Reference no: EM133708406

Assignment

Instructions

Urjo is 15 years old and in grade 10. His teachers describe him as noncompliant and underachieving. Their observations report a boy who fails to complete assignments in class, refuses to do his homework, has difficulty following instructions, and rarely co-operates with teachers or classmates. Teachers see him muttering under his breath, folding his arms across his chest, and shouting at peers. However, he excels in art class. While he engages in loud, verbal power struggles with most teachers, Urjo is quiet and engrossed when drawing or painting. The counsellor who interviewed him suggests that Urjo uses power struggles to avoid work he ?nds boring and pointless and to exert control over others. In an interview, Urjo's parents report that he initiates the same battles at home and that his younger brothers are starting to engage in the same behaviours. When teachers pressure Urjo to comply, he bad-mouths them and indulges in negative self-talk. Achievement tests show that Urjo is slightly below grade level in reading, written expression, and mathematics and is easily distracted but does not have a learning disability. His difficulties have been described as a behaviour exceptionality, with a focus on de?ant behaviours and disruptions to the classroom.

Connie is in grade 3 and is reading at the grade 1 level. Her ?le contains a psychologist's report that indicates that she scored in the average range on a test of general intelligence (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children [WISC]). However, on a test called Early Reading Assessment, she had low scores on the core subtests-identifying written words, identifying letters, and matching letters and words. Her score on phonological awareness (discriminating among and manipulating sounds) was also low. But Connie showed a high level of receptive vocabulary, understanding words in common use. Her teacher believes that this is why everyone keeps expecting Connie to be a strong reader-she expresses herself well orally and loves to participate in class discussions. By contrast, her reading is hesitant as she guesses at the sounds of the letters and at the words. Earlier this year, Connie ran out of the classroom in tears when asked to read orally. The psychologist's report states that Connie has a learning disability in reading. Connie has begun attending tutoring in reading with the resource teacher, and her classroom teacher is beginning to make accommodations in the classroom, for example, when Connie has to read test questions.

Case Study Questions:

A. Which of the characteristics of each student are most likely to affect learning and participation in the regular classroom? What learning needs are implied by these characteristics?

B. With such a range of characteristics and learning needs, what do exceptional students like Urjo and Connie, who are learning in inclusive classrooms, have in common?

C. How frequently is a teacher likely to be teaching a student with each of these exceptionalities?

D. What types of differentiation does each student need in order to be included in the social life and the group learning activities of the classroom?

E. How could the ADAPT strategy be applied with each student?