Chapter 11
Implementing Multi-Level Instruction: Strategies for Classroom Teachers
by Jean Collicott
The classroom teacher always, ultimately, controls the expectations and accomplishments of the students for whom he or she is responsible. Five years of experience in the integration of children with disabilities into regular classrooms has shown me that the teacher who sets an example for others, especially students, in the acceptance of children with disabilities and mental handicaps in the regular classroom.
Where teachers have taken the initiative in accepting a child with a disability and are actively working to promote acceptance and interaction, the child has been accepted by peers in the classroom. Conversely, when a child with a disability has been supported entirely by a teacher assistant, with minimal teacher interaction, he or she has not become a true member of the class.
Therefore, it is vitally important that the teacher develop strategies for involving all children in classroom activities so all students will be seen as valuable members of the class.
Since it is impossible and indeed not even desirable for a classroom teacher to spend a great amount of time working individually with an exceptional student, it is necessary to focus on accommodating the exceptional student’s instruction with other students.
1988
