SPC ED 511: Social Construction of Disability
     
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    February 7, 2011


    Topic: Overview of theoretical frameworks

    Class outline:
    Quick questions and quandaries:
      Announcements
      APA tip of the day: Past tense
      Quick small group activity:
      • Take five minutes to brainstorm all of the movies you can think of that have a major character with a disability in it. Assign one group member to take notes and to send the list to Julia within the next day or two.
      Interactive presentation: Overview of approaches to and ways to frame the study of disability. Includes two quick small group activities:
        #1:
      • Look over the readings from this week and last week. Which ones (and on what pages) do you find reference to or definition of: Medical model, functional limitations model, social model, minority model, and social construction of disability (social constructionist model).

      • #2: Think, pair, share
      • How do we really know when something is true? 
      • What do we accept as evidence of “the truth”? 
      • Are some ‘truths’ really ‘assumptions’?
      Quick Write: Jones (1996) defines disability as "a socially constructed phenomenon that incorporates the experiences of those living with disabilities in interaction with their environments" (p. 348). What examples can you provide that might illustrate this contention?
      Interactive presentation: The social construction of disability, master status, and stigmas.
      Five minute silent recap and review
      Deconstruct the Kaplan advertisement "Darwin got you this far. We'll take it from here. Kaplan gets you in."
      Minute Paper 

      Overheads:

      • PowerPoint
      .
      Handouts:
      Food for thought -- paradigmatic change

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      .
      Reading Questions:

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        Note: All of the readings, required and recommended, can be found on electronic reserves at Zimmerman library. Please contact the instructor for the course password.
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      Author: Jones (1996)
      1.) The author discusses disability as an "interaction" or "intersection" between an individual and his/her environment. How does this differ from traditional perspectives on disability?
      2.) What are the central tenets of the three theoretical frameworks the author discusses?
      3.) Which framework seems to underlie current practices in special education? Why do you think this?
      4.) Which framework seems to resonate most strongly with you? Why?
      5.) What might be some of the implications of adopting this framework?
      6.) Now that you've read this article:
      • what seem to be some important concepts in this reading?
      • what are some new terms for you?
      • what new questions do you have?
      .
      Authors: Rosenblum & Travis (2006)
      1.) How do the authors define master status?
      2.) How do the authors define essentialism?
      3.) How do the authors define constructionism?
      4.) What is the importance of the distinctions between essentialism and constructionism? (e.g. what does it matter what "orientation" to knowledge someone has?)
      5.) What arguments do the authors make about the importance of naming? Do you agree or disagree with their arguments?
      6.) How do these authors talk about the social construction of disability? What perspectives presented were new, different, confusing, or controversial?
      7.) Now that you've read this chapter:
      • what seem to be some important concepts in this reading?
      • what are some new terms for you?
      • what new questions do you have?
      .
      Extra Resources:
      Website Links:
      • This web page by Tim Healy at Santa Clara University provides a succinct and clearly written description of paradigm shift: http://www.ee.scu.edu/eefac/healy/kuhn.html
      • Check out the e-zine "Ragged Edge online": http://www.ragged-edge-mag.com/
      • Follow this link for a current article (pdf) on stigma: http://www.heart-intl.net/HEART/Legal/Comp/ConceptualizingStigma.pdf


      Readings from the recommended readings:
      Kalyanpur, M., & Harry, B. (1999). Culture in special education: Building reciprocal family-professional relationships. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes. -- chapter 2 on reserve
      .
      Phillips, M. J. (1992). "Try harder": The experience of disability and the dilemma of normalization. In P. M. Ferguson & D. L. Ferguson & S. J. Taylor (Eds.), Interpreting disability: A qualitative reader (pp. 213-227). New York: Teachers College Press...

      Poplin, M. S. (1988a). Holistic/constructivist principles of the teaching/learning process: Implications for the field of learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 21(7), 401-416.
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      Poplin, M. S. (1988b). The reductionistic fallacy in learning disabilities: Replicating the past by reducing the present. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 21(7), 389-400.
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      Reid, D. K. (1988). Reflections on the pragmatics of a paradigm shift. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 21(7), 417-420.
      .
      Forness, S. R. (1988). Reductionism, paradigm shifts, and learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 21(7), 421-424.
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      Kimball, W. H., & Heron, T. E. (1988). A behavioral commentary on Poplin's discussion of reductionist fallacy and holistic/constructivist principles. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 21(7), 425-428, 447..
       
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      Julia Scherba de Valenzuela, Ph.D.
      Last updated: January 28, 2011