Adaptations and accommodations for varied developmental and behavioural needs and abilities
Context
This evidence is an assessment task completed for the Inclusive Education course at UTS. The task involved adapting an actual lesson plan to accommodate and adjust for three special-needs students in an assigned scenario.
The evidence comprises two parts:
the assignment brief, which outlines the task and includes profiles of the special-needs students
the assignment itself, which is in two parts:
a lesson plan adapted from one I created during my practical experience, and
a report addressing adjustments made, and the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles applied, with supporting references
I produced the original lesson plan for my Year 9 mathematics class while on practicum at Ryde Secondary College in 2020.
I adapted it to address the needs of the students in the scenario. The report details my analysis of each student's needs and the adjustments made to address and support them.
1.1.1Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of physical, social and intellectual development and characteristics of students and how these may affect learning.
1.6.1Demonstrate broad knowledge and understanding of legislative requirements and teaching strategies that support participation and learning of students with disability.
2. Know the content and how to teach it
2.2.1Organise content into an effective learning and teaching sequence.
2.5.1 Know and understand literacy and numeracy teaching strategies and their application in teaching areas.
Numeracy issues here are addressed in most detail for the student with mild intellectual disability, where the student is guided to develop the concepts with physical objects, and translating word concepts from steps to distance.
Learning aims
The overall goals are to ensure all students are supported to participate and learn in the classroom community, and to make the classroom itself a place where all students both acknowledge and accept others' abilities, characteristics, and attributes.
The lesson revisits the Pythagorean theorem, finding the hypotenuse length, then transposing the concept to the Cartesian plane, using the Geogebra application to illustrate step-by-step, and engage the students. It builds upon previous lessons in the week (not included) that covered skills used here: finding length of a hypotenuse using Pythagoras' theorem, and finding the lengths of horizontal/vertical lines on a Cartesian plane, using coordinates. This lesson incorporates those skills.
All students in the class are to be engaged on the same topic, at level and detail best suited to their learning styles.
Learning impacts and assessment
Learning progress in the actual class was measured by in-class observation and participation, and in-class worksheets. Feedback from the original lesson included adding exit slips and time for students to complete them, to understand their views on the lesson's success.
Adaptations made for the special-needs students in the assigned scenario have not been posited.
In a real-life classroom scenario, I would focus on these areas to measure success and identify improvement points:
How the student with intellectual disability demonstrates learning the concept
Working productivity and interaction between student with ADHD/dyslexia and student buddy
Engagement and interest of student with autism, nature of work produced and level of comfort in the class
Ability of teacher to monitor and support all three special-needs students, while conducting the class and supporting all the other students as well