best practices for teaching students with learning differences

K. Schantz and A. Gammage April 6th. 2011

Best Practices for Teaching Students with Learning Differences

K. Schantz and A. Gammage April 6th. 2011

Fundamentals about teaching and learning differences We all have strengths and weakness i.e. learning differences, neurodiversity;

The concept of a learning difference/learning disability is culturally embedded;

Direct teaching and learning changes the brain through neuroplasticity;

Differentiated teaching does not mean teaching less; it is simply better teaching

K. Schantz and A. Gammage April 6th. 2011

Practice # 1 Construct a profile of the learners in your class

Be a conscious observer of learning behaviors

Read the “testing”

Empathize with the learning style

K. Schantz and A. Gammage April 6th. 2011

What does that feel like? What do you see?ADHD in the classroom;

Auditory attention

Recall of basic math facts worksheet

What would make it easier?

K. Schantz and A. Gammage April 6th. 2011

A learning disability is the difference in the students cognitive ability and their ability to perform academically We need to know what is getting in the students way.

Task analysis what skills does the student need to be successful ( think back to the math example)

What can we/ the student do to accommodate, compensate and remediate

K. Schantz and A. Gammage April 6th. 2011

Practice #2 Teach students how their brain learns.

Metacognition is recognized as one of the most effective ways for an individual to improve learning;

Need a basic understanding of the brain and learning;

”

K. Schantz and A. Gammage April 6th. 2011

Practice # 3 Teach the student “how to learn” the content; knowing the content will

naturally follow.

Require plans of how to study, how to write an essay from beginning to end Review and revise the plan

K. Schantz and A. Gammage April 6th. 2011

Identify the elements of the process needed to complete the assignment The more complex the material the more important it is to do a task

analysis. e.g. Reading comprehension is not simply about the ability to decode. What is it about ?

Pre reading knowledge Vocabulary Fluency (processing speed) Auditory processing Visual processing Working memory/attention

K. Schantz and A. Gammage April 6th. 2011

What is the process to mastery? Scaffold so skills can develop e.g.. Note taking

a pp of the class to be added to during class graphic organizer Post exemplar notes after class for reference Identify a good note taker and give a copy of their notes to the weaker note taker

so they can check for errors and omissions Record the class and save for reference

K. Schantz and A. Gammage April 6th. 2011

Note taking 4-12 grade

K. Schantz and A. Gammage April 6th. 2011

Practice # 4Cure “learned helplessness” with regular dialogue on learning

K. Schantz and A. Gammage April 6th. 2011

Avoiding the entitlement/ helplessness trap Students need to be empowered to

use their strengths.

I have difficulty with _________________

but I can use __________________________________

strategy/ accommodation

K. Schantz and A. Gammage April 6th. 2011

Practice # 5 Prepare for differentiated teaching Establish clear measurable mastery goals/ skills to be able to differentiate;

Set out clear, organized expectations;

Design several ways to demonstrate mastery.

K. Schantz and A. Gammage April 6th. 2011

Gold Standard

What you see in the student

Remediation, compensation &

accomodation

Student is able to transfer skills and

understanding to a new context

K. Schantz and A. Gammage April 6th. 2011

Practice # 6 Learn with our students the different purposes of

Remediation

Compensation

Accommodation

And when and how to use them

K. Schantz and A. Gammage April 6th. 2011

When accommodations go wrong !

Removing the need to take notes student won’t develop the skill, and is detrimental to their learning experience in class.

How do we develop the skill and accommodate the student?

Why can’t they take notes?

How do we measure growth?

K. Schantz and A. Gammage April 6th. 2011

Practice #7 Teaching a student how to use an accommodation

You need how to use extended time

Extended time is a different problem

Calculators don’t develop number sense

Computers don’t automatically make you a better writer but they can!

K. Schantz and A. Gammage April 6th. 2011

When is a compensation remediation ? Audio text while following print

improves visual memory/ reading fluency/ vocabulary

Voice to text allows you to produce enough text to edit.

Graphic organizers are concrete examples of an abstract idea

K. Schantz and A. Gammage April 6th. 2011

Remediation, Compensation and Accommodation Remediation teaches skills/ strategies explicitly to facilitate the learning

process e.g..

breaking large task into smaller component parts Making the sequence explicit Giving big picture Identifying main ideas…………..

K. Schantz and A. Gammage April 6th. 2011

Practice #8 Letting the student apply skills independentlyDo we let them get in the game ?

Is the student given an opportunity apply skills in a ‘real’ way. Insisting on webbing when a child

can plan without it Phonological reading instruction

that robs a student of the ability to keep up with content of their peers

When the remediation saps a students feeling of competency

K. Schantz and A. Gammage April 6th. 2011

Practice # 9 evaluations Why we need them?

K. Schantz and A. Gammage April 6th. 2011

Practice #10 Don’t over subscribe to disability Students are more than their subtest scores ( understanding diagnostic

testing )

Do we expect a great degree of mastery for students identified as having a learning issue

Do we expect the student to show too many strengths, to be able to be successful?

K. Schantz and A. Gammage April 6th. 2011

Fair isn’t equal and equal isn’t fairStudents have to be supported to

advocate. Students need to feel teachers want

to collaborate with them

But

What does the teacher see as the ‘glitch’ what does student see as the ‘glitch’.