Educational Settings Public vs Catholic Schools

An important concept for teaching student with learning disabilities is the environmental setting in which they are placed.  The Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA-2004) requires that students with disabilities should be taught in the “least restrictive environment” as possible and preferable in the general education setting with the general education curriculum. This requires support and collaboration of all parties. Most schools in the Dallas Diocese have admissions standards that often limit and deny admissions of students with learning disabilities.  If a student is admitted the disability is usually mild. The Catholic schools that do not have long waiting lists for admissions receive more of the struggling student population but do not always have the resources to handle them.  The school that I teach at has a long history in the belief that all students are entitled to a Catholic Education. Bishop Dunne (BD) has had a Special Education teacher on staff for over thirteen years, a rare find in most Catholic schools in this diocese. While the diocese holds the belief of teaching the whole body of Christ, there are no diocesan standards in place for teaching students with learning disabilities but decisions are made at the school level.

            Placing students with learning disabilities in the general education setting is referred to “inclusion”.  The goal of inclusion is that student with disabilities are integrated in regular classes without labels and is as normal as situation as possible.  Inclusion must include a strong support system with resources and professional development, consideration of the students and family needs, and a commitment to the success of inclusion. Students at BD with disabilities are taught in inclusion with the same high standards of a college-prep program.

            Support and resources for teachers in the general educational setting for inclusion include participation in the IEP to understand a student’s strengths and weaknesses, smaller class sizes, and time for planning with a special education teacher.  Additional help may be provided by paraprofessional or classroom volunteers. Resources should include related professional such as speech therapists, psychologist, and occupational therapist. General education teacher should also be given time to attend training on special education issues.  In the state of Texas IEPs are not written for students in the private schools. Parents are entitled to evaluations and some resources through the local school district such as assistive technology then plans are written.  Catholic schools with student with disabilities write their own service plans. BD’s plans are call “Instructional Accommodations” and they are based on parent input, teacher input and diagnostic testing. Students must be diagnosed with a learning disability. General education teachers are in-serviced on special education strategies and interventions yearly.

            Collaboration is an important component in inclusion:  Collaboration with the special education teachers and the resource teacher that a student may attend part of the day; Collaboration between teachers who share in the teaching time of a student by teaching different subjects or in coteaching; and collaboration with parents. Collaboration should consider mutual goals, voluntary and equal participation, shared responsibility and decision making, and responsibility for outcomes. Collaboration is the key to inclusion in a college-prep curriculum.  Besides collaborating between the teachers, parents, support staff and student we often refer to outside resources.

            At times full inclusion may not be the best setting for a student and a different setting may be needed.  This concept is referred to as “continuum of alternative placements”. Placement besides the general educational classroom may include resource rooms, separate classes, separate schools, residential facilities, and homebound or hospital settings. It is important when choosing the best setting to remember that the setting in not the treatment but what occurs within the setting with emphasis on the kinds of instruction and opportunities that are available. While most diocesan schools do not have separate classes, students may benefit from resource room and labs.

            The U.S. Department of Education (2008) show that 87% of students with learning disabilities are serviced in general education classes.  Alternative settings for students with disabilities should be selected on the least restrictive setting as possible.  Resource rooms provide educational services on a regular scheduled portion of a day based on need, but not more than 60% of the day. Resource rooms provide flexibility in curriculum, number of students in the room or program and time of involvement. Separate classes are classrooms outside of the general education class room where a student spend 60% or more of their day.  They are small, individualized and closely supervised. Students maybe place in separate classroom by their various disability, or clustered. These are student with more serious or severe disabilities.

Special schools are educational facilities for student with disabilities.  Most are private schools that are expensive, require traveling and lack opportunities with the general education population.  Advantages are resources and program for students with disabilities that may not be found elsewhere.  Residential facilities provide fulltime placement and programs for severe disabilities.  The disadvantage is that students are not only removed from the general educational setting but also the family and community setting.  Homebound and hospital setting are used for student with medical conditions that need services schools can not provide. One-on-one instruction is not an identified setting but a type of instructional setting that can be very successful.  One-on-one instruction shows academic improvement by meeting individual needs, and intense instruction over time.

            The diocese does have a separate school for students with mental limitations. BD has designed special classes for cluster of students with specific needs, but those changes yearly as the needs change. These classes are very small in size and are not known to the general population. All teachers must tutor but based on need we may have one-on-one tutoring when needed.  This year we have a writing lab several days a week that students meet with the writing teacher one-on one to reinforce skills and work on assignments. BD has a fulltime resource lab that is run by a special education teacher.  At BD when we have students on homebound or hospitalization they continue classes through our online curriculum and all students have access to our online academic assistance.

            Options for students with disabilities may include high school diploma options. Laura Kaloi, Director of the National Center for Learning Disabilities Policy and Dr. Martha Thurlow, Director of the National Center on Educational Outcomes (December 7, 2010) spoke on options for student with learning disabilities.  The graduation rate for students in the U.S. is 75% and the LD graduate rate is 61% (U.S. Department of Education, 2008-2009). Because of low graduation rates in students with disabilities and because many states require high school exit exams that students with disabilities can not pass states are using different diploma options.  Student with diplomas are provided different opportunities beyond high school than students without. Options include regular diplomas, advanced/honors diplomas, certificates of completion, IEP and special education diplomas, but each state differs.  Texas Catholic schools graduate with a regular state diploma but the credits are above the state requirement.  Private schools student are not required to pass a state exam but may be required to take a placement exam at the college level.  While our student graduate above the state requirement, in certain circumstances those requirements may be lifted, but first all students are required to attempt the high standards. I presently have a request to the diocese to allow a state minimum graduation diploma for a student who has Aspergers and can not complete the full requirements. This will be a first.

            Beyond the educational setting the family system is important. Teacher must understand the family structure and cultural and linguistic diversity they bring to the situation. IDEA-2004 strengthened parental rights in the educational process. Parents have the right to request placement in the least restrictive environment, request an evaluation and reevaluation and in the language the child knows best, notification in change in child placement, participation in the IEP process and informed consent, and to be informed of their child’s progress as often as other children. Parents and students are involved in the planning process at BD.  The meeting may be conducted in Spanish if needed. BD does not have a diagnostician but must seek local or private testing and parents do not have a right to request placement.

            A child’s educational setting should be in the least restrictive environment while still meeting their needs. Many families choose Catholic schools for the high standards and the inclusionary setting of all their students.  While the child with learning disabilities is in the general educational setting they and the teacher will need lots of support and resources, including resource room and labs, and specialized classes or on-line curriculum if needed. Collaboration is a must between teachers, support staff and families of student with disabilities to be successful in the educational setting. BD and some Catholic schools provide many of the resources, services, and settings that are required in the public schools, but there are no requirements or standards set by the diocese, but are individual school decisions.

Resources

Learner, J.W. & Johns, B.H., (2009). Educational settings and the role of the family.  In Learning disabilities and related mild disabilities. (12^th ed., pp 109-133).  Belmont:Wadworth.

Kaloi, L. & Thurlow, M., (2010). High school diploma options and students with learning disabilities.  On National center for learning disabilities [recorded]. Retrieved from http://www.leadcolorado.org.

           

           

           

Clinical Teaching 1.3

Clinical Teaching

            Clinical teaching is teaching that involves assessment and instruction together and continuously. A clinical teacher assesses the current level of a student, designs instruction, teaches, evaluates, and makes adjustments based on the data.  Clinical teaching is a continuous cycle that requires flexibility, readjustment, instruction that focuses on the unique needs of the student, and can be accomplished in a variety of settings. Clinical teaching is a method of strategies to teach student with learning disabilities.

            So how does the clinical teacher teach students with varied backgrounds, skills and interests all in the same class?  Differentiated instruction allows a teacher to use a student’s strengths and weaknesses to find the best way to help a student be successful in the classroom while still having high expectations. Differentiated instruction involves flexibility, a multitude of strategies, and an array of instructional approaches. The three approaches discussed are cognitive processing, direct instruction and mastery learning, and psychotherapeutic teaching. 

            Cognitive processing involves the processes of the brain. The seven processes are fluid intelligence and how one dealing with a new task, crystallized intelligence and how one uses their general knowledge, short term memory and the ability to remember current information, long-term memory and the ability to store and retrieve information, visual and auditory processing involving the ability to process visual and auditory stimuli, and processing speed and how well one can perform tasks automatically and fluently. A cognitive approach involves understanding a student’s cognitive processing difficulties and designing strategies to compensate for those weaknesses.

            The direct instruction and mastery learning approach is a step by step approach of the curriculum, where each step is taught and mastered before moving to the next step. Continuous monitoring and feedback is given to the student along the way. Clear goals are set, and time is given for instruction and mastery.  This approach is most often used for basic skills where the previous step is necessary for the next step to be successful while leading to master of the task.

            Psychotherapeutic teaching involves the student’s feelings and a strong positive relationship with the teacher.  This approach must also focus on teaching the needed skills and curriculum while building self-confidence. 

            While the teacher can do little about factors linked to a learning disability the teacher needs to use a variety of teaching approaches, accommodate the student and modify with in the classroom.  One way to accommodate a student is by adjusting the reading difficulty level. Students may fail a task because the skill level is too high.  A teacher may need to modify the student space by using screens and quiet corners for removing distractions or adjusting the paper size and desk size for poor fine motor skills. Time can be adjusted by shortening a lesson, breaking it into smaller steps or providing frequent breaks.  Assignments can be shortened or extra time given to complete the task.  The teacher may need to adjust his/her language by speaking slower, repeating themselves, and using fewer words and less complex sentences.

            Students with learning disabilities often have poor self-esteem and motivation after years of failure.  Clinical teaching involves building strong relationships that are sincere, providing activities that involve student interests, and creating activities that provide for success while giving continuous praise and positive reinforcement. Students with disabilities are motivated like any other child.  Eight areas that motivate children are the need to know, to have independence, to be important, the need to assert themselves, to have friends, to belong, to control, and to be recognized. Judith Halden, Parents Perspective: The Social and Emotional World of Children with LD from the National Center for Learning Disabilities spoke on how often the social isolation and social struggles of a child with learning disabilities is harder for a parent to take than academic failure.  Children with LD have less classroom successes that help foster social acceptance and that some of the same skills they are lacking academically such as slow processing make it difficult to keep up with the demands of a conversation or to understand a joke. Ms. Halden stated children with LD needed to be encouraged to socialize and preferably in activities they do well in and in non-competitive situations.  It also helps to practice doing different things and to teach figures of speech so that they can understand what they mean and participate successfully in conversations with their peers.

            Additional instruction strategies for general education may include peer tutoring involving same-age or cross age tutoring, explicit teaching where the teacher clearly states what is to be done and provides a model; active learning where the student is actively involved in the learning environment, the materials and the learning; scaffolding where the teacher provides support at the initial stages as the task is learned then slowly pulls back.  To scaffold, the student must have some prior knowledge and understanding of the material. Reciprocal teaching involves social interaction with the students where the teacher models the strategies by summarizing, asking questions, and predicting outcomes.  The student then responds out loud demonstrating the steps on their own. Learning strategies instruction teaches the student to be successful by teaching students how to study, how to use new materials, how to monitor their own learning and how to problem solve and how to predict outcomes. Teaching executive functioning helps students learn to organized, plan, and prioritize tasks and to evaluate themselves along the way.

            Clinical teaching involves differentiated instruction, varied teaching approaches,

accommodating and modifying where needed, building self-esteem and motivation, and using instructional strategies in the general education classroom. Clinical teachers are effective teachers who are sensitive and enthusiastic about teaching all children by providing situations and activities for the unique needs of each child.

Resources

Learner, J.W. & Johns, B.H. (2009). Clinical Teaching.  In Learning disabilities and related mild disabilities. (12^th ed., pp75-107).  Belmont:Wadworth.

Halden, J. (2010). Parents perspective: The social and emotional world of children.  On National center for learning disabilities [recorded]. Retrieved from http://www.leadcolorado.org.

           

RTI and the Discrepancy Model-Leslie Oeftering

RTI: RESPONSE TO INTERVENTION

Evidenced-based intervention

Tier I

Instruction of all students in general class

Monitor progress

80% of students

Tier II

Intense evidenced-based instruction 

·         Identify and define the area of concern

·         Design the intervention and progress monitoring plan

·         Implement the plan

·         Evaluate progress

Progress monitoring

10-15% of students

Tier III

Intense evidence-based instruction in small   group or individually

Progress monitoring

5-10% of students

Referral for testing

Comprehensive evaluation

+Pros

Earlier identification and prevention of disabilities, reduced numbers of minorities referred for SpEd, responsibility of general education teacher, materials that are evidenced based (or) scientific researched, focus on outcomes and increased accountability, no labeling, promotes shared responsibility and collaboration

-Cons

Financial expense, delay recognizing disabilities, not all children respond to intervention, concept of LD lost, rights and protections of students with disabilities protected, neurobiological correlates of LD need to be considered

                      

DISCEPTANCY MODEL

I.                   General education teacher notes student academic and behavior difficulties

II.                Teacher calls on pre-referral team for strategies for improvement

III.              Teacher implements interventions and monitors progress

IV.               A member of the Collaboration Team makes an observation

V.                 Referral for a formal evaluation

VI.               Information is gathered: History from birth, family history, educationally relevant medical findings, native language, grades

VII.          Cognitive abilities  and achievement test administered

VIII.       Discrepancy found between intellectual ability and achievement

   

               IEP  

Independent Educational Plan

 (Progress monitored)

-Cons   Quantitative and qualitative information should be combined, using IQ score to measure potential may not be useful,  poor achievers often have similar learning characteristics, whether high IQ or low IQ score, discrepancy formulas vary from state to state

Obtaining Data for an Evaluation-Leslie Oeftering

          Gathering information on a struggling student is an important step in the process of assessment.  The child’s history both medically and academically is usually the first step. Secondly, an observation is made by someone other than the classroom teacher.  Formal and informal assessments are the final components. By using as many sources as possible leads to a better outcome.

            Getting a complete case history on a student is the best place to start, often even before   requesting a referral.  The history should include the prenatal history, birth, and developmental milestones.  When I was teaching kindergarten I had a student who was demonstrating problems in long term memory and would not be promoted to first grade.  When I shared my concerns with the parents I found out the girl was adopted and that her birth mother had been a drug addict.  Her natural sister, who had also been adopted, had learning disabilities that the school had not recognized until the third grade. The family thanked me for the early referral. A family history will also include asking about disabilities in other family members.  Some disabilities run in families.

            While conducting the interview, usually with the mother, you will also want to ask about adaptive behavior skills that involve daily living skills, socialization, communication, safety, leisure, and independent behavior.  Life changes in the family such as death and divorce need to be considered, but remember on these issues one must be sensitive to the family.

            A case history should include the health history past and present.  Ear problems as a child may affect language skills, asthma drugs can make a student hyper and other medication, such as sinus medications, may have a drowsy affect. Most evaluations will require an eye exam and hearing test. This search most likely will involve the school nurse.

            A member of the Collaboration team will make an observation of the student in a classroom setting.  The observer should be as discreet as possible so the child acts as they normally would.  The observer is looking and asking questions: How are their gross and fine motor skills and coordination? Do they have a correct pencil grasp and write legibly? Has the student adjusted to the class and its schedule and procedures? Does the child attend to a task and for how long? Does the student respond to the teacher and his/her peers? Are they organized and have materials ready? How does the child react to a problem? Are they independent or wait to be prompted? While you are there to observe the student you may need to note how the teacher responds to the student as well.

            Standardized tests can give useful information toward an indication of a problem especially when looking at the subtests, but be careful not to over generalize.  Standardized tests do not give enough information alone and needs to be used in combination with other information. It is important to know the test norms, how it was standardized, the reliability and validity when looking at the results and what they mean.  Standardized tests can be biased to certain cultures, and they do not assess class learning.

            Informal assessment measures probably provide the greatest source of information on student ability.  Informal assessment can come in several forms, from criterion-referenced test that show growth through mastery level testing to curriculum-based measurements that test over a boarder sample and more frequently, to portfolio assessment that tracks growth over a time period and through various stages of development.  Informal assessments measures students in natural setting with natural materials.  Individual levels are assessed during informal assessment not against group levels as in standardized tests. 

            Case history, observation, and standardized and informal testing all provide information in the process of assessing a student.  If one is left out a key component may be missing in helping to identify the problem.  While the process may be time consuming it is important to be thorough. While the information may not be needed during the actual assessment it may be relevant when deciding on accommodations and services.  The sources of information will be numerous from parents, students, teachers, counselors, and the school nurse.

Challenges of NCLB-Leslie Oeftering

       While I believe the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act has drawn attention to some of the forgotten children in this country, those that fall between the cracks, the negatives out way the positives.  It is not the idea of NCLB but the way we have gone about correcting the problems of those we pass along without the ability to read or do simple math. In the “NCLB Truth and Consequences” video several key points were made about the problems with NCLB; no national standards, too many standardized tests, too long in receiving results, stronger students leaving poor performing schools, and teaching to the test.  While assessing student yearly may let one see overall growth or decline the results are not received quick enough or often enough to effect teaching practices at the moment. Effective assessment should be on going to the specific environment to determine what is working or not and the teacher should adjust to meet the needs to produce true improvement. Teaching students how to answer to the test does not develop the analytical skills needed in today globally society.  Ken Kay, President and founder of the Partnership on 21^st Century Skills, defined five skills needed to succeed; critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, communication, and global awareness.  If these are the skills needed to succeed should we not teach and engage student in activities that foster that growth?  The standards we set must include these elements.  Teaching to standardized tests, that many teachers must do, does not provide the opportunities to foster these skills and encourage creativity. The United States has no national standards, but each state decides their own standards.  In the countries that are outperforming the U.S. academically such as China, Finland, and Singapore there are strong national standards.  Andreas Schleicher, Head Analyst of OECD comments it is not as much the environment that a child is in but the clear standards of what is expected and the quality of teaching.  These higher performing countries do not tell teachers what to teach but encourages creativity, accountability, and provides good support systems for them.  The emphasis in the U.S. should be in training and supporting good teaching.  Unfortunately teachers in the U.S. are not given the importance they should for the job they must accomplish. Good teachers often leave to teach in lower paying jobs in private schools so they can teach they way they want to or they leave the profession altogether.  Students and their parents also seek out private schools to get the quality of teaching they provide.  When a school is low performing it is not the low performing students that leave but the successful ones seeking better schools.

            Let us hope as the government gets set to readdress NCLB the emphasis is on good teaching standards that prepare our students for the global world. 

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wherewestand/category/video/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSTzLlLQx3c

Just saying HI!

Just saying "Hi" and congrats for getting this off the ground!!!

brian