Course : Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education

Unit 4. : Holistic Approaches and Learners with Disabilities

Module 9 : Inclusive Education , Inclusive Teaching Strategies, Different

Types of Learning, Individualized Education Program and
Inclusive Curriculum , Assessment of students with special needs

Duration : 3 hours
Resources Needed:

• Teaching Guide
• Learning Materials
• Computer/laptop/cellphone for Zoom and Google classroom/MS Teams
(Note: students which have no direct access to the internet can access the
said learning materials through Google classroom or MS Teams)
• Power Point presentation
Objectives :
In this learning session, the students should be able to:
1. Discuss special and inclusive education.
2. Identify the different types of learning.
3. Enumerate and discuss the IEP Processes.
4. Make a sample task analysis and visual aids for students with exceptional needs.
5. Compare accommodations and curriculum modifications.
6. Identify ways how to involve parents as part of the home-school collaboration.

Overview/Introduction
Special education is a process of making adaptations and alterations to educational
procedures, materials, equipment and facilities to accommodate the special educational needs of
some students. The process of altering curriculum and instruction is, by far, the greater part. The
kinds of adaptations that teachers make to their instruction and to students’ curriculum vary from
individual to individual according to the particular needs of each individual. Effective teachers
use task analysis to systematically determine what steps a student must perform to complete a
particular learning task and sequence in which those steps could be taught to that student.
Inclusive education has been used to describe the education of students with
disabilities(SWD) in general education settings. It generally takes to mean that SWDs are served
primarily in the general education classroom, under the responsibility of the general education
teacher. However, SWDs may also receive some other instruction in another setting, such as
resource room. Additional support can also be provided within the general education classroom,
by paraprofessionals or special education teachers.
Session Proper

Activity I. (Individual Work). Examine what is your learning style. Try the inventory below
and find out. Encircle your respond.
1. If I have to learn to do something, I learn best when I:
V. Watch someone show me how
A. Hear someone tell me how
K. Try to do it myself
2. When I read, I often find that I:
V. Visualize what I am reading in my mind’s eye.
A. Read out loud or hear the words inside my head.
K. Fidget and try to “feel” the content.
3. When asked to give direction, I:
V. See the actual places in my mind as I say them or I prefer to draw them.
A. Have no difficulty in giving them verbally.
K. Have to point or move my body as I give them.
4. If I am unsure how to spell a word, I:
V. Write it in order to determine if it looks right.
A. Spell it out in order to determine if it sounds right.
K. Write it in order to determine if it feels right.
5. When I write, I:
V. Am concerned how neat and well-spaced my letters and words appear.
A. Often say the letters and words to myself.
K. Push hard on my pen or pencil and can feel the flow of the words or letter I
from them.
1. If I have to remember a list of items, I would remember it best if, I:
V. Wrote them down.
A. I said them over and over to myself.
K. Moved around and used my fingers to name each items.
7. I prefer, teachers, who:
V. Use the board or overhead projector while they lecture.
A. Talk with a lot of expressions.
K. Use hands-on activities.
8. When trying to concentrate, I have a difficult time when:
V. There is a lot of clutter or movement in the room.
A. There is a lot of noise in the room.
K. I have to sit still for any length of time.
9. When solving a problem, I:
V. Write or draw diagrams to see it.
A. Talk myself through it.
K. Use my entire body or move objects to help me think.
10. When given written instructions on how to build on something, I:
V. Read them silently and try to visualize how the parts will fit together.
A. Read them out loud and talk to myself as I put the parts together.
K. Try to put the parts and read later.
11. To keep occupied while waiting, I:
V. Look around, stare and read.
A. Talk or listen to others.
K. Walk around and manipulate things with my hands, or move/shake my feet as I sit.
 12. If I had to verbally describe something to another person, I would:
V. Be brief because I do not like to talk at length.
A. Go into great detail because I like to talk.
K. Gesture and move around while talking.
13. If someone were verbally describing something to me, I would:
V. Try to visualize what she was saying.
A. Enjoy listening but want to interrupt and talk myself.
K. Become bored if her description gets too long and detailed.
14. When trying to recall names, I remember:
V. Faces but forget names.
A. Names, but forget faces.
K. The situation that I met the person other than the person’s name or face.

Scoring instructions: Add the number of responses for each letter and enter the total
below. The area with the highest number of responses is your primary mode of learning.

Visual Auditory Kinesthetic

V= _________ A= _________ K= __________

Analysis .
1. What do your scores tell you about your learning and thinking styles?
2. Do you agree with your scores?
3. Is it possible for one to score equally on the three styles? Explain.
4. How does the activity help you as a special education teacher?
5. What does the activity imply for you as an educator?

Activity 2. (Individual Work). Fill-in the template on the different skills that are needed for a
teacher in inclusive education. Identify what categories should the statement belong.

Classroom Instruction Resources Character

Management

• Have a well- manage classroom

• Provide students with maximum opportunity to learn
• Maintain an academic focus
 • Have high expectations of what students can achieve.
• Adopt a style that is business-like and work-oriented
• Show enthusiasm
• Use strategies to keep students on task, motivate and productive.
• Present new material in a step by step manner.
• Employ direct and explicit instructional procedures.
• Use clear instructions and explanations.
• Demonstrate appropriate task-approach strategies.
• Monitor closely what students are doing.
• Adjust instructions to individual needs, re-teach when necessary.
• Use a variety of resources.
• Spend a significant amount of time in interactive, whole class teaching.
• Use assistive technology-video viewing.
• Do scaffolded instruction.
• Do collaborative teaching

Activity 3. Match column A with column B. Distinguish what Types of Learning are the following
situations. Write the word/s of your answer.

A B
_______ 1 Distinguishing colors or shapes A. Rule Learning
_______ 2 Difficulties in learning mathematical B. Conceptual learning
formulas
_______ 3 Recognizing people, places or dates C. Discrimination
learning
________ 4 Difficulty in remembering new ideas or D. Problem solving and
models critical thinking
________ 5 Hardly remembers sequences or E. Factual Learning
steps.
________ 6 Determines solutions to a problem F. Procedural Learning

Activity 4. Read the case study of Carl, a Grade 3 student. Answer the questions after the
activity.

Ms. Reyes, a 3rd Grade teacher, has been baffled by one of her students, Carl. She has observed that
Carl is very creative. He loves to draw and is quite good at it. He is fluent and conversant in English and
can create such imaginative stories. She noted, however, that unlike his peers who can already read
short stories for Grade 3 and write paragraphs well, Carl is still struggling at the word level. Although
he can create his own stories through oral recitation, he can’t seem to write them down without having
spelling errors. He gets very frustrated in such tasks that when he needs to answer essay questions in
a test, he just scribbles a word or two and stops trying altogether.
Ms. Reyes, together with the other subject teachers and Guidance Counselor, discussed Carl’s
behavior and performance in terms of his strengths, needs, and strategies that have worked in the past.
They have noted that giving him a list of high-frequency words and sight words has been helpful. They
suggested to pair him up with a classmate, who is an able reader to help him during writing tasks. They
had a meeting with the parents and informed them that he will be given supplementary reading and
 writing practice worksheets t be answered at home to build automaticity in reading. And finally, he
was recommended to join an after school English remedial class to address his reading and spelling
difficulties.
Despite the instructional support and after-school remedial class, Carl continued to display
difficulties in reading, spelling, oral reading fluency, and written expression. Because such difficulties
persisted, Ms. Reyes and the team decided to refer him to a developmental pediatrician and a school
psychologist to conduct a psycho educational evaluation to determine the underlying reasons for Carl’s
literacy difficulties.
The school psychologist used a battery of test: intelligence and achievement test in reading ,
spelling, written expression, and math. He also interviewed Carl, his parents, and his teachers to know
about his interests, strengths, and views about himself, and gatherer some of Carl’s school work. The
school psychologist then analyzed the results and eventually diagnosed him with a specific learning
disability or dyslexia.

Carl’s current grade level: Grade 3

IQ Average to High Average
Reading Level Beginning Grade 1
Spelling Beginning Grade 1
Written Expression Below Average
Reading Comprehension Beginning Grade 1
Listening Comprehension Grade 4
Math Average
Based on this clinical diagnosis, instructional decisions were made to determine the appropriate
placement for Carl.

Questions:
1. What do you think is the best placement for Carl?
2. If he stays in his current school, what support does he need to meet academic expectations?
3. Should he be pulled out of the school and study in a special school?

Analysis
1. As a future general education teacher, why there is a need for you to develop certain
skills in teaching?
2. Upon knowing that there are different types of learning, how does it help you as future
educator?
3. Is there a possibility for you to have a student with special need?
4. How will you handle it?

Abstraction :
Inclusive Education
• According to Halvorsen and Neary, inclusive education means that students
with disabilities are supported members of chronologically age-appropriate
general education classes receiving the specialized instruction delineated by
their Individualized Educational Programs (IEPs) within the context of the core
 curriculum and general class activities. SWDs topic move between both
general and special education settings and have been traditionally excluded
from general academic classes, if they were unable to achieve near grade level
without significant support (Gee, 2002).
• Inclusive education is distinguished from mainstreaming in that students are
members of the general education classes and do not belong to any other
separate, specialized environment based on the characteristics of their
disability (Gee,2002 in Halvorsen and Neary, 2009).
• Special Education is affecting general education classroom teachers as well
as teachers certified to address specific exceptionalities.

Different Types of Learning

As part of planning effective instruction, the teacher needs to become familiar with
the different types of learning.
• Discriminatory Learning – involves determining how one stimulus is either the
same of different from another stimulus –learning alphabet, numbers, colors,
shapes, mathematical concepts and plants.
o Repeated practice that emphasizes comprehension of the distinctions
promotes learning.
• Factual Learning – it includes vocabulary words, their definitions, names of
people and places, dates and causes of historical events,etc.
• Rule learning – includes social behavior rules, and mathematics rules. Rules
are pervasive in school as well as in society in general.
• Procedural learning-involves the sequential execution of multiple steps and is
found frequently in school tasks. Examples include reading comprehensions,
Math algorithms , organizational and study strategies. It requires that students
recognize, describe, demonstrate and apply the steps of the procedure.
• Conceptual learning occurs when concepts can be applied to a new instance.
Concepts can range from simple to complex.
• Problem-solving and critical thinking types of learning refer to determining
solutions when no specific strategy for solving the problem is known and
involves using active reasoning to acquire novel concepts, ideas or solutions
respectively.
• The inclusive approach of including teaching children with special needs in
regular classrooms challenges teachers, schools and districts to re-examine
traditional beliefs and practices.

Organizing our Instruction

Many practitioners and researchers have outlined important considerations to
guide us as we prepare our instruction plans. Gee(2002) pointed out the importance of
activity-based instruction and of teaching in context. Inclusive classrooms can provide
these opportunities especially when teachers use effective strategies that are focused on
meeting the varying needs of students.

• Educators must be aware that there are four stages of learning

o Acquisition which involves acquiring the new skills and learning the
motor, cognitive or communicative sub-skills needed.
o Maintenance – which consists of practicing the new skill , though not
perfectly but with more independence.
 o Fluency- where the quality speed, accuracy and the ability to perform
the skills are developed with increasing perfection accompanied by
confidence.
o Generalization- where the skill becomes a part of the person’s
competence and is demonstrated across settings, people and
activities( Wolley,et.all, 1992 in Halvorsen and Neary, 2009 as quoted
by Baylongo, et.al 2012)

• Effective teachers have a wide array of specific strategies in their repertoire to

be use in a variety of situations. To aid teachers in meeting diverse learners,
differentiated instructional theories come to the fore. It is based on the premise
that teaching strategies should vary and be adapted to individual
differences(Tomlinsons, 2001, as quoted by Batlongon,et al. 2012). It is
believed to increase student’s efficiency.
• Some of the general guidelines in considering instructional strategies for
inclusive settings.
1. Employ frequent practice to ensure that skills will be reinforces
throughout the day by all staff and parents.
2. Provide non-stigmatizing instructional prompts and consequences.
3. Select instructional strategies that are natural, yet still effective.
4. Ensure that all staff members have the information and skills to
instruct systematically.
5. Establish regular opportunities to review their effectiveness.

Individualized Education Program

• Commonly called an IEP , is a legal document collaboratively prepared by the
special education team of professionals ( including child’s parents) describing
the child’s academic assessment, progress, and instructional plans and
procedures and necessary interventions.
• Zero Defect – specifying that all children, regardless of ability, are guaranteed
a free and appropriate public education.
• How is the IEP developed?
o The school initiates a meeting with stakeholders to document
agreements in the IEP.
o IEA meeting can be sensitive occasion so a number of considerations
are important.
o Individualized planning- students with disabilities do not really require
a separate individual learning curriculum but rather, they simply need
some adaptations to be made to the regular curriculum that other
students received. Individualized panning is the process of identifying
any modifications to the curriculum that an individual student may need,
and working out how those modification can be implemented.
▪ It is the process that produces an individualized plan for a
student with special educational needs.

o The IEP Process

▪ 1. Referral
• Referral for evaluation and special education services
begins by identifying students who have additional
 needs and who may be at risk for developmental
disabilities.
• A child-noted to have significant difficulties in relation to
expected competencies and developmental milestones
may be referred by parents and teachers for observation
and assessment to the team of professionals or pre-
referral team (SPED teacher, counselors,
administrators, and psychologist) who collaborate to
determine reasons for the observed
challenges(Hakkahan, et al. 2014 as cited by Halal,et
al., 2020)
▪ 2. Assessment
• It is a process of collecting information about a child’s
strengths and needs. It uses a problem-solving process
that involves a systematic collection as well as
interpretation of data gathered (Salvia et al. 2013).
Teachers and administrators make instructional
decisions based on the assessment results.
• The school’s comprehensive evaluation plan assess
the child in all areas of suspected disability. Parents can
disagree and request an independent educational
evaluation at district’s expense.
o Variety of assessment methods that regular and
special education teachers can use; interviews,
observations, checklists or rating scales, and
tests
▪ 3. Identification
• Identify all appropriate disability categories revealed by
assessments. The child is eligible for special education
only if at least one disability adversely affects
educational performance.
▪ 4. Develop the IEP
• IEP Team meets to discuss all assessments, write
present levels of academic achievement and functional
performance, drafts goals, determine related services
and accommodations to help meet the goals.
▪ 5. Placement
• The team decides on placement. This is a service and
not a prepackaged class. Child must be educated in the
least restrictive environment with a continuum of
services provided.
• Assessment results are used to decide a child’s
appropriate education placement within a continuum
from the least to the most restrictive settings.
• The team will base their decision based on their
observations, assessment results, and other factors,
with the goal to move forward the least restrictive
learning environment. The placement will be based on
the child’s strengths, abilities, and needs.
▪ 6. Accommodation
 ▪ 6. Review
• Team reviews and, if needed, revises IEP annually to
determine if goals achieved, address lack of expected
progress, conduct any new assessments if needed.
▪ 7. Re-evaluate
• This child is re-evaluated (re-assessed) at least every
three years but not more than once a year. Can be done
annually if new assessments are needed, if child is
transitioning, change in skills,or parents request them.
Task Analysis
o A fundamental component in special education.
o It is a behavioral approach that breaks down a complex behavior or
task into step-by-step procedures, thereby providing modeling and
ample practice for the student with difficulties.
o It also involves the manner and sequence in which the task and its
component parts are taught. It is useful when teaching procedures or
strategies, and is usually used for this purpose. It is also an effective
curriculum-based assessment technique when a curriculum outcome is
broken down into its component parts for assessment purposes
▪ Gargiulo(2012 as cited by Halal, et al. 2020) provided working
guidelines on how to do task analysis.
• Define the target behavior or task.
• Identify the required skills needed to successfully
complete the task.
• Observe an able and component person perform the
task.
• List the needed steps in sequential order to compete the
task.
▪ . Process of Task analysis involves preparation(prepare all the
needs steps or materials, devices) , assessment (let the
students perform a task and record student’s progress) and
then implementation ( decide which is the most effective way
to teach a particular child) and sequencing( the procedures
and activities are a sequence of steps.)
• Example: In an inclusive classroom, self-care skills such
as washing hands and brushing teeth can be tasks
analyzed into the simplest steps and presented in a
poster accompanied by pictures. Using direct
instructions, the teacher models how each step is done
then allows the student to try the steps with guidance
and prompts until he/she is able to do the task
independently. Hence, direct instruction and support
from the environment in the form of prompts and as well
as routines that are simplified are essential for students
to eventually become independent in using self-care
skills (Heward, 2013 as cited by Halal et.al. 2020).

Least restrictive environment (LRE)

 o It plays a critical role in determining not only where a student will
spend her time in school but also how special education services will
be provided.
o Students with disabilities receive their education alongside their peers
without disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate .
o Students should not be removed from the general education
classroom unless learning cannot be achieved even with the use of
supplementary aids and services.
o LRE is determined on a case-by-case basis during the development
of a student’s individualized education program (IEP). During this
process, the IEP team—a multidisciplinary group of professionals and
the student’s parents—discuss what individualized program of
instruction and related services (also referred to as services and
supports) the student requires based on her present levels of
performance and areas of strengths and needs.
o Different Types of LRE
▪ The intent of LRE is to make sure that kids who receive special
education are included in the general education classroom as
often as possible. But agreeing on how that happens isn’t
always easy. The IEP team, which includes the parents,
decides what the LRE is for your child. Here are some common
LRE scenarios:
▪ General education classroom with support. Your child
spends the entire day in a general education class. Your child
receives supports and services like a tutor or aide, assistive
technology, related services, accommodations, modifications,
or any combination of these.
▪ Partial mainstream/inclusion classroom. Your child spends
part of the day in a general education class. Your child gets
some individual or small-group instruction in a special education
class, or is pulled out of class for some services.
▪ Special education class. This is a program with specialized
instruction for kids with similar learning needs.
▪ Specialized program outside of your school district. This
includes private schools, residential programs and hospital
programs.

Inclusive Teaching
• Inclusion is not a strategy to help people fit into the systems and structures
which exist in our societies; it is about transforming those systems and
structures to make it better for everyone. Inclusion is about creating a better
world for everyone(Dianne Richler,Pres. Inclusion International)
• Inclusion teaching approaches enable all learners in the class to take part in
learning opportunities
• To have a to successful plan for all learners in the class, teachers need to:
o Know about the learners in the group
o Know about the curriculum
 ▪ “A competent, caring general education teacher who is effective
with students without disabilities, already possesses most of the
critical skills necessary to successfully educate students with all
kinds of learning challenges, including various disabilities”(
Giangreco,1997)

Assessment
Answer the following questions:
1. Explain what is task analysis.
2. Explain how the four stages of learning will take place? Give examples in each
stage.
3. What is Individualized Plan? When shall it be implemented?
4. What is Least Restrictive Environment? How shall it be implemented?
• Make an IEP of your imaginary student who is deaf and mute or suffering
from Down syndrome or autism.
o Use the template below (Write as many areas as you want.

Sample of Individualized Education Program

Division: _________________________
District:__________________________
School Name: ____________________

Name of Student: _______________________ Date: ____________________

Home Address: _________________________ Birthday: __________ Gender: __________
School: ________________________________ Teacher: ____________________________

Assessment:

Individualized Education Plan

Areas Goal Objectives Time Persons Remarks
Frame involved
1. Self Walks In 5 months Maria will 5 Teacher Fading of
Help independently be able to walk from months Parents prompts and
the gate to the Guard cues as
classroom using cane independence
with less assistance increases
2.
3.
4.
5.

Any other action to be taken

Next Review Date: ___________________

Members of Planning Team:
Parents signature ____________ School Administrator signature:
Class teacher signature___________ Special education teacher signature

Application
1. Make a sample of a Task analysis for your students with special needs.
2. Perform a song / a poem or do the alphabet using the sign language that is
used by the deaf and mute, record it in a video;
3. Make at least 3 visual aids that will help your students with special needs
understand your lessons. ( The sample visual aids must address at least 3
categories of disabilities)

References:
1. Baylongo, Joselina T, et al. Special Topics in Education,Vol. 1.Lorimar
Publishing,Inc., pp. 78-87
2. Dayagbil, Filomena T., et al.(2012). Special Topics, Vol.3. Lorimar Publishing, Inc.,
pp 24-32.
3. Hansen, Tricia and Maile, Craig(2014). Special Education Paraprofessional Guide.
Curriculum and Instructional Materials Center, Oklahoma Dept. of Career and
Technology Education,Oklahoma,USA
4. Inciong, Teresita G.,et al. (2007). Introduction to Special Education,(1 st Ed.). Rex
 Book Strore, Inc.
5. Maria Rita D. Lucas, Ph.D and Brenda B. Corpuz,Ph.D. (2014). Facilitating Learning:
A Metacognitive Process(4th Ed.). LORIMAR Publishing, Inc., pp.70-75
6. No Limits: Teachers including learners with disabilities in regular classrooms.
DEPED in partnership with AusAID.
https://www.slideshare.net/knowellton/module-24-no-limits pp 104-111