Educational Alternatives Connect the Dots #3: Responsiveness to Intervention
Margaret Roth
September 28,2011
Reading Assignment for Connect the Dots #3 includes:
Chapters 4 and 5 from Inclusion: Effective Practices for All Students
What We Need to Know About Responsiveness to Intervention (and Shouldn’t be Afraid to Ask)
Is Response to Intervention Good Policy for Specific Learning Disability?
Assignment: Discuss the two methods of identification of learning disabilities and how a shift to RTI has changed practice in schools. Which characteristics of learning disabilities might present the biggest challenge to you in the classroom; discuss why and which effective teaching strategy you would choose to address the issues.
Response:
It seems that the overall reaction to the shift to RTI in regards to the way it is instituted in schools, the success of students with disabilities, and the effect on the teachers and students in the general education classroom has been positive. Even through there are many different challenges that may arise with the inclusion of students with disabilities in the classroom, the overall results are extremely beneficial for all parties involved, including the teacher and the students. With conscientious attention and an open mind for creativity and challenges, RTI and inclusion practices can have great impacts for all aspects of the educational system both inside and outside the classroom.
There are two methods of identifying leaning disabilities - Severe Discrepancy and Response to Intervention. The first has been generally replaced by the second for many reasons. The Severe Discrepancy method is defined as a determination of disability through the “severe discrepancy between the student’s expected achievement level and actual achievement level (Inclusion 82).” In general this method utilizes elements like student performance on class tests and standardized tests in comparison to other students in that grade level to determine if there is a severe difference in a student’s performance. If a severe discrepancy in academic performance is identified, other factors including other disabilities, culture, truancy, language issues, poor quality teachers, or low economic status, can be eliminated as causing the discrepancy then the student can be identified as having a learning disability. The major problem with this method of identifying a learning discrepancy is that a student has to fall severely behind their peers before their learning disability can be identified. An additionally issue is that that this method is not necessarily as quantitative and universally applicable as professionals would like them to be and therefore there is not a generally accepted and systematic way of identifying a learning disability with this method.
The second method of identifying a learning disability is the Response-to-Intervention approach also uses the principle of identifying learning disabilities through unexpected low academic performance. However, in this method prevention is at the forefront of the teacher’s minds from the beginning of their experience with their students. Teachers try to identify students who are struggling at the beginning rather than waiting for the accumulation of test materials. When a teacher identifies such students they attempt to reach the students using more small group instruction, structured teaching, tutoring, and other accommodating methods. If a student is still struggling with these accommodations, they receive “intensive, individualized interventions using highly effective instruction and fr equent monitoring of student progress (Inclusion 84).” If none of these methods work, other causes have likely been eliminated and then the student is reviewed for identification with a learning disability. This approach enables an individualized approach to the identification of learning disabilities and prevents students from falling behind and potentially ruining their educational opportunities.
The shift to RTI has had many impacts on school systems and the general classroom. There are many additionally services provided to students as a result of RTI, many classrooms have more adults in them through the positions of paraprofessionals and special education teachers thus benefiting all students, more students are identified with a learning disability at an earlier age thus receiving a more tailored education, learning experiences are more engaging and are designed to incorporate multiple intelligences, and most importantly it has made teachers and administrators more accountable for the education and inclusion of students with learning disabilities into the schools.
There are many possible issues that could arise with learning disabled students in the general education classroom. The main issues include but are not limited to “oral expression, listening comprehension, written expression, basic reading skills, reading fluency skills, reading comprehension, mathematics calculation, and mathematics problem solving (Inclusion 86).” These issues are based in the cognitive deficits of memory problems, attention problems, and metacognitive problems, or in social and motivational problems which students face when they have a learning disability. The characteristic of learning disabilities that will likely pose the greatest challenge to me as an English Language Arts Middle School teacher is the characteristic of problems with reading comprehension. This is due to the fact that reading comprehension, at least the way I see it, is the basis of Language Arts material, as demonstrated by curriculum, standardized tests, the general concepts of literacy and literature in the English language, and most importantly (as having an eye on the end game is) acceptance to college and higher education for all students. Reading comprehension not only enables students to understand specific texts and materials, but it enables students to reach higher into the body of academic and life knowledge. Without being able to successfully comprehend what they read, students will not be able to answer questions and make connections to the world in their readings, let alone excel in their academic pursuits.
Through my personal experience both as a student, a teacher, and a learner, I believe that the best way to help students improve their reading comprehension is by utilizing graphic organizers and concept maps. Through these visual aids students are able to associate not just a picture or image with a text or story but a sense of flow and connection with the material. By creating the graphic organizer the students are able to have a feeling of tangibility of the material, and associate a process with the material. As students use the form or review the graphics over and over again they develop an imprinting of the skills and the process in their minds. For students who excel at writing, they are also able to take an active role in creating their graphic organizer. Most importantly, this method is extremely effective due to the fact that the brain is designed as an organizational system. Therefore, by initiating this organization using a tangible and active methodology, student reading comprehension can be increased and all students will benefit. Personally, I believe that (and have every intention of implementing this belief in my work with my students) using graphic organizers is not just about having a visual to associate with the text, and this is where the strategy can fall short into ineffectiveness. I believe that it is more about figuring out ways to effectively replicate the brain’s organizational pathways and nuances into a physical form so that the two can be aligned in processing and thus aligned to facilitate comprehension. It does a student no good if they are trying to remember material and trying to learn a new way of structuring material at the same time. This is where further discrepancies and confusion can and do occur. Therefore it is essential that graphic organizers are designed with great attention to detail and flow and with the students’ mind and capability levels in mind. Through every step of the process.
Additionally, I believe that a great challenge is reaching the student with ADHD in a constructive way and helping to incorporate them into the learning environment. I think that in many ways students with ADHD are put to the wayside and disciplined unfairly due to the fact that teachers find it easier to ignore them than to try to reach them. I see it as a personal challenge. I think that it is not only essential in order to reach ADHD students by keeping things moving and interesting and physically engaging, but that ultimately the rest of a class of students will be more engaged and excited about learning if these kind of accommodations are made.
Ultimately, I believe that the inclusion of students with learning disabilities ultimately helps the entire learning environment because it forces teachers to mix it up - to change the way they do things - to be innovative and try out things that the students have never seen before. I see it as nothing but beneficial if a teacher is willing to take on the challenge.
Showing posts with label #jhusmed. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #jhusmed. Show all posts
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Thursday, September 1, 2011
My Fourth Very First Day of School
So what did I learn today, today on my very first day of school? Well, I guess this is really my second, well my third, fourth very first day of school if we are measuring life on a timeline. Anyways, I have to admit that I don't feel I learned anything dramatic or life changing about my students or about the world, but I learned something perspective altering about myself. I have never been around normal students. I have never been in a class with people who have trouble. I have never before experienced average.
On my very first day of school ever, I went to Holy Trinity Episcopal School in Melbourne, Florida, wearing a green plaid jumper and white Oxford shirt likely paired with black Mary Janes as my mother was fond of dressing me in. It is in this outfit that I spent the next ten years of my life, at a school where 90% of my friends were the children of either doctors or business owners. As far as I know, every one of the twenty nine other students I shared those years with has been college bound.
My second very first day of school was at Cocoa Beach Jr./Sr. High School where I was one of fifty students who graduated with an International Baccalaureate diploma and a load of AP credits. At the time, I had become quite a fashionable little surfer girl, so I am sure I was rocking some sort of too short shorts, volcom t-shirt, and skate shoes. The entire time I was there I was not only in accelerated academic classes, but my choice of elective was at times more difficult than my actual classes. Let me put it this way, my senior year I was an International Science and Engineering Fair Delegate. I graduated with IB, AP, NHS, and a weighted GPA of something outrageously unnecessary like a 4.7.
My third very first day of school was at the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. By this time I was like most college girls, alternating between sweats and college t-shirts and cute dresses, depending on the day of the week. While starting my studies as an Environmental Engineer, and transferring all around the academic realm of higher educational fields, I found what I wanted to do. I graduated with a double major in English and Environmental Earth Science. It was during this experience that I found something more important than school, I found out how to be truly passionate for myself. I found my love of teaching through the university's outdoor leadership program. And so I'm here today,today on my fourth very first day of school.
I arrived very early, dressed in a sleek and simple black skirt, yellow top, and my favorite grey sweater, to pick our class up from the gym. There I stood, on the other side of the wall, they were looking at me, I was looking at them, they were watching me. As I walked them to our room, a dress code violation nightmare of blue plaid skirts, shorts, too many bracelets, oxford shirts, Nike sneakers, and slacks, I realized something, but I'm not entirely sure how to explain it. All that I can really comprehend is that by the end of that class I realized that I had no idea how hard the things that in my experience seem to be so simple, can be so hard for a student who struggles, a student who was not as privileged and lucky, no, as blessed as I have been. I have a distinctly different comprehension, a distinctly different perception than these students. This I think will be my greatest challenge.
From our teaching instructors, we've been told a lot lately that our students will struggle with this our students will struggle with that. I learned today that I do not even know what the word struggle means. I have never struggled, not with anything. Things have been hard for me, but more because I chose to make them hard on myself. My fear now is how can I teach an individual who's experience and reality I have no comprehension of?; Yes, I have been a seventh grader, yes I have been in middle school, but I have never been a struggling seventh grader. I have never been a struggling student.
With this as a realization, I hope that something is said about my aptitude for success or at least my desire to be challenged. The class I found myself most drawn to today, my first day of school on the other side of the wall, was the class I have been warned will be my hardest class. Because I saw them struggle, and they kept going. I hope that I will be able to do the same, I will be able to keep going.
I do not intend for this to be my last very first day of school.
On my very first day of school ever, I went to Holy Trinity Episcopal School in Melbourne, Florida, wearing a green plaid jumper and white Oxford shirt likely paired with black Mary Janes as my mother was fond of dressing me in. It is in this outfit that I spent the next ten years of my life, at a school where 90% of my friends were the children of either doctors or business owners. As far as I know, every one of the twenty nine other students I shared those years with has been college bound.
My second very first day of school was at Cocoa Beach Jr./Sr. High School where I was one of fifty students who graduated with an International Baccalaureate diploma and a load of AP credits. At the time, I had become quite a fashionable little surfer girl, so I am sure I was rocking some sort of too short shorts, volcom t-shirt, and skate shoes. The entire time I was there I was not only in accelerated academic classes, but my choice of elective was at times more difficult than my actual classes. Let me put it this way, my senior year I was an International Science and Engineering Fair Delegate. I graduated with IB, AP, NHS, and a weighted GPA of something outrageously unnecessary like a 4.7.
My third very first day of school was at the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. By this time I was like most college girls, alternating between sweats and college t-shirts and cute dresses, depending on the day of the week. While starting my studies as an Environmental Engineer, and transferring all around the academic realm of higher educational fields, I found what I wanted to do. I graduated with a double major in English and Environmental Earth Science. It was during this experience that I found something more important than school, I found out how to be truly passionate for myself. I found my love of teaching through the university's outdoor leadership program. And so I'm here today,today on my fourth very first day of school.
I arrived very early, dressed in a sleek and simple black skirt, yellow top, and my favorite grey sweater, to pick our class up from the gym. There I stood, on the other side of the wall, they were looking at me, I was looking at them, they were watching me. As I walked them to our room, a dress code violation nightmare of blue plaid skirts, shorts, too many bracelets, oxford shirts, Nike sneakers, and slacks, I realized something, but I'm not entirely sure how to explain it. All that I can really comprehend is that by the end of that class I realized that I had no idea how hard the things that in my experience seem to be so simple, can be so hard for a student who struggles, a student who was not as privileged and lucky, no, as blessed as I have been. I have a distinctly different comprehension, a distinctly different perception than these students. This I think will be my greatest challenge.
From our teaching instructors, we've been told a lot lately that our students will struggle with this our students will struggle with that. I learned today that I do not even know what the word struggle means. I have never struggled, not with anything. Things have been hard for me, but more because I chose to make them hard on myself. My fear now is how can I teach an individual who's experience and reality I have no comprehension of?; Yes, I have been a seventh grader, yes I have been in middle school, but I have never been a struggling seventh grader. I have never been a struggling student.
With this as a realization, I hope that something is said about my aptitude for success or at least my desire to be challenged. The class I found myself most drawn to today, my first day of school on the other side of the wall, was the class I have been warned will be my hardest class. Because I saw them struggle, and they kept going. I hope that I will be able to do the same, I will be able to keep going.
I do not intend for this to be my last very first day of school.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Affirmations from Last Class
I hope that no one will be terribly offended or upset that I have posted this. It is my notes from our last class on Content Reading with Ms. Phyllis Lerner. I think that it is really important for teachers and students to remember that we are ultimately always learning together and it is not a one way street. Phyllis asked us to name one thing that we were able to take away from this course. My list is just so that we can not only always remember these things ourselves as a group, but so that we can be reminded how important and meaningful the opportunity to affirm those who have impacted our lives truly is.
If anyone would like me to remove your comment please let me know.
Phyllis - the thinking map template, made me realize how again how a model can improve the quality of work
Robyn - How you can engage the students and how you modeled behaviors of good teachers for us
Mark - Taught us to remember that this is the only profession where everyone has had the experience of watching some else do the same job everyday for twelve years and that the way they saw it done is not necessarily the correct way to do it
Jake - Let students teach themselves because they learn more that way, you as a teacher can just observe
Steve - Don't spend more time preparing than it will take time to teach, you'll have nothing else in your life and your students will see that, it's not good for your health or theirs
Phyllis - find something that fuels you
Lydia - relax it's not that serious
Kevin - How you taught the class was good to see how engaging a class can be
Theresa - Even on hard days, when I had maybe only four hours of sleep, I never really had to struggle to pay attention
Liz - How positive affirmations go so far, even though I'm 24, it shows me how much they can impact a high school student
Jackie - Don't overplan but plan well. Set policies and procedures so that the students know what to do, teach the strategy before you do the strategy.
Isa - How you would break down the lesson plan into a handout for us. It made me feel that we've covered things and so I know what we did in class. It is organized and visual.
Margaret - I've been trying to compare and understand the distinction between an instructor and a leader, today you showed be that the analogy in teaching is the distinction between a teacher and an educator, you are teaching us how to be educators and not just teachers.
Will - The availability of the professor is something I had not experienced in the past, it has been refreshing to see a teacher actually cares
Kim - Learned a lot of little details and things that I can share with other teachers like the passing out papers thing
If anyone would like me to remove your comment please let me know.
Phyllis - the thinking map template, made me realize how again how a model can improve the quality of work
Robyn - How you can engage the students and how you modeled behaviors of good teachers for us
Mark - Taught us to remember that this is the only profession where everyone has had the experience of watching some else do the same job everyday for twelve years and that the way they saw it done is not necessarily the correct way to do it
Jake - Let students teach themselves because they learn more that way, you as a teacher can just observe
Steve - Don't spend more time preparing than it will take time to teach, you'll have nothing else in your life and your students will see that, it's not good for your health or theirs
Phyllis - find something that fuels you
Lydia - relax it's not that serious
Kevin - How you taught the class was good to see how engaging a class can be
Theresa - Even on hard days, when I had maybe only four hours of sleep, I never really had to struggle to pay attention
Liz - How positive affirmations go so far, even though I'm 24, it shows me how much they can impact a high school student
Jackie - Don't overplan but plan well. Set policies and procedures so that the students know what to do, teach the strategy before you do the strategy.
Isa - How you would break down the lesson plan into a handout for us. It made me feel that we've covered things and so I know what we did in class. It is organized and visual.
Margaret - I've been trying to compare and understand the distinction between an instructor and a leader, today you showed be that the analogy in teaching is the distinction between a teacher and an educator, you are teaching us how to be educators and not just teachers.
Will - The availability of the professor is something I had not experienced in the past, it has been refreshing to see a teacher actually cares
Kim - Learned a lot of little details and things that I can share with other teachers like the passing out papers thing
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Lesson Plan: SONG TO STORY
Dear PLN,
Please review my latest lesson plan, it's simple, but personalized. Please let me know what you think, all comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Margaret
Song to Story: Creative writing to make your own story
https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1awLfFOC9xeUY52Hc6HgQt5zA49gm074qF0APv3mZZWw
Please review my latest lesson plan, it's simple, but personalized. Please let me know what you think, all comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Margaret
Song to Story: Creative writing to make your own story
https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1awLfFOC9xeUY52Hc6HgQt5zA49gm074qF0APv3mZZWw
Monday, August 15, 2011
Lesson Plan - VCR: Vocalize, Comment, Repeat
Dear PLN,
The following link is to my social-media-tech integrated lesson plan titled VCR: Vocalize, Comment, Repeat. It uses VoiceThread as a venue for allowing students to practice reading and speaking aloud in private before having to do so in front of the class, while helping them learn about the sounds of poetry. Please feel free to participate on the VoiceThread or leave a comment of any suggestions of comments!
Thanks,
Margaret
https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1k9neQOhw2XxAedrmJgGTwoIjoZCY-4QuA_mqRAZkHAg
The following link is to my social-media-tech integrated lesson plan titled VCR: Vocalize, Comment, Repeat. It uses VoiceThread as a venue for allowing students to practice reading and speaking aloud in private before having to do so in front of the class, while helping them learn about the sounds of poetry. Please feel free to participate on the VoiceThread or leave a comment of any suggestions of comments!
Thanks,
Margaret
https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1k9neQOhw2XxAedrmJgGTwoIjoZCY-4QuA_mqRAZkHAg
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