How to Teach Special Education in Middle Schools

Teaching special education students in middle school.

Teaching middle school students with specific learning disabilities is an important task for teachers, and is often made difficult by the inclusion setting, where special education students are taught alongside regular education students. The reality is that special education students will continue to be placed in inclusion classrooms because the research shows that the benefits outweigh the difficulties of teaching in an inclusion setting. Two benefits are the lessons in social skills and the promotion of higher achievement. Here are some tips for teachers who need to educate special education students in a middle school setting.

Instructions

1. Form a partnership with the special education teacher. According to a study published by Norman Fox and James Ysseldyke, effective inclusion situations happen when there is a leadership team of both special education and regular education teachers taking charge of the process. These teachers, along with the principal, must believe that teaching special education students in an inclusion setting is the best way to provide an education for all students. Part of this leadership team is to provide guidance and support for other teachers. Some of this support will include problem-solving difficult situations, providing training on inclusion teaching and working together to create a positive educational environment for all students.

2. Promote the social acceptance of the special education students. It is important that the students who do not have a disability learn to accept and include those students who have disabilities. Some ideas for doing this include pairing students to work together on projects, peer tutoring and other cooperative group work as the curriculum allows.

3. Provide opportunities for parents to be involved. Whether through school meetings, volunteering in the classroom or planning meetings for the student's Individual Education Plan (IEP), the more involved the parents, the better opportunity the student has for educational success. This is because the parents can advocate for their children and support the educational process at home.

4. Team teach with the special education instructor whenever possible. Team teaching is the shared teaching of a single class period between two teachers, usually a special education and general education teacher. The benefit, according to a study done at McKinleyville Middle School in California, was a reduction in detention referrals for special education students and a decline in the number of students who are identified for special education services. This seems to indicate that all students are better educated when in a team-teaching atmosphere.

5. Plan with the special education instructor whenever possible. This will provide additional insight and ideas into lessons that will benefit the special education students. The special education teacher will be able to provide specific ideas for modifying instruction in a way that will allow each student the opportunity to learn. Some modifications might include allowing for extra time or pairing students up to work on a concept together.

6. Work with special education students in an after-school setting. This is an opportunity for you to reinforce skills and reteach those lessons that the student needs additional help with, whether in basic math and reading skills or with more complicated lessons such as science or history.

References

• "ERIC" Digest: Inclusion in Middle Schools; Hines, Rebecca A.; December, 2001
• "Exceptional Children"; Implementing Inclusion at the Middle School Level: Lessons from a Negative Example; Norman E. Fox and James E. Ysseldyke; Fall, 1997
• Public School Insights: Teacher-Driven Inclusion Model Pays Off for School