Strong support Support and teamwork play a big part in successfully teaching special education and general education students in the same classroom, educators said. By intervening early in a child's education, schools and teachers said they hope to minimize blows to the self-esteem of students with special needs. You start with students in the elementary level. They don't see a difference. As students get older and the work intensifies, the work gets more difficult.
Students start seeing each other as different.
Technology also has made learning more accessible to students with disabilities. By using books on tape or computer programs to complete homework assignments, students reinforce feelings that they can keep up with their peers, Forgiano said. Teachers are concerned that they haven't received enough special education training, she said. Now, Curran said, not only are teachers thinking about teaching social studies, for example, but they're thinking about organizing how they teach social studies. We looked at ways to differentiate instruction so that more students received instruction in a way that made learning work for them.