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Adaptations to curriculum access: modifications of the spatial and material aspects of the educational intervention allow the students with special needs to study regular curriculum.
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Curriculum adaptations: modifications in planning objectives, contents, activity methodology and criteria, and evaluation processes that take diversity of needs into account.
We talk about curriculum adaptation when the modifications done reach the point of eliminating basic skills taught. If the case is that in which the skills eliminated are a complete area, then we talk about curriculum diversification (only in second cycle of ESO).
Another criteria that allows a teacher, or any expert, identify if a student has special needs is that the student requires significant curriculum adaptations, or reinforcement, which are not forseeable in ordinary students during a particular period of the educative process. Above said adaptations can have a larger or smaller degree of realization, as explained in the following:
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Curriculum Adaptations in the School: All of the modifications or adjustments that change various elements of the educational proposal, therefore further developing sections of the educational proposal which the faculty institutes. These modifications and adjustment reflect the Educational Plan and the School Curriculum Plan and allow that the school to respond to the students with special needs and to the diveristy of these needs.
On the same level, the curriculum adaptations try to give solutions to the diversity among students within the school, make the teachers aware of how to educationally handle students with special needs, and promote the participation of these students in general activities within the school and classrooms. The adaptations avoid all types of barriers (physical or not) that prevent the free participation of those students, and prevent the appearance or intensifiction of special needs that can be products of an inadequate educational approach. They also promote that the individual adaptations for students be as small as possible so that the amount of integration can increase while the differences decrease.
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On a second level we find curriculum adaptation in the classroom, which takes all of the adjustments and modifications in the educational proposal and gives them to a group of students to work with. The goal of this is to help the students with special needs complete their objectives in the most normal way and with the most integration possible into the classroom’s general interaction, even though they may differ from others in the group.
The classroom adaptations try to create conditions that facilitate the simultaneous development of different programmes in the classroom (classroom planning, individual curriculum adaptations or group specific programmes).
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On a third level of realization are the individual curriculum adaptations, which are the adjustments and modifications of various parts of the educational proposal developed for a specific student and whose goal – after a thorough evaluation of the student and conext – is to respond to his or her individual special education needs, which are not the same as other students.
The objectives of this type of curriculum adaptation are the following:
- The school, as well as the teacher, have to draw up and elaborate an answer within education for students with special needs.
- Make sure that the adaptations are fully individualized and unique for each student, adhereing to the principle of individualization as stated above.
- The adaptation are incorporated by those that actively particpated in forming them, as well as in the elements used to carry them out (teacher, psychologist, mentor, additional materials, and others).
The stages to follow for preparing a major curriculum adaptation are the following:
We can indicate, through summarizing, the following ways and specific measures to attend to the curriculum diversity:
In conclusion, teachers must turn themselves into investigators by reflecting on their own actions, primarily thinking about:
- If they adapt the course contents to the levels of the students, with the lessons being taught more or less to the middle level of the group
- If they teach specific lessons for students with special needs
- If they apply the curriculum openly, concentrating on the students’ interests
- If they study at great length every situation that arises in the classroom
- If continuous attention is given to diversity in curriculum diversivication programs
- If the faculty’s suport is necessary to carry out the personalized attention
- If they use materials other than the textbook
- If they look into psycho-pedagogical studies
- If they carry out and use the results from the initial evaluation as an information source for future action