Introduction

You are in your first year of teaching and have been assigned to a school with a relatively high special education population.Though your teacher preparation program required you to take a course in special education, it was nearly two years ago and you’re not sure you remember enough to be helpful.You vaguely remember some of the terminology (inclusion, mainstreamed, least restrictive environment) but can’t recall the specifics of the legislation.You definitely don’t remember what your legal responsibilities are and have never seen a copy of an individualized plan that all special education students must have. You have two choices – panic or become better informed!You decide that the latter choice is the more responsible of the two even though the first is quite tempting.You formulate an action plan that includes online and onsite research.You’ll visit credible websites to learn more about the history and legislation.To gain practical insights, you’ll contact your friend, Sharmeen who is currently teaching in a summer program for special education students. Hopefully, she’ll be able to answer some of your questions about the day-to-day realities of meeting the needs of special education students, provide you will an opportunity to review documentation and even observe. 

The Task

To complete this assignment you will assume the roles of researcher and teacher.As a researcher you will visit various websites to learn more about learning disabilities.As a teacher you will first create a brief descriptive case study of a student with a specific learning disability(s), then construct an action plan that outlines the ways in which you will accommodate the student’s learning needs through your instructional and assessment practices.

To begin, research the web using the online links below to formulate thoughtful and knowledgeable responses to these questions:

1)What are some of the historical milestones in Special Education?

2)What are the origins of Special Education?

3)What prompted national Special Education law?

4)What are the fundamental provisions of the legislation regulating the education of students with special needs?

5)What do the following have to do with Special Education legislation and how do each impact schools:  FAPE,  IDEA, 504, IEP, LRE, ADA?

6)What is the prevalence of children with special needs?

7)What is the IEP process?

8)What is Inclusion and what is its on impact general education teachers?

9)What is the preferred role of parents, teachers, and students in meeting the student’s learning needs?

10)What kinds of support services, within school and outside of school, are available to general education teachers working with special needs students? 

The Process

Step 1.Using the questions listed above to guide your investigation visit each of these online resources:

Historical Background

IDEA Overview

PACER Center: Champions for Children with Disabilities

Office of Special Education Programs

Council for Exceptional Children

A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding IDEA

Step 2. Apply the knowledge you have gained as researchers by creating a handout to be shared with class members that summarizes the essential aspects of what you’ve learned. Include resources that you think will be beneficial to others. Post your hand-out to the BB discussion board by clicking on the link above.

Evaluation

The Web Quest assignment will be assessed using the rubric below.
  

	Exemplary A	Satisfactory B	Adequate     C	Score	Comments
Apply knowledge of learning disabilities by creating a summary handout	Reflects a thorough Summary of the information provided by the online resources. All questions are addressed fully.	The online material is summarized, but missing one or two pieces of key information All but one question have been addressed fully.	The information presented highlights some but not all of the key information.Not all of the questions are addressed fully.
Apply knowledge of disability and teaching through creating/sharing  handout	Handout was highly informative, well organized, creative and visually interesting with a variety of graphics.	Handout was informative with few gaps, well organized and some visual aids were provided.	Handout was somewhat informative with some gaps, fairly well organized but not very visually interesting.

Conclusion
Congratulations on completing this WebQuest! You should now have a fundamental understanding of the legislation that governs special education programs in the public schools.Through this experience you should have formed a descriptive portrait of the ways that special education programs are structured to meet the individual needs of students. As part of your professional growth, it is imperative that you continue to learn as much as possible about special education and its impact on schools and classrooms. When taught by teachers who are well prepared and knowledgeable about special needs and new research findings, many of the students with special needs are able to successfully manage the educational process.

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Credits & References

Image #1 taken from www.pattan.k12.pa.us/SEAP/

Image #2 taken from www.ed.gov/offices/0llA/NonPublic/kidsljpg