Case Study: 3 I Want a Best Friend A student with Down syndrome would benefit from being educated in an inclusive

setting as studies have shown that they do better academically and socially when placed in an inclusive setting compared with similar students in a non-inclusive setting (Wolpert, 1996). Also, The National Center on Educational Restructuring and Inclusion reported academic, behavioural and social benefits for students with and without disabilities in inclusive classrooms (Lipsky & Gartener, 1995). Furthermore, they found that nondisabled students can serve as positive speech and behavior role models for those with Down syndrome and students with Down syndrome offer their nondisabled peers acceptance, tolerance, patience and friendship (Lipsky & Gartener, 1995) During the parent teacher interview, Caseys parents raised a number of concerns such as: -A lack of close girl friends in the class -Casey learns by watching others and her only friend has trouble communicating and depends on her -Casey isnt actively involved in all the lessons in the class as she comes back in from the resource room part way through lessons -Casey isnt learning the same subject at the same time as her classmates so doesnt have many common things to talk to them about. A possible strategy that could work in Caseys classroom is the use of collaborative learning groups. Khatoon and Akhter (2010), found that students who are slow learners benefit from the use of these groups as: i) Students learning achievement performance becomes better; ii) They feel satisfy in their learning tasks; iii) Their thinking power becomes active; iv) They can solve their problems; and, v) They share their learning difficulties with their peer group members when they are provided opportunities to work in groups. Collaborative learning groups in which students are given an opportunity to work with others towards a common goal are set up so that there are clearly defined roles for each of the group members. This allows for various learning styles so that all students can be actively engaged in their learning. While there may be different roles in the group to ensure that all members can work with their strengths, everyone is working towards a common goal. References: Khatoon, S. and Akhter, M. (2010). An Innovative Collaborative Group Learning Strategy for Improving Learning Achievement in Slow Learners. Journal of Research and Reflection in Education. 4(2): pp.142-160

Lipsky, D. K., & Gartner, A. (1995). The evaluation of inclusive education programs. NCERI Bulletin, 2 (2).

Wolpert, G. (1996). The Educational Challenges Inclusion Study. New York, NY: National Down Syndrome Society.