The Claim

Social skills are an important element of classroom management and should be taught in the same manner as academic skills.

The Facts

Social skills development is an important aspect of schooling and plays a large role in academic achievement, peer interactions, and the ability to behave appropriately in school. Researchers such as Drs. Terry Scott and James Kauffman have described in detail the link between academics and behavior within the classroom setting. Students are often expected to come to school with the skills necessary to get along and interact with peers, follow directions from adults, and behave appropriately during instructional activities. This, however, is not often the case. As a result, social skills instruction tends to become a part of the “hidden curriculum” in that it is not taught explicitly to students within the classroom context.

Drs. Melissa Miller and Nicole Fenty have explored the development of social skills instruction, and found that like the development of any other instruction, social skills instruction consists of planning, instructional delivery, and assessment. Planning for social skills instruction involves planning for both logistics and content. Logistical concerns include when and where training will take place, as well as who will be involved and the length of training. Planning for instructional content involves consideration of the nature of the problem and the corresponding content of instruction. Instructional planning must consider what skills will be taught, the range of variation in those skills, selection and sequencing of examples and non-examples, and practice in the natural environment. Delivery of instruction begins with the introduction of a new skill to students and continues with modeling and the facilitation of practice with feedback. In the beginning behavior is largely controlled by teacher praise but, over time, praise is faded and behaviors are more and more reinforced solely by naturally occurring events. For this to be effective, it is crucial that feedback during instruction remains consistent and constructive by acknowledging success and providing correction and re-teaching in the face of errors. Assessment is the mechanism by which we determine whether our efforts have been successful and thus, teachers must assess instruction in a formative manner to continually evaluate student mastery. At the acquisition level, teachers are interested in whether students understand and can consistently demonstrate the appropriate skill. Once mastered, teacher attention turns to assessment of student behavior over time (maintenance) and in varying contexts (generalization). As a general rule of thumb, the more students are evaluated in various contexts and conditions, and then provided with immediate and constructive feedback, the more likely students are to demonstrate maintenance and generalization of skills.

Classifying social skills deficits into acquisition or performance categories also helps to design instruction based on student need. An acquisition deficit is when the student lacks the skill knowledge and ability, whereas a performance deficit is when the student has the skills but elects not use them. In the case of skill deficits, instruction will involve teaching students how to act in and react to social situations. For students who possess but choose not to perform skills, instruction will focus more on when (antecedent contexts) and why (consequences) to use skills rather than how. In either case, it is clear that these students need explicit instruction that provides alternatives to antisocial behaviors and facilitates an increase in the amount of positive social interaction they experience with their teachers and peers.

The model-lead-test method can be used to teach social skills. This type of successful social skills instruction includes an eight-step lesson format that includes modeling, role playing, and opportunities to practice or test for skill acquisition. Here are the eight steps:

• Step 1: Name or identify the skill that will be taught. When introducing the skill, it is important to discuss the rationale for the skill so students see the relevance of learning the skill (Gresham, 1998). Students can brainstorm examples for why the skill is important.
• Step 2: Define the skill by stating the rule for the skill. By stating the rule for using the skill, students learn when and in what situations to use the skill.
• Step 3: Break the skill components down into step-by-step procedures for completing the skill. Skill components can be taught in isolation, with one presented per day so that all students have the opportunity to learn each component for mastery. For social skills that have components that are already in the students’ repertoire, those components can be reviewed and new components added.
• Step 4: Define the skill component to be taught for each day’s lesson. This occurs when breaking skill components down to teach one per day and is particularly important for skills that have complex components.
• Step 5: Demonstrate use of the skill and model within the natural context of the skill. The teacher arranges a role play with another student or adult and assigns roles to students so that each child is responsible for monitoring a specific skill component.
• Step 6: Facilitate appropriate skill use by the student through effective rehearsal with assistance. Role playing is commonly used during this phase, giving the child the opportunity to practice the skill without fear of social rejection or failure. At this point, it is critical for students to receive positive feedback when they perform the skill correctly. Students should practice only correct examples of the targeted social skill, and should be corrected immediately if they demonstrate inappropriate use of the skill.
• Step 7: Provide the opportunity for students to practice the skill without prompts or cues during a role-play situation that they have not yet encountered. During this phase, students can also be exposed to variations of the skill to test their ability to state the critical rule and apply it in a variety of situations. The testing phase allows the teacher to check student understanding of the critical rule for the skill and use of skill components without teacher assistance.
• Step 8: Assign homework. Give students the opportunity to practice the skill in another setting, which ensures that they are able to generalize the skills learned. Additionally, by assigning homework, the teacher involves parents and siblings in the home environment, adding to the list of individuals who can provide support and feedback for skill use in other situations and settings.

Conclusion

The claim stated in this week’s blog is fact. The goal of social skills instruction is to promote social success in children who demonstrate skill deficits. When a social skill is learned through observation, using a method that includes modeling, students have the opportunity to learn how to demonstrate the skill to obtain positive social outcomes for displaying social competence. Teacher support for student development of social skills is a vital component of success in the classroom and should be a priority for all classroom settings.

The Claim

Most student misbehaviors cannot be untaught or changed.

The Facts

Within the field of education, it is generally agreed upon that students enter the classroom with various background experiences. This includes all of the things they have learned at home, in previous classrooms, from their peer groups, and from other environmental influences such as television, movies, and the Internet. Many teachers are faced with teaching in classrooms in which students bring numerous experiences, both good and bad, into the instructional arena, making academic instruction even more difficult. These experiences affect not only academic performance, but also behavioral function as well. Often, teachers feel helpless in dealing with these behavior problems, as it is the belief that children are the product of the experiences they bring into the classroom, and there is little that can be done to change it. Our last discussion on behavior management addressed ways in which teachers can influence student behavior before the students even walk through the classroom door. In this discussion, we will present ideas on how teachers can teach appropriate behaviors to replace the misbehaviors that prevent instruction from occurring. Patricia Barbetta, Kathleen Leong Norona, and David Picard provide some useful strategies for dealing with common misbehaviors.

First and foremost, teachers need to develop clear definitions for student behaviors based on the function of the behavior. In order to develop good behavioral strategies, it is important to determine what the student is gaining from the misbehavior. How many times have you asked yourself, “Why did he/she do that?” If you ask students this question, they often will tell you they don’t know. Once you’ve ruled out a medical or diagnosable reason for the misbehavior (hyperactivity or psychological disorder) you can easily determine the cause of the misbehavior. Misbehaviors usually occur for one of two reasons: to get something or to avoid something. Once you determine what it is the student is seeking or avoiding, you can develop a strategy to help the student get what they want, while still meeting the academic and behavioral expectations of the classroom. Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence (ABC) charts are commonly used to help teachers collect the “data” they need to determine the function of the behavior. Teachers can easily become data collectors within their own classrooms by creating one of these ABC charts. They are easily found on the internet, along with the instructions on how to fill it out. For an example, see this ABC chart (opens in PDF) from Special Connections at the University of Kansas.

Second, once you’ve decided on an approach or strategy, if it is not working, try another method. For too long, we attempt strategies that work on other children hoping it will work with everyone. Students are different, as their behavioral challenges are different, so sometimes we need to try various strategies until one works. You can tell an approach is not working when the behavior remains unchanged. Keep working at different strategies or reinforcers until you discover the one thing that brings about the positive changes you are looking for. Additionally, our first instinct is to provide negative consequences for misbehavior when we should instead increase praise for appropriate behaviors. Teacher praise is one of the most powerful elements in your classroom management arsenal, and it is free and very easy to apply.

Finally, it is important to determine if the misbehavior you are trying to correct is the result of a skill the student does not have in their repertoire. Behaviors can be classified as can’t dos or won’t dos. Does the student possess the ability to perform the appropriate behavior but chooses not to (won’t do), or does he/she not have the knowledge of the skill and needs to be taught the skill explicitly (can’t do). In the case of won’t do behaviors, reinforce the student in question, and any other student in the classroom each time the behavior is exhibited appropriately. In the case of can’t do behaviors, you will have to teach the skill much like you teach academics.

1. First, model the appropriate behavior you want the student to exhibit.
2. Second, provide opportunities to practice with feedback.
3. Next, provide the context for the student to try out the skill, and then finally, “test” the skill by observing the student’s use of the skill. Although this seems time consuming, this type of behavioral instruction will enable teachers to play a more proactive role in classroom management than simply applying negative consequences each time the misbehavior occurs.

Conclusion

This week’s claim is fiction. Teachers can systematically change student behavior with the right practice. The key to changing student behavior first deals with understanding the cause of the behavior. Once the cause of the behavior is established, teachers can strategically approach the problem with a form of behavior management as mentioned above. Although frustrating and time consuming, teachers should not look at student misbehavior as a road block to classroom management and instruction. Instead I offer that it should be seen simply as a detour. Although the detour takes you a little longer and might be somewhat inconvenient, with a little patience and proper guidance, in the end you will still reach your final destination.

The Claim

Teachers have no influence over students’ behavior, so very little can be done to change it.

The Facts

Classroom management problems are consistently identified by teachers as one of the most common barriers to successful instruction in inclusive classrooms. As class sizes grow and the demands on teachers increase, many teachers begin to feel there is little they can do to control misbehavior in their classrooms. Additionally, today’s teachers have the ultimate responsibility of teaching students with not only diverse learning and behavioral needs, but students who come from diverse cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds. The most difficult aspect of this is often that teachers must juggle all of these responsibilities within the walls of one classroom environment. As a result, many teachers feel that they lose control of the behaviors in their classrooms, leaving them feeling helpless during instructional times.

Teacher educators such as Patricia Barbetta have identified some common mistakes that teachers make in establishing classroom and behavior management systems for their students. Many teachers develop the misconception that they have very little control over their students’ behavior. This couldn’t be further from the truth. There are many things that teachers can do to establish positive classroom supports before students enter the classroom. In fact, teachers who take a more proactive approach to classroom management by establishing clear classroom rules, expectations, and consequences often notice improvements in academics and increased instructional time. Another way teachers can influence student behavior is through collaboration with parents, other teachers, and school staff.

The use of class rules plays a key role in systems of behavior management. The most common mistake teachers make, however, is that they tend to create and post these rules at the beginning of the school year and never address them again. There are actually some rules for creating classroom rules!

1. First, effective class rules should actually be used to teach students the behaviors you want them to perform.
2. Secondly, you should have only a few class rules-about four to six so that students remember them easily.
3. Next, students will take ownership of the class rules if they have helped create them, so include them in creating some of the rules.
4. Another rule of thumb is to make sure class rules are stated clearly and specifically.
5. Finally, class rules should be stated in positive terms-students should know what you want them to do, not what you don’t want them to do.

Once you have followed these simple rules for rule making, you should post them prominently and teach the class rules, providing opportunities for students to practice. Review the rules frequently, especially after long breaks or when new students enter the classroom.

Establishing clear and consistent expectations and consequences is often overlooked. We often teach what rules are in the classroom, but students sometimes do not have a clear understanding of what happens when they are not followed. Reviewing and rehearsing the class rules and expectations is especially important for students with learning and behavior problems, especially when there are temporary changes to these expectations due to schedule changes. There is no point in having class rules if they are not reinforced when followed or backed up with negative consequences when students do not comply. One rule of thumb is to praise students when they comply with rules continuously at first and then randomly after students have learned the behavior. When rules are broken, consequences should be applied continually, each and every time the rule is broken. When a rule is broken, it is important to review the rule and provide an opportunity for the student to demonstrate that he or she can follow the rule.

Collaborating with other teachers, staff members, and even parents is another way that teachers can influence student behavior. As a teacher you are not the only adult who comes in contact with the student, so it is important not to bear the brunt of behavior management on your own. Most teachers who teach students with various learning and behavior problems tend to feel burned out quickly and easily when they feel they are unsupported in the classroom. By letting the other teachers, staff members, and teachers know your class rules and behavioral expectations, they will be aware of what students need to do to be successful. Fellow teachers can also provide insights into a child’s behavior if they are experiencing the same problem when they teach the same student, so scheduling frequent collaborative meetings is important to compare notes. Along those same lines, it is also important to schedule parent-teacher conferences so that parents are made aware of both academic and behavioral progress in the classroom. Too many times, parents are unaware of behavior problems existing in the classroom and are willing to provide the support necessary for students. By making all adults aware of a child’s problem behavior, as well as the steps being made to correct it, the behavior is more likely to be managed.

The Conclusion

This week’s claim is fiction. Problem behaviors can be influenced and changed by teachers who take a more proactive stance in behavior management. From the first day of school, and even before the students enter the classroom door, teachers can take steps to ensure that some behaviors are not given the opportunity to occur. Through careful planning of classroom rules and supports, teachers can ensure that students are provided with clear and specific expectations for behavior. Although it is often easier to try to address these problems singlehandedly, collaborating with the adults who are also responsible for the child is often necessary to bring about positive changes in behavior.

We’re taking this week off for UNC’s fall break, but will be back next week with a new post.

The claim

Pacing guides are ineffective when dealing with students with disabilities.

The facts

Teachers today often face significant amounts of pressure from school districts to cover specific material in order to provide students with the best opportunity to succeed in standardized tests on specific subjects. This pressure is often stressful and even overly demanding for teachers to follow, especially with a wide range of student learning abilities. One specific tool used throughout classrooms across the country and worldwide is Pacing guides.

Pacing guides are standardized lists for planning learning objects into units. They also assign specific amounts of time to be spent on specific learning objectives, often specifying number of days or even hours and minutes in some circumstances. Different school settings have different ways of forming of these pacing guides; however, the majority of pacing guides are formed through a collaborative effort amongst teachers, counselors, and even administrative personnel. It is through this collaboration between professionals that pacing guides should be developmentally and age appropriate and encourage the input of teachers in the classroom. These pacing guides should typically be used by all teachers teaching the same subjects in a school in order to assure that all students are learning the same material.

Although pacing guides are widely used throughout school systems, they spark some controversy as to how effective they actually are. Do they hurt students and teachers more than they help? Much of the criticism of pacing guides begins with the issue of pressuring teachers and students to cover everything required in the suggested amount of time. This restricted amount of time brings about concern for teachers because, as previously discussed, students learn at different rates. Students with disabilities are of specific concern for these pacing guides: Because these students may struggle to master the material as quickly as their typically developing peers, remediation of instruction is often deemed necessary.

The following are some claims, positive and negative, associated with pacing guides that are described in educational research. It should be noted that these are just observations from the literature and not necessarily applicable in all cases.

Positives of pacing guides

• group learning objectives into units for evaluation
• allocate time to each unit
• create a sequence of units in calendar format
• structure classroom curriculum
• cover material included in end-of-grade tests
• give students a structured outline of the class for reference
• through collaboration, highlight the most important material in subjects
• well thought out and organized
• make lesson planning easier on teachers

Negatives of pacing guides

• time restrictive
• provide no room for leeway
• too rigid
• do not consider different learning rates
• may not allow time for remediation
• take away from creativity — both student and teacher

Conclusion

According to the research, the claim appears to be fiction, if pacing guides are implemented appropriately in the classroom. When teaching students with learning difficulties, remediation is a vital part of student mastery of material. Therefore, pacing guides can be appropriate only when they include time for remediation. Although not all students will need this remediation, it is imperative that students with difficulties get this extra attention to detail in order to learn specific material. During this remediation time, alternative assignments can be given to the students who do not need the remediation, allowing them to still be active in the classroom and perhaps even take part in peer tutoring.

In order to be effective, pacing guides also need to be well organized and detailed, while still leaving room for change, restructuring, and creativity on the part of both teacher and student. Teacher creativity is vital for job satisfaction and students should be encouraged to be creative with their work. Restructuring should also be a key aspect to an effective pacing guide because there are times when some material will not appeal to students as much as other material. Pacing guides should be able to incorporate this variable by being adaptable to allow for more time on topics of interest while sticking to material appropriate in the curriculum.

Although certainly not a foolproof tool, pacing guides can be very effective in classrooms, even those with students with disabilities. It is critical, however, that these guides are appropriately formed and implemented, taking into consideration the different learning rates of students. Overall, it may be difficult and stressful for teachers to use pacing guides, but it is not impossible and should be considered as a potentially valuable resource.

The Claim

Students have preferred learning styles so teaching to these preferred styles will increase academic success.

The Facts

The theory of learning styles has been around since the 1960s and proposes that children learn in one of three ways: visually, auditorially, or kinesthetically. Therefore, it should be known that because of these different styles, students should be taught in multiple ways as opposed to just one specific way. According to James Witte, Ph.D., founder of the Institute of Learning Styles Research, there are three different learning styles:

• Cognitive - how we think about what we are learning
• Affective - how we feel about what we are learning
• Perceptual - how we perceive our environment in relation to our learning

However, what we call learning styles in the classroom (visual, auditory, kinesthetic) are actually types of the perceptual learning style. This involves using the different senses to influence the way that children obtain information from the classroom environment.

There is a lack of empirical evidence and research that has proven that students learn best when taught in one particular perceptual learning style. Here is what is known about the way children learn:

• Every student has strengths and weaknesses in learning. This is especially important to remember when dealing with students with disabilities.
• All students can learn through some method.
• Instructional environments vary from classroom to classroom.
• Teachers’ instructional methods vary from class to class and often between subjects.

There is a danger in classifying students by learning style because it can result in a tendency toward pigeonholing students with these labels. It’s not uncommon to hear, “Johnny is a visual learner, so he does better in math” or “Jenny likes to move around and is a kinesthetic learner, so she needs to be taught using hands-on activities rather than lecture-type instruction.” Additionally, auditory learners are often viewed as being better at language arts, English, and social studies. Consequently, when a child is labeled with one particular learning style, it is often done through limited experience with one method of learning, or by making predictions about the ways in which teachers or parents think the student learns best. Additionally, there are many exceptions to these rules because children have strengths and weaknesses in a variety of areas.

Here are some really good points that illustrate why teachers should NOT teach strictly to specific learning styles:

• If a teacher uses auditory repetition and representation to teach geography to a child who is an auditory learner, the lack of visual representation of states, countries, or continents might lead to some problems. How will the student recognize them? Not being taught to visually recognize this material does not serve the student’s best interest.
• When teaching a visual learner the sounds of letters so they can learn to read, is it possible to only teach using the letters without the sounds? The student should be taught using multiple methods.

Instead of focusing on the ways in which we think children learn best, we should focus on two important things:

• Providing a balance of learning opportunities in the classroom so that children have opportunities to learn content in a variety of ways, and through different sensory experiences.
• Rather than focusing on the manner in which we think a student learns best, it is better to have a deeper understanding of the ways in which we know the student struggles or the student’s areas of weakness.

Here are some examples of ways teachers can address learning styles for all children in the classroom:

• For children who struggle either auditorially or visually with following directions, provide the directions in written, multi-step format on the board while reading them aloud to reiterate important parts of the directions.
• When using charts or graphs to illustrate lessons, demonstrate the illustration visually and out loud so that students understand the ways in which the diagram works and how the parts relate to one another. They may also benefit from working to put pieces of the chart or diagram together themselves using puzzle-like pieces.
• Some students struggle with activities that involve touching or doing because they have tactile weaknesses or physical disabilities that prevent them from participating in such activities. Still others have sensory issues with certain materials. And still more students may struggle with these activities because of the overwhelming need to touch and fidget with everything, making learning unconstructive in these situations. These children may benefit from more language-based learning experiences with verbal steps repeated.

Many teachers have learned to differentiate instruction using a combination of all three learning styles embedded within lessons. Here are some ways to accomplish this:

• Create learning centers that contain a variety of ways in which students can have access to the same material. Provide a book that children can read, but also place a taped recording of the book at the center so that students can read along while listening to the story being read aloud. Allow for movement activities during story time in which students can “act out” the story.
• For younger students, place word cards on items around the room so that they can learn the names and words for common classroom items, as well as their location in the room.
• Provide highlighting tape to highlight words in texts so that students can work on vocabulary in centers.
• Have students work in groups or pairs to practice reading silently and then aloud to one another. Group work is beneficial for learners of all types.

Conclusion

This week’s claim contains both fact and fiction. Although students often do demonstrate preferred ways in learning different content, this preference can vary across subjects. The most important thing to do is know a child’s strengths and weaknesses, and to provide a balanced approach to instruction that does not rely heavily on one style of teaching over another. A strongly encouraged and supported teaching method is to include the use of multiple-sense instruction. This type of teaching can allow students to retain the information through a variety of ways which can enhance their learning experience. Learning styles should be thought of in terms of the content we teach to students, not as the students themselves.

This post responds to some comments made about the “Student-Teacher Ratio” post. Therefore this post will not follow the blog’s typical fact-or-fiction format. Future posts will resume with the original format unless otherwise noted. Thank you for your comments, and I hope this exchange will continue throughout this blog.

Part II
It is clear that having desirable student-teacher ratios in classrooms is restricted due to current budget cuts and policy across the board. It is also clear that maintaining the ideal student-teacher ratio (described previously as 3:1 or 1:1) is not always attainable for teachers, especially for those teaching students with special needs in inclusive classrooms. Therefore it is imperative for educators to come up with increasingly strategic ways to reduce that ratio to the best of their ability. One particular way to reduce that ratio is through group work. Research supports the effectiveness of group work in the classroom, as it provides alternative ways for students to learn. Group work also reduces the amount of stress teachers put on themselves to manage a large number of students. By creating groups, teachers create an environment in which students can monitor each other, work together, and learn from each other. Research in the field of group dynamics highlight several characteristics to develop productive and well-structured groups.

• Clear expectations: Students should know what is expected of the groups. Teachers should provide guidelines for group expectations and processes.
• Shared leadership and responsibility: All students in the groups should be held responsible for their individual contributions. They should all strive to actively participate and contribute.
• Open communication: All students should feel comfortable sharing their opinions and work with others in the group. The group should serve as a sounding board for ideas and opinions.

One particular example of group work that is supported by research is the formation of literature circles. Literature circles are formed when small groups of students (preferably 5 or 6) discuss books or texts. For example, in English classes, a list of books can be developed from which students are to select one to read. Literature circles can then be formed including students who choose particular books. Some important characteristics of literature circles:

• Students have a choice in material: Although this factor is not always the case if literature circles are focusing on course texts or specific material, student choice in the material will increase their initial level of interest in the group and can lead to increased participation.
• Regular schedules and predictability: According to research, literature circles work most effectively when all students understand the format. Initial sessions should cover the more basic formalities of the expectations for the group so that later sessions allow students to have opportunities to expand their discussions.
• Notes should be used as guides for students: Students should be instructed to take notes during the readings. The format for these notes could be instructed by the teacher or left up to the students themselves. The purpose of these notes is for students to keep a log of their thoughts on the material and serve as a reminder of important issues they want to bring up during the literature circle.
• Students create discussion topics: It is vital in literature circles that the students come up with the topics for discussion regarding the material. This puts students in the role of facilitators during the literature circle. The teacher’s role in this scenario can be to oversee the discussion topics on a daily basis to make sure the students are on track with their discussions and still benefiting from the conversations — but not to take away student freedom.

An important part of the success of literature circles is the different roles students can have. Having a variety of clearly defined roles helps students understand their particular assignments each week/lesson. Roles allow students the opportunity to stake a claim in the group discussion by focusing on one particular aspect of the literature circle. Harvey Daniels describes several different roles that can be included in the literature circle. These roles should alternate between students for different weeks or lessons accordingly. This ensures that each student has the opportunity to take part in the different aspects of the literature circle, so that the work distribution remains relatively even throughout the class. For students with learning or behavioral problems, it is particularly important that they participate in all of the roles so as to seem just as competent in the different areas as all other students. The following are some common roles that can be assigned within the literature circles and brief descriptions of their responsibilities.

Connector

The connector’s job is to relate what is read to the students’ own lives and experiences, as well as to other materials read for class and to the world itself.

Questioner

The questioner’s job is to write down some questions regarding the assignment. This person’s task is to try to create questions that the group can discuss and perhaps questions that lead to future discussion.

Literary luminary

This person’s job is to find and highlight a couple of key sections of the reading for the group to discuss. The student in this role should identify these areas and note why they picked those specific points, as well as their reasoning for the discussion.

Illustrator

This person is responsible for creating some kind of graphic or image that applies to or summarizes the material covered. This person has the freedom to illustrate visually the significance of topics in the material read.

Summarizer

The summarizer’s responsibility is to briefly summarize the readings. This person is key in establishing the topics of interest for the assignments as well as providing a reference for future study.

Although these are some examples of the different kinds of roles that can be assigned to students in literature circles, it is important to note that they are not the only ones and do not have to be incorporated in all literature circles. As a teacher, you have the ability to adapt these roles according to the topic of the material read. For instance, science teachers creating literature circles for class texts might use different roles than perhaps an English teacher using this format to discuss a novel.

A common concern for teachers of students with learning or behavior problems when it comes to group work deals with making sure these students participate the appropriate amount. One way literature circles address this concern is through the alternating roles. Each week/lesson, each student takes on a different role, which ensures that each student does the same amount of work as everyone else.

Another concern teachers may have deals with particular weaknesses these students have in certain areas. For example: Perhaps a particular student struggles with summarizing text in writing, but has an aptitude for the arts. The teacher might want to start this student in the role of illustrator the first week, emphasizing her ability to draw or artistically represent the material. This enables the student to start off the group experience in a positive manner by showing the group her aptitude for art. Additionally, through group participation, this student will have something to refer to as a guide when she moves into the role of the summarizer.

Having examples to refer to when they move into different roles can allow these struggling students to have more confidence in their ability to contribute to the group. With this kind of group work teachers also have the opportunity to strategically map out when they need to pay more attention to particular struggling students. If one of their struggling students has a more detail-oriented role for the upcoming lesson, teachers can set aside time to help these students in a more intimate setting — perhaps working with a student one-on-one to fulfill the duties of the student’s role, or working with a particular group of struggling learners from different groups.

Additional information on Literature Circles can be found in:
Daniels, H. (2002). Literature Circles: Voice and Choice in Book Clubs & Reading Groups. Maine, Stenhouse Publishers.

The claim

Students with learning and behavioral problems learn better in classrooms with smaller student-teacher ratios.

The facts

Part of the Individuals with Disabilities Act says that it is necessary to ensure that all students receive a fair chance at learning. This necessity means that each student should be allowed to participate in a classroom setting that is most beneficial to their individual needs. According to the research, small group instruction is extremely advantageous when dealing with students with learning problems. Small group instruction consists of reducing student-teacher ratio to a more manageable number, which creates a number of benefits. The following are some of the benefits of reducing student-teacher ratio:

• Makes efficient use of time when delivering instructions: One misconception about special education is that instruction must always be slower in order for students to understand. This is not always the case, especially when dealing with students with behavioral problems. Often students can become bored during instruction and their attention can shift from the topic at hand. Reducing student-teacher ratio allows for more effective time use when instructing students, which helps keep their attention focused.
• Allows for more personal interaction between students and teachers: Research has documented the success of one-on-one instruction concerning students with disabilities. Unfortunately, achieving a one-on-one situation is typically out of reach for a general education teacher. The research also claims, however, that small group instruction can be just as effective as one-on-one instruction. Students in small groups still experience a more personal relationship with the teacher through more direct instruction.
• Allows students to learn from each other: One of the negatives of one-on-one instruction between a student and a teacher is that it eliminates the experiences gained by all students when they interact with each other in groups. Students with disabilities in particular benefit from sharing experiences with their typically developing peers. Students with disabilities experience observational learning from others that they would not experience in a one-on-one setting. Therefore, in addition to the more intimate instruction they are receiving from their teachers, these students would be exposed to the opportunity to learn from and get to know their classmates.
• Encourages independence as a learner: According to researchers, students with disabilities show an increased success rate in a reduced student-teacher ratio setting. These successes in the classroom often result in the students’ having increased independence. After experiencing academic success, these students can become more confident in their abilities and appear more competent in the eyes of their typically developing peers in the classroom. This view can lead to an increase in social acceptance for those struggling learners, which is key for these students to continue to achieve in the school setting.
• Allows for increased teacher and peer feedback: Reducing student-teacher ratio allows for more interaction between the entire group and the teacher. The teacher can provide more detailed feedback concerning particular areas of concern for students with disabilities. This increase in feedback allows these students to feel more comfortable in the classroom and increases student ownership in their work. In addition to teacher feedback, there is also more peer feedback as students in small classes tend to work together more often. Research has shown that students with disabilities become more invested in the classroom when they receive more feedback about their work.
• Allows for more control over behavioral problems: Reducing student-teacher ratio in a classroom that contains students with behavioral problems is quite obviously beneficial. It limits the number of students who could be negatively affected by a student acting out, and it also allows the teacher the opportunity to control those outburst situations more effectively. Smaller class groups provide less distractions for students with behavioral problems and the increased student-teacher interaction allows the students to stay on task more consistently.

It should be noted that reducing student-teacher ratio does not mean that students will automatically improve academically. Reducing the ratio only means there are fewer students being taught by a teacher. The decreased number of students in the classroom should not be a cue for the quality of instruction to decrease. Teachers must continue to put forth the same amount of energy and effort into preparing high-quality lessons to reach students with disabilities.

Conclusion

This week’s claim is fact. Research supports the claim that students with learning and behavioral problems learn better when placed in classrooms with smaller student-teacher ratios. Although the research claims that one of the ideal situations for teaching students with disabilities is in a one-on-one setting, it is acknowledged that this is not practical in most situations. Conversely, research says that small group instruction can be just as effective as one-on-one instruction and has benefits that are not applicable in a one-on-one setting.

As a teacher, hearing that students in your classroom have a diagnosed learning disability or other special need can be overwhelming and even intimidating. Preparing lesson plans for twenty students already seemed difficult enough. Now you are expected to provide specialized instruction with no real training or guidance from special education staff!

It’s perfectly natural to feel concern or frustration. And you’re not alone — many teachers have been in your shoes at some point in their careers. This blog is here to help.

Each week, we’ll consider a commonly held belief about special education, providing special instruction to students with special needs, and the behavior problems you might encounter in an inclusive classroom. Many students with learning disabilities also have underlying behavioral or processing disorders, and researchers have struggled to design ways to reliably identify those problems and to treat them. In this blog, though, we’ll concentrate on classroom practices. I’ll look at each issue, ask what the research says, and offer teacher-tested strategies for teaching students with learning and behavior problems.

If you have questions or concerns about special education that you’d like us to answer, or just a story to share, please leave a comment on the blog! We’ll be looking forward to hearing your thoughts as well.

To get started with our discussion of special education, let’s consider this important (and basic) question: What is different about special education?

The claim

Teaching students with special needs is the same as teaching regular students — you just give them less work that is easier to complete.

The facts

The term “special education” means specially designed instruction created to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability. Most students with learning and behavior problems have access to and are required to learn the same curriculum as general education students. Therefore the part that is special about special education should be in how something is taught and not what is taught. Many teachers have an idea that students with special needs require something different than their typically developing peers. Unfortunately the kind of instruction most often used, even in classrooms containing students with special needs is not entirely different at all.

Just what should that “something different” look like? Researchers such as James Kauffman and Daniel Hallahan have been examining the ways in which special education classrooms are different than regular education classrooms.

• First, the pacing of instruction should be adapted to meet the needs of individual students. Some students learn at different rates than others whether they have special needs or not.
• Secondly, the intensity of the instruction is often different because students may need repetition of material, or extended time in lessons to learn the same concepts as their peers.
• Next, you need to be relentless — never giving up and trying new interventions or strategies until something works for a student.
• Another difference is classroom structure. To be successful behaviorally and academically, students with special needs require a higher level of classroom supports and structure — clear expectations, specific instructions, and posted schedules or rules.
• The need for specific and consistent reinforcement is yet another characteristic that sets special education apart. Students with special needs are often taught with lower student-to-teacher ratios than most regular education students. The individual attention provided during small group or one-on-one instruction provides many opportunities for teachers to modify the pacing and intensity of instruction. Often, students with special needs learn better using an alternate curriculum that has been specially developed with specific learning deficits in mind. For example, many reading programs provide leveled books at various reading levels so that teachers may modify the curriculum to better meet students’ needs. Along with changes in curriculum, teachers often engage in progress monitoring or assessment more regularly with students who struggle academically or behaviorally. Daily timed readings can provide insight into students’ reading growth, daily behavior checklists, and weekly assessments can provide valuable information to teachers so that instruction can be adjusted if students do not master key concepts or ideas.
• One final thing that sets special education apart is collaboration. Special and regular education teachers, related service personnel (occupational, speech, or physical therapists), school counselors, and parents work together to provide supports for students to ensure academic and behavioral success.

Conclusion

This week’s claim is fiction. Although what is taught to students with learning and behavior problems is more than likely the same as regular education, the way they are taught looks much different. In fact, most teachers find that using these same strategies with their entire class often helps all of their students learn.