Special Education Curriculum and Student Progress

Special Education

Part 1

I have chosen Kate from among the students described in the case to complete this part. Kate is an 11th grader with moderate bilateral hearing loss (i.e., asymmetrical or symmetrical loss of hearing in both her ears). She barely scrapes through exams and has ceased to use personal amplification at school. She had already ceased using her FM system during her middle school days when she started cycling through classes. Symmetrical bilateral hearing loss implies an equal loss of hearing in both the ears, whereas in case of asymmetrical hearing loss, one ear will be able to hear better as compared to the other; nevertheless, in either case, both ears are affected (Hear-it, 2020).

Access to curriculum

Equal learning opportunity calls for hard-of-hearing or deaf students like Kate to be able to access information that the majority of their peers (i.e., normally-hearing peers) can access via listening. Captioning, sign language interpretation, and other visual supports might be required for providing Kate with access to a specialized instruction-based syllabus.

Accommodations

Acoustic changes are capable of offering hearing-loss students, such as Kate's major benefits. However, they might be rendered impossible in certain instances and might not suffice for access to communication. Various hearing technologies may be utilized for Kate, in specific, and this student population, in general. To different extents, such technologies will be able to improve talker voice audibility and diminish the adverse impacts of echo, distance, and noise. In Kate's case, traditional ear-level aids may be utilized in class. Such hearing aids function best if the listener and speaker are relatively closely situated to each other. Specialized seating arrangements may, thus, be made to allow Kate to sit closer to the teacher, besides simplifying things for her through enhanced speech-reading conditions.

Goals

The goals described below have been determined with the aid of the Standard Aligned System of Pennsylvania State:

· Distinguishing between, and identifying, consonants and vowels in quiet/noise

· Using alternate terms

Objectives

The above goals possess the following supporting objectives:

· Distinguishing between and identifying, consonants, and vowels in quiet/noise: The three objectives, in this case, are: 1) Kate can distinguish between consonants and vowels when provided with flashcards. 2) She can ascertain whether or not they are the same, with 80 percent accuracy (decided by educator observation). 3) She can discern words beginning with consonants and vowels.

· Using alternate terms: The objectives linked to this goal are: 1) Kate can utilize alternate terms when answering requests for clarifications two-thirds of the time as gauged by the educator. 2) She knows why she must utilize alternate words. 3) She can differentiate between words (Arnoldi, 2011).

Assessing Student's Progress

To monitor Kate's progress, rubrics, portfolios, select curriculum-grounded evaluations, condition reference checklists, mastery tracking measures, and similar instruments will be adopted. Such evaluation processes have been utilized by intervention initiatives and researchers, as well as applied, at times, to progress tracking practices (Rose, n.d). Progress evaluation will occur once every six months. Lastly, goals will be taken into account, and progress evaluated based on whether or not Kate has accomplished them.

Part 2

I have chosen 9th-grader Andy (having a cochlear implant) to complete this part. Andy depends on this everyday support for better-comprehending texts in school and writing Standard English. Besides hearing support, Andy also receives language and speech support. He is somewhat self-conscious while talking and hesitates to participate in class by volunteering answers or clarifying things when in doubt.

Communication Plan

Andy, who is surgically equipped with a cochlear implant, has already been receiving language and speech support besides hearing support. It is recommended for him to acquire the assistance of a transliterator or educational interpreter for participating in social and classroom interactions and instructions and benefiting from them. When making decisions about communication and language approaches to utilize with a student having a cochlear implant, coming up with a personalized communication and language plan may offer a systematic structure for guiding and monitoring choices linked to practices for best matching individual children's traits. The development of Andy's communication and language functioning profile may prove valuable in the formulation of a personalized plan. This profile ought to reflect both informal and formal tests completed by the students, in addition to observing his communication and linguistic functioning within natural settings. The communication approach needs to offer meaningful avenues for spoken language development in the course of natural as well as structured activities. Andy won't be left to fall back on his education at the cost of concentrating on cultivating spoken language. Rather, efficient communication will be at hand for him to socialize with his peers. Communication and linguistic approaches combined will be utilized and amended with time, with the evolution of his oral language skills. One point to bear in mind must be: to ensure Andy isn't frustrated by the communication and linguistic approaches adopted within the plan. Otherwise, he will not be keen on sticking to them. Approaches, including sign language, might be utilized as well. Spoken language may be developed and honed within a signing atmosphere. The use of proper resources and purposeful planning when designing an English bilingual/ASL strategy for Andy can meet his spoken language requirements (Gallaudet University, 2017).

Part 3

I have chosen Kevin to complete this part. The primary language of Kevin, the high school's only totally-deaf child, is ASL. Kevin needs an interpreter at all times. He works together with his support educator and is well-motivated to achieve success. He performs quite well, academically, but still requires help in the areas of vocabulary development and English writing.

Lesson Plan

Lesson plan adaption in the case of hearing-impaired students revolves around kinesthetic, visual, and tactile learning, or teaching with the aid of movement, sight, and touch while de-emphasizing hearing and speech. A large number of normally-hearing students are also kinesthetic or visual learners. Kevin performs well at school and is an enthusiastic learner. He needs an interpreter at all times. Kevin's lesson plan encompasses flashcards, charts, maps, diagrams, and practical/hands-on resource and material demonstrations. The above modifications are necessary for compensating for his deafness.

Instructional procedure modifications will be carried out in Kevin's case, including signed English usage, fingerspelling, and Cued Speech, for clarifying differences between printed English and ASL as he requires ongoing help in the areas of vocabulary development and English writing assignments.