13 of 78
Directed Questions
Curricular Design
Directed Questions for Curricular Design and Instructional Accomodations for Secondary Students with Mild Disabilities
Multiple Choice
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1.
Identify and describe two reasons why secondary teachers feel pressure in today´s classrooms.
example:
Sample response:
One reason that secondary teachers feel pressure is because they are expected to teach a lot of content to students. National, state, and local assessments are public, political, and controversial to the extent that teachers feel like they must "teach to the test" and have their students do well on all assessments. This leads to the second reason teachers feel pressure-they have a lot of different learners to teach. Not just the numbers of learners, but the diversity among the learners is a challenge for teachers. For example, one classroom period in middle school or high school can have learners who are gifted and talented, average learners, and students who have disabilities in the setting. It is hard for teachers, who have not received training in how to teach-during one period-al types of learners to know how to organize and manage the content for learners who are beginning and ending at different knowledge and skill levels.
2.
Describe two of the requirements from IDEA ´97.
example:
Sample response:
One requirement from IDEA ´97 is that students with disabilities must be provided the opportunity to access the general education curriculum. For students that secondary general educators teach, this means that students that used to be in separate classes for content like science, social studies, etc., must now either be taught the general education grade level curriculum for those areas by the special educator, or must be taught that curriculum by the general educator. Students who are not accessing the general education curriculum have some statement on their IEP noting the curriculum they are using (like a student with severe mental retardation would probably be working on vocational and career skills instead of trigonometry or world history). The second requirement from IDEA ´97 is that at least one general education teacher must be in attendance and should be providing input during a student´s IEP meeting. That general educator would be providing input such as what types of accommodations would be necessary for that student to progress in the general education curriculum. Although only one general educator must be in attendance at the IEP meeting, all general educators who teach that student must review the IEP so they know the content and can make applicable accommodations in their general education content teaching.
3.
O´Brien (2000) described seven research-based practices for teaching social studies to students with learning disabilities. Identify and describe three of those practices in terms of how those instructional practices relate to the content area that you teach.
example:
Sample response:
The three practices I choose are (a) background knowledge, (b) meaningful and relevant content, and (c) real-world applications. I am interpreting these three as they apply to my tenth grade social studies class on world history. For background knowledge, it is important for me to know what types of skills and knowledge and experiences the students are brining to my classroom on day one of the course. Although I may know the courses the students have completed previously, I don´t know how well they did in those courses and I also don´t know how much of the information they remember. So reviewing previous courses´ content (I sometimes have an open discussion, and I usually give a pretest) and involving students in talking about what the world history course is about is important. Something that´s good and bad for me is that I have students from other countries. This is good because we can use these students´ countries as a way of meaningfully talking about countries other than the US. This is bad for me because sometimes these students don´t speak much English, and sometimes they do. This leads me to the second area that O´Brien referred to--meaningful and relevant content. It helps to make the world history content more meaningful and relevant for other students when they know peers in their class have come from other countries. In fact, it gives all of us an opportunity to actually learn about culture, economics, and other factors that influence how people live in other countries by having first-hand information from students in the class who lived in other countries. When I don´t have students from other countries in the class, I usually tell stories about students I´ve taught from other countries. Using real people seems to make things more meaningful and relevant for them. This lead to the third area--real-world applications. Again, when students from other countries are in my class, I find it useful to take their personal experiences and use those experiences as a springboard for talking about other curriculum content. What I try to do is link world history content to experiences students have today-whether this is experiences at school, in their community, in the state, or at whatever level I can use to make the content from world history more applicable to the students. When I use examples from today as analogies, students seem to understand the world history content better. Sometimes I find that I need to start out with an example that´s more current and applicable to the students before I even begin teaching a world history event, because then they´re better able to understand the world history event.
4.
McLaughlin, Nolet, Rhim, and Henderson (1999) provide a continuum of intellectual operations in learning. From the six operations described, target three and further describe them as they relate to your content area.
example:
Sample response:
The three operations I´m targeting are (a) reiteration, (b) summarization, and (c) illustration. The content I´m applying these operations to is eleventh grade English Literature. For reiteration, I´m expecting students to repeat almost verbatim some of the terms used in analyzing literature, like plot, character traits, and foreshadowing. When students are first learning those terms and applying them to new literature, they may be just repeating what they mean, like memorizing definitions. But when students get to the level of summarizing these terms, they can put the definitions in their own words. Summarization is a higher level than reiteration, and students who put definitions in their own words are usually indicating to me that they have a deeper understanding of the terms. For illustration, I consider that to be when students read the literature and identify the plot, character traits, and foreshadowing events on their own. I expect students to use these terms as a general rule when reading without me having to prompt them to ´find the plot´ or ´tell the character traits that make this character seem a friendly character´ or ´what happened earlier that made you think ____ was going to happen.´
5.
King-Sears (2001) describes a variety of curricular items and/or resources that can make it easier for a general educator to use that curriculum with diverse learners. Identify and describe two items that you believe are essential within a curriculum that will assist you in planning instruction for diverse learners.
example:
Two items that King-Sears described that I find generally lacking in the curriculum are the use of specific and strong verbs for curriculum standards, and the idea of building in ´conspicuous strategies´ while teaching content. For the verbs, an example standard from my sixth grade math curriculum is to ´be familiar with the properties of geometric figures.´ I find that ´be familiar with´ is not specific enough-I´d like to refine that with a stronger verb I can actually use to measure a student´s familiarity, like ´identify in writing´ or ´draw an illustration of´ or some other observable behavior. When I take weak verbs and get more specific with them, that makes it easier for me to figure out the projects and measurement/assessment tools I´m going to use. Related to that same standard, I´d really like to know what and how many properties I´m expected to teach. It´s more helpful for me (and I find it necessary to do) when things are spelled out very explicitly within my curriculum standards so that I know exactly what I´m supposed to teach. For the second item, the idea of spending time teaching word problem solving strategies and making sure the students know how to solve word problems and use a variety of strategies to solve problems is key. Most textbooks do not provide this information, and I find I need to build these into instruction. Although this takes more time at the beginning of the course, I find the time is well-spent when students begin to use the strategies on their own as they progress within the course.
6.
Distinguish an accommodation from an adaptation as each pertains to a specific learning outcome for a course you teach.
example:
Sample response:
The learning outcome for one course I teach, geography, is to ´identify three ways of how the geography of a region influences human settlement patterns.´ Most students are writing these ways and providing in their written answers three types of geography as they relate to whether people will settle there. An accommodation may be for a student who illustrates the three ways and provides a verbal response, and I score that response the same as for a written response-I need to see/hear three types of geography and why/whether people settle there. An adaptation changes the outcome in a minor way, so the student who has an adaptation might only identify one or two types of geography and tell whether and why people will/won´t settle there. For the student who has the adaptation, the response could be written or verbal or pictorial. But the major distinguishing factor for the adaptation is the minor change in the outcome from what most of the other students are doing. The outcome is the same with an accommodation-with an accommodation, the student uses a different way of expressing the same information.
7.
Identify a label for a student with a mild disability, then describe three characteristics that one student with that label might have.
example:
Sample response:
A label is attention deficit disorder, or ADD. The student may be impulsive and not plan through or think through what he/she needs to do. Also, the student may need to focus for shorter periods of time on a specific task-the student will probably not be able to stay engaged reading from a literature book, for example, for an hour or so. A third characteristic is a student who has problems paying attention. For example, a student with ADD may not be able to sit and take notes for extended periods of time when I lecture or present new content.
8.
Related to the student you identified in Question 7, match three instructional accommodations to that learner´s characteristics that you identified.
example:
Sample response:
For impulsivity, one accommodation might be to provide a checklist for carrying out assignments, for example, so that the student can complete the same assignments as the other students, but the student with ADD needs a checklist of the steps involved. For the short attention span, varied activities might be an accommodation. In Question 2 I noted that the student may not be able to read for an hour or so, so an accommodation might be that the student is still responsible for reading the same information as the other students, but the student with ADD can take breaks during the hour, read at different places in the room, or mix up some silent reading with some of another activity. For paying attention during lectures, an accommodation might be that I provide the student with an outline of the lecture or presentation to keep the student focused on what we´re doing.
9.
Related to the student you identified in Question 7, describe information about accommodations that you would expect to find on that student´s IEP or Section 504 plan.
example:
Sample response:
A student with ADD might have accommodations on his/her IEP or Section 504 plan like: change tasks every half-hour or so, provide a notetaking outline of the lesson presentation, or provide a checklist for assignments that helps the student plan.
10.
Describe the difference between IDEA ´97 and Section 504.
example:
Sample response:
For a student to qualify for a disability label under IDEA ´97, there are 13 different disability categories with each category listing specific criteria by which a student qualifies for special education services under IDEA ´97. An Individualized Education Program is written for a student who is eligible for special education services under IDEA ´97. This law is more stringent than Section 504´s definitions of disabilities. Section 504 does not specify any disability categories, and the criteria for eligibility for a ´504 plan´ (which is not as comprehensive as an IEP) is that there is a substantial impact on a student´s major life activity, such as learning. School personnel interpret the eligibility criteria for both laws, and the way criteria is interpreted in one school system may be different from how it is interpreted in another school system.
11.
Weinstein (1996) explores the issue of high standards and tracking in the educational system. Given issues she raised, identify one that strikes you as major, and describe how you could positively impact that issue as a classroom teacher.
example:
Sample response:
One issue she raised that I can impact on is how students perceive themselves and their peers within a ´high-level´ or ´low-tracked´ class. Although I may teach classes that seem to be homogeneously grouped, the point Weinstein touches on, although she doesn´t come right out and say this, is how the teacher can influence how students feel about the rigor and level in a course. The way in which I show respect for diversity among students and for each student, even when they may be having a hard time getting the information I teach, can carry over to the other students. For example, if I seem frustrated with explaining something again and again for one student, the students will see my frustration and may get the idea that I do not respect that student. Instead of me explaining content the same way several times, I could consider using peer helpers or using different ways of presenting the content in the first place so that more students are likely to get it.
12.
Vaughn, Gersten, and Chard (2000) summarize research for instructing students with learning disabilities and identify common principles of instruction. Select one principle, and further develop it in terms of applying it to content you are teaching.
example:
Sample response:
The principle that the authors noted was very applicable for teaching higher-order thinking skills to adolescents is extended practice with feedback. What that means for me as ninth grade mathematics teacher is that students need more practice opportunities and more feedback from me. When I teach something and then test on it, I usually don´t return to it for several months. I need to provide more practice items-maybe on homework or brief in-class activities-after we´ve already had the test on content to ensure the students remember it. Regarding the feedback, it strikes me that students always seem to be so focused on their score or grade that they don´t even look to see what they got wrong, or why they got something wrong. I think I can expand on this in terms of feedback by setting aside some time in class for students to review their test/assignment/homework-or whatever it is I scored-and focus on what they got wrong and why. I could even see providing a grid of different types of errors, and having them fill out the grid so they can see if error patterns evolve. This would also be helpful for them to self-evaluate their work before turning it in.
13.
Matlock, Fielder, and Walsh (2001) provide an example of how a learner´s IEP objectives in math could be aligned to state and school district standards. Choose one standard (i.e., outcome) from your content, and write a corresponding IEP goal or objective that could appear on an IEP for a learner with mild disabilities that you teach.
example:
Sample response:
Virginia´s Standards of Learning for grade twelve US and Virginia government specifies eighteen standards. For example, # 12.3 is: The student will analyze the amendments to the United States Constitution in terms of the conflicts they addressed and the reasons for their adoption. To illustrate, you may want to refer to p. 71 of the article by Matlock, Fielder, and Walsh for a sample format. Here´s a corresponding measurable annual goal that might be on an IEP: Given daily instruction in US and Virginia government, the student will master 11/18 standards at the twelfth grade level with 90% accuracy as measured by unit assessments.
14.
Identify and describe two considerations when selecting accommodations for a student with a mild disability.
example:
Sample response:
The first consideration is that accommodations are not dependent on the student´s label, they are dependent on the characteristics of that individual student and related to the content that student is learning. This was new for me; I thought all kids with LD needed extended time to take all tests and complete all assignments. I didn´t realize that some students with LD only need extended time sometimes, not always. For example, when taking a multiple choice test, the student may not need extended time. When taking a written essay test, the student may need extended time. It all depends on the student and also on the content. The second consideration is whether or not having an accommodation changes the student´s targeted outcome. For example, if the student must write a persuasive essay and the focus is on the writing, then tape recording the persuasive essay may not be an accommodation that "matches" and it may be an accommodation that defeats the outcome purpose-writing persuasively, not talking persuasively.
15.
Identify and describe five traditional accommodations.
example:
Sample response:
The first traditional accommodation is having a student who has a low reading level listen to a chapter on audiotape instead of reading the chapter silently. The second traditional accommodation for a student who has problems with handwriting coordination is to allow the student to use a computer for writing instead of writing by hand. The third accommodation is have a student use a calculator for computations in word problems instead of having to solve the problems without a calculator. A fourth traditional accommodation is providing an outline of the lecture notes to help a student stay focused and organized when listening to or watching a lesson presentation. The fifth traditional accommodation is providing extended time for a student to complete an assignment or test, which helps a student who needs more time than other students to think through and write responses.
16.
Given the accommodations you described in Question 15, provide examples that include what most students in your class would be doing and match that to each of the accommodations you described. Be sure your content outcome is evident in your response.
example:
Sample response:
It´s easiest for me to use a chart to show this response instead of writing sentences. The history content outcome is that students will identify five cause/effect relationships and determine whether there is a pattern of the number of years that go by between the five cause events.
Question 15 response
Most students will:
The student with an accommodation will:
1. audiotape
1. read the history chapter silently to themselves
1. hear the history chapter on audiotape
2. writing software on computer
2. write the cause/effect relationships with a pen or pencil
2. use the software on the computer to write the cause/effect relationships
3. calculator
3. this doesn´t seem to apply to history, but I´ll try: figure out how many years between major events to discern a pattern
3. use the calculator to subtract, like 1898 - 1782 to determine how many years between major events to discern a pattern
4. outline
4. students take notes on blank sheets of notebook paper as I present the cause/effect
4. take notes on an outline of my notes that shows what major topics and cause/effect events I´ll be presenting
5. more time
5. students must turn in their quiz at the end of the class period
5. student can go to the school media center and has 30 more minutes to complete the history quiz
17.
For the outcome you described for most students in Question 16, describe two adaptations.
example:
Sample response:
One adaptation is that a student might describe two instead of five cause/effect relationships. Another adaptation might be that a student just tells how many years between the two cause events, and doesn´t have to determine whether there is a pattern.
18.
For the adaptations you described in Question 17, describe characteristics of a learner who might require those adaptations.
example:
Sample response:
A learner with learning disabilities who has difficulty organizing information may need the adaptations I noted in Question 5. The learner might also have a very low reading level and have problems taking in a lot of new information, so the challenge for that student is the adapted outcome rather than the outcome that most students are working toward.
19.
Given what you currently know and do in your teaching, identify two strengths that already accommodate for learners and target two areas that you would like to enhance. Describe your plan for implementing the two new areas, including how those areas would be done in your classroom with your content.
example:
Sample response:
I already provide outlines for all students in history, because this helps me to get organized and I find it easier for all of us when I do this. I also already allow students who need extra time to finish a quiz go to the school media center to finish the quiz, provided their next period teacher OK´s this ahead of time. One area I´d like to tap into is the use of technology like a Kurzweil reader for students who cannot read the school system´s history textbook. My plan for this is to talk with the media center person, my principal, my history teammates, and the special educator at my school to see if the funds for the Kurzweil reader can be raised. This may be a good project for our PTA. The second area I´d like to use is more varied presentations of new content. I don´t usually use pictures or illustrations when describing events, or graphics when showing relationships among events. I can see how this would help students remember and understand the new content. I plan to see if the graphics on computer programs (like PowerPoint) or other internet sites can help me do this.
20.
Describe how curriculum, instruction, and learner characteristics interact and impact each other. Relate your response to the content you teach and learners with mild disabilities.
example:
I teach 12
th
grade English literature, and the first thing I think about is how the curriculum (i.e., 12
th
grade English literature) and projects/assignments require a great deal of reading, writing, and higher-order thinking skills. The traditional expectation-and subsequently, my instruction-is to assign reading and writing assignments with the presumption that 12
th
graders can read independently and write well. Consequently, my expectations and instructional methods impact students with learning disabilities who cannot read the literature as most 12
th
graders can and have problems with written projects or responses (e.g., an essay on comparing/contrasting). So the impact for me and students with learning disabilities is how I can maintain the integrity of the content/curriculum (e.g., students demonstrate proficiency with English literature) in what I would now consider "nontraditional" ways, such as having a student listen to the literature from a book-on-tape.
21.
Analyze how you currently plan for instruction, and describe two ways that are new for you via this Lesson. Ensure your description relates to your content and to learners with mild disabilities.
example:
I currently plan for one group of learners in my 11
th
grade World History class. Although I try to use different levels of instruction, the truth is I don´t usually use IEPs or Section 504 accommodations as a guide unless it´s really evident a student is failing. What struck me as I read this and subsequent lessons is not only the need to find out what accommodations and adaptations students with IEPs or Section 504 plans require, but also to what extent using such methods benefit other students in the class. For example, using the Unit Organizer is a new way for me. I could use the Unit Organizer as a way to structure, sequence, and prioritize the World History content so that the semester is planned in a long-term manner makes sense to me. I could still use the text chapters, but I might use them in a different sequence, and I probably need to use more resources than is currently recommended in my teacher´s guide for the textbook. A Unit Organizer would help me do long-range planning and connect the more important topics within World History. This would help me with my planning and delivering of instruction, the learners with IEPs and Section 504 plans who require more visuals and graphics, and students in general who benefit from in ´knowing where we´re going´ and connecting the important topics. The second way that was new for me from this chapter was the idea of using curriculum analysis and rating scales to determine, in advance, what areas of the curriculum need to be strengthened. I have usually just taken what´s been given to me to teach-whether from the text, my school system´s social studies curriculum office, and the state tests-and tried to fit everything in. It´s been such a pressure to just cover the topics, and I´ve realized that more students could ´get it´ if I spent more time on topics, but I´ve never thought about how I could take the curriculum and ´whittle it down,´ so to speak, to the most important concepts and teach those well. I´m realizing that´s a time-consuming task, too, and there´s never enough time to do all I´d like to do. What I´d like to do is meet with other teachers who teach this same content and see if we could come up with some ´big ideas´ or ´critical concepts´ and ways to teach them-maybe using the Concept Mastery graphic.
22.
Identify and describe universally applicable instruction. Relate your response to specific instructional methods you can use with all learners, and describe how those methods also benefit students with mild disabilities.
example:
Universally applicable instruction has to do with the teacher´s identification and use of varied ways of presenting, practicing, and assessing content such that more students in the class are likely to ´get´ the information and show what they know. If a teacher uses some of the universally applicable instructional methods, then the need for more specialized and individualized accommodations and adaptations are minimized-but not eliminated, as some students will need more specialized and individualized methods. For example, the use of ´primed background knowledge´ for students in my 10
th
grade Algebra II class can take the form of a pretest so I know how much they remember from Algebra I, and I´m even considering inserting into the pretest a rating scale so students can indicate to me whether they ´don´t remember at all,´ ´need some review,´ or ´have never been taught the information before.´ I will also use in the pretest questions that ask students to provide the principle that underlies solving the problems-the ´big ideas.´ This is in addition to answering the pretest questions that they can answer, and it will give me an idea of how much/how many students need review, reteaching, or teaching or prerequisite skills. That idea takes me immediately into how to divide the students into groups, with the presumption that from Day One I will have learners who are beginning at different levels with the content and that, even with the different levels, students will need varied amounts of review/reteaching/teaching to get to the point of learning Algebra II. So the two universally applicable methods I´ve described are primed background knowledge and big ideas-both of which I can get an idea about for all students by using a pretest. This benefits learners with mild disabilities because they would become part of the whole group receiving the pretest, and I may find that they fall into different groups than I normally may have put them in. That is, if my presumption coming in for IEP or Section 504 students was that they were all at a low level of knowledge, a pretest like this could help me see whether more students have similar needs. I also am realizing that some students with mild disabilities are very good in Algebra II, so the idea of stereotyping them as needy students is not fair nor accurate for some.
23.
Describe three strengths you would look for in analyzing a curriculum. Describe three different items that would be weaknesses. Describe how to enhance those weak areas.
example:
One strength I would look for is the sequence of information, specifically related to how connected topics are to each other. Another strength I would look for is how well the topics align with my school system and state testing programs. A third strength is visuals and graphics that pictorially illustrate the content. The first weakness I´ve noted in some curriculum-especially the textbook that my school system has as its adopted text-is that strategies and processes (such as developing a timeline or filling in a cause-effect relationship among events) are not explicitly taught within the text, nor within the teacher´s guide. To enhance that area, I would need to set aside teaching time and develop lesson plans to model those processes that are frequently used in my content area so that, as the semester progresses and I practice that more and more with students, they are more likely to be able to do it on their own later on in the semester. A second weakness in my textbook is the number of examples of concepts provided. There are so many mentioned, but their characteristics are not real clear, and it´s not real clear the major category of the concepts that some fit into. To enhance this area, I plan to explicitly target the major category, explicitly teach the characteristics of the examples and nonexamples that fall in this category, and then use that ´umbrella´ as guide for categorizing other concepts so that it´s more concrete which terms ´fall under´ the major category and which terms do not. I really liked the concept mastery graphic device (in one of the readings) as a format for doing this. The third weakness somewhat follows the second weakness, in that there is so much information to be covered, and in Lesson 4 it was clear that many teachers feel the same thing I do-too much to cover in too little time. What I gathered from Lesson 4 is that I need to look carefully at all of the curriculum and determine the essential information students need to learn. It was reassuring for me to read that many teachers feel overwhelmed with the amount of content they´re expected to cover, and that I can exercise more control by more thoughtful planning about what I teach during a course.
24.
From the six curriculum design elements from NCITE, target one and describe how you will use it related to content you teach. [Note: Use this lesson´s text, the Burke, Hagan, and Grossen (1998) article, and the supportive handouts on the six curriculum design elements as sources for developing your response.]
example:
I´ve already used some of this content in previous responses for this lesson, so I´ll focus here on one of the six curriculum design elements I mentioned in Question 4 response but did not describe how it relates to my content: BIG ideas. I had never really thought about teaching students the major categories of horticulture, such as perennials and annuals, as that seemed to me to be basic information. I realize now that for new learners to this content, identifying plants and designing gardens is built on several BIG ideas, among them determining which plants to plant. And a decision-making piece of determining which plant to plant is whether a plant is a perennial or annual. So I need to really look at the basics, as I tend to think of the BIG ideas, and be sure that I´m teaching those concepts first and well. The better that students know that initially, the less time we´ll need to revisit that later and, also, students will be more likely to begin independently figuring that out when designing a garden rather than relying on me to tell them and/or remind them that they need to consider that in their design.
25.
From the universal design for learning from CAST, which focuses on technology, describe one technological item in terms of how it could be used in your classroom for students with mild disabilities. [Note: Use this lesson´s text and the article written by Rose and Meyer (2000) as sources for this response.]
example:
The technological item that intrigues me from the Rose and Meyer article is the electronic book. Because my textbook is really written at a high reading level (even though it´s a ninth-grade text, it´s written at a higher level of reading), it would be great for students who have mild disabilities in reading (actually, some of these students read at a 3
rd
or 4
th
grade level) to have the electronic book to use. Moreover, the idea that an electronic book would have highlights that highlights main ideas or provides organizational supports (like a graphic to complete, or a visual to study from) is appealing in that I wouldn´t need to be the one to create the materials, they would be built into the electronic book. I have several students with mild disabilities (and some students without disabilities) who would really benefit from more visuals and prompts that CAST describes for electronic books.
26.
You had choices for one set of Lesson 4´s required readings. From the reading you selected, describe one instructional technique you learned and tell how you plan to use it in your teaching with your content.
example:
I chose the De La Paz, Owen, Harris, and Graham article titled ´Riding Elvis´s motorcycle: Using self-regulated strategy development to PLAN and WRITE for a state writing exam.´ I would like to use the PLAN and WRITE strategy at the beginning of my course so that we (me and the students) can all ´talk the same language´ in referring to the processes for writing. The idea of using cue cards with students, as shown in Figure 2, and teaching the strategies well (sounds like ´conspicuous strategy´ from the six curriculum design elements from NCITE!) initially to all students sounds like a good use of time for me and the students in the long run. In particular, I liked the way the explicit teaching of the strategies had built into them the movement from the teacher evaluating students´ writing samples to students´ self-regulation. That appeals to me because, although initially it make take more time for me to teach the students the strategy, across the course students should be assuming more responsibility for correcting their work or improving their writing prior to turning it in to me for a grade. This serves the students well, too, because for state tests I am not the scorer, and students really need to be able to self-regulate their writing when they take these tests.
27.
Identify and describe one differentiation technique as it relates to one lesson you have planned for one learning outcome your students are working toward. Designate within the technique how at least one student with a mild disability receives an accommodation and/or adaptation.
example:
I teach sixth grade, and one of my school system´s new curriculum outcomes is that students can ´construct timelines by noting key events and people from ancient civilizations in Athens and Sparta and early and classic Chinese dynasties.´ From that outcome, one lesson´s outcome is ´construct timelines by noting key events,´ and the materials I´ll have students using for constructing timelines will vary. I´ll be using what Tomlinson calls ´tiered assignments,´ in that I´ll have all students working on constructing timelines, but the reading level of their material and events will vary. One set of students (working independently, not as a group) will be listening to tapes of the chapter on Athens´ civilization and will be responsible for constructing a timeline that focuses only on Athens. For a student with a reading disability, it would be an adaptation that the student is doing a timeline focusing only on Athens (because the outcome is changed in a minor way-for this lesson activity-to only one timeline instead of several timelines), and the accommodation is that the student is listening to the chapter on tape. Another set of students will be reading the chapter on their own and working on two timelines-for both Athens and Sparta. A third group will be reading the chapter on their own and also using other research materials to develop timelines for Athens, Sparta, and early Chinese dynasties. If a student with a learning disability in reading (i.e., low reading level) is in this third group and gains the information for the timelines through an electronic book/book on tape or other sources, then this would be an accommodation (student held to same standard as most of students in the class, but input method varies).
28.
Target two sets of information that learners in your class need to memorize. Develop a mnemonic that you can use when teaching that information.
example:
I teach 9
th
grade Geography, and one of our curriculum outcomes is that students ´can identify the dynamics of the four basic components of the Earth´s physical systems: the atmosphere, biosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere. Because these terms don´t have to be in a specific order, the first type of mnemonic I´d try is whether a word can be made using the first initials of these components, which narrows me to A, B, L, and H. I´m not real crazy about the word, but the one that I come up with is ´BLAH.´ In using that mnemonic, I´d introduce it to students by portraying the mnemonic as really an antonym for what happens within and among the Earth´s physical systems-BLAH, for one interpretation, can mean boring. So I´d introduce the course/lesson by talking about the exciting ways that the Earth´s physical systems impact our life-what we do, how we live, how our economies are impacted by geography (e.g., a dessert), and so on. It is not BLAH, but if they remember BLAH then they´ll be able to remember the four basic components of the Earth´s physical systems, which we´ll be learning throughout the course/unit. The second set of information that I´d use a keyword mnemonic for is the definitions of the four components. For example, I could teach ´biosphere´ by also linking it to ´life is here.´ The acoustic link of the two (the term biosphere to the keyword mnemonic life is here) can help students more quickly retrieve the term´s definition: the realm of Earth that includes all plant and animal life forms. Although I realize that the keyword mnemonic doesn´t have to contain the term´s definition in it, that works out well here for biosphere as a term.
29.
Develop a plan for how you can simultaneously have students working on three different activities during a 30-minute session of your class. Within your plan, be sure you have sufficient and appropriate challenges for three types of homogeneous learners: high-achievers, typical students, and students who require accommodations or adaptations. Be sure you specify the learning outcome that the activities relate to.
example:
I teach 9
th
grade Geometry. I´m going to use a mixture of techniques described in Lesson 5 text and required readings. I think the overall technique could be called a ´tiered instruction´ approach as described by Tomlinson, but I´m also using some ideas for activities within each center from the readings. Group A are the typical students, Group B are the students who require accommodations, and Group C are the high achievers. Groups A and B are working on the same outcome: Students compute areas of polygons, including rectangles, scalene triangles, and equilateral triangles. GroupC adds to that listing the area computations for rhombi, parallelograms, and trapezoids. (This might be called an adaptation for this group, as it is a minor change in the outcome-they´re calculating a few more types of polygon´s areas.) All groups are working independently, and I´m circulating and assisting (actually trying to use the ´mediated scaffolding´ described in an earlier Lesson!) as they´re working. All students have been presented with how to calculate area for polygons using concrete objects, and I´ve used real-life objects as well as why you´d need to calculate areas for polygons (e.g., how much carpeting you´d need for a room), and we´ve practiced together for several lessons. All students can use calculators if they want. Now students are moving toward this 30-minute learning center session, and here´s what they´d be doing: Group A has memorized the formula (the rule-or BIG idea!), needs no further work with concrete objects, and is working on a paper-pencil task with some word problems. Group B is still memorizing the formula, and they have a color-coded rule/checklist to refer to as well as concrete objects they can use-and they have the same paper-pencil task as Group A with some word problems. Students in Group B are required to show their checklist with checks on it for each problem-I´m trying to move them toward self-regulating their work and checking whether they´ve followed the steps on their own instead of relying on me to tell them where they made an error. The checklist would help me to do the ´mediated scaffolding,´ in that I could dialogue with them around the checklist steps (´Which step are you on? Is that answer correct according to the calculator? What´s the next step? Did you do it? OK. If you skipped that step, what do you need to do now to get back into the process? That´s right. Pick up at that step for that problem now, and remember-you need to use all steps for each problem.´) Group C has the same types of problems and same number of problems as Groups A and B, but they also have the three additional polygons (rhombi, parallelograms, and trapezoids) that they´re calculating areas for.
30.
Develop another plan-same directions as for Question 31, except this time describe only one groups´ activities and make the membership of that group heterogeneous (i.e., all students in the group are not working on same level/toward same outcome).´
example:
´Here I´d consider more of a learning center approach, such as described by Tomlinson, and using a cooperative learning approach as described in Lesson 5 text and some readings. Using the same outcomes for the same three groups designated in my answer to Question 3 (Groups A, B, and C-working on computing areas of polygons), I could have one learning center (a corner of the classroom with a large table and materials they´d need) in which several students from each group are working as a team (total about 8 students) to complete their worksheet task. I´d add to the worksheet task (which already contains some word problems) that the group needs to develop their own original real-life word problem, solve it as a team, and have individuals on the team write how they solved the problem (individual accountability). I´d appoint tasks for specific team members: a Group C member would be responsible for reading the directions for the whole team. A Group A member would be responsible for reading each problem (Group A members could rotate reading problems so that each member participates), and a Group B member would be responsible for checking off on the checklist for the computation of area process that a step has been followed (again, this could rotate among Group B members so that they all participate). I´d also appoint one person each from Group A, B, and C (three students) a task-master, time-keeper, and recorder for the group problem developed and solved. I´d so this so that each group has a leadership role during the learning center activity. I´d also build in (this would be the task-master´s role) that each student first self-checks their response (e.g., ´Each of us should have completed problem # 1 by now. You have one minute to self-check.´) and then has peer check (´Now exchange papers and review someone else´s response to problem # 1. Begin now-you have one minute). I´m not sure if I´d require that they keep the same partner for this self-check/peer-check part; I might require that they rotate partners here so that students don´t ´stay´ with their same-level group. For peer-check on Group C´s problems (this group has more polygons to compute areas for), I can provide answer keys so that a Group A or B member can peer-check against the answer key.
31.
Using the required readings on peer-mediated and cooperative learning methods, target one method and describe how you could use it in your instruction so that it is responsive to the needs of most students in your class with and without mild disabilities.
example:
I´m an 11
th
grade Chemistry teacher, and one thing most students have problems with is memorizing the symbols that match the chemical elements (e.g., ´H´ is for hydrogen, ´O´ is for oxygen). I´d like to use the peer-assisted learning technique described by Fuchs, Fuchs, and Kazdan, and also described by Maheady, Harper, and Mallette. I´m going to call it PALS (Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies), although it also sounds like the ClassWide Peer Tutoring. With PALS, the whole class has set sessions across weeks where they partner with a peer (different peers across weeks) and both partners play the role of tutor and tutee. I can see developing flashcards with the chemical symbol on one side and the name of the chemical on the other side, so it becomes a self-checking type of activity. That is, the partner who is the tutee may not know the symbol yet from memory, but that tutor can still tell the tutee if the answer is correct or not, and when it´s wrong, the tutor can provide the correct response. I´d have the tutor stack the corrects and errors in two separate stacks. I´d plan for 3 minutes of the tutor showing flashcards to tutee (I´d need to teach the process and practice it before we ´officially´ began doing PALS), and then they calculate the # correct, then they switch roles so the tutor becomes the tutee for 3 minutes. Their calculations of # correct would be graphed on each student´s individual graph so they would have a visual representation of their progress, and I´d even like to incorporate goal-setting (e.g., ´Target how many more you aim to get correct during our next PALS session). If we set aside 10 minutes, three times per week, across the 9-week course, then my goal would be that as I´m teaching the symbols´ use, the students would be acquiring through PALS more fluency on naming the symbols so that they could focus more on using the symbols with the Chemistry content.
32.
Distinguish formative from summative assessment. Provide an example of each for your content area.
example:
There is no sample response to this activity.
33.
Develop a rubric that you will share with students when you are initially informing them about an assignment. Describe how you will explain the rubric information to them, and how they can use the rubric to self-evaluate as they are completing drafts of the assignment. In your description, be sure you are explicit about what the rubric content such that students with mild disabilities who have organizational difficulties or have problems receiving only auditory information are more likely to know what to do for this assignment.
example:
There is no sample response to this activity.
34.
Develop a pretest that you could use on Day 1 of a class you are teaching. Include within that pretest prerequisite skills, your course skills, and next course skills.
example:
There is no sample response to this activity.
35.
Describe two ways that you could elicit from students what their background knowledge and experiences are that they are bringing to the course you are teaching.
example:
There is no sample response to this activity.
36.
Use the pretest you developed in Question 36 to describe how you could use error analysis to target which students will need instruction in specific knowledge and/or skill areas.
example:
There is no sample response to this activity.
