Extremes of Intellectual Functioning and Creativity

A. Students with learning challenges: implications for teaching

a.1. Mainstreaming and Full Inclusion
As educators realized that segregated classes and services were not meeting the needs of students with
exceptionalities, they wrestled with alternatives. One of the first was, mainstreaming, the practice of
moving students with exceptionalities from segregated settings into regular classrooms. Popular in the
197s, mainstreaming had advantages and disadvantages. !t "egan the move way segregated services and
allowed students with exceptionalities and other students to interact. #nfortunately, however, student
with exceptionalities were often placed into classrooms without necessary support and services. And
second is inclusion, a comprehensive approach to educating students with exceptionalities that advocates
a total, systematic, and coordinated we" of services. !nclusion has three components$
1. !nclude students with special needs in a regular school campus.
%. Place students with special need in age&and grade&appropriate classrooms.
'. Provide special education support within the regular classroom.
Arguments for Full-Inclusion and Mainstreaming the Continuum of Services
Arguments for (ull&!nclusion
)tudents with disa"ilities should "e educated in general education classes all of the time.
)tudents with disa"ilities should not "e pulled out of the general education classroom to receive
specialized education.
*enefits of placing students with disa"ilities in specialized classes, either for their academic or
social growth, have not "een demonstrated.
+omprehensive, professional development that prepares teachers to meet the educational and
social needs of all students is re,uired
All students with disa"ilities have the right to education in the most normalized setting, the
general education classroom.
Arguments for -aintaining the +ontinuum of )ervices
)tudents with disa"ilities should "e educated in general education classes to the extent it meets
their educational and "ehavioural needs.
)ome students with disa"ilities need to have their educational needs met outside of the general
education classroom for part or all of the school day. A continuum of services to meet the needs of
students with disa"ilities is re,uired.
*enefits and pitfall of full&inclusion models for all students with disa"ilities have not "een
empirically documented.
.eneral education teachers are inade,uately prepared to meet the specialized needs of all
students with disa"ilities.
!nclusion is a philosophy, not a place/ students have the right to receive the appropriate
educational services to meet their learning needs in the site that is most suita"le to do so.
a.2. the individualized education
What is an IEP?
An !0P or !ndividual 0ducation Plan is a plan or programme designed for children with )01 to help them
to get the most out of their education. An !0P "uilds on the curriculum that a child with learning
difficulties or disa"ilities is following and sets out the strategies "eing used to meet that child2s specific
needs.
An !0P is a teaching and learning plan and should set out targets and actions for the child that are
different from or additional to those that are in place for the rest of the class. 3he !0P is not a legal
document, which means that the 40A does not have to produce a plan or ma5e sure that a child receives
any support that is outlined in the plan.
What is the Purpose of an IEP?
3he purpose of an !0P is to inform the teacher and others wor5ing with the child of specific targets for the
child and how these will "e reached. 3he !0P allows schools and staff to plan for progression, monitor the
effectiveness of teaching, monitor the provision for additional support needs within the school,
colla"orate with parents and other mem"ers of staff and help the child "ecome more involved in their own
learning and wor5 towards specific targets.
What is an IEP?
An !0P should contain 6targets6, 6provisions6 and 6outcomes6. !t should note ' or 7 short&term targets set
for or "y the child, the teaching strategies to "e used to achieve those targets, the provision that will "e put
in place, say when the plan is to "e reviewed and identify outcomes which show the child2s progress
against his8her previous targets.
!nformation that may "e contained in an !0P may include$
Any li5es, disli5es or anxieties that the child may have
Assessment information
9etails of any other educational plans the child may have.
9etails of how the !0P will "e co&ordinated
9etails of the child2s additional support needs
9etails of who will "e providing the support.
:ome&"ased tas5s and the parents2 and child2s comments
!nformation and timescales for reviewing the !0P.
3argets that the child is expected to achieve within a specified period of time.
Parents and child2s details
3argets set in the !0P should "e 6)-A;36, which stands for$
)pecific, so that it is clear what the child should "e wor5ing towards
-easura"le, so that it is clear when the target has "een achieved
Achieva"le, for the individual child
;elevant, to the child2s needs and circumstances
3ime&"ound, so that the targets are to "e achieved "y a specified time
Reviewing an IEP?
3he !0P is a wor5ing document and should "e reviewed regularly <usually two or three times a year= to
ensure that it continues to meet the child2s needs. >hen reviewing !0Ps teachers need to consider "oth
the parents? and the child2s views, the progress made "y the pupil, the effectiveness of the !0P, any specific
issues that impact on the child2s progress and any changes to targets or strategies. After considering the
child2s current progress, new targets should "e set to "e achieved "y the next !0P review.
B. iftedness and !reativit": implications for teaching
.ifted and talented students
)tudents who are gifted and talented are those at the upper end of the a"ility continuum who need
supplemental help to realize their full potential. At one time, the term gifted was used to identify these
students, "ut the category has "een enlarged to include "oth students who do well on !@ tests <typically
1' and a"ove= and those who demonstrate a"ove&average talents in such diverse areas as math, creative
writing, and music.
+reativity$ >hat !s !tA
+reativity is the a"ility to identify or prepare original and divergent solutions to pro"lems. +reativity and
!@ are related "ut not identical/ intellectual a"ility that is at least average is a necessary, "ut not sufficient,
component of creativity. People who score low on !@ test typically don2t score high on measures of
creativity/ people who score high on !@ tests may or may not score high on measures of creativity. 4i5e
intelligence, it is pro"a"ly influenced "y "oth genetics and the environment.
;esearch suggests that creativity uses three 5inds of intelligence$ )ynthetic intelligence, which helps a
creative person to see a pro"lem in a new way/ analytic intelligence, which allows a person to recognize
productive ideas and allocate resources to solve pro"lems/ and practical intelligence, which helps a
creative person use feed"ac5 to promote ideas. !n all three, the emphasis is on pro"lem solving in real&
world settings.
9ivergent thin5ing, or the a"ility to generate a variety of original answers to ,uestions or pro"lems, is a
central component in many definitions of creativity. 9ivergent thin5ing has three dimensions$
(luency B the a"ility to produce many ideas relevant to a pro"lem
(lexi"ility B "eing a"le to "rea5 from an esta"lished set to generate new perspectives
Originality& the facility for generating new and different ideas
* Identifying Students Who are Gifted and Talented