they are experts on their abilities, they decide what works best with them, and suggests ways to the science teachers on how to make science activities more accessible. By sharing their advice and information, science teachers are able to implement strategies and make accommodations to meet their needs. From hearing all the students voices in this video has taught me the importance of listening to all your students, as well as teaching them the importance to be self-advocates.

[|Teacher Vision] An excellent resource website where teacher's shares tips and strategies on teaching an inclusive classroom. This site is great for all content area teachers looking for ways to modify their lesson plan to accommodate each and every individual students. This tips and strategies are not based on rigorous statistical experiments but rather on the craft of teachers knowledge about "what works" with students. What works well for one student may or may not work for another, even though they have the same disability.

[|Teaching Today: Special Education in the Science Classroom] This site believes and adheres to the first and second principle stated by the National Education Science Standards. It emphasizes the importance in overcoming obstacles to achieve success in the science classroom. It specifically address, dealing with issues in the science classroom related to attention, information processing and communication, organization, social interactions, and making transitions and time. [|Science Classrooms for Students with Special Needs. ERIC Digest.] This is a wonderful article retrieved from the ERIC Digest, that focuses on the importance of science teachers collaborating and working with the SPED teachers. Creating that bond with a SPED teacher in developing IEP's, strategies, and lesson plans in the science classroom, exponentially increases the academic success of students (disabled or non-disabled) in the classroom. SPED teachers can help make the science teachers job easier by preparing the physical environment of the classroom, as well as adapting the curriculum and assessments for students with disabilities. [|Building Bridges Between Science and Special Education: Inclusion in the Science Classroom] Again, another article reiterating the importance of collaborating and working with the SPED teacher before any legally binding decisions are made on the student's IEP. This site lists a "Four Step Plan" for the science and SPED teacher to follow, in creating an inclusive classroom. [|FOSS - Full Option Science System] The FOSS website was designed in mind to provide assistance for students struggling in science and support for teachers and families. FOSS follows the National Education Science Standard principle that science is active. Thus, they design material and strategies that engages students in scientific concepts of the natural world by developing their ability to observe, analyze, think critically, and construct ideas.
 * 1st Principle: Science is for all students.
 * 2nd Principle: Learning science is an active process.
 * Collaboration between the science and SPED teacher
 * Development of effective instructional practices
 * Implementation of lessons agreed to by both teachers
 * Reviewing of lessons and necessary revisions

[|Science Activities for the Visually Impaired/Science Enrichment for Learners with Physical Handicaps (SAVI/SELPH)] The SAVI/SELPH program was originally developed to meet the science learning needs of students with disabilities, but has found significant application in regular upper-elementary classrooms.

EXTRA: From my research I realized the importance for students with disabilities to have a role model. Sometimes teacher are not able to reach their students with disabilities who feel hopeless and incapable to succeed in the classroom, in this case, by providing them with stories or videos of people with disabilities like them will give them the hope and encouragement that they too can accomplish their goals in life. Attached below are two videos to inspire students with disabilities. The first video is a slideshow listing famous people with disabilities. A great video that can be used in any classroom to inspire students with disabilities. I was surprise to see some scientists and inventors on the list. The second video is on Stephen Hawkins, a well known physicist, despite being diagnose with a motor neurone disease in 1963, he went on to become a brilliant researcher and Professor at Cambridge. Professor Hawking has over a dozen honorary degrees and was awarded recently in 2009, the Presidential Medal of Freedom the highest civilian honour in the United States . Stephen Hawking is regarded as one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists since Einstein. In this video Stephen Hawkins shares his personal beliefs in inclusion of students with disabilities in the classroom. media type="youtube" key="A9Z06EeIhFM" height="315" width="560" media type="youtube" key="imowUYQnVSY" height="315" width="560"

6. Community Based Learning Project For this CBL project, I met with an education specialist Michelle Swee at Scenic Middle School in Central Point, Oregon. Mrs. Swee is an extraordinary woman; she has a Masters degree in special education with a particular emphasis on the deaf and hard of hearing. She has been making a difference in students lives since 1976.

**OBSERVATION:**

On January 23, I was able to observe Mrs. Swee in a one-on-one session with an eighth grade girl who had a hard of hearing disability. It was supposed to be two students during this class time but the other eighth grade boy was ill that day. For confidentiality reasons I will name the girl, Amy. I observed Mrs. Swee and Amy for two periods, where the first period was Language Arts and the second period was US History. The objectives for both classes were written on the whiteboard for Amy to take notes and have an easier time to follow along.

**Today’s objectives for Language Arts were:** **For US History, the objectives were:**
 * Figuring out meanings of new words through context
 * Practice finding similes and metaphors in a text
 * Practice decoding multi-syllable words
 * Work on enunciating 10 words from homework that student are struggling with.
 * Learn how a bill becomes a law
 * Decide main ideas, details
 * Concluding sentences
 * Work on 10 new vocabulary words from the readings and work on enunciation.

These two classes are the only classes where Amy is not in a mainstream classroom. For Math, Science, Social Studies, Physical Education, and Arts she is mainstreamed. In the mainstream classrooms Amy has an interpreter who uses sign language to help her understand the material. Since she is not completely deaf (no hearing in the right ear and profound in the left) she can read lips and has a hearing aid to help hear the teacher. The hearing aid has FM capabilities, where the teacher wears a microphone and the sound is transferred directly to Amy’s hearing aids, helping Amy to comprehend the teachers voice. But if Amy misses something she can look to the interpreter and the interpreter then signs what she missed. For the students that are deaf, their attentions are focused on the interpreter the whole time and in this situation there are two interpreters for each class, so each interpreters can relieve the other every ten to fifteen minutes.

Back in the classroom with Mrs. Swee, here are some of the beneficial teaching tools I observed:
 * Worked with students on enunciating vowel combinations
 * Decode multi-syllable words
 * Shows patience with student
 * Let students figure out enunciating word properly themselves with clue offered by the teacher, i.e., when Amy was dropping a syllable on a word, Mrs. Swee would tap the desk in front of Amy to help her recognize the rhythm and the amount of syllables that were in the word.
 * Mrs. Swee spoke in a normal voice she did not talk louder just because the student was hard-of-hearing, reason was, in the real world people are not going to be talking loud all the time, so the students need to be skilled in understanding people in their normal voice.
 * Sign language when talking, whether the student knows it or not
 * Makes sure students has a clear idea what is expected of them when doing classwork as well as homework
 * Let students figure out issues while assisting them, ex., if the student is reading and makes a mistake on a word she stops the student and haves them reread the sentence with the mispronounced word, then asks the student to determine what word the think they are mispronouncing. Once the student locates it, they review the word meaning and then repeat the word multiple times until the student says the word correctly. This word is then written down for further reviews later in the term.
 * Always face the student when speaking, do not speak while writing down information on the whiteboard.
 * Use closed captions when playing videos
 * Use lots of visual aids
 * Give students more time on tests and homework
 * Give students classroom objectives prior to class a day in advance would be beneficial
 * When forming groups in your class use a one-on-one interaction, this works best for students that are hard of hearing or deaf. Since hard of hearing students have difficulties pin pointing where sounds are coming from and reading lips helps in their understanding, they can not look at more than on student at once. And for the deaf, the interpreter can only sign for one person, so if multiple students are talking at once it becomes a problem. However, if there is an order to the communicating process of the group, where one student talks first then the next, there could be more than two members per group.
 * Create an environment that has the least amount of background noises.

Later going over Amy’s IEP, Mrs. Swee pointed out the most important part for mainstream teachers. The accommodations portion:
 * Frequent checks for understanding
 * Pair auditory with visual supports
 * Preferred seating near the speaker
 * Repeat/Simplify directions
 * FM listening device

**INTERVIEW:**

The interview was on January 30. My plan was to post the video but unfortunately some of the students’ names were mentioned in the interview, so here is a typed version of the questions and answers.

**Me:** “How long have you been working with the deaf and hard of hearing?” **Mrs. Swee:** “Since 1976 till now, I did take three years off to be with my son. So that would be thirty-three years. **Me:** “What age group do you typically work with?” **Mrs. Swee:** “Well my endorsement allows me to work with students from preschool to twenty one years of age. Right now I work with 5 students at the Scenic Middle School. Four 8th graders and one 6th graders. However, I have two 3rd graders at Richardson Elementary and two 4th graders at Jewett Elementary.” **Me:** “Do you enjoy your job?” **Mrs. Swee:** “I would not do anything else, it is my love?” **Me:** “Could you give me an idea of what you do?” **Mrs. Swee:** “Every year is different. This year I teach 8th graders language arts and US history. This is my first year teaching US history, but all mainstream language arts teacher at this school is required to teach one period of US history. During the first and second period I teach US history to my three 8th graders, then third period is prep, then fourth period I teach a 6th grader and after fifth period I serve as an itinerant teacher and go to Jewett Elementary and teach two 4th graders and two 3rd graders at Richardson Elementary.” **Me:** “I have just learned about the //least restrictive environment// a critical part of the IDEA. With that in mind, I notice your students spend an x amount of time with you in a resource room, depending on their needs. Can you explain why there is not full inclusion of these particular students in the mainstream classrooms?” **Mrs. Swee:** “They are all on an IEP, they have special needs that makes it very hard for mainstream teachers with 25-35 students to meet those needs. For an example, I have a 6th grader for language arts for only one period, her needs are being met in mainstream math, science, social studies, physical education, and art classes. We try to mainstream as much as possible, creating the least restrictive environment for those students. All of which is addressed in their IEP’s.” **Me:** “Do you have a hand in developing their IEP’s?” **Mrs. Swee:** “I write them.” **Me:** “Who is involved in the IEP meetings?” **Mrs. Swee:** “Me, the parent/s, the district representative, at least one mainstream teacher, a counselor, principle, and sometimes a speech therapist.” **Me:** “Have you ever had a student with a current IEP that you believed did not need to be on one?” **Mrs. Swee:** “ I am of the opinion, if a student does not need special education, then they do not need a special education teacher, but they can get access and information, where “access” is the critical part. To answer your question, I have had students that were on an IEP’s. For an example, I had one student with only a mild hearing loss, and I found the IEP was not benefiting their educational needs. The student educational difficulties had more to do with everyday teenager issues, once it was time to address the three-year reevaluation of the student’s IEP, it was decided by the team, in the best interest of the student, was put on the student on an 504 instead. After future reevaluation on the student, the student continued to stay at grade level learning.” **Me:** “Which assessments do you find to be most helpful in diagnosing students needs?” **Mrs. Swee:** “There are not many good tests for the deaf/hard of hearing. I even brought a reading test I thought would be good but it was awful. So we have to give them a test focused toward students with out a hearing disabilities. It is the same as what we have to do for the state tests, where students have to test at their own grade level, even though my student are below grade level. So the testing is not always accurate, but we do have some good tests that are required for the IEP as well. Such as, Woodstock-Johnson tests, listening comprehension tests, and comprehension of spoken language tests. But for these students, we focus more on fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary is the big one. Also, I would like to add that everyday I assess where the students are academically. For an example, if I am using a textbook that is at a fourth grade level and they are doing fine then I know where to go from there. I can then try a fifth grade level and see how they are doing and so forth. But overall, I do not like to test these students very much they already take enough time out of their school days testing.” **Me:** “Since you have been doing this for awhile, do you learn new approaches each year or not?” **Mrs. Swee:** “Each individual student is different, so you have to teach them differently, because everyone has different learning skills. So each year I am learning new approaches, it is never a dull and very challenging.” **Me:** Do all your students have an interpreter (uses sign-language to communicate) in their mainstream classrooms?” **Mrs. Swee:** “If it is on the student IEP and the team agrees then yes. All my students have an interpreter but one.” **Me:** “Would it be easier if you had more interpreters at your disposal?” **Mrs. Swee:** Yes, but it’s a matter of the district having to approve those extra interpreters. What many do not realize, for most classes their needs to be two interpreters instead of one, since lectures go so fast, to sign at that speed is so exhausting that it takes two interpreters swapping every 10-15 minutes to relieve each other.” **Me:** “What are some of the major difficulties experiences by your students?” **Mrs. Swee:** “Social issues. It is hard for them to make friends, they make friends among themselves, but they have a hard time making friends with other students that do not have a hearing disability. Second, I would say language understanding, written language, i.e., reading.” **Me:** “Any other thoughts to help me assist students that are deaf/hard of hearing?” **Mrs. Swee:** In the mainstream, sometimes the students get overwhelmed because there is a lot of information to take in. Sometimes you have to modify the amount of homework. For an example, instead of 20 problems have them do 10, depending where they are at academically. The students are also overwhelmed with vocabulary. For an example, in my US history class we are learning about the Constitution. We are communicating the basic ideas of the Constitution, but reading it in the original version is just too overwhelming. So you try to modify it, whether it is the mainstream teacher, the interpreter, or special education teacher that does it. And you may need to modify the tests as well. I just want to make clear, when we modify to accommodate these students it is not to say the are not intelligent, these students are very intelligent, we modify a little at a time to help them progress so they can reach their full potential. You can also use pre-teaching where they students receive class objectives and material prior to the class, closed caption on all the videos that will be shown in class, face the class when you are speaking and do not speak when writing on the whiteboard. The students need to see your lips since many read lips to comprehend what you are saying, give the students plenty of time to think of answers, as well as responding, prevent environment with lots of background noises, seat them in front of the class, frequently check for understanding, pair auditory with visual supports, and the use of FM device.” **Me:** “How often do you meet and interact with your students’ parents?” **Mrs. Swee:** “It is very important to keep in contact with the parents. As far as meetings goes, I see them during the fall and spring parent conferences, yearly IEP meeting, and the 3 year reevaluation IEP meeting. Also, I am always in contact with them by phone.”

On a special note from Mrs. Swee, “Most students that are deaf or hard of hearing are also diagnosed as having other disabilities or learning disabilities. Such as autism, ADD/ADHD, and TBI. It is very rare to have a student that is just deaf or hard of hearing; usually there are more issues involved. Thus it requires teachers to be sensitive and perceptive to their needs.”

**Conclusion:**

Before the interview I had the opportunity to meet with all of Mrs. Swee amazing students and share my life experiences with them. Like them, I am hard of hearing and I experienced the same situations they are going through. Mrs. Swee was my special education teacher from the time I was five years old till I was sixteen. She was the one who suggested I speak in front of her students about my life’s story. It was good for them to hear my story of how I lost my hearing, graduated high school and college, married, had kids, worked various jobs, and how I am continuing my education today. I can remember being in their shoes and wondering if I could live a “normal” life. Mrs. Swee said to me it is good for them to have a role model. After sharing my story her students asked me many questions, as well as share their own stories. One 8th grade boy had a similar experience losing his hearing as I did at a young age. I was amazed on how well some of the students could speak. One 6th grade girl was born completely deaf and received a cochlear implant at the age of 2. And was speaking so well I was blown away. I would have never guessed she had a hearing disability. Once the bell rang for class to be dismissed the students were sad they had to go, and asked my to come back to see them again, which deeply touched me. Afterward, Mrs. Swee was so moved by the reactions of her students. She told me one of her students never opens up to anyone. Yet she decided to share her life’s story with me, as well as ask me many questions. This was such a memorable experience for me, one I will not forget. Before this Community Based Learning (CBL) Project, I had the notion that all students with a particular disability could be taught in the same way, but what I obtained from observing Mrs. Swee and interviewing her, was no two students are alike. They may show the same kind of symptoms that are associated with the deaf or hard-of-hearing community. But their learning needs varies depending on each individual. Therefore, I now have a better understanding of what procedures, assessments, and tools I can use to help me create a //least restrictive environment// by assisting students that are deaf/hard-of-hearing, in my mainstream classroom. I now know that being a patience teacher, with students of any kind of disabilities, is essential. It is the first step in making a connection with them, by taking time to know who they are as a learner and what they are capable of.

//"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge."// Albert Einstein