ASU UTO
Ulises Aragon (Student)
5/5/2014
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Biological sciences are as fascinating to me as a feline is inevitably attracted to a beam of light. Presenting information specific to biology is seemingly endemic to my being; as stated, I could not picture myself as not holding a career as a high school teacher. Though organizing information and orally presenting it may sound effortless for myself, the explicit and realistic fact is that though there will be a numerous amount of general students in my classroom, there will also be a number of exceptional students as well. Lecturing high school teenagers with a surplus of hormones and a great deal of exaggerated emotions requires the use of common/ makeshift methods of teaching. Teaching an exceptional student however can prove to be quite the larger task. Since the identification of a student with a disability can range from moderate to severe, the act of differentiating that student from the rest can deem itself arduous. Guidelines for recognizing students with disabilities tend to have similar characteristics that overlap with the various handicaps students possess. Excessive fidgeting, visual wandering, inability to sit still, and incapacity to stay on task or follow directions are all habitual actions of a student with a disability. Continuous difficulties in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and mathematical analysis and calculation can be indications of the presence of a learning disability. Visual, auditory and physical impairments, due to their obvious distinction are more readily observed and academically diagnosed by school staff. These characteristic discrepancies, with their ample range are only analogous to the specific accommodations that will be required for optimal academic success.
Under Section 504, academic instructors are advised to choose accommodations that are the most crucial/needed for the student. Educators should utilize the least accommodative methods first in order to promote academic independence without limiting the student’s ability to succeed. An example could include providing clear written instructions on homework, and sample/practice quizzes before exams. Minor physical expenditures of energy, such as erasing whiteboards, cleaning lab room equipment or acquiring a drink break are accommodations that can keep a child with ADD busy with academic tasks. Least restrictive accommodations immerse the student in lecture material, without segregating them from the general education.
Biological standards for high school education mandated by national education standards include systems and order, form and function and biological evolution. Systems and order is most often the initial lecture in biology that describes the various organismal levels and their place in our ecosystem. This standard not only emphasizes the hierarchy of life, but also amplifies the levels of immense matrices and complexes that make up the organic universe.
Form and function stress the importance of identifying structures and correlating them with a specific function. This approach to teaching biology will create new academic learning bridges by determining a form with a given function as well. Biological evolution teaches the chronology if genetic and phenotypic changes over a period of time, within a specified population. This idea serves as an introductory to genetic recombinanse and mutations that can have a positive/detrimental effect on a population. The national standards for biological sciences in secondary education are detailed and extensive in length. Accommodations for the success of individuals in this subject should promote equal learning and understanding of all concepts.

One modification that could be applied to a biological classroom in order to contour the specific needs of an individual with a disability is the reprinting of lecture slides. Content representation that is being displayed on a PowerPoint should include a printed copy of all slides.
Printed copies of slides should be legible and include larger font to facilitate the comprehension of material. The tangible presentation sanctions a student with a learning disability to review the information at his leisure. An extended time allotment could be exercised in order to accommodate expression of learning. In doing so, a student with a disability would be entitled to more time on an exam, to allow for a full representation of the material that was to be learned.
The viewing of an instructional video before conducting a lab experiment could greatly increase the student’s engagement in the laboratory. By utilizing an instructional video, the student with a disability can review and comprehend the experiment beforehand; increasing the student’s confidence and thus encouraging him or her to fully engage in the experiment.
Academic excellence of an individual with a disability is not solely acquired by the extensive knowledge of the instructor alone. The success of an exceptional child stems from the cooperation and implementation of various resources. To foster learning in an exceptional child,
I would first collaborate with special educators and derive ideas on how to best approach that child. I would also acquire information on any community resources that would help include the student in general education activities. Such resources could include wildlife parks with accessibilities for disabled persons, or even modified transportation, such as buses that are accessible to individuals with physical impairments. Parent teacher involvement is also key to the greater understanding of a child’s particular needs. Communicating with parents and incorporating their methods of communication into my lesson plans will help deliver content more appropriately. Teamwork and the educational interweaving of resources promotes an equal opportunity for an education for an exceptional student.
Increased awareness of special eucation has given rise to various electronic resources that promote prosperous inclusion practices. Inclusiveschools.org is a website that stresses the importance of teachers to fathom the idea that no two learners are alike. This website highlights the significance of the multiple intelligence theory and its implementation. Kinesthetic, visual, auditory, intrapersonal, etc. do not actively learn in the same manner. An academic instructor should manage diversify the way in which material is presented, so that it is not solely expressed in a typical logical point of view. Weac.org also incorporates the value of divercity, while underlining the inevitable duty a district has to provide the service to the individual and not move the individual into the service. On this page, academic staff members are encouraged to create a least restrictive environment for the student. This in turn creates an environment where the exceptional student is incorporated in such a way that he or she does not feel that their disability is by any means debilitating to their education. Specialed.about.com offers a 12 part checklist for setting up success in the classroom. The simple to answer checklist is geared toward the teacher and the effectiveness of his daily classroom lectures. Checkmark questions enable the teacher to view which areas of his classroom are effective and likewise, which material could be modified to suit the needs of an individual with a disability.