Special Needs - 1- Applying Strategies and Best Practices

Lesson 2 - Special Needs - 1- Applying Strategies and Best Practices

Reflect: Consider the general best practices and specific strategies presented in this lesson.

Choose two of the student scenarios below. First, identify at least two difficulties each student may be experiencing in their online class. Then, discuss two best practices or specific strategies that might be helpful to each student

Scenario 1

Dustin has an IEP with accommodations for hearing impairment; he is completely deaf. He is not currently doing well in your class, and you are unsure why. He has not asked for help or attended live sessions since the class began. When you leave assignment feedback for him, he does not respond, even if you specifically ask him to respond.  What will you do to address this?

Two difficulties Dustin may be experiencing:

I am unsure if Dustin wears hearing aids or bot. If he does wear them, it still may be challenging to understand live Jigsawsessions/recording, audio feedback, videos in the content, etc.  Though I am not sure why Dustin is not doing well - it could be one or a combination of things, there are probably specific questions that he has. He might feel as though he can not communicate those questions. This can lead to a feeling of despair or frustration.

Two best practices/strategies I would use to help Dustin:

1) I would contact all of the stakeholders - parents, student, facilitator, and special needs specialist at his home school and GaVS- and let them know that Dustin is not doing well in the class. Part of why is that is Dustin not responding to feedback even when asked to. I am hoping that all of the stakeholders can come up with a plan that makes it easier for Dustin to receive communication and respond to it. I would suggest a live chat session in the jigsaw classroom and invite all stakeholders where he can type out questions or concerns. 

2) Part of Dustin's frustration might be from not getting/understanding all of the material. I would ensure that all videos in the content had closed caption or transcripts available for them. If they are not available, I would find videos with closed captions/transcripts and post those for all students in the classroom (because more students could benefit from them), but I would also send them in an email to Dustin to ensure that he got them.  For Jigsaw lessons, I would post the powerpoint notes so that they could be downloaded. These notes would have 'presenters' notes in them so he could 'hear' the extra tidbits that he might be missing. Presenter notes would also be useful to other students as well. Besides putting them in the jigsaw, I would also attach them to a follow-up email a written email summary of the main points. 

Scenario 3

Kali has recently been diagnosed with Lupus. The last few weeks, she has an inconsistent login history for your class due to her medical challenges. Kali is also behind on assignments, and she emailed about making up the work she missed while she was absent. Her medical diagnosis and absences have been verified and her absences have been medically excused. How would you support her?

Two difficulties Kali may be experiencing:

1. With her medical challenges, she might have been in and out of hospitals/doctors etc and have had trouble accessing the course. Even if she is at home, she might be too ill to access the course for periods of time causing her to get behind in her work.

2. Getting recently diagnosed, Kali probably does not have an IEP or a 504 .  plan in place.  Getting behind in any work could be causing her stress, which could be exacerbating her condition (depending on the type of lupus).

Two best practices/strategies I would use to help Kali:

1) I would contact her GaVS  Special Needs Coordinator at GaVS and ask if we could do two things to help Kali. I would explain the situation and that the recent absences and illnesses have been verified and would ask for not only a medical extension but also if we could modify the course work so that Kali could demonstrate mastery of the content with fewer assignments. A reduction in coursework might help relieve the stress of having 'to get it all done.' And offering her extensions as needed will make her feel okay about saying 'I can not do it today.' This could also serve as documentation when if she applies for a 504/IEP as her illness is a relatively new diagnosis.

2) I would keep in weekly communication with all the stakeholders.  Praising Kali when she is doing well and encouraging her participation. I would ensure that she is getting the jigsaw recording and knows what opportunities are available to her in the class. I would avoid sending non-personalized 'You are missing this assignment" emails on Thursday morning - instead of sending an email offering to help with a  plan of action/attack when she was feeling better.