Honors Program Theses

Award/Availability

Open Access Honors Program Thesis

First Advisor

Kristine Donnelly

Abstract

Under the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), every child with a recognized disability is guaranteed a free appropriate public education (FAPE). This means that it is my job as a future elementary school special education teacher to provide FAPE by meeting students’ individual needs, often through an individualized education program (IEP), which includes the provision of specially designed instruction, services, and supports. For example, if an IEP calls for a behavior intervention plan, educators are required to implement proactive supports, such as structure and reinforcement systems or scheduled breaks, to ensure equitable access to learning. As an educator, it is integral to my teaching philosophy that students of all abilities and backgrounds deserve equitable opportunities and successful integration into classroom communities. This extensive literature review aims to identify classroom management approaches that can be employed across instructional settings to support all learners, with special emphasis on elementary-aged students with disabilities who benefit from special education services and settings. To translate these legal guarantees into practice, it is important to note that special education setting is not merely a separate classroom where students with disabilities are pulled. In today’s educational system, special education services are much more integrated and differentiated than the traditional perception of special education as an isolated pull-out program. One key part of administering special education services is planning and implementing Specially Designed Instruction (SDI). SDI modifies and adapts the general curriculum through the content, methodology, and/or delivery to fit a student with disabilities individual needs. In Iowa’s SDI Framework, the very first guideline is that students receiving special education services are, first and foremost, general education students. It also clarifies that SDI is delivered across instructional settings and by both general education and special education teachers (Department of Education; Iowa's SDI Framework, Update 07/2025).

Year of Submission

2025

Department

Department of Special Education

University Honors Designation

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the designation University Honors

Date Original

2025

Object Description

1 PDF file (18 pages)

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

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