Activity 1.5
1. What does the wave model of intervention mean for you?
The wave model intervention allows me to increase opportunity for group work and participation in my classroom. It allows me to have a better parent teacher relationship and to assist students to reach their zone of proximal development. It also allows me to make my classroom more child friendly and materials more accessible for students. The wave model intervention allows me to teach according to the children ability.
2. Are you familiar with the definition of inclusion and disability the authors give? Is there anything you would add?
I am familiar with the definition of inclusion but not disability. My knowledge of disability is any condition of the body or mind that makes it more difficult for the person with the condition to do certain activities and interact with the world around them. Where as disability refers to how children experience barriers to education through the environment disabling them. I wont add anything to the definition.
3. How do the 3 waves of intervention link to universal, targetted and specialised provision?
Universal that is what was available for all. The wave intervention model ensure disabled children can access extra curricular activities and sports as non disable children.
Targeted that is the additional support that children needed to access the universal. The wave intervention model ensures provision of assisting devices/medical support, partnership with medical services support from relevant technology, support from teachers/specialist.
Specialist highly tailored intervention to support children reach their potential. the wave intervention allow specialist unit within school. Accessible curriculum and examination systems, qualified send teachers or designated teacher responsible for leading on inclusion. Strong relationships between special and mainstream schools to support learning and transfers.
4. When and how could you make more use of group or paired work in your lessons? What sort of learning aids could you provide?
When- To allow children to discuss new ideas on their own. e.g. a science lesson on the effect of forces. Children are given materials e.g. marble, ruler, sponge, toy car with a stick. When the children roll the marble and someone uses the ruler and hit the marble it changes direction. Twisting the sponge changes its shape and pushing a toy car with a stick allow it to move.
How- To change the pace of the lesson. To remove the spotlight off the teacher and puts it on the children. Allow them to mix with everyone in the group. It teaches them how to lead and be led by someone other than the teacher. It allows the teacher to monitor, move around the class and listen to the language they are producing.
Learning aids- videos, charts, pictures, objects.
5. Differences between wave 1 and wave 2.
Wave 1 is about what should be on offer for all children; the effective inclusion of all pupils in high quality everyday teaching in mainstream classrooms. Wave 1 seeks to capitalize on relatively simple wins which would significantly improve the teaching and learning process. Whereas wave 2 of the model recognizes that children with disabilities have the potential to work at and above their peers, but to do so they will need direct intervention which is time specific.
6. Challenges of Wave 3
Wave 3 intervention recognizes that some specific complex impairments make it impossible for learners to achieve at the same rate as their non disabled peers and that as a result a different provision needs to be set up. Children accessing them have a cognitive disability, which prevents them accessing mainstream learning.
Changes- SEND teachers need a smaller number of children with disability in groups in order to assist them base on their needs.
Sharn - Thank you for your thoughtful post. You raise some intertesting issues. It is particularly helpful when people share specific examples. Your lesson on forces sounds very engaging!
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Activity 1.5
ACTIVITY 1.5
ANYTHING TO ADD TO THE DEFINITION
Inclusive education is universal access by school-age children to a type of education that meets their pedagogical needs in a timely manner, irrespective of their class, gender and vulnerability.
HOW DO THE 3 WAVES OF INTERVENTION LINK TO ‘UNIVERSAL’, ‘TARGETED’, AND ‘SPECIALIST PROVISION’?
The Wave Model proposed a graduated response in which the child was at the centre. The response started with the universal (i.e. what was available for all), to then move to the targeted (the additional support that children needed to access the universal) and on to the specialist (highly tailored intervention to support children reach their potential). In other words, children with disabilities are expected to fit into what was available for all, and then by a specialist approach for a select number of children with disabilities, when often a more targeted approach would have better met their need in a more cost-effective manner. Wave 1 strategies focus on mainstream classrooms and are predicated on the understanding that educating children with disabilities can first be done by improving teaching and learning for all children, including children with disabilities and children with special needs (UNIVERSAL). Wave 2 of the model recognizes that children with disabilities have the potential to work at and above their peers, but to do so they will need direct intervention which is time-specific (TARGETED). Wave 3 interventions recognize that some specific complex impairment makes it impossible for learners to achieve at the same rate as their non-disabled peers and that, as a result, different provision is needed through specialist strategies, albeit for a smaller number of children who have severe disabilities (SPECIALIST).
WHEN/HOW COULD YOU MAKE MORE USE OF GROUP OR PAIRED WORK IN YOUR LESSON?
I, as the teacher will ask a question and, before collecting responses, will ask the students to turn to the person sitting next to them and share their answer. This is vital: it allows all children to answer the question instead of just one, less able children have learnt from more able and less confident children have had the opportunity to orally rehearse their answer. Once this is done, the pupils can raise their hands and share their answer with the rest of the class.
I can also model how to answer questions and then encourage the students to do the same independently or collaboratively in which the students start by answering the questions together (in pairs or in small groups) before they go on to work independently. By asking children to do things together orally, the stronger pupils will support the weaker pupils. This is vital in particular for children with special needs. In addition, group work fosters social inclusion and builds a welcoming ethos. For example, in a rural school in Uganda where a significant amount of group work was observed, children with disabilities were integrated in friendship groups and playing together with their non-disabled peers during break and lunch times.
WHAT SORT OF LEARNING AIDS COULD YOU PROVIDE?
Bottle covers to teach arithmetic;
Cardboards for making different shapes, and for drawing and painting;
Bring different fruits to schools to show the pupils how each type fruit looks like.
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN WAVE 1 AND WAVE 2 INTERVENTIONS?
Wave 1 is about what should be on offer for all children: the effective inclusion of all pupils in high-quality everyday teaching in mainstream classrooms. It is possible for some pupils to be left behind because of their inability to learn at the same rate.
Wave 2 intervention is based on the assumption that boys and girls with disabilities need ‘something different’ in the classroom. Hence, organizing special training for classroom teachers such as the use of sign language or Braille becomes imperative. In this case, even some teachers are excluded.
WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES OF WAVE 3?
Wave 3 interventions recognize that some specific complex impairments make it impossible for learners to achieve at the same rate as their non-disabled peers and that as a result a different provision needs to be set up, (often in the form of a unit within school to support children with complex learning disabilities). However, children accessing these special provisions have a cognitive disability, which prevents them accessing mainstream learning, creating another level of exclusion. In some cases, children with other disabilities are placed in these units which do not support them in reaching their potential.
Also, the specially trained teachers can only carry out a limited number of activities and prefer to support children in their unit. This can mean that these teachers could be seen as a potential barrier to inclusion rather than as a facilitator of inclusion because: 1. The perception amongst these teachers can be that their training focused on running a unit rather than being a facilitator of inclusion and that they need to develop this role. 2. The teachers can be overwhelmed with the huge challenge of supporting a large number of children with disabilities in different year groups. This is particularly the case where there was no targeted planning, no mapping of time and no provision map.
WHAT CHANGES ARE NEEDED TO MAKE THE WAVE MODEL WORK?
Continuous assessment: In order to develop inclusive schools, the special needs teachers have to continually assess the needs of the children in his/her class and be able to manage the timetable to deliver interventions that support the special needs students. Hence, the teachers will need to be trained and supported by competent personnel.
Peer learning: Working with local/district level government can help to support the process of developing more inclusive schools whereby special needs teachers are released from teaching commitments for specific days in a week so that they could support other teachers and schools. The special school sector needs to be engaged and working with mainstream schools for the benefit of children with disabilities, providing suitable education that supports particular kinds of disability. Special schools could be working with mainstream schools in the same catchment to ensure children can move between them when necessary.
Whole model approach: The model should be mutually inclusive as against being ad hoc and in isolation from each other. Every school should domesticate all the models effectively for better results. Therefore, it can be built into existing teacher training provision so that every school is certain to have special needs teachers with general pedagogical skills. There is also a need for partnership to maximize impact, for example NGOs who are working on Wave 1 quality-first interventions could work in partnership with NGOs with Wave 2 interventions, which would generate a greater holistic change. It would also generate greater efficiencies as it would allow programming to capitalize on the skills, knowledge and presence of others.
My Summarized Thought on the Wave Model Interventions
Inclusion is a sense of belonging. The Wave Model proposes that the first level ‘wave’ toward good inclusive practice is ensuring that all teachers are teaching to as high a standard as possible, using well-founded pedagogical principles, including differentiating work to cater for a variety of needs. The Wave Model proposed a graduated response in which the child was at the centre. The response started with the universal (i.e. what was available for all), to then move to the targeted (the additional support that children needed to access the universal) and on to the specialist (highly tailored intervention to support children reach their potential), when often a more targeted approach would have better met their need in a more cost-effective manner. Wave 1 strategies focus on mainstream classrooms and are predicated on the understanding that educating children with disabilities can first be done by improving teaching and learning for all children, including children with disabilities and children with special needs (UNIVERSAL). In other words, children with disabilities are expected to fit into what was available for all. Wave 2 of the model recognizes that children with disabilities have the potential to work at and above their peers, but to do so they will need direct intervention which is time-specific (TARGETED). Wave 3 interventions recognize that some specific complex impairment makes it impossible for learners to achieve at the same rate as their non-disabled peers and that, as a result, different provision is needed through specialist strategies, albeit for a smaller number of children who have severe disabilities (SPECIALIST). Each model is working in silo.
The present operative mode whereby each model works in silo need to be remodeled such that every school will domesticate all the models effectively for better results. Therefore, all the models can be built into existing teacher training provision so that in the end, every school is certain to have special needs teachers with general pedagogical skills to the intent that all children with disabilities are able to go to school – and not necessarily go to special schools. There is also a need for partnership to maximize impact, for example NGOs who are working on Wave 1 quality-first interventions could work in partnership with NGOs with Wave 2 interventions, which would generate a greater holistic change. It would also generate greater efficiencies as it would allow programming to capitalize on the skills, knowledge and presence of others.
How I might use any ideas from the Article
Continuous assessment: I have to continually assess the needs of the children in my class and be able to manage the timetable to deliver interventions that support the special needs students.
Peer learning: I, as a teacher, can take time to learn from special needs teachers in neighboring schools by going to observe their teaching styles in specific days of the week as approved by the head teacher. As a policy maker, I can organize special schools to be working with mainstream schools in the same catchment to ensure children can move between them when necessary.
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