Our View of Disability Is Influenced by Many Factors

Key Concept Assignments EDSP 433- Spr 08

Key Concept #1 EDSP 433 challenges us to recognize the needs of all learners. In so doing, we hold the belief that all people are capable of learning. In this activity, I would like you to consider one of the movies listed below. Each presents a situation with an individual who has exceptional needs. Please view at least one of the movies and respond to the following questions:

 What disabilities are presented in the movie? Please give a brief overview of the disabling condition(s) and some background on the condition's etiology, prognosis, and treatment.

 What challenges do the characters with disabilities face in your movie? Challenges may include physical mobility, communication with others, interpersonal relationships, self awareness, etc.

 How does the person with disabilities affect other characters in the movie? How does the person with disabilities transform others in the movie to support the movie's theme/main idea?

 What challenges would a teacher face in dealing with the character(s) who has disabilities in your movie (you may need to use your imagination to place the person in a 6-12 classroom setting)? What types of support services would be beneficial?

 How did viewing this movie affect your perception of persons with disabilities?

Due:______

Suggested movies for viewing (plot summaries from the Internet Movie Database http://us.imdb.com/search):

The Mighty (1998) This is a story of the friendship between two boys named Max and Kevin. Max has learning disabilities and Kevin has a rare disease that physically deformed him. Kevin lives next door to Max and one day is assigned as a reading tutor to him. Their friendship develops presenting situations where the two collaborate together to overcome adversity from others and their own personal handicaps.

Mask (1985) A boy with a massive facial skull deformity and biker gang mother attempts to live as normal a life as possible under the circumstances.

Rain Man (1988) Charley is a hustler. He's been on his own long enough to know how to work people and situations. He finds that the father who threw him out as a teenager has died. He's left him a now antique convertible and something more important, a previously unknown brother, Raymond. Raymond is Autistic, but is able to calculate complicated mathematical problems in his head with great speed and accuracy. Their father has left his fortune to Raymond who doesn't even understand what money is for. Charley is enraged by what has happened and by his father keeping Raymond's existence from him for his entire life. He kidnaps Raymond from his residential home but then finds that Raymond will only fly Quantas. The two begin a long road trip that will lead them to an understanding of each other.

My Left Foot (1989) In this true story told through flashbacks, Christy Brown is born with crippling cerebral palsy into a poor, working-class Irish family. Able only to control movement in his left foot and to speak in guttural sounds, he is mistakenly believed to be retarded for the first ten years of his life. Later, through the help of his strong-willed mother, a dedicated teacher, and his own courage and determination, Christy not only learns to grapple with life's simple physical tasks and complex psychological pains, but he also develops into a brilliant painter, poet and author.

Breaking Free (1995) When troubled, cynical teen Rick (Jeremy London) chooses service at a camp for the blind over serving time at a correctional facility, he thinks he's found the easy way out. Instead, it's the way to a new life. Friendship. Step by step, as Rick helps a blinded Gymnast rediscover the joys of competition through equestrian show jumping, they begin to take control of the most important journey of all... a journey called life.

Dance Me to My Song (1998) A woman (Heather Rose) trapped in a twisted body from her bouts with the debilitating cerebral palsy communicates with the world via her computer with a voice box. Her caretaker (Joey Kennedy) is a short-tempered woman who begrudges the woman the care she needs. Things change when Rose bumps into a young man (John Brumpton) who starts giving her attention.

Digging to China (1998) Harriet, a ten-year old girl, lives together with her big sister and her alcoholic mother out in the countryside. The family runs a motel. Harriet is different from the others, as she owns a great creativity and has nobody to play with. Her infinite world exists only in her mind. One day, Ricky comes along. He is a grown-up, but retarded son of an elderly lady. Soon, Harriet and Ricky share their experiences of life from a different point of view and become close friends. But his mother still plans to give Ricky away into professional care in a home, because she won't live forever to be there for him.

The Miracle Worker (1962) Young Helen Keller, blind, deaf, and mute since infancy, is in danger of being sent to an institution. Her inability to communicate has left her frustrated and violent. In desperation, her parents seek help from the Perkins Institute, which sends them a "half-blind Yankee schoolgirl" named Annie Sullivan to tutor their daughter. Through persistence and love, and sheer stubbornness, Annie breaks through Helen's walls of silence and darkness and teaches her to communicate. Children of a Lesser God (1986) James is a new speech teacher at a school for the deaf. He falls for Sarah, a pupil who decided to stay on at the school rather than venture into the "real" world. She shuns him at first, refusing to read his lips and only using signs. Will here feelings change over time?

The Other Sister (1999) When Carla Tate, now a young woman, is 'graduated' out of the training school where she has resided for many years because she is mentally challenged, her hope is that she will be accepted for all that she can now do for herself. But Carla's family is wealthy which permits her mother, already blinded to her daughter's rather high-functioning abilities, to try and provide for Carla beyond her needs or desires, bringing forth the inevitable confrontations...for what Carla may lack in mental ability she certainly makes up for in her insistence on being independent, even to living in her own apartment. But if this isn't enough, into the mix comes a young man, equally challenged mentally, who moves Carla beyond anyone's control...

Key Concept # 2 California K-12 achievement data tells us that as students move through the grades there can be problems in “learning fragmentation.” Some students progress and do well, while others do not and fall behind academically. Secondary schools are increasingly challenged to identify students with achievement gaps, provide intervention, and also offer grade level content instruction from a variety of disciplines. Our third Key Concept paper has two parts. Part 1 asks you to examine a school’s performance using California’s Standardized Testing and Reporting data (the school you choose should be the same one you’re using for your field study project). Part 2 asks you to offer a description of intervention programs the school is using to address student needs in either language arts or mathematics.

To carry out Part 1 of this investigation, use the California STAR website (http://star.cde.ca.gov ) examining data for 06-07 to look at either 7th or 9th grade students. Replicate the following table and enter data from your work:

School: Grade: School Number of Language Arts Language Arts Mathematics Mathematics Population Students/ Scaled Score Performance Scaled Score Performance %of Total (0-600) Band* (0-600) Band* Overall

White (Not Hispanic)

Hispanic/Latino

Economically Disadvantaged Students with Disabilities * What performance band is represented by the scaled score: Advanced, Proficient, Basic, Below Basic, Far Below Basic? Based on the 06-07 STAR data for the school you examined, please respond to the following questions:

What are three objective statements that you can make from examining the 06-07 STAR data from the school you examined? Given the data, what area has the highest priority warranting additional time and resource deployment? Why?

Part 2, asks you to talk with administrators, teachers and/or counselors concerning your selected school and intervention programs they are using to address either language arts or mathematics needs. For students with intensive needs (achievement three or more grade levels below current placement; needs not able to met through intervention in the regular class), what specific intervention programs are being used? For students with strategic needs (one to three grade levels below current placement; needs able to met in the regular class) what programs are being used and how are regular education faculty trained and offered on-going support to be successful teachers? How is the whole school faculty working together to address student academic needs in your opinion?

Due: ______

Key Concept # 3 Independent Inquiry - Content Area

This final Key Concept paper is a synthesis of the information, knowledge and skills you have acquired in EDSP 433. Given that each of you will eventually teach within a specific content or subject area, it is important you examine your intended subject area (math, science, social sciences, foreign languages, arts, physical education) within the context of this course. The remaining chapters of our textbook (Chapters 13-16) focus on these areas. For this next Key Concept paper:

Step 1. Please select and read one chapter that best represents your subject area or an area of interest if none relate specifically to your discipline.

Step 2. Identify an educational issue (see below) that you wish to explore further as you prepare to meet the needs of individuals with disabilities in your classroom.

Step 3. Using information gained during your fieldwork observations, textbook, class discussions or assignments, provide a summary of how you would support individuals with disabilities in your classroom in one or more of the following areas: (1) Social Integration, (2) Lesson Plan Development, (3) Accommodations/Modifications, (4) Instructional Approaches, (5) Behavior Management, etc.

Due: ______Key Concept Paper Rubric

Beginning Developing Exemplary Score 3 5 7 Totally unrelated Somewhat relevant Directly relevant Topic

Organized; events are Good organization; events are Organization Not organized somewhat jumpy logically ordered

Unable to find specific Some details are non- Supporting details specific to Quality of details supporting to the subject subject Information

Very frequent grammar More than five errors All grammar and spelling are Grammar, and/or spelling errors; and/or minor presentation correct; word processed or Spelling, and illegible writing flaws neatly written Neatness

KC handed in more Up to one week late KC handed in on time Timeliness than two weeks late

Total /35