ERIC Number: EJ991197
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-May
Pages: 7
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1053-4512
EISSN: N/A
Teaching Choice Making to Elementary Students with Mild to Moderate Disabilities
Cote Sparks, Shannon; Cote, Debra L.
Intervention in School and Clinic, v47 n5 p290-296 May 2012
Typically developing children make choices daily. As they transition throughout school, they learn to evaluate the outcomes of their choices. However, elementary-age children with disabilities often experience difficulties in developing choice-making skills. Some of the barriers that impede the development of these skills include poor self-awareness, learned helplessness, low self-esteem, self-deprecation, and lack of recognition of personal strengths or weaknesses. Thus, for many students with mild to moderate disabilities, the development of choice-making skills and the ability to evaluate the outcome of the choice are not innate. Choice making is a skill that must be taught using direct instruction so that students have strategies to use as they make and evaluate choices. Choice making and evaluation can be incorporated into daily routines and interactions in the classroom. When teaching choice making to elementary students with disabilities, teachers must ascertain (a) how students express choice, (b) their abilities to make age-appropriate choices, and (c) their abilities to follow sequential steps in making choices. Goals of choice-making instruction include (a) the expression of preferences and interests, (b) understanding the risk involved when making a choice, and (c) evaluation of the choice made. A teacher should assess students' present skills in expressing choice before teaching choice making. Following assessments, students should be presented with the sequential steps for making choices, which are discussed in this article. Throughout instruction, the teacher can monitor students' skills in choice making. (Contains 3 tables and 3 figures.)
Descriptors: Disabilities, Direct Instruction, Helplessness, Decision Making, Elementary School Students, Barriers, Skill Development, Metacognition, Risk, Interests, Teaching Methods
SAGE Publications and Hammill Institute on Disabilities. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2814
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A