Each year, the TASH Conference strengthens the disability field by connecting attendees to innovative information and resources, facilitating connections between stakeholders within the disability movement, and helping attendees reignite their passion for an inclusive world. This year’s conference theme, “Gateway to Equity,” explores inclusive communities, schools, and workplaces that support people with disabilities, including those with complex support needs, in living a fair, just, and balanced life. Return to TASH website.
Longitudinal data was collected over a five year period from a public high school on a reservation in a north central state. The participating classroom was one for Native American students with significant intellectual disabilities. Data included attitude surveys, base-10 assessments, Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI) problem types ??? problem solving and reasoning assessments, grade-level math assessments, standardized assessments, student work samples, video recordings of students solving mathematical problems, and interview transcripts from conversations with the classroom teacher. The purpose was to determine the effectiveness of this approach to teaching students with significant intellectual disabilities. The analysis required a range of analytical tools, some quantitative/some qualitative and addressed changes in student attitudes over time, student achievement on a range of measures and student outcomes, a determination regarding whether or not these students followed the typical taxonomy or a unique one for this population, and what methods of assessment best capture the abilities of these students. It has the potential to lay a foundation for a very different approach to teaching this population of learners than what has been used for the last 30-40 years in the special education field. Additionally, this study clearly points to the need to raise expectations and increase exposure to higher level mathematics concepts for our students with intellectual disabilities. By the end of the session, the participants will be able to: - explain the importance of matching math problems with student experiences - describe changes in attitudes of students who have been exposed to regular education teaching methods that match their culture and lived experiences - discuss the differences in taxonomies, or learning progressions, of Native American students with intellectual disabilities compared to other groups that have been studied previously - explain the implications of this study in relation to inclusive practice and the need for access to general education curriculum and instructional practices
