Presentation (Transcript) Curricular Design

Transcript for Lesson 3 Presentation: Traditional Interpretations and Applications

	Visible versus Hidden Disabilities Most people agree that the accommodation of using Braille for a student with visual disabilities is fair, and that the student with a visual disability when appropriate accommodations are in place can attain curriculum content similar to his or her peers. Nor is it difficult for people to perceive it as fair and reasonable that a student who has average or above-average intellect, uses a wheelchair, and needs to use an elevator to get to a second floor classroom has access to that elevator. In other words, when disabilities are more visible, people tend to see accommodations as fair. However, when disabilities appear hidden, as is the case with many mild disabilities, what a person sees may be that the student is not trying, not that the student cannot organize the information. A person may believe that the student simply does not want to pass the class, not that the student cannot read the text independently to do homework assignments. So it is important to acknowledge that people may not initially realize that a student with mild disabilities requires accommodations or adaptations. What a teacher may initially realize is that the student is not doing well in a course, whether as part of group work, independent work, homework assignments, or quizzes. As noted earlier, each teacher who instructs a student with an IEP or Section 504 plan must use the accommodations identified in that document. However, some teachers may mistake a student’s inappropriate or incomplete work as defiance, laziness, or poor motivation. Moreover, sometimes teachers know what accommodations or adaptations a student requires, but still do not understand why they are necessary. For instance, a teacher may not realize how or why a student with a learning disability has problems organizing her thoughts. Or a teacher may not be sure how to use the accommodations (e.g., how much extra time to allow for quizzes). More detail on these issues is provided later in this lesson, but first it is important to understand four considerations when using accommodations or adaptations.
	Four Considerations When Using Accommodations and Adaptations Four considerations should surround any type of accommodation or adaptation: (a) specific student characteristics drive the accommodations, not the student label; (b) using an accommodation is dependent on the targeted learning outcome; (c) there are varied forms of the same accommodation; and (d) students should be assuming control over their need for accommodations and areas where they can become more independent. First, an accommodation is determined in light of the individual student characteristics, not dependent on the student label. For example, one student with a reading disability may need a math word problem read to him as an accommodation. Another student with written language disabilities may be able to read the problem just fine but needs an accommodation of dictating the answer via an essay to explain her problem solving process to someone who will write the content for her. Second, an accommodation may be needed in some, but not all, situations, depending on the targeted learning outcome for the class. For example, if the outcome for the class and for the student with emotional disturbance is to independently read at grade level, providing an accommodation of a book on tape changes the learning outcome and may not be an appropriate accommodation at that time. (Note: This student should be receiving specialized instruction to increase his reading level.) However, if the learning outcome is that students compare and contrast character traits in literature, the accommodation of a book on tape is appropriate. Third, there are many forms of some accommodations, and different forms may work best for different students. For example, one tenth grader who has a learning disability in reading may have requested a recorded version of the history text as her preferred accommodation. Another eleventh grader who also has low reading skills may prefer to use a Kurzweil reader with his research project (see Readings page for this lesson), especially since he’s using library sources and may not have enough time to request all his information to be recorded beforehand. Conversely, one ninth-grade student can read fairly well but has difficulty figuring out new vocabulary, so she uses a special reading pen that reads the unfamiliar word to her after she scans it (see Readings page for this lesson). Finally, although accommodations should be available and used as appropriate for students’ needs, educators must also consider to what extent students should be learning how to accommodate for themselves by acquiring self-advocacy skills and receiving specialized instruction in specific areas. For example, the student with emotional disturbance mentioned earlier who doesn’t read at grade level might be receiving Word Identification Strategy instruction from the special educator to increase his reading level (see Readings page for this lesson). Some students with mild disabilities in middle and high school read far below grade level, so the specialized instruction they receive from special educators should focus on increasing their reading skills. When students receive such specialized and intensive instruction in reading, their reading performance may not attain grade-level proficiency (e.g., tenth-grade reading level) but can increase by several grade levels (Mercer, Campbell, Miller, Mercer, & Lane, 2000). The ninth-grade student who needs to use the reading pen should be bringing the pen to class and not expect every teacher to have a pen available for her to use. In other words, she should be taking responsibility for what she needs instead of expecting others to take care of her needs. This last point is a tricky one when and how to balance students’ dependence on others for accommodations and independence for self. As you progress through this module, you will see that this balance is more fairly and easily achieved when teachers and students invest in learning and using techniques that are universally applicable so that individualization also occurs. (See the CAST, or Center for Applied Special Technology, Website for more information on universal design for learning; otherwise, more content on how to design and deliver universally applicable instruction is described in Lesson 4.)
	Traditional Types of Accommodations and Adaptations Traditionally, teachers have considered accommodations for learners as accommodations relate to specific tasks or activities within the classroom environment. For example, a student whose IEP identifies that she needs an accommodation of receiving the teacher’s notes for a unit infers that all unit notes are needed. Moreover, the assumption is that the notes are of high quality and are necessary for students who have difficulty (a) listening and writing at the same time, (b) discerning the important content from the teacher’s presentation, and/or (c) receiving information in an auditory only format. That interpretation of accommodation is still valid, but may be too narrow for today’s classrooms given the research on effective techniques for all learners, including learners with mild disabilities. A broader interpretation of accommodations takes into account the depth and breadth of the content selected for instruction, the flexibility and variety with which a teacher plans for, designs, and delivers instruction, as well as the ways in which learners can demonstrate their knowledge and skill of that content. Because both the narrow and broader interpretations of accommodations are applicable, this module identifies and describes both. Lesson 3 focuses on the more narrow or traditional interpretations and applications of accommodations and adaptations, and Lesson 4 focuses on how curriculum design and delivery can impact how much and how many accommodations and adaptations can be achieved through universally applicable curriculum design and delivery. Examples and illustrations of this module’s content are derived from courses required of secondary learners. However, because module readers are experts within different disciplines, the examples and illustrations are intentionally basic to promote understanding and application for all readers. Consider, for example, that a tenth-grade algebra teacher is reading this module. As a math expert, she understands immediately an accommodation or adaptation example that uses polynomials. However, an eleventh-grade English teacher may find that example confusing, just as the algebra teacher may not be as clear on accommodations or adaptations described for anthologies or the use of present-perfect or past-perfect verb tenses. Consequently, examples used throughout this module are attempts to get across both general and specific applications of accommodations and adaptations for a variety of content areas. Activities and assessments within this module provide opportunities for you to apply the module content with specific learners related to specific instructional situations. It should be noted that if you are an expert in one content area, such as science, you may find terminology and examples from other content areas, such as mathematics, unfamiliar. You are encouraged to consider a student’s perspective related to new or unfamiliar content. That is, if English teachers were learning polynomials, what prerequisite skills, background knowledge, and instructional techniques might they need? Teachers who consider their content’s complexities from a learner’s perspective are able to more insightfully plan content for diverse learners.
	Often on IEPs or Section 504 plans, school systems may include a checklist identifying accommodations for students who are completing their state’s high-stakes assessment program. Because high-stakes assessments are more complex, political, and varied than can be addressed in this module, accommodations related to state tests are not addressed comprehensively here. Readers are referred to other sources on the Readings page for this lesson for more discussion and debate on high-stakes assessments and students with disabilities (e.g., Fuchs, Fuchs, Eaton, Hamlett, Binkley, & Crouch, 2000; Johnson, Kimball, Brown, & Anderson, 2001; Making Assessment Accommodations Toolkit Website; National Center on Educational Outcomes website; Tindal & Fuchs, 2000;). (For a summary of Tindal and Fuchs’ research on high-stakes test changes and accommodations, see "A Summary of Research on Test Changes: An Empirical Basis for Defining Accommodations," listed on the Readings page for this lesson.) For purposes of this module, the discussion of accommodations and adaptations focuses on what is needed in the classroom throughout the school year or course you are teaching. Note that a quality program prepares a student with a disability to be successful on both local curriculum content and statewide assessments, but there is not always a coherent or direct match on their content (Tindal & Fuchs, 2000). Consequently, the focus in this module is on classroom instruction related to local curriculum; hopefully, your local curriculum matches your state’s high-stakes testing program. Some teachers will find that ideas from this module can help them merge or overlap local curriculum with high-stakes testing competencies. All students for whom testing accommodations are listed on their IEPs or 504 plans should be regularly using those accommodations as part of their classroom testing experiences so that they are better prepared to use them appropriately on any high-stakes school or state assessments. A research-base is emerging on the effectiveness of some accommodations related to high-stakes assessments (Tindal & Fuchs). Although high-stakes assessment are not the focus of this module, information related to that research may be helpful to know. Readers are referred to Fuchs and Fuchs (2001b), who provide suggestions for teachers to assist them in making more sound test accommodation decisions. Please refer to Handout #1 for an adaptation of Testing Accommodations that have a Research Base.
	Specifying Accommodations As mentioned in Lesson 2, the source for identifying specific accommodations or adaptations for each student is either the IEP or Section 504 plan. Although some of these documents may contain checklist formats for specifying items necessary for each student, there is also space for personnel (e.g., parents, teachers, the student) to identify items that may not be on that school system’s checklist. Accommodations and adaptations that may be listed on the IEP or Section 504 plan include: Adjusted workload Assisted notetaking Large-print text Modified materials Tape recorder Modified curriculum Modified assessments Specialized presentation formats Specialized response formats Scheduling recommendations Setting recommendations Specialized equipment needs Acknowledging that the above listing is not exhaustive, it is helpful to further describe and examine several of these items in the context of the learning outcome for students. Remember, whether an item is an accommodation or an adaptation depends on the outcome for most of the students. Consequently, teachers must specify their intended outcome for a unit of instruction in order to determine whether an accommodation or adaptation is needed for an individual student. Moreover, the content of the activity or task may also dictate whether an accommodation or adaptation is needed. In the next sections of this lesson, examples of accommodations and adaptations for mathematics content, classroom setting, teacher presentations, and student responses are provided.
	Example of an accommodation in mathematics. Consider that most of the students in the class are completing a paper-pencil worksheet task of calculating 30 two-digit addition problems with regrouping. If the types of addition problems are randomly scattered throughout the 30 problems, an adjusted workload for a student who has difficulty processing fluently but who can calculate the responses may be the accommodation of completing the first 15 problems. Similarly, if the worksheet presents the problems in ascending order of difficulty, the adjusted workload accommodation may be that a student completes every other problem. However, if the teacher regularly assigns the student the first half of the problem set, then the student may not be completing the same work as the other students. Consequently, it is essential that the teacher consider the task or activity characteristics when determining adjusted workload accommodations.
	Example of an adaptation in mathematics. Using the same example of calculating 30 two-digit addition problems with regrouping with the worksheet presenting problems in ascending order of difficulty, a student may have a modified curriculum if he is responsible for completing the first 15 problems, which focus on calculating two-digit addition problems with no regrouping. This adjustment would be considered an adaptation; that is, the content remains the same as for other students in the class, but there is a minor change in the difficulty level.
	Example of classroom setting accommodations. Another example of an accommodation involves classroom setting recommendations. Consider that a student with emotional disturbance is very easily distractible, and requires an accommodation of completing independent work assignments in a quiet place. If the classroom has study carrels (some teachers call these "offices"), that space may be the appropriate accommodation for the student to complete the same work as the other students. An alternative may be that the student requests to complete his independent work in the school’s media center, provided there are few distractions there. Note also how this example includes the student advocating or requesting for himself what he needs one of the four considerations for accommodations and adaptations described earlier in Lesson 3.
	Examples of presentation and response accommodations. For some students, presentation accommodations are necessary. To the extent that a teacher already presents content in varied ways, some teachers will find that such accommodations are naturally built into their lessons. Some teachers already use visual and auditory formats to present new content. Others already teach by demonstrating and modeling in a concrete manner for students. However, some students with mild disabilities may need more practice time or demonstrations to achieve proficiency, while others may need a wider variety of examples or step-by-step instructions. Yet other students find it necessary to audiotape the class session so they can listen to the content multiple times. De La Paz (1999) describes how some students with learning disabilities benefit from composing using dictation and speech recognition systems as assistive technology aids. She notes, however, that although these technologies assist students in completing compositions, they still need to learn and use prewriting techniques and select quality content for writing. Assessment accommodations related to quizzes, midterms, or final exams may also be noted on IEPs or Section 504 plans. If the content and criteria by which the student’s quiz or response is scored remains the same as for the other students in the class, it may be that an accommodation occurs for presentation or response. The following are examples of presentation or response accommodations: Directions and/or content is read to the student. The student dictates her answers to a person to write down, or speaks into a tape recorder for the teacher to listen to the response. The student verbally explains the response instead of writing it down. The student illustrates the response, then verbally explains the illustration. Extended time is allowed to complete the test. An alternative quiet or small group setting is used. Typed instead of written responses are accepted. The student writes directly on the quiz, instead of having to transfer the response to a "bubble sheet" response form. If the focus is on solving math word problems, students who have difficulty remembering basic math facts may use a calculator so they can focus on the solution process.
	Examples of presentation and response adaptations. Assessment adaptations, the way adaptations are interpreted in this module, indicate that a student receives the same content with minor changes in the difficulty. As a result, there may be minor changes in the corresponding scoring criteria for that student. Examples of presentation or response adaptations include: Most students are required to write definitions from memory; an adaptation is if a student is required to match definitions to terms (that is, this is not a "from memory" task for this student). Most students are required to write a brief explanation from memory; an adaptation is if a student is provided multiple-choice selections of explanations from which one is selected (again, this is no longer a "from memory" task). Most students get full credit for both the correct answer and for satisfactorily explaining their solution process; an adaptation is when full credit is given for a satisfactory explanation that may lead to an incorrect answer, perhaps due to a computation error. Most students must name the 50 states and corresponding capitals from memory and write each state’s location on a map; an adaptation is when a student is responsible for remembering and locating a fewer number of states. It should be noted that this particular example may be called a "parallel" curriculum if there is a major change for a student, such as responsibility for identifying the location of 6 states on a map. Most students must write an essay response that includes seven specific components; an adaptation may be if the components are reduced in number by one or two (e.g., 5 or 6 required). (Note: parallel may be if the reduction is a major change, such as 1 or 2 components required.) Most students read and respond completely independently with no input or prompts from the teacher; an adaptation is when the teacher prompts the student toward the answer, but this is only an adaptation if the prompt is significant and is not provided to any other students who ask; an example is if the student is not recalling from memory the capital of Maryland, and the teacher prompt is "think of an apple" to assist the student in remembering Annapolis. Traditional accommodations and adaptations enable students to compensate in some way for their disability, and are intended to assist students with mild disabilities attaining the same or similar learning outcomes for other students. One would expect, for example, that a student who has a broken leg and is using crutches can still travel school hallways, but may need extended time to make the trip. Similarly, students with mild disabilities are frequently capable of making the trip, but need accommodations and adaptations in their journey in the instruction.
	Presentation and response as input and output factors. How students with mild disabilities receive information is considered the input of new content, and often the type of instruction teachers use or the curriculum drives the way in which new content is presented. Because some teachers can benefit from using more varied and flexible ways to present content to students, the focus on "input" described so far in Lesson 2 is extended in Lesson 3 to include both what the teacher selects to teach and how he or she plans to present the content. As you progress through this module, you may discover how some students’ needs for accommodations and adaptations can be met through varied and flexible presentation of content, while other students may still require more specialized accommodations or adaptations. Some examples of varied and flexible input of new content include: A history teacher who augments the text’s written description of events with a visual timeline sequence that includes (a) the years written in a bright color and (b) an illustration representing the event that occurred in key years. An English teacher who identifies a controversial and relevant school or community topic as a basis for constructing a graphic web depicting the pros and cons of positions so students can use a similar graphic to write persuasive essays. A mathematics teacher who draws on authentic and real-world problems to concretely and meaningfully introduce the need for how computational skills apply in everyday situations. A science teacher who uses a checklist when performing experiments so auditory and visual instructions are available, as well as a kinesthetic demonstration. A student who has difficulty reading can use a Kurzweil reader and listen to the chapter content. Students are provided with outlines that help them organize the content as the teacher is providing the key content information.
	How students with mild disabilities show information they know and can do is considered the output. It may be that some students need accommodations and/or adaptations that were once considered "nontraditional" ways of demonstrating knowledge and skills. For example, in today’s secondary classrooms it is not unusual for students to construct projects, perform experiments, use the Internet to research topics, or use software programs for writing. Consequently, some students whose IEPs identify the accommodation of a computer to take notes or write (e.g., a student with a learning disability who has difficulty with written language and uses software that has word prediction capacity built into it) may be more naturally receiving that accommodation when portable computers (e.g., Alphasmart portable computers or Co:Writer assistive writing software) are used regularly and by other students in the class. Conversely, output accommodations can be more specialized for a particular student, such as a student whose IEP indicates that extended time to take course quizzes is a necessary accommodation (e.g., a student with processing difficulties who can do well on the quiz, but needs more time to "get the information down"). Some examples of varied and flexible outputs include: A student with auditory processing information who can illustrate, and verbally describe using his illustration, the cause-effect relationships for an historical event. A student with organizational difficulties who can use a checklist for self-checking whether she has all parts of a project completed and ready to turn in. A student with writing and spelling difficulties who can use a dictaphone to respond to quiz or test items. Students have options for what type of project (e.g., written paper, poster-board project, illustrated booklet or graphic, etc.) they use to depict their learning.
	Conclusion In summary, Lesson 3 describes traditional interpretations and applications of accommodations and adaptations. Four considerations for accommodations and adaptations are presented, including that these are individualized based on a particular student’s needs, and that whether a student needs an accommodation or adaptation depends also on what the learning outcome is as well as how a teacher plans and delivers instruction. Grigorenko and Sternberg (1997), in their research on students labeled gifted and talented, note that we all have preferred modalities--ways of learning or expressing knowledge and skills--but that such styles vary across tasks and situations. They note that teachers seem to value more highly students whose learning style is similar to their own, which can be revealing in terms of how teachers perceive or value students whose style of learning is different from their own. Preceding how a teacher teaches is selecting what to teach the curriculum. Because the depth and breadth of the curriculum can be perceived as a deterrent in and of itself in whether teachers think they can develop and use accommodations for students with mild disabilities, it is necessary to examine the curriculum itself in terms of how well constructed it is. Moreover, conceding that some teachers already regularly use a variety of presentation, practice, and assessment formats, ways in which teachers can more naturally build into their teaching techniques that include accommodations and adaptations are described in Lesson 4.