See attachments for discussion instructions.
After reading the chapters in the text and the article, “Ten Research-Based Tips for Enhancing Literacy Instruction for Students with Intellectual Disabilities” provided in the Learn section, identify at least two important factors to consider when planning instruction for students with intellectual disabilities.
(She didn’t provide the article so I’m not sure what she is talking about)
An intellectual disability affects the mental abilities of a person. It affects their intelligence, ability to learn, and their ability to perform tasks of daily living. (Boyle & Scanlon, 2019) We can see how learning would look differently for someone with an intellectual disability. It is important to consider students with intellectual disabilities when planning instruction. As an educator, we should want to meet the needs of all of our students. Planning ahead is the key to successfully teaching a lesson that will benefit the entire class.
The article “Ten Research-Based Tips for Enhancing Literacy Instruction for Students with Intellectual Disabilities”, was very informative and gave many ideas that I had not thought of. It will be a tremendous tool for the future. The article shares the tip to seek out professional development opportunities. This is a very valuable tip. We as educators should always be looking for ways to expand our education. We should be staying up to date on new advances and ideas to help our students succeed. There are so many areas a student could be struggling in. Early intervention is the key to helping students overcome a learning disability. By continuously seeking out opportunities for professional development, we can stay on top of education trends. It will allow us to better plan and construct our lessons in a way that is beneficial to every student. The article shared that language abilities are the underlying foundation for reading skills. This should be thought out when planning instruction. The article explained a student’s language barriers should be considered when planning a reading lesson. Another tip the article shared is to set goals that can be measured and are meaningful. I have learned throughout this course that lessons need to be measurable. How can we determine if our students are progressing and understanding the lessons if we do not set a measurable goal? Measurable goals allow an educator to see where a student may be struggling and helps to determine how to help. Without a measurable goal, it is difficult to determine how effective a lesson was. While the tips the article shares are useful for helping students with intellectual disabilities, they can also help students without an intellectual disability. I look forward to using these tips in my lesson planning.
Reference:
Boyle, J. & Scanlon, D. (2019). Methods and Strategies for Teaching Students with High Incidence Disabilities (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage.
Lemons, C. J., Allor, J. H., Al Otaiba, S., & LeJeune, L. M. (2016). 10 Research-Based Tips for Enhancing Literacy Instruction for Students With Intellectual Disability. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 49(1), 18-30. https://doi.org/10.1177/0040059916662202Links to an external site.
The two literacy instruction tips that stuck out as most important to me for students with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) were number two and number ten. The article touched on many important factors but those two felt most important to me. Number two in the article explains, “Ensure you have a clear picture of the student’s current level of functioning and set meaningful, measurable goals” (Lemons, J. Christoper. Et al. 2016). As a teacher of students with ID, a good starting place to begin setting goals is looking at their Individualized Education Program (IEP). The measurable annual goals will be listed on the student’s IEP, so it is helpful for the teacher to align their instruction with the student’s goals. By aligning measurable goals with literacy instruction, targeted instruction and progress monitoring can be easily achieved. Students with ID will need flexibility and achievable goals to progress academically.
The second tip, that stuck out more than the first, was number ten, “Involve service providers and family members. Students with ID can have several services that can aid in meeting literacy goals. An example of this could be that there’s a student who is wheelchair-bound. She is unable to hold a pencil but does incredibly well with verbal communication. One form of assistant technology is a voice-to-text application on a Chromebook. This technology would allow this student to meet her personal education goals through assistive technology. School services, such as Occupational Therapy, can help these students within their current ability to acquire the skills to meet their goals.
The other part of number ten is the involvement of family members. Parent or guardian involvement is so important to meeting educational goals. Parental input can help educators streamline services for their children, and aid in receiving additional services inside the home. Parents can be a huge source of information When families are involved, teachers can find out what works and doesn’t work in their home for the student and bring that knowledge into the classroom. From experience, when students with ID know their parents are close to their teachers and involved in decision-making, there’s relief and comfort in that for the students.
Finally, literacy instruction for students with ID can be successful by mapping sounds, using multisensory strategies, engaging students, and accommodating the learning needs of these students. The student’s IEP is a great place to start to find their measurable goals for the year. Involving services and family members allows students to reach greater success in literacy.
Reference:
Christopher J. Lemons, Jill H. Allor, Stephanie Al Otaiba, and Lauren M. LeJeune. (2016). Teaching Exceptional Children. 10 Research-Based Tips for Enhancing Literacy Instruction for Students With Intellectual Disability. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1118428.pdfLinks to an external site.