For a wheelchair bound student, classwork activities could be designed to do in groups, I could select the group of students that could be more effective helping him. Homework activities should different and shorter, considering his limitations, less locomotion actions and more hands on projects.
Student with behavioral disorder needs a content reorganization, more and different activities for example class agreements with the students establishing consequences according to the student book, reinforce acceptable behavior to stimulate good behavior, recognizing in front of the class and with the parents his good behavior. I think, I should avoid confrontation with the student, for that reason I need to establish individual behavioral personal goals, the student can be engage in role playing situations like to be person who hand out class papers, or the one who takes the time for some class activities, I could set limits of space inside the classroom to determine behavior, it should be in the first line of the class, where he is constant eye contact with the teacher, and I could provide a space outside the classroom where he could express his stress and anxiety.
Gifted and talented students required a special class accommodation; he must be place according to class activity, during oral presentations, for example he could be in front of the class for giving support to the other students, if they are working in groups, so he must be in the middle of group. I will think in higher-order thinking skills for gifted and talented students; the higher ones, such as analysis, evaluation and synthesis, are levels these students should be thinking at on a regular basis to stimulate their abilities. Another option could area integration, during my class I could include math activities, projects and independent assignments in this subject; another possibility could be to allow group activities with open questions or critical thinking activities, he could be in the middle of the problem to help his partners and to be an example for them.
The content of lessons could be different for each case, it depends on each situation and the level of teaching; standards must be cover according to the student’s needs, and capacities, not all the students have the same interest and motivation for all subjects. Content must be adapted according to the student situation, it is necessary to use Bloom’s taxonomy to design activities, reading, writing, and hands on, etc. according to the characteristics of the student, the content for the student, not the student for the content.
Lesson plans must be based on students’ needs, some students are able to understand better listening others prefer to read , and maybe for other students is better to understand with pictures, information must be showed in different ways,( multiple intelligences).
Our activities must be supported by defined standards; we need to see if the student reached the standard, we need to find out if what we did was a successful activity or if it was unproductive.
The final evaluation for each one of the members of my class helps me to determine some strategies to follow; I need to identify my student’s strengths and weaknesses.
Tests and examinations for gifted and talented students must be done with higher levels of difficulty, higher thinking skills, evaluation for student with behavioral disorder must contain questions and situations in which the student can answer faster, and it should be done with lower thinking skills.
About the learning environment, from the first day of class I apply the recommendations of Doctor Harry Wong in his book “The First Days of School: How to Be an Effective Teacher”. First students need to know if they are where they should be , I should identify my classroom with the name of my subject and the grade levels that take that course, secondly students need to know about me, my name and everything about my job in the school, then my students need to know the procedures they need to follow in my class, what to do once they arrive to my classroom , what they need to take my course, books, notebooks, etc., finally my students need to know the way they are going to be evaluated, if I am going to use rubrics, type of test, etc.
In my classroom I need to post the relevant information about my class procedure, some poster about class agreements and positive feedback about good work in class, I use a kind of reward for a good job, I called it “happy dollar”, if one student do a good job or if he if showing a good behavior, so a happy dollar is given, the happy dollar can be used” to buy homework or points in tests.
Posters about class topic decorate my classroom, a poster with a defined sitting plan will help my students to take a place in my class; laboratory materials are well identified so students can reach them; to have an attractive environment I need good air ventilation and enough light to see clear what I write and of course my position in the classroom. Finally furniture in my classroom must be place taking in consideration the students with differential instruction.