Teachers are expected to reach all students in the classroom with the same lesson. This can be a challenge as a classroom consists of students at a variety academically and social levels. Differentiating instruction adapts lesson delivery to meet the learning needs of each student. Differentiation is a key tool to help special needs children learn.
Differentiating instruction can involve adapting the content of the lesson, what the student is expected to learn. Or it can mean adapting how the lesson is delivered. Teachers can provide alternate ways for special needs children to demonstrate that they have mastered a lesson. For example, a teacher can allow a special needs student to answer test questions aloud with the teacher instead of writing them out. Similarly, a teacher can assign a student to create a poster with visuals to reflect her response to a reading assignment, instead of writing a reflection journal entry.
Scaffolding in education is the process of giving students the support they need to accomplish learning tasks or goals. When presenting a new skill, the teacher first performs the skill herself to model what the student will eventually need to do on his own. Then she begins to give the student more and more responsibility for performing the task independently. This process begins with complete support from the teacher and ends with the student demonstrating the skill without support.
For example, a teacher might model each step in completing a long division problem, then have the student do it while she walks him through each step. Eventually the student will perform the steps on his own.
Scaffolding provides special needs children the support they require at each step in the learning process. Teachers should adjust their level of scaffolding to the needs of each individual student.
Small-group instruction and activities can help special needs children learn by participating and contributing to the lesson with the support of their peers. Heterogeneous grouping mixes students of different ability levels and learning needs in the same group. If implemented correctly, this kind of grouping can provide special needs students with increased academic success and improved self-esteem. All groups are expected to perform at the same level, and each member of the group works together to achieve the learning goals and objectives.
General technology devices such as calculators and computers, and assistive technology devices designed specifically for people with special needs, can help special needs students learn in the classroom. Assistive technology means any device that has been created for the specific purpose of helping a person with disabilities perform tasks in daily life. It can help special needs children become more independent in the classroom, which in turn can help them learn.
Examples of assistive technology can be sophisticated, such as software programs that read textbooks and assignments aloud to students or that allow students to communicate by reading aloud what they input into the software. Such technology can also be simple, such as pencil grips to help special needs children who struggle with holding a pencil or pen and completing handwritten assignments, or magnifying devices for students with visual impairments.