Inevitable Bookstudy -- QQ Special Education

Published Thursday, March 10, 2011 by Chuck Schwahn in  

Nancy submitted a very interesting question . . . "What suggestions are there for special education students in the MCL environment?" The short answer is that there doesn't have to be anything special . . . just do it. Special Education got it first with personalized learning plans (IEPs) for all learners. The big difference was that that concept was not scalable before today's mass customized technology. Today we are capable of doing for each learner what we were legally bound to do with special education learners way back when.


The special ed stigma should be reduced with ALL learners, in effect, having IEPs. True, there will have to be modifications for some learners . . . interesting, but just yesterday there was a story on my Yahoo page about how special ed learners quickly learned to operate . . . and learn with an iPad. Maybe we can forget about the special education label as we admit that all learners have special learning needs -- learning needs that can be met for everyone, everyday.

Does the word "scalable" need to be explained? This was a fun question to answer. (cjs)

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3 comments:

  1. Unknown March 11, 2011 at 8:15 PM

    I like the comment that all learners should eventually have IEPs. I've been thinking that this would be a great answer to education for a long time.

    -Samantha Moulton

     
  2. Edie's Edit January 22, 2012 at 3:14 PM

    So let's rephrase the question....what is the optimal setting/environment for a special Ed or esl teacher as coach? Keep child in mainstream setting?

     
  3. Mark Davis April 19, 2012 at 10:07 AM

    My classroom has an MCL approach. The building/system isn't there yet but is making progress. We already had an inclusion approach in which special education students are in the mix of regular education students in the classroom with ed tech support when required. I've found that the students at both ends of the continuum, those who face the greatest learning challenges and those who require more challenges, are benefitting most from the approach. In short, MCL makes it possible to meet every student right where they are and with the individual supports they need. Support staff is helpful in this regard which is of course worth considering at budget time.

     

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