Assignment 3

Student Teacher: Andrea Winters

Field Advisor: Greg Long

Jan. 18, 2012

Module 1 /Assignment 1

Disability, Ability, Responsibility

                While growing up students who were lower academically went to the resource room; students gifted went to a special class during the day. Through my job experiences, I have worked with special needs children. I have seen them integrated well into the Calgary Catholic Board of Education while working as a sub-teacher assistant.  I have also worked in a specialized school for students with disabilities in the states and was disheartened by some of the cruelty to the children I witnessed and could do nothing about. From my experience inclusion has to do with the attitudes of the teacher, staff, and administration of the school to make it work. My recent view of Inclusion has not changed since reading Module One.  Inclusion is students from various backgrounds, ethnicities, and abilities grouped together in a classroom community, being  respectful academically, socially and emotionally with one another. I am an advocate for inclusion based on the teacher's ideas of fairness, equity and compassion in a learning community.

                At my first placement at Cranston Elementary, one of the teachers I worked with in a job share had a more pathognomonic perspective towards  inclusion.  Both teachers voiced that the majority of their class was low academically. The high academic students received the most support.  One of the teachers was more in line of the Supreme Court to provide an inclusive environment which does not result in "discrimination against them" (children with disabilities) by being an advocate for a boy who was thought to have Asperger's Syndrome (Supreme Court statement pp. 272-73).

                I was placed in Langdon school  for my second Practicum with a Kindergarten Teacher that was had a pathognomonic perspective on inclusion. One child was diagnosed as having ADD and much of his time was spent out of the classroom at the request of the teacher. She believed the majority of her students had disabilities.  This teacher's  class would not support the Supreme Court's ruling to support children's disabilities  because in this teacher's personal conversation and actions she discriminated and belittled children with special needs.

                This year  I am placed with a teacher who is an interventionist .  She speaks well of all of her students.  Her grade one students are all reading,  and she designs her class for all of her students to succeed.  There is one girl who is on the autism spectrum and is the most included in a regular classroom setting I have witnessed. I think the success of the inclusive environment has to do with the attitude of the teacher and the school community.

                 After taking the Personal and Teacher efficacy test from the module readings, I scored strong in both categories. From my experience as a child, work, College, and a  mother of special needs children, I favor inclusive education given the teacher has the attitude to provide academic support to each child in their classroom community.

Student Teacher: Andrea Winters

Field Advisor: Greg Long

Jan. 25, 2012

Module 1 /Assignment 2

Case 1: Christopher Melrose

                Christopher Melrose is a grade 6 student at Parkview School who has a mild learning disability and the school believes he should go to the resource room a couple of hours a day. Mary Melrose his mother refuses to consent to her son being removed from class. Christopher's  teacher  believes Christopher needs support outside the classroom because he is falling behind academically.

                In Module one Mrs. Jaffer cautions parents of special needs children not to trust the special education system and be pro-active to support their children. (Mrs. Jaffer  personal interview (Module 1).  Christopher's mother's concerns for her son range from denial of her son's disability, concern about peer s, distrust of special education. Statistically more than half the students  from the low-track academics will drop out of school (Module 1).

                Christopher's  teacher appears concerned about his assessment and will not succeed on his own in the classroom because there is not enough educational  support. The work may be above his reasoning level and unfair to test him. The assessment may not fully evaluate the knowledge he has.

                The staff of the school value either a pathognomonic or interventionist perspective.  In Research box 1-6 "The Effectiveness of Inclusion" it states "- principals who do not make inclusion a priority and who subscribe to a more traditional delivery model for special education spend less time with students with disabilities and believe responsibility of education rests with trained staff in special education (Stanovich and Jordon 1998). The staff of the school believe Christopher needs help in special education. The school values the resource room as a place for special needs students. With an interventionist and nurturist  perspective staff believe positive supports in community, home and school  he can be more successful.  In Module 1 in the  Research Box 1-5" How Teacher Beliefs May Influence their Teaching" it has been reported that"- high academic talk teachers spend 50% more time in dialogues with individual students and small groups and Interacted twice as long with low achievers as high achievers" (Module 1). Christopher is having little success in regular class.

                At Fox Hollow Elementary, a grade one student on the autism spectrum goes out of class to work with resource teachers in special education and completes class work. The same learning material for the student is used in resource and regular class. This challenges the student, academically and she is doing as well as her peers.

                Factors to consider for Christopher's placement for education would involve student, parent, and teacher.  Teachers, parent and student can create a program plan to help Christopher achieve his academic goals to improve academically. Christopher's mother can  choose to look for another school for Christopher to attend if he would have more success in a different setting. It is imperative the parent and teachers have open communication and involve the student in his learning goals to achieve success.

Student Teacher: Andrea Winters

Field Advisor: Greg Long

Feb. 1, 2012

Module 2 /Assignment 3

Joan Martinez

            Joan Martinez, an anxious grade eight teacher at Atlas Middle School with a mix of varying abilities and several students on Individual Program Plans, would like to have a positive classroom management strategy to govern her classroom. Proactive classroom management would benefit positive classroom management because it helps students become independent and accountable for their own learning. Routine, structure, consistency, well planned lessons, re- teaching will help students know the expectations and routines of the classroom.

            Principles of classroom management should not change significantly depending on age or grade levels of students. In Martinez' case she will have to decide whether to tutor to individual needs and give the class busy work, teach the whole class and give attention as is available, or ignore special needs students and focus on the high achievers. It doesn't matter what age group the children are, there will always be high achievers, children we are concerned about, indifferent towards, and the rejected students (Module 2).  Martinez needs to decide how she can develop a class that has mutual respect and cooperation to achieve goals of positive classroom management and students reaching their full potential. In any grade the teacher needs to focus on proximity with students in the classroom, arrange physical space to see all, prepare materials, and give meaningful positive praise to students.

            At Fox Hollow Elementary, there are 2 low achievers, 1 special needs student, 8 ESL, 2 behavioral students out of a class of 26. Ms. Reed addresses classroom management through covering big ideas with students to make cross curricular connections, scaffold lessons and support lower academic students. The physical arrangement of her classroom allows her to be close to any student, have eye contact, and manage the classroom in an efficient manner.

            In a case study in Module 2, Lisa's classroom had a wide range of abilities of students. In an excerpt from an interview she shares an assignment she gave her middle school students to write about 3 good reasons why a topic of their choice is significant. She modified the assignment for a few students in her class that she knew would not be able to be successful without modification. With one such student she asked her to come up with 3 facts about child abuse rather than 3 reasons why the topic is important.

            Martinez can set achievement standards, have clear curricular expectations, learning goals, and instructional objectives to produce positive classroom management. Scaffolding and involvement in curriculum is part of routine so students know how to achieve success. To help students be part of assessment in the reading program in my practicum, students record timed readings and it is marked on a graph. By the end of the week they do another timed reading and mark their progress again. This assessment  gets the students involved in their progress and motivates exceptional and regular students in the classroom.

Student Teacher: Andrea Winters

Field Advisor: Greg Long

Feb. 8, 2012

Module 2 /Assignment 4

David Johnson

            David, a well respected High School Math and Science teacher for eleven years would like to learn new teaching strategies to help twin students Jon and Ben to succeed in his Applied Mathematics class.  Both students have mild learning disabilities. David feels like his current teaching methods as a skilled educator are not engaging John and Ben.

            David needs to collect information from the special education teacher about the students, their learning needs and goals in  Individual  Program Plans. He needs to find out if the students have been diagnosed, through previous assessments from professionals, parents and  speaking directly with the students. In Module 2, Kame-enui and Carnine and collegues (1998) researched four types of cognitive processes of students: memory, strategy knowledge and use, vocabulary knowledge, and language coding. David can research and assess where the students are doing well and where they are falling behind in lessons and assignments. David can assess how the twins demonstrate declarative, procedural, and conditional knowledge. David can design a program and services to address the needs of John and Ben. Then assess the outcome of the program, and plan next steps for success. The special Education teacher can provide assistance in the students' learning by giving the students time in the resource room to complete in-class work.  David's  Applied Math class is designed to help students apply math to science, business, engineering and industry. David can modify the learning goals for John and Ben to help them succeed in class.

            David wants to change his teaching instruction because the students are not meeting curricular expectations in the class, whether it has to do with the learning disability, David's teaching, or both. The students may have poor memory such as the case in Module 2 of the Emeritus Professor at an accredited University (Module 2). The students may not understand  material, have poor reading skills or comprehension.  Some options for David to help the students succeed are to modify lessons. He can review the achievement standards, curriculum expectations, learning goals, and instructional objectives of the students. In my school placement a student on the autism spectrum has differentiated instructional objectives in the classroom for correcting her math work due to her disability of short attention span and comprehension.  David can also follow 6 high quality instructional tools for Diverse Learner Needs: Prime background knowledge, share big ideas of the lesson, scaffold, link lessons to cross-curricular subjects, and do recall of learning. David has a classroom full of students to address the learning needs for so the task of helping students with disabilities in his classroom can be too much for a teacher to handle without other teachers' support, even with differentiated teaching instruction.

           

Student Teacher: Andrea Winters

Field Advisor: Greg Long

Feb. 15, 2012

Module 3/Assignment 5

Monisha Khan

                Monisha Khan, a new grade nine Geography teacher wants to help Brian Jordan succeed in her class, a student diagnosed as learning disabled. She fears the other students will have a problem with any accommodations she makes for Brian.  Monisha also struggles with classroom management.

            Monisha can use instructional techniques, questioning, scaffolding, and calibrate her lessons to individualize learning . Monisha needs to review Brian's IPP, plan for his success through clear instructional objectives to accommodate his learning needs and the rest of the class. Teachers can create access to learning for all students.  In Module three a video  showcased a teacher providing multiple ways of curriculum learning. He had clear instructional objectives for cooperative groups, individual accountability in the group, and doing a skit to elaborate on their topic.  Nole and McLaughlin reported "When students with different abilities and skills have multiple ways to be engaged in the curriculum, it is possible for them to be comparably challenged by the same content" (Module 3). Using Universal access and Design creates an environment that supports all students' success.  For example, students who cannot print legibly can type on a computer. In my grade 3/4 class last year one student had permission to type on the computer to do assignments since his penmanship was poor. He was assessed on the content of his writing. Scaffolding is important in any classroom. Students need to build on background knowledge, learn new material, have it modeled, practice, and try on their own with teacher feedback to internalize what is being taught.

            When looking at accommodations Monisha needs to look if it would make other students stronger? It is better to accommodate for a student than to modify lessons because then it may make it unfair to other students with assessment. Spelling adaptations for English Learners at Fox Hollow Elementary students in my grade one class may seem unfair to other grade one students if they were given information that these students took their spelling test in a different room. Students get 100% correct whereas if they took the same test in the classroom they would not do as well. Other students in the class would do better on their spelling tests in a more reclusive environment.

            Monisha can keep accommodations between her and Brian, other staff private. She can give students options to produce work in multiple ways.  Monisha can assess each work based on the curriculum and still  accommodate the individual learning needs of  her students . What is being assessed does not change. Maybe the presentation, what can be used, or the environment changes. An example was given in module 3 of how a teacher can test a slow working student on every other question rather than every question as long as it's testing his or her skills in the lesson that is being taught to all students.

Student Teacher: Andrea Winters

Field Advisor: Greg Long

Feb. 29, 2012

Module 3/Assignment 6

Tracy Wong

                Tracy Wong, an eighteen year old grade twelve student diagnosed  with AD/HD, has previously written all her exams  in the resource room. The resource room is no longer available due to building  re- construction and the school administration wants Tracy to write her exams in the gymnasium with her peers . Tracy is worried her grades will suffer if she writes the grade 12 exam in the gym because she needs quiet space. There is a conflict between what Tracy and her parents want and what the administrators of the school propose.

                In the meeting between school administration, Tracy and her parents,  the topic of Environmental Accommodations for Assessment need to be addressed.  The resource room teacher should be at the meeting. The resource teacher can be an advocate for Tracy and present her IPP to support Tracy. Part of the Universal Design model is to individualize learning , adapt learning in clear objectives so students can succeed with the required curriculum. There are quiet places in the school that may be unoccupied at the time of the exams:  the office conference room, an unoccupied classroom, the library,  the Principals' office. While I was student teaching in Calgary, the Grade 3 students had to write their provincial exams and I volunteered to be a scribe for a child, who wrote their exam in the Teacher Conference room.  

                Tracy's parents can discuss with administration alternative places for Tracy to take the grade 12 exams in the school. Tracy's parents may appeal  her grade twelve exams  since she will not be able to take the exam in the location she prefers in the school.  The school is required to provide Tracy with accessible and adequate accommodations for her special needs since she has been diagnosed by the school with AD/HD.  Parents may be able to sue the school if  the school does not attempt to accommodate Tracy with her specific learning needs. Tracy should have an IEP which is designed to meet her educational needs, one being a quiet environment to write exams.

Prior to 1991 there was not legal provisions schools had to accommodate special needs children. There are now services for students with AD/HD . Two federal laws in the United States, one called IDEA: Individualized Disability Education Act, protects students to receive services they need to succeed in school. The Canada Ministry of Education has stated that students with AD/HD can receive help in school, though AD/HD has not been recognized as requiring access to special education (Gordon, A. The Star, January 10, 2012). In a Canadian school, Tracy should have access to environmental accommodations such as the place she takes the grade twelve final exams.

Assignment 7
The Case of Salim
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Step 1: What is known: Gathering referral information Taking Mrs. Janes' perspective, consider her knowledge of Salim. Write down what she knows about Salim and what she needs to find out about him as soon as possible. Record her impressions of both the student's strengths and difficulties or concerns. Strengths and Concerns: Mrs. Janes does not have enough information to give strengths about Salim. She is concerned about how she will tend to other students in her class who need extra help and tend to the educational, emotional, and psychological needs of Salim in her classroom.

Step 2: What might be happening and why: Generating hypotheses Now add the information provided by others at the school meeting and any other available information. Create a list of possible contributing factors. Consider possibilities that have not yet been mentioned. In addition to the referral information, you can find clues in the discussion of teachers, and in the exhibits. As a rule of thumb, you should be able to think of at least seven possible contributors: 1.Arriving from a war-torn country 2. He may have never attended formal schooling even if there was one in his country 3. Salim may be experiencing culture shock in an unfamiliar environment. 4 .Salim may  be experiencing psychological trauma from war in his country. 5. He may not know enough English to carry on a conversation with other children. 6. He may come from a family that has racial issues and may prefer people of his culture. 7. He needs additional attention to feel at home in the classroom community. 8. The material presented is above his learning abilities or his background knowledge. 9. His demeanor seemed shy having his head down, and quiet, perhaps from lack of friends 10. Spinning in a chair may calm him down if he has special needs such as autism spectrum disorder. <>     <><>    <><>   <>

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Step 3: What you need to find out: Checking hypotheses by collecting more information How might you seek information to check the hypotheses? Write down how you could check each of the ones you thought of. You can group similar concerns where one source of information, such as an interview, could provide insights: 1. Proceed with a non-categorical Assessment for Learning model 2. Check with Salim's parents about educational background and refugee status. 3. Arrange to have a team meeting with Salim's parents, resource teacher, general education teacher, school psychologist, and other administration to support and find solution's to help Salim's learning in Mrs. Janes' classroom. 4 .  Provide instructional, criterial, evaluative and confirmatory assessment given by the teacher, resource teacher, psychologist, and any other necessary administration or staff such as a developmental Education assistant or interpreter brought in from a local immigration centre. 5. Follow up with the testing results and assessment with a follow-up team collaborative meeting. 6. Get a referral for an interpreter, special education, English Learner help to meet his needs in the classroom. 7. Collect information about the country he came from to help relate better with Salim and so students in the class can get to know Salim and his background country better. 8. Find a student in the class that could shadow Salim or be his buddy in class to help him stay on task. 9. Place Salim with students in the class who are accepting, hard-working, responsible students to help Salim with understanding the routines and procedures of the classroom.

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Step 4: What you think is happening: Arriving at tentative judgements Are you able to reach any tentative judgements at this stage? What factors seem the most likely sources of the difficulties? Which ones may need further assessment and investigation? Most likely factors and Further information needed: Salim is most likely traumatized by moving from a war-torn country to a more peaceable one, with multiple cultures in a classroom community that he is unfamiliar with. He is likely lacking in formal education and will need an education assistant. The resource teacher and English Language Learner teacher can work with Salim after assessment and develop learning goals with the general teacher, parents, and other professionals to help Salim feel secure and catch up educationally with his peers. Salim needs students who are responsible and safe in class to turn to for guidance so he knows how to follow classroom rules and how to follow school work that he will need help learning. It's important to get Salim's reading tested. Some  possible resources his teacher Mrs. Janes can use are: Phonological Awareness Tests: 1. Test of Auditory Analysis Skills (TAAS), J. Rosner. Academic Therapy Publications, Novato, CA. 2. Test of Phonological Awareness (TOPA), J,K. Torgesen and B.R. Bryant. PRO-ED, Austin, TX. Reading Tests: 1.Diagnostic Reading Scales- Revised, G.D. Spache. CTB/ McGraw-Hill, Monteray, CA. 2.Standardized Reading Inventory, P.L. Newcomer. PRO-ED, Austin, TX. These assessments were retrieved from a book my partner teacher gave me called "assessing reading: Multiple Measures for kindergarten through eighth grade. Arena Press. CORE. (1999). <>    <><>     <><>    <>

Step 5: What you say: Reporting your findings A follow-up collaborative meeting will need to be set to discuss the findings of Salim's educational needs, and social and emotional in the school. After assessments are given, it will be easier to determine whether Salim will need special education which will involve an IEP, English Learner assistance, and how to help Salim do well in Mrs. Janes classroom at his level of learning. Salim deserves to have universal access to learning as do all students.

 

Advisor: Greg Long

Student Teacher: Andrea Winters

<>Assignment 8

Step 1: What is known: Gathering referral information Using the information available in the videos and the exhibits, write down what you know about Tammy, as well as what you need to find out about her. What do you know about Tammy's strengths and needs? Strengths and Concerns: Strengths: excellent artist, dedication, perseverance, cooperative. From a private psychologist TOTAL Test of Adolescent and Adult language she scored in the 90th percentile for spoken language. On the WIAT-11 Test she scored superior in listening comprehension and oral expression. Concerns: Tammy has the most trouble with written work. She is at a risk of not getting credit for science class. She has trouble paying attention. She took the TOTAL Test of Adolescent and Adult language she scored average 54th percentile for written language. She scored low average in written expression and mathematics From the WIAT -11 Test. Her reading comprehension and spelling is average. Tammy's father does not support her art skills. Tammy's parents do not want her to drop any of her extra-curricular activities.

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2: What might be happening and why: Generating hypotheses Using the information available in the videos and the exhibits, write down what might be happening. What might be the possible contributing factors or hypotheses about Tammy's difficulties? 1Tammy is not getting support from her Dad for art skills. 2 Tammy is involved in too many extra-curricular activities and does not have time for her studies. 3 There is not focus on giving Tammy supports to improve her written work. 4 Tammy is not receiving acknowledgement for her gifted and learning disabilities. 5 Tammy's family may speak another language at home, causing barriers to English Language learning. 6 Tammy may not understand math language. 7 Tammy may have a lack of interest in formal writing.

Step 3: What you need to find out: Checking hypotheses by collecting more information I need to find out Tammy's cultural background, language to see if that is contributing to her problems with written language. Tammy needs a time management plan for getting work done. With a gifted/ learning disabled diagnoses she may qualify for education assistance. She needs an IEP, with goals and objectives to help Tammy pass her science class and improve her writing. Professionals involved in the team to create her IEP are an  occupational therapist, school psychologist, teacher, principal, parents and student. Parents can be contacted by e-mail and phone to keep them updated of the goals and progress of their daughter. Parent expertise and communication for the parents about art education will build understanding. Targeting writing in tutoring will give Tammy time  to practice her writing skills.  She can have a writing buddy in class. The teachers can have a lesson on writing compositions. How would you go about checking the possible hypotheses about Tammy's achievement? It is important to have a psychologist give Tammy updated testing. The teacher can assess her writing skills and math. I would research gifted and learning disabled students. There are publications by the Council for Exceptional Children and journals available online. It's vital to collaborate with other professionals about Tammy's progress by developing a plan of action, reaching a consensus about goals, confirm responsibilities, and evaluate how the goals are helping Tammy reach her full potential. I would like to assess Tammy's work through a portfolio, assessing writing, formal testing,  and her work in classes.

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Write a short description of the designation 'gifted/learning disabled.' Some sources to help you are found at these websites: Gifted/ learning disabled: People from various ethnicities and backgrounds whose intelligences are multi-faceted where they are superior in some forms of learning and expression and of lower achievement in other forms. They are referred  to as "twice exceptional" meaning they  have outstanding knowledge and expertise in one area of learning, and low- intelligence in another area of learning. http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content/Gifted_learning_disabled.html http://www.ldonline.org/indepth/gifted http://www.uniquelygifted.org