Special Educational Needs Case Study

By Joanne O’Malley

For my case study I have decided to work with a student who is part of my second year group doing a sculpture scheme where by students will create a site specific instillation using recycled tape.

No specific learning difficulty has been diagnosed with this student, However the student is representing with some issues such as;

• Lowest marks in the class averaging at 46% for her Art projects so far this year

• Quite a short attention span and poor concentration skills

• Can display low motivation • Behavioural issues and can be disruptive in

class

For this case study I have decided to research the recommended strategies and definition of ….

• MLD (Mild learning difficulties) or Boarder line learning difficulty

And

• BESD (Behavioural, emotional and social Difficulties)

….Many of the characteristics associated with MLD and BESD are similar to symptoms representing in this particular student.

Mild Learning Disability

Definition of MLD……..

“Children with mild general learning disabilities (MLD) typically have verbal and performance IQ scores in the 50-70 range, i.e., two to three standard deviations below the population mean. They often have significant limitations both in intellectual functioning and in adaptive behaviour as expressed in conceptual, social and practical adaptive skills. Specific cognitive deficits often exist in such areas as memory, attention or language” (Scoilnet)

Behavioural, Emotional and Social Difficulties

Definition of BESD….. “This term includes behavioural, emotional and

social difficulties / These difficulties can be seen across the whole ability range and have a continuum of severity. Pupils with special educational need in this category are those who have persistent difficulties despite effective school behaviour policy and a personal and social curriculum” (Earle & Curry, 2005)

Recommended Strategies

For MLD …….

• Peer teaching and working in small groups

• Make sure pupil has something to do

• Use lots of praise and catch student trying hard

• Use of ICT

For BESD …..

• Consider pupils strengths and use them

• Set targets with a reward system

• Focus comments on behaviour not the pupil and offer alternative way of behaving

Student Profile

Learning Strengths

• Strong social and communication skills• Confidence speaking in front of peers• Charismatic, Positive and humorous • Gets on well with peers has many friends in

class • Good attendance in school• Enjoys working with 3D materials and textiles

entered Form and Fusion fashion competition last year with group of peers.

Student describes herself as,

Pretty sound fun loud

She Likes too

“Enjoy life, talk and clean”

She loves music and her favourite song is,

Flying without wings by Westlife

Her favourite subjects in school are

Irish and Maths

And her least Favourite are

Geography and Spanish

As she finds them boring

Learning Needs

• When working on a task or project student can lack motivation and is normally the first person to finish

• Attention span and concentration can be quite low and student becomes board quickly

• Enthusiasm for projects wears out quite fast• The standard and quality of artwork is quite low

Behavioural issues

• Chatty social nature of student frequently causes disruption in class and talking over the teacher is an issue

• Student’s giddiness can have a negative influence on her peers

• At times student can be a little bossy with other students in the class

• Listening skills can be quite low with a tendency to talk over other students

The Student is 14 years old and in Second year in school

The Student does not attend Resource

Lesson Scheme

I feel that this sculpture scheme will lend itself well to this particular students strengths as it….

• Involves a lot of making and working with 3d material

• Consists of many short tasks and exercises

• Verbal communication and class discussion will play an important role in the project

Specific Learning Outcomes

• Improve motivation skills and attention span• Improve team work and communication skills by working

in a team of 2 to create a section of the installation • Improve listening skills and respectful communication by

taking part in class discussions • Demonstrate an ability to work creatively and

experimentally with the tape • Gain more confidence in own artistic and creative skills• Maintain enthusiasm for the project over 4 weeks

improving standard of work and increasing her average marks

Methodology

• For the planning and creation of tape instillation piece I will pair this student with a strong student

• To encourage good behaviour form the student I will use a target and reward system

• I will encourage the student a lot and praise her efforts in the art class

• I will include the use of ICT in the scheme

• I will specifically assign the student (and team mate) the large window as the space to install their sculpture on

Evaluation

Over all I was quite happy the students performance and work during the sculpture scheme. Here is an image of the teams finished installation …

What worked?

Encouragement and praise

Catching the student working hard and praising her focus and work

Encouraging the student to complete extra tasks and work back into project after she said she was finished

Having the Art teacher from the school view the instillation and praise the efforts of the whole class with focus on this student and her hard work

Team work / Peer teaching

Started in the experimentation with tape stage of project through to making the installation

Students worked well together problem solving, communication – student became less dependant on the teachers constant input

Standard of work and grade of student improved above her average of the year so far

Playing to students strengths

The 3D material centred scheme played well to students strengths

The short tasks such as worksheets and quick plan drawings helped maintain motivation and keep up enthusiasm

What didn’t Work?

Target and reward system

I used the incentive of listening to music in class to encourage good behaviour

The issue was behaviour started to slip again after I had given the reward

Use of ICT Using PowerPoint's was not a negative method but I felt that It did not necessarily improve the attention span of the student in the class where it was used

Future alterations

• Changes to the target and reward system implemented E.g. If reward is music in classroom only have it one day a week and every week behaviour will be reassessed to keep up motivation for good behaviour

• For ICT I think more of an active task such as students using computers themselves rather than passively viewing a PowerPoint may be more effective for sustaining attention and better use of ICT

Targets achieved

• Improvement in attention span and motivation and enthusiasm

• Demonstrated strong team work and communication skills

• Student gained strong pride of work and confidence in own abilities

• Worked creatively and experimentally with tape

Bibliography 

Clark, C., Dyson, A., Millward, A., & Skidmore, D. (1997). New Directions in Special Needs Innovations in Mainstream Schools . London: Cassell .

Earle, K., & Curry, G. (2005). Meeting SEN in the Curriculum: Art . Dublin: Primary ABC.

J. Carey, D. D. (2005). The Essential Guide to Special Education in Ireland . Dublin: Primary ABC.

National Council for Special Education . (n.d.). Retrieved February 11, 2014, from NCSE: http://www.ncse.ie /

O'Toole, I. S. (2006). Education for Persons with Special Educational needs Act 2004. An interpretation for teachers , 1-14 .

PDST . (n.d.). Retrieved January 14, 2014, from Professional Development Service for Teachers : http://www.pdst.ie/postprimary

Scoilnet. (n.d.). Retrieved February 11, 2014, from Scoilnet Portal for Irish Education: http://www.scoilnet.ie/info_mildlearning.shtm