My capstone ptojct

Derya Aktas

To

Xxxxxx xxxxx

Faculty Advisor

In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Education

Xxx xxx

Teaching Strategies for Down Syndrome Elementary Students

Introduction

Introduction

Elementary schools across the United States present tremendous diversity among students from different backgrounds to special groups of people. Although the learning process varies from one child to another, a more significant distinction is found among children with Down syndrome (DS). According to Wishart (2001), there are both biological and psychological elements to consider when handling learners with DS. Part of the problem is that the psychological environment of learner with DS is less understood. Research shows there may be a specific problem experienced by DS learners: they have difficulty recognizing the differences in emotional expressions, which undermines normal development of social understanding. These students have diferent brain structures and development that affect information processing skills required for effective attainment of cognitive skills. While there is no generally agreed the a high solution, current literature shows that use of visual presentations, technological applications and speech strategies are the most appropriate methods for teaching DS children.

Problem Statement

Students with Down syndrome have unique leaning learning needs. When not well addressed and strategic solutions found, these students will fail to perform optimally at school like the rest of the students. More research is needed to understand the psychological environment that best suits learners with DS and how their inclusion in mainstream learning conditions influences learning outcomes.

Scope and History

This study covers students with DS syndrome. Down syndrome is a leading cause of intellectual disability. Whereas normal people have 46 chromosomes of 23 pairs, victims of DS have 47 chromosomes. The extra chromosome without a partner groups with those in pair 21. This condition, known as non-adjustment, exists in major case of Dow Syndrome. Victims experience a wide range of heath complications like heart disease, Alzheimer, cancer, leukaemia and memory issues.

Rationale

Down syndrome is brain disorder that affects many students across the world. It does not only affect the students and their academic performance, but also presents numerous challenges to their families and the people around them. According to Asim et al. (2015), some of the conserved features of DS include learning disabilities and craniofacial abnormality. This study aims to address the problem of DS among students by bringing to light the physical characteristics that can help identify students with DS and discover special learning solutions for DS students. There no specific learning programs meant to assist DS learners, and some of them hail from families with financial constraints that make it harder for them to get basic learning needs and resources. By exploring the topic of DS amongst students, I will expose the most strategic learning environment to support their unique needs and offer teachers a insights on the currently agreed methods that help DS learners.

Anticipated Outcomes

It is anticipated that DS students have poor academic scores compared to other students when placed in a mainstream learning environment. It is also expected that having DS is associated with lower intellectual capabilities that present learning weakness to victims.

Actual Outcomes

While DS students will perform poorly due to physical and mental challenges associated with DS, some have unique abilities that make them talented and more abled in specific areas of study. Thus, DS present both weaknesses and strengths to its victims.

Research Questions

1. What are the symptoms of DS?

2. What are the physical, social and physical challenges experienced by students with Down syndrome?

3. What are the impacts of DS on the society?

4. Why is it important to raise DS students at home?

5. What are the strengths and weaknesses that DS students possess?

6. What are the best solutions for assisting DS students in their learning?

Limitations

Measuring the effects of diferent learning solutions for learners with DS requires a lot of time. There are other underlying factors unique to different victims of DS like family background, attitude, social class and age that may interfere with results.

Review of Literature

Physical characteristic of people with DS include slanted eyes, flat nasal bridge, small mouth and large tongue as well as poor muscle tone (Asim et al. 2015). Other common features include abnormal fingerprint patterns and big toes. The most common cause of DS is the presence of an extra copy of chromosome that results from trisomy. Other known cases are isochromosomal chromosome and Robertsonian translocation. Children with DS are high risk of illnesses like skin conditions, recurring infections. The onset of an illness may be associated with behavior of children with Down syndrome. Thus, the severity of the illness my raise the incidences of challenging behavior .

Students with DS are increasingly being included in regular educational settings. While there are processional who argue that mainstream learning environment can help DS students, there are those who feel that DS children can only learn efficiently in a special environment. DS leaners in mainstream classes are at risks of having behavior that is problematic to both their family and teachers. Such behavior, according to Feely and Jones (2006), can lead to self-injury, damage to the environment and poor acquisition of social skills. Moreover, students with DS have higher rates of attention deficit, isolation, compulsions and noncompliance. They may experience anxiety, depression and withdrawal that increase with age. Challenging behavior hinders them from accessing learning opportunities like the rest of the students, and makes it hard for them to feel isolated ad less motivated. The syndrome is associated with moderate to severe learning difficulties. According To Huang (2013), standardised IQ test measure for DS students ranges from 25 to 75 although individuals strength is greatly determined by intrinsic abilities. Thus, students with Down syndrome may find it extremely challenging to cope with educational needs when placed among a culturally diverse general education environment.

While research has increased to explain unique needs of DS Students, there is need to explore the unique strengths and weakness caused by DS so as to ensure they get maximum benefit from their abilities. However, typical methods of teaching found in most schools are not suited for children with DS. Learners with DS rarely pay attention to activities that fail to attract their attention or seem uninteresting. It is even worse when the content is presented orally. Known as attention span, DS students will easily get distracted from learning activities by events in their surroundings. Also, they experience difficulty in speaking and communicating meaning due to their impaired cognitive process. However, given the appropriate environment, these children will be able to learn and overcome most of these challenges. With sufficient research to understand the learning abilities of DS children, it will be possible to provide learning environment that takes care of their unique needs. Such a learning programme should be designed and presented in a way that meets the learning style of DS students.

Visuals, rather than mere oral presentations, are more suited for students with DS. According to Rahma et al (2016), DS students are more attracted to visual forms of presentation and uninterested in oral forms. This observation is an insight to teachers dealing with DS children who pay no attention to teaching methods that do not incoprate visual forms of communication. the merit of suing visual aids when presenting content include improved level confidence in reading as well as improved daily routine skills. When these students are earning to rad using visual appeals, Rahm et al further states that negative emotions will likely be lowered. Visual based presentations like flashcards have been proven to attract the attention of DS students and helps them remember learning outcomes. Since DS students have unique strengths in visual spatial memory, it is imperative that teachers make use of visual aids to help learners cope with learning needs.

In addition to visual based presentation, the implementation of electronic devices as part of learning has been proven to help learners with difficulties. Technology like smartphones and personal computers has been exposed to children including those struggling with DS. These students possess basic skills in using these devices. A study by Feng, Kumin and Ozok involving students with autism, (2008) revealed that learners experience improved learning of words when the teachers use computer based sight for word reading intervention. Thus, schools that implement technology like mobile applications can greatly facilitate learning of DS students. These applications should be tailored to the needs of DS students and correspond to their mental age for them to learn properly. This argument has been supported by a study done by Ahmad et al (2014). Their findings showed that children who have been exposed to information technology are bale to discover new knowledge that will eventually improve their learning skills.

It has been found that use different speech strategies when teaching DS students can greatly help meet their learning needs. A research by Huang (2013) found that speech rate strategies like slow speech, repetition and gaps between words and phrases are highly beneficial. Gaps been pauses and words give learners time to process information and catch up with brig students who comprehend information faster. According to Lasale (2015), teachers and parents who adopt slow speaking rate when communication with DS students is core therapy for helping DS students understand meaning. Speech reduction requires the teacher to raise the number and the duration of pauses between words. Huang’s study further found that other speech strategies like deductive approach and clustered speech help DS students acquire meaning more fluently (2013). The results revealed that children perfume well when the speech strategy used was cluster based. However, for prediction and repetition speech strategies, the sampled students showed insignificant improvements.

Conclusion

Down syndrome is a physical and cognitive disorder caused by an extra copy of chromosome. Elementary school children having DS experience unique challenges that make it hard for them to cope with learning requirements. They are at high risk of developing complications like leukaemia, cancer, Alzheimer and memory problems. Additionally, they develop problematic behavior that impacts their leaning. Studies have revealed several that victims of DS tend to comprehend information better when visual appeals are incorporated in learning activities. Additionally, the teaching with the aid of technological tools like mobile applications and computers contribute positively to learning outcome of DS students. It is therefore paramount that teachers make use of mobile applications and other technological solutions to help children struggling with DS. Lastly, research has proven that speech strategy used to deliver information plays a critical role in comprehension of meaning. For DS students, teachers should embrace deductive approach and clustered speech while teaching. Also, slow speech, repetition and use of gaps between word and phrases is key to helping DS students.

References

Asim, A., Kumar, A., Muthuswamy, S., Jain, S., & Agarwal, S. (2015). Down syndrome: an insight of the disease. Journal of biomedical science

Feeley, K., & Jones, E. (2006). Addressing challenging behavior in children with Down syndrome: The use of applied behavior analysis for assessment and intervention. Down Syndrome Research and Practice

Feng, J., Lazar, J., Kumin, L., & Ozok, A. (2008, October). Computer usage by young individuals with down syndrome: an exploratory study. In Proceedings of the 10th international ACM SIGACCESS conference on Computers and accessibility.

Fernández, Rodríguez-fórtiz, & martínez-segura, M. J. (2013). Mobile learning technology based on iOS devices to support students with special education needs. Computers & Education, 61, 77-90.

Huang, J. C. (2013). The language environment of children with Down syndrome in primary and secondary school settings: case studies of the impact of speech rates and speech strategies (Doctoral dissertation, University of Bath).

Wishart, J. (2001). Motivation and learning styles in young children with Down syndrome. Down Syndrome Research and Practice.