How do you check for understanding
when a student can not respond to you because they can not speak? How
would you educate a student if they were incapable of hearing
anything you say because they have a hearing impairment? Being able
to adapt and modify your class lesson to meet the specific needs of
your student is crucial to educating a student with a disability. As
a matter of fact, according to Rachel Janney and Martha Snell, “Some
students with cognitive, neurological, physical, or social-behavioral
disabilities require individualized adaptations to enable them to
learn skills and knowledge appropriate to their age and abilities”
(2006). Therefore, accommodations and modifications of a teacher's
lesson plan must be in place to make sure that no student is left
behind.
One of the most important parts of a
teacher's lesson plan is where the teacher plans on extending or
refining their lesson to improve student performance. Refining a
lesson is important to help your students if they are having trouble
understanding or working with your lesson. On the contrary, when
students are not being challenged, they can get bored and lack
motivation to participate in class. This is the when a teacher makes
plans to extend their lesson to make it more challenging.
If students are still having trouble
with your lesson even when your refinements have been used, then
modifications should be made. Modifications is important in a lesson
plan because it helps the teacher work with a student with a
disability. Just like in the video, “How Assistive TechnologyEnables Dreams,” students need modifications in order to keep up
with typical students in class. The recommended modification by
Susanna Martini, a student from the University of Washington that is
diagnosed with cerebral palsy, would be tables with adjustable
height levels or a laptop that has voice recognition. Susanna claims
that these assistive technology is the foundation of her life:
laptops enabled her to complete her written assignments (“How
Assistive Technology Enables Dreams,” n.d.).
Another example of modifications
provided in the video took place in Redwood Heights Elementary. The
students were provided with devices that could speak for them.
Interestingly, one of the tools allowed a student to do their
assignments in the classroom with the twitch of their eyebrow.
Not only do modifications have to be
made in the classroom, modifications also need to be made in the
gymnasium. Students who have problems seeing may have trouble during
a volleyball forearm passing lesson, or students with osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone) may want to learn how to catch a ball. In
a mainstream classroom, modifications must be made to help these
students with the lesson that is being taught. Special equipment
like soft cushion balls, or balls with bells in them may help modify
your lesson to achieve learning for all students.
Unfortunately, schools may not have
equipment readily available for students with special needs.
Therefore, quick modifications can be done, like using balloons or
beach balls for the student with osteogenesis imperfecta. And for
students with vision impairments, a quick modification could be made
by changing the sequence of the lesson; bumping the ball in a
stationary position rather than tossing it to the student.
In addition to modifying a lesson to a
student with a disability, there must be a different evaluation for
the student as well. Criteria in the evaluation would be different
depending on what is expected from the student, which is mentioned in
the Individualized Education Program (IEP). When creating criteria,
student goals listed in the IEP must be met. Otherwise, the teacher
must explain to the parent or administrator why they could not meet
the student's goal.
In conclusion, educators must be aware
that their lessons might not meet all the needs of their students.
By providing accommodations and modifications to lesson plans, a
teacher is giving their best effort in educating all their students.
And at the end of the day, a teacher can sleep soundly, knowing that
no child was left behind.
How Assistive Technology Enables Dreams. (n.d.). Edutopia.
Retrieved March 19, 2014, from
http://www.edutopia.org/assistive-technology-enabling-dreams-video
Janney, R. E., & Snell, M. E.
(2006). Modifying schoolwork in inclusive classrooms. Theory
Into Practice, 45(3),
215–223. doi:10.1207/s15430421tip4503_3
