CURRICULUM GUIDELINE FOR SOCIAL LIVING, TRANSITIONAL AND VOCATIONAL SKILLS

Introduction

The curriculum guideline below is a set of practical ideas written conveniently in order to act as teaching notes for an educator or an educator’s colleagues. Since any good curriculum guide must include a series of features such as educational strategies, accommodations, interventions and even the theories or principles governing that guide, then the following curriculum will also contain the same. The paper shall look at a guideline for teaching mentally retarded children in an inclusive classroom.

Title or principle governing the curriculum
The major principle governing this curriculum guide is the student centered approach. In this regard, the child will be central to the success of the curriculum strategies. (Frank & Hendrickson, 1993) Also, a special child’s responsibility for learning is not placed in the hands of the teacher alone but is the work of a collective effort offered by members of a team known as the classroom. This team approach may bring contradictions to what most teachers are used to and it would therefore be effective for them to clarify these roles properly during the student and teacher activities sections of the curriculum guide. (Baines, Masterson & Baines, 1994)

The latter principle will determine everything that goes on within the classroom environment; this may vary from the desk arrangements, locations of the teacher, the amount of time given to teachers to speak and also the time allocated to students. It also largely affects the way lessons are carried out and even how assessment procedures are laid out. All these issues focus on the student rather than the educator. (AAMR, 1992)

Specific objectives
The major objective of this curriculum is to meet the educational needs of the mentally retarded child in the most efficient manner possible.
The specific objectives are
1. Create mastery in specific skills e.g. identification of colors, pronunciation of words
2. Teach the mentally retarded child how to cope and live with others
3. Teach the child basic communication skills

Explanations of the curriculum’s educational purpose
This curriculum’s educational purpose is to ensure that mentally retarded children understand certain behavioral expectations. In other words, in order to participate in learning, it is essential for the students to feel comfortable in the classroom setting. The special education teacher must ensure that such a child is ready. By doing this then the mentally retarded child will become more efficient in communication skills and social skills. (Beirne-Smith et al, 1990)

Additionally, the mentally retarded child must understand that he or she is particularly responsible for his or her own activities. For instance taking notes, asking questions, memorizing and practicing will all be things that the mentally retarded child will need to do. This child will therefore learn how to cope with others through this because they will be encouraged to ask either a friend or the teacher. (Doorlag & Lewis, 1995)

Task analysis of teacher and student activities
Direct instruction forms an important part of the teaching practice. This approach best works for children with either mild or moderate mental retardation. It will involve telling children about a new task, demonstrating that concept, asking them questions and waiting for responses. Several examples will be utilized in this approach and they must all be concrete.

The curriculum will also utilize a lot of task variation. This is especially essential because there will be drill and practice for the students. On top of these, the instructions will also entail mixing previous tasks with new ones in order to encourage mastery of the tasks.

Computer assisted instruction will also be a fundamental aspect of this method because it will ensure that drill and practice approaches are working well. Computer assisted instructions alone cannot be effective in teaching mentally retarded children and must be combined with other methodologies. (Meyer & Cole, 1991)
Cooperation learning strategies will also be essential in this classroom because it encompasses small groups. In this approach, heterogeneous children will be placed in one group and required to achieve a certain goal. Through this approach, children without disabilities can appreciate and respect mentally retarded children after the latter have contributed towards achievement of group goals. Research has shown that even if this contribution is small, the respect is always there. (Dunlap & Dunlap, 1990)

For students with severe mental retardation, there may be a para professional working with them to meet their specific needs. Consequently, the teaching process will also entail their contributions within the classroom. For instance, when teaching about temperature, certain students within the class may be proficient in molecular movement, others may understand only temperature measures while the mentally retarded child may only be able to distinguish between the terms cold and hot. Consequently, the curriculum will be bent to meet the needs of the special needs child (mentally retarded) while at the same time accommodating the needs of the non special children in the class. (Biasini & Bray, 1998)

Flexible learning objectives will involved in the teaching process because even the most carefully planned lesson plan may have some oversights and one must always be ready for changes in their lesson plans.

Teaching strategies and interventions
The first thing that will have to be changed is the classroom arrangement. This will have to accommodate the curriculum objectives. Special education children get distracted by grouping of desks, consequently, all students will have their desks. However, student centers will be placed at the ends of the classroom in order to minimize distractions from children who have completed their tasks. These student centres will contain puzzles and other fun things to do. Additionally, the bulletin boards within each classroom will reflect the needs of each lesson. For instance when talking about ocean life, the boards will be painted by a sea, fishing nets and boats. (Bergen, 1993)

The first day will be characterized by placement tests that will allow the teacher to understand the academic levels of the mentally retarded children along with other members of the class. After doing this, the children will then be allowed to play a fun game afterwards. This should be followed by communication of what the teacher will expect out of the students. Most mentally retarded students are given such low expectations that they may end up sitting on their abilities because of this. By giving them certain expectation, they may be motivated to learn. (Halvorson, 1996)
In the subsequent weeks, children will be expected to do different things in different times in order to sharpen their mastery but still maintain their concentration. For instance over a week, the following activities can be conducted by the children

-Monday: Students write spelling words on a book and then write this on a card that will be used by them later
-Tuesday: students arrange the words in alphabetical order and in the right grammar
-Wednesday: the teacher and the student look at Monday’s and Tuesday’s work to make out corrections
-Thursday: the teacher creates a missing letter card for each student. Extremely retarded student may be required to write only page numbers for each card
-Friday: Thursday’s spelling tests are graded and those who did very well will be given candy as a gift

Accommodation for special needs children ought to be done by providing them with work only in small segments. This will ensure that the child is not overwhelmed by activities. Additionally, the special needs child will be given extra time to complete their work in comparison to the children. Additionally, mentally retarded children will have different objectives from other children. For instance if the children have been taken outside and asked to write a paragraph about what they saw, mildly retarded children may be asked to write three sentences while severely retarded children may be told what to write by the teacher and merely put it done on paper i.e. a form of dictation will be done. (Lambert et al, 1993)

Mentally retarded children need tremendous amounts of teaching aids and resources. One way this can useful is by having listening tapes. Secondly, story maps can be used for reading a complicated part of the story.
Student assessment procedures

On order to ensure fairness, it will be essential to assess the mentally retarded child differently from his or her counterparts within the classroom. The essence of any assessment is to gauge a child’s progress against initially set learning objectives. In this case, the specific objectives were to encourage communication skills, to facilitate mastery of level oriented skills and to enhance coping abilities. The latter skills will be assessed through observation. However, the first test of level specific skills will be examined through a simple test given weekly. One example is by asking the mentally retarded child to number some cards from one to ten or to differentiate colors. (Payne & Patton, 1991)

References

Baines, L., Masterson, C. & Baines. C. (1994): Mainstreaming - One school’s reality. Phi Delta Kappan, 76, 39, 64
AAMR (1992): Mental Retardation: Classification, Definition and Systems of Support; American Association on Mental Retardation.
Bergen, D. (1993): Facilitating friendship development in inclusion classrooms. Childhood Education; 69, 4, 236
Biasini, F. & Bray, N. (1998): Mental retardation: A symptom and a syndrome; Oxford University Press
Meyer, L. & Cole, D. (1991): Social integration and severe disabilities - A longitudinal analysis of child outcomes; Journal of Special Education, 25, 351
Dunlap, G. & Dunlap, L. (1990): Using task variation to motivate handicapped students; Dushkin Publishing Group
Halvorson, A. (1996): A cost-benefit comparison of integrated and inclusive classes; ERIC Document (ED 393 249).
Frank, A. & Hendrickson, J. (1993): Strategies for Teaching Students with Mild to Severe Mental Retardation; Brookes Publishing Co.
Lambert, N., Leland, H. & Nihira, K. (1993): AAMR Adaptive Behavior Scale – School; PRO-Ed
Doorlag, D. & Lewis, R. (1995): Teaching Special students in the Mainstream; Prentice Hall
Beirne-Smith, M., Payne, S. & Patton, R. (1990): Mental Retardation; Merrill.
Payne, J. & Patton, J. (1991): Mental Retardation; Merrill Publishing Company

The author of this article is a holder of Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Harvard University and currently pursing PhD Program. He is also a professional academic writer. ResearchPapers247.Com>