Individualizing schedules of instruction for school children with learning and behavior problems

Abstract

Curient emphasis on developing individual educational plans for children presents a problem of matching one child's educational plan with that of other children and then grouping several such children together for instruction, such that the individual qualities of each child's program are still maintained. Teacher and child variables in a noncategorical program for early childhood education of retarded, autistic, seriously disturbed, learning disabled, and aphasic children were used to generate monthly computerized schedules of instruction for 12-16 children each month. Schedules were generated over an eight-month period, and the last month's weekly schedule was presented for purposes of illustration and discussion. Advantages and feasibility of such a system were discussed.With increased demand for individualized educational programming of handicapped children, it is apparent that alternatives are needed to the traditional practice of categorical grouping in special education (Filler, Robinson, Smith, Vincent-Smith, Bricker, & Bricker, 1975 ; Martin, 1976). The heterogeneity of children within a single diagnostic category has been well established (Foster, Ysseldyke, & Reese, 1975;Grady, 1974; Lombardi, 1975; Smith, 1974) and has served to disabuse special educators of reliance on categorical programs. Several approaches to noncategorical systems have evolved (Forness, 1976; Hewett, 1977; Iscoe, 1962; Quay, 1968), but the difficulties of actual day-to-day programming in such systems have not been explored.Determining a handicapped child's individual needs for certain educational activities may prove to be a relatively simple matter. The difficulty lies in matching one child's individual educational program with that of other children and then grouping several such children together for purposes of instruction such that the individual qualities of each child's program are still maintained.