Web Activity: Nicole and Kim Starchuk

What are the roles and responsibilities for all teachers in a classroom?

To provide a positive learning environment for EVERYONE!! To believe and follow the principal that everyone has a right to an education and CAN learn.

What are the roles and responsibilities for teachers of students with exceptional needs?

To learn as much as they can about their interest, needs, exceptionalities and learning styles. It is also the teacher’s responsibility to work with the family, specialists and others involved to ensure the child success in their educational process.

1. What is inclusion? Inclusion means that everyone belongs but it is often used only in the context of educational settings, or including students with exceptional needs into a “regular” classroom. A question that often arises is; what are the benefits of inclusionary settings?

Inclusion is the belief that everyone has a right to an education and has something to offer to society; the idea that society has much to gain from the perspective/contribution of a person with a special need.

An inclusive classroom encourages the opportunity to expose all children to diversity within a smaller construct and fosters tolerance, acceptance, appreciation for student limitations and exceptionalities. It also encourages a strong sense of community, while empowering students with the belief that they can in-still change and encourages the democratic process that everyone can make a difference.

2. Identification of students with exceptional needs in Alberta. In order to determine whether a learner requires the services of special education, what decision-making would be undertaken at the school level? Please skim the Alberta Education document Special Education Standards to note what steps would need to be taken.

- Identify
- Involve the parents
- Request info from the parents about the child
- Provide info to staff that describes exceptionality
- Make training for staff available concerning exceptionality
- Develop and use formal and informal checklists.

3. Four key areas are defined within the Special Education Standards document: access, appropriateness, accountability, and appeals.

Access: Students have the right to an educational school year under the school act.
Appropriateness: Educational outlines are designed specifically around the students needs.

Accountability: The obligation to answer to the execution of the assigned responsibilities.

Appeals: Protects the rights of the student and the parents in difference of opinions concerning the child’s education.

As a teacher we must know and follow the guidelines when identifying and introducing a specialized educational program.

4. Who are the children who are considered to be students with special needs in Alberta schools? You may be surprised with how some of the statistics “cluster” around particular categories of exceptionalities.

1) Learning Disability: A cognitive disability; a disorder of thinking and reasoning.
2) Severe Emotional/ Behavioural Disability: social adjustment, problems in “everyday intelligence”, self-concept, social acceptance, classroom behavioural difficulties
3) Mild Cognitive Disability: Mild disability concerning thinking and reasoning.
4) Severe Physical or Medical Disability: Requires medical attention. Ex: Cerebral Palsy.

Decreased: 1) Learning Disability (*see above) and 2) Communication Disability: Concerning the exchange of information, ideas, feelings, needs & desires.

There has been an increase in some exceptionalities because several reasons including: more awareness= more children being identified, break down of the nuclear family/single parent homes, increase in ESL students and so on…

There has been a decrease in some exceptionalities because of: education= awareness that “alcohol can result in FAS”, programs employed pre-kindergarten (early identification), specialists available at greater rates.

5. Open the IPP document you just downloaded. Read the twelve essential elements required within an IPP? (See page 24 within the PDF).

assessment data (diagnostic assessment data used to determine special education programming and services)
current level of performance and achievement
identification of strengths and areas of need
measurable goals and objectives
procedures for evaluating student progress
identification of coordinated support services
relevant medical information
required classroom accommodations
transition plans
formal review of progress at regularly scheduled reporting periods
year-end summary
parent signature to indicate informed consent


6. Read pages 28 to 34, which provides some detail on each of the above essential elements.

Bobby: Disorder- Aspergers Syndrome

Strength: Bobby has excellent fine motor skills and is comfortable with the computer.
An Area of Need: Strategies to improve communication with others and strategies to cope with anxiety.
Goal: Bobby will be able to recognize when he is feeling anxious and will breathe deeply while counting to ten in order to help him calm down.


7. Very briefly browse the remainder of the document (very briefly as it is HUGE).

Chapter 7’s ‘Making Goals Meaningful, Measurable and Manageable’ was extremely helpful in that it encouraged having a focus, keeping your goals and objectives in mind, having specific and attainable goals and creating goals that hold meaning to the students and consider the curricular objectives. As teachers we need to ensure that our IPP’s are direct and meet the needs of student. This chapter also includes sample IPP Storyboard Planners that we found extremely useful.

One strategy that is most salient to me is the measurability of the goals because assessment is the key to ensuring that the student’s goals have been and are being met. Having measurable goals also allows students to appreciate progress and reach some level of success with each assignment. As for teachers, measurable goals give us a focus and reduce the pressure surrounding the IPP.