Proposal

 Rafiat Kasumu Senior Thesis **Graduation Project Proposal **

As a student at Springfield Township High School, I will be volunteering with the mentally and physically challenged students within my school. As I volunteer with Mrs. Lutz, the special education coordinator, and the rest of the special needs instructors, I will learn from my experiences. I will assist the instructors as they teach lessons and life skills to the students. I will also read to the students, direct them during activities, and complete any other assignments I am given. I will complete the volunteer hours for my project during my B Block, Day 2 study hall time. I plan to commit at least thirty to sixty minutes of my study hall time to volunteering with these students. ﻿ To complete my project, I will only need at least thirty to sixty free minutes of my school day. For my project, I want to research the special education system; specifically the laws governing inclusion and how students with physical and cognitive disabilities are integrated into different school systems. I chose to research this topic because in college I want to study Psychology, Cognitive Science, and pre-medicine. I believe that having the experience of volunteering with students who have cognitive disabilities would be beneficial for both me as an observer and learner, and for the students. **Essential Question: ** In what ways is inclusion beneficial or harmful to the academic, social, and physical development of mentally and physically challenged students? As far as prior experience is concerned, I am a volunteer at the Chestnut Hill Hospital. I am therefore familiar with serving beverages to and interacting with people who have differing conditions from me. I believe that having this prior volunteering experience is beneficial to this project. As I volunteer and gather information, I believe that the students, parents, teachers, and peers of mentally and physically challenged students will benefit from my research. As I investigate the harmful or beneficial aspects of an inclusive education for students with physical and cognitive disabilities, the answers that I find will help the caregivers of these students better understand what loved ones are gaining or losing from inclusion. **Potential Sources: ** For a more extensive evalution, please refer to my anotated bibliography page on my Wiki. Harold W Dodge, and Albert Shanker. "Is Full Inclusion of Disabled Students Desirable?" Afterword. //Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues//. By James Wm Noll. 9th ed. Guilford: Dushkin/ McGraw-Hill, 1997. 190-205. Print. Taking Sides (title).

From this source, I have learned the two different points of views surrounding the question: is full inclusion of disabled students desirable? Both Attorney Jean B. Arnold and Superintendent Harold W. Dodge argue that inclusion is beneficial while teachers’ union president Albert Shanker argues that full inclusion is harmful to special needs students. As all authors backed up their claims with dates, important acts, and court cases, I learned the history of inclusion in America. I discovered the exact language used in Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). I learned how the court system defined a “least restrictive environment” through the review the //Daniel R.R v. State Board of Education (1989)// case. Because all authors present various forms of outside research such as the language of the act and the opinions of other top officials, the scope of the topic has been adequately addressed. Overall, I believe that this source is helpful to my research; the presentation of two opposing sides on inclusion clearly helps me as I answer my essential question. The additional information and history of inclusion mentioned in the article will help me in developing my argument.

Reynolds, Tammi, BA, and Mark Dombeck, Ph.D. "Mental Retardation and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)." //Mental Help//. CenterSite, LLC, 24 Aug. 2006. Web. 27 Sept. 2010. .

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">From this source, I have learned a specific, effective ways of teaching mentally challenged students through the process of Applied Behavior Analysis, or ABA. The core philosophy behind this technique is to break down complex tasks, use simple association systems, and provide immediate reward for the learning student. The authors, Tammi Reynolds, BA and Mark Dombeck, Ph. D, write that ABA system is a method that is based on scientific studies that can be found in behavioral psychological literature. The scope of the authors’ works appears to be well researched since they have several other blog posts that extensively review mental retardation topics. I believe that this source is helpful to my research because it presents a technique, the ABA system, used by instructors today who teach mentally challenged students. This article offers me an understanding of one particular type of teaching and therefore addresses my developing essential question. This has helped me develop my argument because I now have a clear depiction of a type of successful teaching method used by special education instructors. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Sharpe, Wesley, Ed. D. "Special Education Inclusion." //Education World//. Education World, 27 Dec. 207. Web. 2 Oct. 2010. <http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr320.shtml>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">From this source, I have learned the opinions and perspectives of parents, teachers, professors, and researchers on the effectiveness of inclusion in school systems of America. I have also learned that the author believes that full inclusion has not yet been integrated into all school systems and that therefore the judging of its effectiveness cannot be done. In the article, Wesley Sharpe, Ed. D writes that John McDonnell, Ph. D reveals that research has not shown long-term benefits of inclusion on special needs students. McDonnell is the chairman of the Department of Special Education in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Utah. Sharpe also reveals that inclusion is costly and more research needs to be done to full evaluate the benefits of this technique of education. However, many believe that with an inclusive education all children will learn to accept differences, develop new friendships, and to understand the curriculum more when the teacher’s instructions are broken down more. I believe this source is helpful because it clearly addresses my essential question and provides various perspectives on the issue. This source will help me develop my argument because I now have facts, dates, and the opinions of professors and researchers to validate my eventual stance.