ESOL and Special Education Students - Assignment Example

? ESOL and Special Education ESOL and Special Education In the room, the work of the is to ensure that students understand different perspectives. However, it is not easy to ensure the students understand. This is especially true when it comes to students with special requirements; who require a specially trained tutor. For instance, for ESOL students, the class requires a well-trained tutor to handle English related subjects as the students in that class are not native speakers of English. In my experience of teaching ESOL, I have come across exceptional students who made me wonder whether other services such as the special education would be more helpful in getting the information across. This is because referrals, detentions, and disciplinary measures are not effective on the side of such students. ESOL students tend to experience difficulties in learning, which is not the case with the native speakers of the language. From my experience, these students fail regularly in their classes. I, therefore, concluded that ESOL students require more than normal lectures can offer so as to help them in their understanding (Stoynoff & Chapelle, 2005). The idea that an individual could require special education is mostly derived from the medical history of the student. However, it is worth noting that students with special needs can perform as their normal peers with little assistance (Special Education and Student Services, 2012). Special education programs are divided into several categories such as the visual students and the auditory students. As the students’ ability differ, the approach to different subjects with regard to special students also varies. The first lesson to consider is measurement. Measurement is about the idea of a number that is used to show the size or the amount of something (Measurement Index, 2013). The major objectives of determining measurement include ensuring that a precise measurement is recorded as it could be used in other calculations. The procedures of determining measurements are diverse and unique to the unit whose measurements are being determined. There are many things that can be measured, but the common ones are length, area, time, volume and mass. Specific instruments are used to measure these elements. For instance, with respect to length, an instrument such as a ruler can be used to determine short lengths. To engage the students, in this subject, I would begin by asking suggestive questions such as what a ruler is and what it is used for. The next step could be explaining the meaning of words such as mass and volume to the students. While explaining volume, to make it easy for the students to understand, it would be appropriate to use the model approach. This is where a small version of a large object is used to show how measurements are taken, and how to use them in calculating the subsequent volume. This would also serve as a perfect way to introduce the lesson to the students. Besides the theory part, for better understanding bearing in mind that these are special students, practice is essential to their understanding. Therefore, the teacher should be involved in the initial stage of the practice as the guided practice to show individual students how to use various instruments in acquiring accurate measurements. As a teacher, after I am satisfied that the students have understood the concept, I leave them to discuss with their peers on the subjects then answer any possible questions the following day. It is of extreme importance to realize that there exist different types of special students. With regard to the visual students, the teacher should concentrate much on visualizing the subject. This incorporates using labeled diagrams in the classroom and multimedia such as power point animations and video clips showing the procedures of obtaining the measurements. With respect to auditory students, it would be important to use the practical part of the lesson when showing the student how to acquire the measurement. Since kinesthetic students can sense body movements, the practical way of teaching is the only way to help them understand different concepts in the subject. The second lesson, to evaluate with respect to special students, is hypothesis. This is where it is defined as a proposed explanation to a specific phenomenon. This explanation is stated in a way that identifies both the dependent and the independent variables. With regard to science, a hypothesis is a proposed explanation to a phenomenon that still requires through testing. The objective of this lesson is to help the students in ensuring that they can explain different phenomenon and be in a position to authenticate them. This is because most phenomenons are not conclusive until they undergo thorough testing and confirmation. The procedures involved depend on the comprehension of both dependent and the independent variables (Writing Hypotheses: A Student Lesson, n.d). The independent variables are manipulated factors from an experiment. The dependent variables are factors used to determine and explain the manipulation on the independent variable and its effect. To engage students in this lesson, it would be beneficial to use normal life activities. For instance, asking them how they could prove that carrots improve an individual’s vision. To test such a hypothesis, as a tutor, I would expect the students to answer using the manipulation of whether the subject individual’s ate carrots or not. To introduce the students, I would first explain the meaning of the term hypothesis then variables and their subsequent types. Giving examples would also enhance the student’s understanding. For instance, the vision in the previous example is an independent variable while vision is dependent. As is with the case of special students, practice is essential. Both tutor-guided practice in the understanding of this challenging subject and independent driven practice are recommended. The guided practice is mostly directed towards a deeper understanding of how to identify variables and determine them as either dependent or independent. At the end of the lesson, the teacher summarizes the lesson reminding the students on the main points covered, as well as testing whether they understood through simple straightforward questions. With regard to differences in students, hypotheses would be one of the most challenging subjects to explain to the students. Use of practical examples would help both visual and kinesthetic students. The visual students can also benefit from multimedia means or labeling the figures. However, the auditory students would benefit from the verbal part of the lecture. The last lesson to consider is the metric units of measurement including length and weight. As evident, the practical part of the measurement would be important in determining. Length can be considered to be the longest dimension with regard to an object. One of the earliest units used by man includes the cubit. When man started constructing buildings, other units such as centimeters, meters, and kilometers emerged. The objective of this lesson is to show the students how data is collected, analyzed, recorded, as well as reported. How the collected data is recorded is crucial to the subject of measurement. This is because frequent errors are made while recording the data. For instance, students are prone to confusing units while indicating the measurements of an object. With regard to length, students confuse centimeters and millimeters and how to convert the units. To engage the students in this topic, as a professional, I would ask distance related questions such as the distance from the back of the classroom to the front. As it is important to help the students understand all perspectives of the subject, explaining the key words of the topic is essential. Here, I would explain the meaning of length and weight, introduce the units used in these elements, and explain on the conversion of the units. This is because the students must understand how to report lengths using appropriate measurement units such as centimeters or kilometers. To explain weight, as a professional, I must explain the meaning of the force of gravity. This is because the weight of an object depends on the force of gravity where the scientific explanation states that weight is the force of an object with reference to gravity. The unit for weight is W. A simple guided practice is required to explain what weight is. For instance, the tutor can use a small object or tell the students to hold and raise their books. Then the teacher explains that the force that the students feel is weight, and it is caused by the gravitational pull. In this case, gravitational pull is the force of attraction between masses. Here, it is worth explaining that all objects have weight regardless of their size. To demonstrate gravity, the teacher can instruct the students to throw an object in the air then explain that it comes back to the ground because of gravity. This is important especially with respect to students with special needs. At the end of the lesson, the teacher would summarize on the meaning of weight and length, as well as their units. The visual students would benefit from the practical part where they would understand weight from holding an object and watching visual explanation from the tutor. The auditory students would benefit from both the verbal part of the lecture and practical where the teacher would place an object on their hands and then explain. With respect to the kinesthetic category of students, this group would benefit from the practical perspective where they need to feel weight from holding an object. In conclusion, there are different types of students including students with special needs and the normal ones. The group with special needs requires more attention with respect to explanation of different topics. Here, the most effective means of explaining to them is the practical method. The visual perspective of teaching that includes the usage of the multimedia is also useful to professionals when dealing with students with special needs. In addition, special students require special teachers. A special group of tutors trained to handle special need is the most effective group in ensuring that the students’ performance is similar to their normal peers. References Measurement Index. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.mathsisfun.com/measure/ Special Education and Student Services. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.yrdsb.edu.on.ca/page.cfm?id=LSE000001 Stoynoff, S., & Chapelle, C. (2005). ESOL tests and testing: A resource for teachers and administrators. Alexandria: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. Writing Hypotheses: A Student Lesson. (n.d). Retrieved from http://www.accessexcellence.org/LC/TL/filson/writhypo.php Read More