Preparing Teachers to Educate Children with Disabilities in Inclusive Settings

1. Preparing Teachers to Educate Children with Disabilities in Inclusive Settings “Teacher Centered” Modules Developed by the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation April, 22, 2004 The World Bank

2. The Foundation’s Mission • Improve the lives of individuals who have intellectual disabilities through: • Identifying ways to prevent intellectual disabilities • Providing funding for projects that will demonstrate new approaches • Influencing public policy and public awareness

3. The Foundation’s Philosophy Persons with intellectual disabilities have the ability to live, learn, work, recreate and worship like everyone else. We recognize that people will intellectual disabilities may need assistance to do these things. We believe that families of people with intellectual disabilities, especially families of children with intellectual disabilities, benefit from support and information to successfully include their family member with intellectual disabilities in everyday community activities.

4. The Foundation’s History Over the course of it’s 48 year history, the Foundation has: • Established research, training and clinical facilities for the diagnosis and treatment of intellectual disabilities in universities nationwide • Created the Special Olympics program to expand sports and recreation opportunities for persons with intellectual disabilities • Sponsored programs and symposia on the ethical implications of intellectual disability in medicine • Initiated the Kennedy International Awards for outstanding contributions in scientific research, service and leadership • Influenced the development of public policy in education, civil rights, and research • Funded hundreds of demonstration projects in the areas of medicine, health, education, employment, community living, public policy

5. The Foundation’s Key Assets • Recognized as a national leader in the field of intellectual disabilities • Able to leverage public and private resources • A solid network of educational consultants • Relationships with key leaders in governments across the globe

6. Recent International Initiatives in Education • UNICEF • Bosnia Herzegovina • USAID • El Salvador- EXCELL Project to improve school administrator’s leadership skills; teacher education • Guatemala • Nicaragua • Policy papers on key issues for educating students with disabilities in developing countries

7. Teacher Education Modules • Began with the Foundation’s work in Bosnia in collaboration with UNICEF • Seminar materials formalized into modules • Designed to provide a process for individualizing instruction and model new approach to professional training • Translated in Bosnian; Serbian-Croatian; and Spanish • Adapted for use in Bosnia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador

8. Teacher Education Modules • Bosnia: • UNICEF and Foundation supported 4 special education professionals studying one semester at U of Maryland and U of Utah • Goal of the study plan was to adapt the modules for use in “Teacher Centers” as part of a comprehensive professional development plan. • Presently being used as part of “Step-by-Step” training within Bosnia

9. Special Education in Latin America • About 85 million people with disabilities live in the region and most have limited access to education • Limits their participation in workforce, lowers their productivity, y thus, it promotes greater dependence (Porter 2001). • Less than 10% children with disabilities in Latin America receives educational services and the most common service delivery model is the special education school (Porter, 2001). • Between 11-18% of children in Central America have disabilities (CACL, 1997; Porter, 2001).

10. Special Education in Latin America • Nicaragua: 2.4% (3,600) of the 150,000 children with special needs are receiving services (Porter, 2001). • El Salvador: Less than 1% of the 222,000 children with special needs are being served (Porter, 2001). • Jamaica: One third of children with special needs are receiving services (Porter, 2001). • Chile: The most common service delivery model is the special education school and approximately one third of the eligible population has access to special education (Milicic & Sius, 1995).

11. Teacher Education Modules • Inclusive • Inclusive education v. inclusion as placement • Build project as part of mainstream education reforms • Efficient use of resources • Leverage ongoing education development projects • Negotiate how to infuse a focus on special needs • Collaborative • Local involvement in identification of needs and adaptation of materials • Promote local ownership • Sustainable • Identify/involve local leadership in public & NGO sectors. • Secure official commitment and institutionalizeproject

12. Kennedy Foundation Modules: Content • Module 1 – Introduction to mild/moderate intellectual disabilities • History and definitions • Legal framework and contemporary trends in special education • Characteristics of mild/moderate ID • Curriculum models • Module 2 – Functional assessment • Introduction to functional assessment and planning • Student centered planning process • Applying functional assessment and planning

13. Kennedy Foundation Modules: Content • Module 3 –Instructional strategies • Development of individualized educational plans • Effective instructional strategies • Module 4 – Behavior and social skills • Disruptive behaviors and social skills • Effective instructional strategies, behavior management techniques, and positive behavioral support.

14. Kennedy Foundation Modules: Pedagogy • Learning cycle based on problem solving and inquiry • Bransford, J., Brown, A., & Cocking, R. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience and school. Washington, D. C.: National Academy Press. • Schwartz, D. L., Lin, X., Brophy, B., & Bransford, J. D. (in press). Toward the development of flexibly adaptive instructional designs. In C. Reigeluth (Ed.), Instructional-design theories and models: New Paradigms of instructional theory (pp. 183-214). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. • Schwartz, D. L., Brophy, B., Lin, X., & Bransford, J. D. (in press). Software for managing complex learning: Examples from an educational psychology course. Educational technology research and development.

15. Kennedy Foundation Modules: Pedagogy

16. Kennedy Foundation Modules: Pedagogy • A web-based application of the learning cycle has been developed at Vanderbilt specifically for special education – IRIS Modules. • IRIS content modules could be translated and used to supplement the face to face education. • IRIS.peabody.vanderbilt.edu

17. Kennedy Foundation Modules: Challenges • Challenges traditional professional development/teacher education models • Adaptation of modules to country needs is time-consuming: leadership issues, language. • Content is complicated by differences in classification, terminology, and systems within the schools • Data on short and long-term change in teacher practices and impact on student learning in inclusive schools are needed but difficult to collect • Sustainability