Recently the National Reading Panel concluded that systematic and direct instruction in phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension that is informed by ongoing assessments of student progress results in positive student achievement (NICHHD, 2002). For students with moderate to severe disabilities and students with…

In most western countries, the problems of effective university-controlled and largely university-based initial teacher education (ITE) have been apparent for many decades: whatever is achieved in the university, the teaching practices and attitudes that student-teachers usually learn to adopt are those currently dominant in the schools. So it is…

The option for specialization is explored to address expanding roles for rehabilitation counselors. Several important considerations are identified for Rehabilitation Counselor Education (RCE) program faculty opting for a specialization. Development of specialty tracks in psychiatric and developmental disabilities are offered as viable options for…

Describes the Planning Pyramid, a framework to help regular and special education teachers cover required curriculum while modifying learning requirements to meet individual differences. The pyramid's base represents "what all students will learn," the middle portion "what most students will learn," and the top portion "what some students will…

Persons with disabilities are among minority groups who frequently experience marginalization and disenfranchisement. As a paradigm, social justice attempts to address marginalization through equitable redistribution of resources, policy and legislative revisions, and personal empowerment. The limited response of rehabilitation counseling to…

This paper introduces a series on the topic and presents a science education framework for teaching students with disabilities. Curriculum and instructional perspectives are reviewed, and the "guided meaning" approach is recommended as an inquiry-based strategy. A thematic scheme for organizing and developing science programs is proposed.…

Principals and teachers need a framework that will allow school personnel to reach and teach all students within the general education setting. One such framework is universal design for learning (UDL). UDL is achieved by means of flexible curricular materials and activities that provide alternatives for students with disparities in abilities and…

This paper urges special educators to be wary of borrowing fashionable rhetoric of postmodernism to justify constructivism in the reform of instruction and curriculum without disentangling accompanying constructs and values. There are higher stakes for special education, particularly in national curriculum and testing reform, that accompany…

Ideas are presented for using microcomputers as a tool for curriculum modification with mild to moderate special needs students in various instructional situations. The focus is on the use of microcomputers in modifying the way curriculum content is presented by the teacher, received by the student, practiced and studied, and demonstrated and…

In order to better prepare rehabilitation counselors to meet the needs of older workers, Kampfe, Wadsworth, Smith, and Harley (2005) suggested that aging issues can be infused into the curriculum of rehabilitation education programs. This article is a follow-up to the earlier publication that called for infusion of aging issues into the…

This manual is intended to help educators of students with disabilities select and implement a social skills program through a five-step decision process, either manually or by use of software (available in both PC-DOS and Macintosh formats). After an introductory chapter, the second chapter focuses on what social skills are, why they are…

This report analyzes how curriculum, especially current standards-based reform efforts relating to curriculum, are impacting students with disabilities in inclusive settings. Curriculum is defined as both the content and methods a teacher uses to plan and conduct a class. The issue brief contrasts two different high school social studies programs…

This document presents 28 accepted principles for modifying instruction to better meet needs of handicapped and at risk students. The principles include, among others: get to know the individual student in an informal manner; examine the patterns of children's errors; sequence skills to reduce error rates; vary response, testing, and grading…

Curriculum is an essential element in Individualized Education Program (IEP) development, which has often been left to special education teachers unequipped for the task. A lack of district-wide curriculum foundations leads to haphazard decision-making. Teachers have often relied on their own content biases, speculations, and standardized tests…

Reports a study reviewing the status of social studies education within selected special education programs. Identifies factors effecting social studies programs in special education and argues the importance of social studies instruction for handicapped students. (AEM)