High Fidelity Co-Teaching Through Collaboration, Varied Co-Teaching Models, and Differentiated Teaching Strategies

Co-teaching is a service delivery option for students receiving special education services that is characterized by the presence of both a general education and special education teacher providing support in an inclusive classroom. A co-taught classroom can provide access to the general education curriculum to students with disabilities while they are simultaneously being supported by a special education teacher. The inclusion classroom, a classroom in which both students with and without disabilities are instructed, has been suited with the task of upholding the protections put in place by legislation for students with disabilities. A large number of students receiving special education services (64%, approximately 4,600,000) are placed in the general education, inclusion classroom 80-100% of the school day. This chapter will explore the implementation of excellent instructional practices in the inclusion classroom setting to improve outcomes for students with disabilities.

The Effectiveness of Touch Math on Improving Early Mathematics Ability of Kindergarten Children with Mild to Borderline Intellectual Functioning in an Inclusion Classroom

Touchmath®, also known as Touchpoint, is a multi-sensory method that involves visual, auditory, and tactile learning, and it can be used effectively with children with disabilities. It has successfully solved addition and subtraction problems with a single digit and two digits, specifically for children with disabilities. Six children participated. A multiple baseline design was used. The Test of Early Mathematics Ability was employed. The findings revealed that the touch math training program effectively improved the Early Mathematics Ability of each participant. All six children were found to be successful at the end of the teaching session compared to the baseline. The finding that Touchmath® showed positive effects based on a direct teaching approach in improving the Early Mathematics Ability of kindergarten children with mild to borderline intellectual functioning and their typically developing peers in an inclusion classroom is effective, sustainable, generalizable, and socially valid in teaching basic addition skills to students with mild intellectual disabilities in general education classrooms, conforms to other research conclusions in the literature.

Implementasi Metode Talaqqi dalam Pembelajaran Tahfidz Al-Quran bagi Anak Berkebutuhan Khusus

This article aims to describe the use of the Talaqqī method in learning taḥfīẓ Al-Qur’ān in SMP Boarding School Putra Harapan Purwokerto especially for children with special needs (ABK). The data is collected using observation methods, structured free interviews, and documentation. Data analysis using the steps offered by Miles & Huberman, data reduction, data display, and conclusion. The results of this research are that the implementation of the Talaqqī method in learning taḥfīẓul Qur’ān for children with special need, performed every morning for 15-30 minutes in the inclusion classroom. The steps used by the teacher are to teach directly (musyāfahah) with students one by one, teachers repeat reading verses of the Qur'an by 5 times while emphasizing the movement of lips and special touch for the student so that he can capture the reading of the verse correctly. The success is supported also by the patience and sincerity of teachers in guiding, motivating, and understanding the true characteristics of students with special needs.

Reconceptualizing Assistance for Young Children of Color With Disabilities in an Inclusion Classroom

In this article, we draw on DisCrit to critically analyze how a group of early childhood educators approached assistance with young children of color with disabilities in a Head Start inclusion classroom. Using examples from data collected over one school year, we demonstrate how child-centered assistance advances justice for young children of color with disabilities who are often subjected to a surveillance culture in schools. We critique assistance that aligns with the medical model of disability and aims to change young children of color with disabilities to conform to ableist, racist expectations of schooling. We offer examples of assistance practices that contrastingly aim to support young children of color with disabilities to pursue their own interests and purposes. Through these counterstories, we reconceptualize assistance as a practice that can support young children of color with disabilities to be more fully themselves.

The Impact of Peer-mediated Intervention on Children with Special Needs in Inclusion Classroom

Systematic review aims to analyze the impact of interventions that mediated by peers on children with special needs in an inclusion setting. The review was conducted with the search keywords "peers" and "inclusive class", "peers" and "inclusion settings", "peers" and "inclusive settings", "peers" and "inclusive classrooms" in 2 online databases, namely ERIC and ScienceDirect. There were 11 articles reviewed from the total number of initial searches of 1,233 obtained from screening results according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. The results show that all interventions that have been implemented involve the role of peers. The focus of interventions various kinds, ranging from children aged 3-16 years and more focus on children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Eleven Interventions that involve peers are significantly able to improve interaction, communication, social skills and social initiation in children with special needs so that it can be a reference in the process of intervention in the further application or research. AbstrakSistematik review bertujuan untuk menganalisis dampak intervensi yang dimediasi oleh teman sebaya pada anak berkebutuhan khusus di setting inklusi. Review dilakukan dengan kata kunci pencarian “peers” and “inclusive class”, “peers” and “inclusion setting”, “peers” and “inclusive setting”, dan “peers” and “inclusive classroom” pada 2 database online, yakni ERIC dan ScienceDirect. Terdapat 11 artikel yang direview dari jumlah total pencarian awal 1.233 yang diperoleh dari hasil screening sesuai dengan kriteria inklusi dan eksklusi. Hasil menunjukkan bahwa seluruh intervensi yang telah diterapkan melibatkan peran teman sebaya. Fokus intervensi beraneka ragam, mulai dari anak berusia 3-16 tahun dan lebih banyak fokus pada anak dengan Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Sebelas Intervensi yang melibatkan teman sebaya tersebut secara signifikan mampu meningkatkan interaksi, komunikasi, keterampilan sosial dan inisiasi sosial pada anak berkebutuhan khusus sehingga dapat menjadi rujukan dalam proses intervensi pada penerapan selanjutnya. Kata Kunci: Intervensi; Teman Sebaya; Kebutuhan Khusus; Inklusi

Social Approach in Autism: Modeling Objective Measurements of Child Movement in a Naturalistic Environment

Background. Atypicalities in social approach are thought to be characteristic of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but few studies have quantified the social movement of children with ASD using objective measures. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a new method—computational modeling of radio frequency identification (RFID) child tracking—for studying children with ASD in a naturalistic setting. We present the use of RFID measurements to investigate the velocity and social approach of children with ASD and typically developing (TD) children interacting together in preschool inclusion classrooms during repeated multi-hour observations. Methods. Observations of 14 preschoolers with ASD and 16 TD preschoolers in two inclusion classrooms on a total of 10 days yielded approximately 10 hours of data per child. Objective measurements of position and orientation were collected using four corner-mounted Ubisense ultra-wide sensors, which tracked a right and left tag worn by each child (in a vest) and teacher in the classroom. We calculate angular velocity, velocity, and social approach, and compare ASD and TD children on these parameters using multilevel statistical models. Results. In this initial exploration of the ASD phenotype in situ, children with ASD did not differ from TD children in angular velocity or velocity of movement in the classroom. Rather, pairs of TD children moved toward and away from each other at higher velocities than both pairs of children with ASD and pairs in which one child had ASD and the other child was TD. Children with ASD, however, moved toward and away from teachers at higher velocities than TD children. Limitations. Illustrative data from repeated observations of 30 children in two classrooms are reported. Results are preliminary. Conclusions. Multi-hour, objective measurements in a preschool inclusion classroom indicated that children with ASD did not move through space or turn at higher velocities than other children. Instead, ASD differences were evident in social approach. Children with ASD were slower in approaching peers but quicker in approaching teachers than were TD children. The results suggest the potential of modeling RFID measurements to produce a quantitative understanding of the ASD phenotype in naturalistic social contexts.

Critical Geography in Preschool: Evidence of Early Childhood Civic Action and Ideas about Justice

Background U.S. preschool children from Latinx immigrant and Black communities often experience schooling rooted in compliance and overdiscipline. In these contexts, schools do not recognize the rich lived experiences of Children of Color as suitable for civic learning. This article explores how, when schools value young Children of Color as capable and their work as important, classrooms become sites of children's daily embodied civic action. Purpose Our study sought to better understand how children conceptualize and enact their ideas about community and to document the kinds of civic action present in early childhood classrooms. Applying theoretical tools of critical geography, we specifically analyzed how children used space and materials to enact their vision of a just community. Participants Three classrooms—an inclusion classroom, a bilingual classroom, and an English-only general education classroom—located within a Head Start center in South Texas participated in this study. The campus is roughly 65% Latinx, 33% Black, and 2% White, serving 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children. Research Design This study used a multisited, comparative ethnographic methodology. Multisited ethnography allows researchers to locate patterns and contextual differences that impact people's lived experiences. Initially, researchers conducted ethnographic observations through field notes, photographs, and short videos documenting children's action on behalf of or with the classroom community. Next, we used video-cued ethnographic methods, filming for three days in each classroom and editing the footage into a 20-minute film. We showed that film to teachers, families, and children in focus groups. Analysis occurred in multiple phases, during which we refined codes through individual, partner, participant, and team-level work. Findings Children used physical space and materials to assert community membership and to strengthen community ties. They adapted space and classroom materials to include other community members in shared activities. Finally, children advocated for space for their own purposes. Conclusions When teachers and administrators approach the classroom as a civic space where children representing racial, linguistic, and ability diversity can access embodied experiences with civic action, children can use their space to act on behalf of the community. Rather than offering lesson-based social-emotional learning, schools can reflect on how children might build a just, caring community through authentic embodied experiences that include having some control over space and materials. Doing so may allow a shift toward class environments that support shared endeavors and opportunities for children to care for community members.