Modifications and Accommodations in learning

Accommodations and adjustments relate to actions that educators can take to make it easier for young children or older students with physical or mental limitations to access knowledge. Sometimes accommodations are subject-specific (Keith, 2002). When used in ELA contexts, for instance, accommodations and modifications created for math may not be as beneficial. This is a result of the presence of particular learning difficulties, which may indicate that a student comprehends all courses with the exception of a few, like math, speaking, or writing. Numerous adaptations and accommodations can be provided for those who have dyscalculia, a learning condition that affects math. One of the modifications and accommodations is individualization of instruction. This refers to the process of treating every disabled student’s needs as an individual so as to ascertain the specific learning impediment that the student displays. This is because dyscalculia can present itself in a variety of ways and it is thereby prudent to identify what way the impediment manifests itself in each student. Several ways it presents itself include confusion of place values, writing numbers backwards and lack of retention of mathematical knowledge (Michaelson, 2007).

The second method that mathematics tutors can use to help disabled students achieve benchmark points in math is through the use of graduated teaching sequencing when teaching abstract concepts. This method involves sliding in the knowledge from concrete, then to semi-concrete and ultimately to abstract. For this reason, it is also known as the CSA method. In the method, abstract ideas are manipulated to resemble concrete objects in the vicinity of the student (Dick, Lou, & O’Carey, 2006). The other accommodation that can be used to teach math to disabled students is the use of mnemonic devices to help students memorize mathematical concepts. The fourth method involves the application of question-feedback loops during math instruction. This is an effective method as students are encouraged to raise questions about areas of contention so that the teacher can clarify with his/her feedback. The process is then iterated until no more questions are raised by the students. The teacher then asks question until the students give him the correct feedback. The last math accommodation is ensuring that mathematics teachers who are employed to tutor disabled students are of a high standard. This is because some forms of dyscalculia could be a result of poor mathematics instruction. English language arts are bound to use accommodations and modifications different from math.

One of the accommodations is to teach the language acquisition objectives in an explicit manner so that the students can understand what is expected of them (Abedi, Hofstetter, & Lord, 2004). The second modification involves the use of simple vocabulary since that students may have a hard time understanding complex vocabulary. The third accommodation involves application of peer tutoring since peers to the student might understand where the student is coming from with reference to language acquisition barriers such as the use of slang. The fourth modification involves making use of resources that contain a language that the student is familiar with. This might be the mother tongue or the student’s first language. The last modification for ELA students is the use of rubrics so as to reiterate to the student what exactly is expected of him this might be applied when assigning the student homework (Gibbons, 2002).

Part 2

Among the identified accommodations and modifications, several strike out as effective and would be instrumental in helping me in assisting the students to achieve their benchmarks. One of the most effective is the use of graduated teaching sequencing. This is because it not only applies to math instruction but to ELA subjects as well. When implementing it to math instruction, I would, for instance, represent symbols and numbers in algebraic equations with algebra tiles so as to relate the abstract algebraic idea to concrete objects. I would then in the second step, use a pictorial representation of the algebra tiles so as to fulfill the semi-concrete provision of the accommodation. Lastly, I would delve into the last stage of the sequence where I would use symbols and numbers to represent the equation variables. However, knowing the deficiency of the student in understanding and abstracting math problems, the last stage of abstraction would present a challenge during the delivery of the instruction.

However, the challenge may be mitigated through repetition of the entire sequence. The sequence in itself could present a number of challenges. Among them is the issue of acquisition of objects and stationery to aid in the concrete phase of the sequence (Abedi, Hofstetter & Lord, 2004). Such objects may include algebra tiles, which may be expensive. The other challenge is that instructors may lack the ability to create visual representations of the objects during the semi-concrete stage and may thereby require professional input to help the instructor’s model concrete/semi-concrete objects and bind them to the math abstractions. The last challenge is that the method calls for lots of repetition of the whole process so as to confirm understanding in the students. These challenges may negatively impact the understanding of the student if not mitigated. Therefore to mitigate these challenges, one should seek assistance from the management of institutions such as mentor teachers to solve issues such as funding, assistance in more labor-force and professional training of teachers to use the modification techniques.

Mnemonics and question-feedback procedures may be directly implemented. For mnemonics, one would use using existing ones. For example, the most extensively used mnemonic in math all over the world is the one that helps children memorize the process of manipulating parentheses, exponentials, multiplication, division, addition and subtraction. The mnemonic goes like Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally (PEMDAS). I would also implement the pointer about simplification of language or concepts. However, this may present the challenge of oversimplification of complex ideas which would water down the understanding of the student. To mitigate this challenge, one should discuss with fellow tutors and mentor teachers so as to come up with a curriculum that is not too hard for the disabled students or too easy to be considered oversimplified. The use of the student’s first language to teach English as a second language, although advised by many people, may be problematic however, to the disabled student since the student may fall for language-driven thought patterns that may conflict with both languages thereby exposing him to cognitive dissonance. In that light, its effectiveness will have been hindered and would therefore not be implemented in this scenario.

Part 3

The following part will discuss an analysis of a student’s individualized program once the student was diagnosed with dyscalculia. For discretion and confidentiality purposes, the personal details will not be revealed (Kethi, 2002). The program contains three phases. One phase of the program details the accommodations and modifications that the student requires during class time. The other phase is during his homework. The third phase is during the testing of the student. During his class time, the student will be accorded accommodations such as graduated teaching sequence, the use of mnemonics to help memorize math formulae and simplification of instruction language. The second phase includes accommodations such as mnemonics to help retrieve the formulae and the use of rubrics and explicit instruction to assert the objectives of the assignments. Testing of the student would include more accommodations not listed in the paper. Apart from the use of explicit instruction, they mostly include allowing the student more time than allotted during the test and being lenient as not to fail him/her in case of spelling mistakes. An accommodation not advisable to be in the student’s IEP is the use of the student’s first language in passing math instruction, since cognitive dissonance may affect the delivery of instruction.

References

Abedi, J., Hofstetter, C., & Lord, C. (2004). Assessment accomodations for English language learners:l Implications for policy-based empirical research. Review of Educational Research, 1-28.

Dick, W., Lou, C., & O’Carey, J. (2006). the systematic design of instruction. New York: McGraw Hill/ Irwin.

Gibbons, P. (2002). Scaffolding language, scaffolding learning: Teaching second nlanguage learners in the mainstream classroom. Portsmouth: Heinemann.

Keith, H. (2002). Determining when test alterations are valid accomodations for large-scale assessment. Large-scale assessment programs for all students: Validity, technical adequacy and implementation, 395-425.

Michaelson, M. (2007). An overview of dyscalculia: methods for ascertaining and accommodating dyscalculic children in the classroom. Australian Mathematics Teacher, 17-22.