Teaching Special Students in General Education Classrooms (6th Edition) - Softcover

Teaching Special Students in General Education Classrooms, Sixth Edition, is about two things: special students and teaching. It is designed to prepare the professional educator to effectively teach the range of students found in the typical elementary or secondary classroom. It provides information about four groups of students with special needs: students with disabilities, gifted and talented learners, culturally and linguistically diverse individuals, and students at risk for school failure. In addition, it presents practical strategies for adapting standard instruction to meet the learning needs of all students in general education classrooms.

The sixth edition has been thoroughly updated with the addition of several new topics and expanded coverage of others. Included are discussions of important areas such as:

• Current law regulations including the Regulations for PL 105-17, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Amendments
• Strategies for making test accommodations for students with disabilities
• Functional analysis of students' behavioral problems
• Special services for students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
• Classroom adaptations for students with autism, ADHD, traumatic brain injury, and severe disabilities
• New Web and assistive technology resources for general educators

Dr. Rena B. Lewis earned her Ph.D. at the University of Arizona, with a major in special education and minors in psychology and systems engineering. She began her work in special education as a teacher of children with mental retardation, although the majority of her experience has been with students with learning disabilities. She is currently a member of the faculty at San Diego State University in the Department of Special Education.

A frequent contributor to the professional literature, Dr. Lewis is interested in instructional adaptations for students with special needs, classroom assessment techniques, and applications of technology for individuals with disabilities. In addition to this book, she is author of Special Education Technology: Classroom Applications and co-author with Dr. James A. McLoughlin of Assessing Special Students (5th ed.). She was honored with an award by the International Reading Association for her report on research implications for teaching reading to students with learning disabilities.

Since the early 1980s, Dr. Lewis has coordinated the technology area of San Diego State's program for the preparation of special education teachers. Her current research interests center around the use of computers and other technologies to improve the literary skills of students with disabilities. Most recently, she was principal investigator of a research project investigating the effectiveness of hypermedia-based children's literature programs in improving the reading skills of students with learning disabilities. She has also investigated the usefulness of word processing tools such as word prediction for enhancing writing skills.

Dr. Donald H. Doorlag is now Professor Emeritus of Special Education. While with the Department of Special Education at San Diego State University, he coordinated a certificate program for teachers working with students with serious emotional disturbances. He also coordinated a program combining training in general and special education in which graduates earn teaching credentials in both areas simultaneously.

After receiving an undergraduate degree in secondary education, Dr. Doorlag worked throughout most of the 1960s as a teacher of students with emotional and behavioral disorders. He completed his doctorate at Michigan State University with major concentrations in the areas of emotional disturbance and special education administration and a minor in educational research. He joined the faculty at San Diego State University in 1970 where he chaired the Department of Special Education for a number of years. He has also been very active at local, regional, and state levels in contributing to the development and improvement of programs related to the training of special education teachers and the delivery of services to students with disabilities.

Dr. Doorlag's most recent publications and research interests and activities have focused on examining factors relating to the recruitment, retention, and training of special education teachers. In addition, he has worked with state agencies and professional organizations regarding the provision of educational programs for students with emotional and behavioral disorders and incarcerated youth with disabilities.