1. How do you feel about ability grouping based on IQ scores? Do you think this would benefit/harm the education of children who have disabilities?
I feel that this is an understanding question due to the fact that you are explaining your opinion on the topic and inferring about the topic's affect on student performance.
2. Why is collaboration with parents critical, especially in a special education setting.
I think that this is a synthesizing question due to the fact that you are required to hypothesize about the affects of collaboration.
You're questions are so awesome, inquisitive, and thought provoking. Awesome job.
ReplyDelete1. I think that ability grouping should be used in an appropriate manner. For example, only use ability grouping when it benefits the members of the group such as reading groups. This way students are near the same level and can work together instead of some students feeling left behind. However, ability grouping should not be used too often due to the fact that students will realize which group they are in and will become discouraged. I also feel that students should be given the opportunity to move through the groups. They should not just be placed in a group and left there despite improvements. Children who have disabilities can benefit from both ability grouping and heterogeneous grouping. Ability grouping will allow them to work with peers near their level, and allow them to not feel embarrassed. However, heterogeneous groups will allow students with disabilities to interact and learn from higher achieving students. My biggest thing about ability grouping is that teachers use it too much and make it too stagnant. Switch it up, and students will never know when they are in ability grouping or not. Ability grouping is a very controversial issue, especially in special education, there are just so many other factors that contribute to the decision to use them or not. They cannot all be covered in a blog forum.
2. Collaboration with parents is critical for the exchange of valuable information about the student. Collaboration allows students to have the best possible environment for their individual needs both at school and at the home. It is especially important for good collaboration in special education due to the fact that it is necessary for the IEP process. It is also important to get family input on what they believe their child can achieve, and what they would like them to be able to achieve. This will show the teacher what the parents are working on at home and what supports the child receives. The child who has disabilities may not always be able to advocate for themselves so it is important for the parents to be able to communicate with the teacher in order for the student to benefit from their educational experience.