Spe 359 - Special Education

(Benchmark Assignment) LD: The Puzzling Paradox

Arthur Thompson

Grand Canyon University: SPE-359

October 25, 2015
Instructor Laura Greenstein

        The world of special education is very diverse. It takes a special kind of person to embark on and accept the ups and downs that are associated with teaching students with disabilities. In order to be an effective special education teacher the person needs to be detail oriented so that they can design and implement the various instructional practices that are required to adequately educate their students. They have to be able to take approved curriculum and differentiate it so that it can be delivered to their students according to how they learn as individuals. In order to deliver this differentiated instruction the teacher must be able to evaluate curriculum and select materials in a manner that is strategic through the utilization of resources that can assist in optimizing the student’s ability to succeed academically. Special education teachers need to be able to recognize and understand tendencies that are characteristic of students who have various disabilities. They must also be capable of adapting their instructional strategies according to the needs of their students. The ability to select and apply evidence based strategies and materials in instruction is also of the utmost importance. They must choose academic supports that are adaptive and allow special needs students to access and participate in the curriculum that is created for general education students. Throughout the body of this paper the definition of learning disability will be explained from various points of view. There will also be discussion of the way that people with learning disabilities process information and the challenges that they face while doing it. There will be a student identified who has a learning disability. The academic area or areas that the student shows difficulty in will be identified as well as the areas where the student exhibits strengths. An explanation of how the student’s disability impacts their level of social interaction will also be discussed. To conclude, an area of struggle for the identified student will be discussed. There will be a lesson created for the student where they are taught by using a strategy that consists of seven steps or less and is derived from Hunter’s model. The plan will include a learning objective, prerequisite skills that relate to the objective, prerequisite skills that the student may or may not possess, an anticipatory set, lesson input, guided practice, and independent practice. An account on the implementation of the lesson plan with the identified student will be given. It will state whether or not the lesson and the strategies used to deliver it were effective. Along with this account will be a reflection of what would be the same and what would be different if the strategy was to be used again.