Theme II: Culturally Responsive and Inclusive Education

Sections 2.2: Learner Exceptionalities

2.1.6- Compare theories and philosophies of education and training impacting learners

with exceptionalities.

It's very important that teachers understand that there is more than one way to teach.

Before teachers start teaching, they need to know the different learning styles and each student's

needs. They need to use all the philosophers’ theories to help them. Abraham Maslow, BF

Skinner, Howard Gardner, Albert Bandura, John Dewy, Benjamin Bloom, Erik Erikson are

theorists that can help you find different ways to teach (Evidence; 2.2.1).

If a student loves being engaged in the content that's being taught or likes to interact with

it, then Albert Bandura and John Dewy are the philosophers that you need to look at (Evidence;

2.2.1). They both believed in hands-on learning. John Dewy believed that students must interact

with their environment in order to adapt and learn. Jean Piaget also believed that students build

knowledge through attaching new experiences to old experiences. Albert Bandura is best known

for his social learning theory. He believed that human behavior is learned through observation,

imitation, and modeling. For example, if an adult was doing a task and there were children

watching her do it, after she was done the children would mimic her or attempt the task

themselves. An example in the classroom is if they were doing a science lab, the teacher would

demonstrate how to do each step then have the students perform the same step. He thought that

pairing kids with other children is a high cognitive level and that is very helpful to individuals.

Many preschools follow this concept, having typically developing peers in the same class as

students with learning delays.

Theories about cognitive needs of students with exceptionalities was developed by

Benjamin Bloom and Jean Piaget. Piaget created specific stages that identified the different
developmental stages. He believed that children developed intelligence by attaching new

experiences to previous ones. He also believed that intelligence isn't fixed, it develops in stages.

Benjamin Bloom created a Bloom's taxonomy to categorize the learning objectives based on

cognitive knowledge (Evidence; 2.2.2). He took the stages of cognitive development and created

a hierarchy to help identify methods and indicators that demonstrated levels of cognition. Both

these philosophies build on each other. Teachers need to understand how important it is that

intelligence isn't fixed and that students should be pushed in academic activities that allow

evaluations and analysis. An example is Bloom’s guides students to higher order thinking. This is

especially helpful with gifted learners.

Learners with exceptionalities might need accommodations/ modifications to increase

their academic performance. Students with social, emotional, cognitive and physical needs often

require accommodations or modifications to help support growth. An accommodation may be

used to describe an alteration of environment, curriculum format, or equipment that allows an

individual with a disability to gain access to content and/or complete assigned tasks.

Accommodations allow students with disabilities to pursue a regular course of study. Common

accommodations include small group work (social/emotional), extended time on a task/quiz

(cognitive), enlarged text on a reading assignment (physical). Modifications are changes to what

your child is taught or expected to do in school. Common modifications are reduced learning

targets (cognitive) and access to extended curriculum (cognitive).

Students with exceptionalities often qualify for an IEP, IFSPs, or a 504 plan (Evidence;

2.2.3). An IEP is an Individualized Educational Program that lays out the program of special

education instruction, supports, and services kids need to make progress and thrive in school. It

has individualized goals for each student. These goals target the area of weakness. To improve in
the areas of weakness, the IEP helps design specific instructions that will help the student reach

his/her goal. An IFSPs is an Individual Family Service Plan that helps infants reach their age

appropriate developmental level. This plan can help you with speech therapy, cognitive therapy,

occupational therapy. 504 plans are formal plans that schools develop to give kids with

disabilities the support they need. That covers any condition that limits daily activities in a major

way. It doesn't create an individualized education program; instead, it provides students with

accommodations so that they will have better access to the curriculum.

Learners with exceptionalities are sensitive to academic achievement. Their academic

achievement impacts their social, emotional, cognitive and physical health. As a teacher you

need to create a learning environment that meets everyone's social, emotional, cognitive and

physical needs of students with exceptionalities. When working with students with social or

emotional needs it is important that you create a positive environment and reward students for

their success. For example, a student that has very bad anxiety might have to take a test in a

room where they are comfortable or with someone they feel comfortable with. When considering

someone's physical needs it is important that you provide an accessible learning space, necessary

materials, and adjust the work time. For example, if a student can't see that well they might need

the text to be in a larger font. Finally there are students with cognitive needs that might need

one-on-one support, reduced assignments, or extended time. For example, a student that has

dyslexia might need a passage read out loud to them or extended time on the passage (Evidence;

2.2.4). When considering which philosophy to use, it is important as a teacher to use a

combination of them all. When the students' needs aren't met, the academic achievement will

decrease and the students' health will suffer.

 It's important that we take the knowledge from these philosophers and apply it to when

we are teaching. Differentiation is using all of the philosophers ideas to meet the needs of

exceptional students (Evidence; 2.2.5). To maximize the learning for all students, teachers must

utilize these philosophies.