By Sara Finegan 

           Some students are so far behind that they cannot keep up with a general education class.  Some students process in a way that requires more time, more space, more opportunities for practice, and a slower pace in order to master new concepts. 

           Some students need a small group – less noise, less activity, less chaos – in order to learn.   Some need instruction provided in ways that aren’t commonly found in a general education room – more visuals, more guided work, more modeling, more incremental. 

          All students with learning disabilities need at least one, if not most of these things in order to learn how to learn.  Notice that I didn’t say they  need them in order to learn everything.  Only to learn how to learn. 

 Full inclusion after rigorous preparation

         I favor inclusion of students with special needs in the general education classroom – after they have been given the appropriate, rigorous instruction and practice in the basics that will allow them to function on a par with everyone else.  I do not favor inclusion where the child enters too far behind to ever catch up and spends the rest of his or her school career vainly trying to do what the other students do.   

Our goal as special educators is to help our students bridge the gap between where they are and where they need to be in order to be able to follow along in a general ed classroom, at a general ed pace and in that kind of environment.

         In order to push our kids up to that level, we may have to enfold them in a Special Day Class or separate classroom environment for some or all subjects for a period of time.  In the best of all possible worlds, this would take place in the elementary school level, and by middle school, the vast majority of  kids with IEPs  who had spent time in a Special Day Class would be out in the general school population for most classes. 

How quickly depends on the child and on us

         How quickly we can bring kids up to the appropriate skill levels depends on each child’s areas of need and strength, and the level of rigor we infuse into our classrooms.  A demanding classroom will firmly and lovingly raise students who use their brains like a muscle in a gym, stretching, pressing, and moving from strength to strength.

I’ve had students arrive from other schools or lower grade Special Day Classes who lack the ability to do independent work, who have become so dependent on the assistance of aides and teachers that they are unable to problem-solve and try out new skills.

I’ve seen special education classrooms which rely on endless series of packets and worksheets, done quietly at student desks, where no questioning takes place and compliance with behavioral rules takes precedence over learning. 

And I’ve worked with many colleagues who become so frustrated with their students’ challenges that they lose sight of what we’re working toward and begin to teach so far below grade level that nobody will ever catch up. 

         None of this is going to move our kids from our classrooms into the general education population with any success.  All of this will perpetuate the deficits our kids arrive with. 

Keep in mind what we want for our students

         If we want kids with in our special education classrooms to move from deficit to ability to competence, we must be relentless in our rigor of instruction, and stand firm in our expectations of learning. 

          We must keep our eye on the ultimate goal, which is that we will shoo our students from our learning nest into the big wide world and watch them fly, fly into their lives as learners.

             Rigor is not the equivalent of harshness.  A demanding classroom is a nurturing environment where students are not expected to learn and function on their own, but where scaffolds and supports are in place and are gradually removed or reduced as mastery takes place. 

          A demanding classroom is one whose staff is attentive to the small signs of growth and need, and adjusts instruction accordingly. 

          A demanding classroom is one where students themselves, at all ages,  work with staff to set reasonable, achievable goal and celebrate success. 

          A demanding classroom is one where the teacher’s motto is “yes, you can, let’s work to find out how…” and where failure is seen as an opportunity to try again. 

          A demanding classroom is one where a student who doesn’t get it just hasn’t been taught it the right way yet – and where the staff is committed to finding the right way for that child. 

           A demanding classroom is one where laughter, curiosity, and determination are reflected in the faces and work of the children, and where academic behavior is as important as social behavior.

When we demand of our students…

           When we demand excellence of our students and fail to show them how to achieve it, we are not providing rigorous instruction.

           When we demand competency from our students and don’t support them in their learning, we are not providing rigorous instruction.

          When we require compliance from our students without understanding and ownership, we are not providing rigorous instruction.

           And when we reduce expectations to accommodate learning deficits, we are certainly not exhibiting any rigor at all in our own work.

 If we want our students to be able to do general education work in a general education classroom, we have to teach general education skills, not special education habits.

          We must demand of our own instruction and planning the same thing our colleagues in the general education classroom demand of themselves and their students.  To do less is to abdicate from the position as teacher.

demanding classroom · high expectations · Inclusion · learning disabled · proficiency · rigor · rigorous instruction · Sara Finegan · special day class · special education · standards

By Sara Finegan

          One of the cornerstones of demanding classrooms is that planning is done backwards.  When we begin our thinking by focusing on what we want the kids to be able to do at the end, we are already setting high expectations, and  high expectations are key.

          In a way, backwards planning is easier than the traditional way we think of developing instruction.  Doing it the old-fashioned way is discouraging:  if we start by focusing on what the kids can’t do, and see the destination as an uphill journey, we’re exhausted before we take our first step.  It’s no way to teach, and for a  child, it’s no way to be taught.

What do I want them to be able to do?

          Begin, therefore, with a list of what you want your students to be able to do at the end of a given unit of study.  For example,

•  I might want my students to be able to write a reading response that includes a summary, a description of the problem or a character, and a paragraph or two describing the child’s  connection to the story. 
• Or I might want my students to be able to add negative numbers fluently and with a minimum score of 80% on a given assessment. 
• Perhaps I want my students to be able to describe the plot features of a text. 
•  Maybe I want my students to be active participants in a literature circle.   
• Perhaps what I want is for my students to successfully complete a science notebook write-up that describes the purpose of an experiment, observations, methodology, materials, hypothesis and conclusions according to a standard rubric.

 Aim high.   

          Aim for the existing standards for any student at grade level.

          Once you know where you’re going, it’s time to take a look at what skills are required in order to get there. 

•  What does one need to be able to do in order to write a reading response? 
• What does a child need to be able to do in order to add and subtract negative numbers?  
• What does my class need to know in order to give me an accurate description of the plot features of a given story? 
• What skills does writing a grade-level science assignment entail?

Make a list. 

          Check it twice.  And then break it down some more.  By this I mean, piece apart all of the different sub-skills that are needed in order to achieve the items on your list. 

In order to write a summary paragraph, a student needs to be able to:  write complete sentences; learn to use his or her own words to describe what happens in a passage; organize facts in sequential order; keep track of who did what in a story; understand the main idea. 

In order to talk about a story in a literature circle, students need to:  know how to develop ideas as they read; jot down thoughts while they read; know how to raise topics in discussion; take turns; add on to someone else’s ideas; listen reflectively; listen responsively. 

          Don’t worry too much about getting everything broken down to the smallest degree.  There will be plenty of time for tweaking your skills list later, as you make discoveries with your students.  I’ve never been able to predict every single skill that is needed in order for my kids to accomplish something; I always end up adding a concept and then finding ways to teach it mid-stream.  That’s part of the excitement of teaching.

What can thhey already do?

           Once you’ve dissected the skills and concepts, it’s time to focus on your students.  Take a look at them with an objective eye:  What are they already able to do?  What are they close to mastering, just needing another push? 

           Obviously, our students aren’t a homogeneous lot, and some students have more skills than others for any given lesson.  Pay attention to that, and make a mental note about the ones who are further ahead – you will want to use them as peer mentors as  you go.    Your students are some of the best tutors, and most inspirational teachers in your classroom.

          At this point, you will need to start planning your instruction in detail.  Take one small piece of the puzzle at a time, and think about how you can bring your students to competency:  what strategies can you use to provide them with appropriate opportunities to learn?    Notice that I am using the plural:  strategies.  You will want to teach the same skills in a variety of ways to accommodate different learning styles, learning needs, and to reenforce the concepts repeatedly.

          As I tell my student teachers:  go forth and think.

backwards planning · demanding classroom · high expectations · learning disabled · lesson planning · rigor · rigorous instruction · Sara Finegan · special education · standards · teaching strategies

By Sara Finegan

Sara and Richard Finegan

There’s a misconception among many in the field of education about special education.  To many, “learning disabled” means “unable to learn” or “limited learning capacity.”  The focus is on the “dis” part of “disability” instead of the ability part.  They ask the wrong questions:  “how smart is he?” rather than “how is he smart?”

We’re all guilty of this to some extent, and the result is that in more cases than not, the special education classroom is one where the learning is “dumbed down” and expectations are too low to inspire growth.

When this happens, our students become dependent on us for learning and information rather than independent thinkers.  When we lower our expectations because of assumptions about learning capacity or processing strengths, the kids learn not to think hard, think deeply, or use their strengths.

When kids aren’t taught to rigorous standards and to use and master important skills, they begin to abdicate responsibility for learning.  We cripple them  by modifying our expectations when what we should really be doing is  strengthening them by modifying our instruction to move them forward.

Over the course of the last decade, I’ve taught all kinds of students, from those with emotional disabilities to language deficits, cognitive and processing deficits, autism, and everything in between.  My long-time aide, whose three children are in  general education classes, informs me regularly that our classroom goes deeper and works kids harder than many general education classes in our district.  Certainly, we don’t require less than they do in terms of the quality and quantity of work from our students.

My students work hard, and I expect them to meet the State standards in every subject area.  My job is to figure out for each student how to get them there.

When I talk about having a demanding classroom, I’m not referring to the students.  I’m referring to my teaching.

This blog is intended to share the instructional strategies and practices that we use in our classroom, and to demonstrate how running a demanding classroom promotes the kind of intellectual growth and development of skills that students with mild to moderate learning disabilities need in order to be successful independent learners.

Your comments and questions are welcome as we embark on this journey.

demanding classroom · high expectations · learning disabled · rigor · rigorous instruction · Sara Finegan · special education · standards