Registration Options English Sessions

http://ldatschool.ca/educators-institute/2014/

Agenda

8:00 – 9:00 Breakfast and registration

9:00 – 9:15 Opening (LDAO address)

9:15 – 10:30 Keynote speaker (English/French)

10:30 – 10:45 Coffee Break

10:45 – 11:50 Breakout Session #1 (English/French)

12:00 – 1:00 Lunch & Networking

1:00 – 2:05 Breakout Session #2 (English/French)

2:05 – 2:20 Coffee Break

2:20 – 3:30 Breakout Session #3 (English/French) and Closing

The Educators' Institute is a fully bilingual event. Parallel sessions in French will be provided for all keynote

and breakout sessions.

What We Know about Instruction for Students with Learning

Disabilities: Let’s Stop Monkeying Around

Opening Session: Keynote Speaker, Dr. Nancy Mather, Professor of Special Education at

University of Arizona

Dr. Nancy Mather’s keynote will focus on the fundamental facts we know about interventions for

students with learning disabilities, as well as the current issues that are confronting the field. Dr. Mather

will touch upon: the history of the field; the importance of identifying strengths and weaknesses for

selecting instructional interventions; recognizing learning disabilities in the classroom; the importance of

using differentiated instructional methodologies; the need for highly trained, competent teachers; ways

to accommodate students with learning disabilities in the general education classroom; and the

importance of helping students increase self-esteem and self-advocacy skills.

Dr. Nancy Mather is a Professor of Special Education at the University

of Arizona in the Department of Disability and Psychoeducational

Studies. She has served as a learning disabilities teacher, a

diagnostician, a university professor, and an educational consultant.

She has published numerous articles and books and conducts

workshops on assessment and instruction both nationally and

internationally. Dr. Mather is a co-author of the Woodcock-Johnson III

and has co-authored two books on interpretation and application of

the WJ III. Her most recent books are Comprehensive

Evaluations (Mather & Jaffe, 2011) and Essentials of

Dyslexia: Assessment and Intervention (Mather & Wendling, 2012).

English Keynote Speaker

E1.1 • 10:45am – 11:50am

Empower™ Reading: an Effective Reading Intervention for Grades 2-9 for

Students with Learning Disabilities

Speaker: Dr. John Chan, Ph.D., C. Psych., Psychologist at Toronto Catholic District School Board

The TCDSB and the Learning Disabilities Research Program (LDRP) at the Hospital for Sick Children have

been involved in a research partnership since 1999 to develop the EmpowerTM Reading program for

students who have demonstrated significant difficulties in reading. Based on rigorous research

standards, the program includes instructional features found to yield positive long-term outcomes for

struggling readers by addressing the core learning deficits which prevent children from reading

successfully.

To serve community needs across the system, select TCDSB elementary schools with a trained Empower teacher are designated as Empower Hubs to allow eligible students from neighbouring schools to access this one-year program. In addition, select local elementary schools with a trained Empower teacher receive Board support to provide this program to qualified students in their school.

Research tracking to inform practice is an integral part of the implementation of Empower within TCDSB. Student performance in our Empower classes since 2009 has consistently shown that Empower students at all grade levels make strong gains in phonemic awareness, decoding and word recognition, as well as improvements on various measures of literacy assessment. They also made gains on standardized measures of decoding and comprehension, and showed increased motivation and confidence in learning.

E1.2 • 10:45am – 11:50am

A Brain Based Approach for Linking Assessment to Classroom Instruction

Speaker: Dr. James Hale, Ph.D., M.Ed., ABSNP, ABPdN, Professor of Education and Medicine at the

University of Calgary

Options for Breakout Session 1 (English)

A multi-tier assessment and instruction approach can serve all children, not just children with learning

and other disabilities. In this presentation, data from a Tier 1 standard protocol, Tier 2 problem-

solving protocol, and Tier 3 differentiated instruction protocol model will highlight the need for multiple

methods of assessment and instruction in different tiers for optimal service delivery. Results

will demonstrate the importance of early intervention in Tiers 1 and 2 for all children, but for those who

continue to struggle, a comprehensive evaluation can be used to not only identify the child's strengths

and needs, it can also be used to guide Tier 3 interventions that ultimately lead to student success.

E1.3 • 10:45am – 11:50am

Helping Students Manage Their World: Practical Strategies for Enhancing

Executive Functioning in the Classroom

Speaker: Melissa Rowbotham, M.Ed., Manager of Community Education & Engagement at Integra

Foundation

This presentation will provide participants with a practical understanding of the nature of executive

functioning (higher order thinking skills including organization, problem solving and emotional

regulation among others) and difficulties children with learning disabilities may have in regulating

themselves and their world. In this workshop, we will use a combination of interactive activities and

discussion grounded in current theory to bring the struggle than students may face to life in every day

activities in the classroom and school yard. We will explore strategies on how to support and improve

functioning for students with these difficulties in an educational setting.

E1.4 • 10:45am – 11:50am

Assistive Technology: From Accommodation to Remediation

Speakers:

Mary-Ann Fuduric, BASc, MASc, BEd, Adaptive Technology Trainer and Program Facilitator, LDAWE

Alicea Fleming, B.A. Psychology, M.S.W. Candidate, Adaptive Technology Trainer and Program

Facilitator, LDAWE

The intent of this workshop is to introduce educators and educational support staff to a variety of

assistive technology programs that are utilized by students with language-based learning disabilities.

Specifically, difficulties with phonemic awareness, word recognition/decoding, fluency, reading

comprehension, spelling, and written expression will be discussed. Assistive technology software to be

explored includes Kurzweil 3000, Premier Accessibility Suite, Dragon Naturally Speaking, Word Q, Smart

Ideas 5, and Inspiration. Device accessibility options will also be discussed. Other no cost applications

and software, such as Adobe Reader, Microsoft Narrator, and Windows Speech Recognition will be

explored.

Assistive technology will be presented as both a classroom accommodation and as a tool for literacy remediation. A literature review of research supporting the remedial benefits of assistive technology will be presented. Focus will include applications for phonemic awareness, decoding, reading fluency, and reading comprehension. Participants will have the opportunity to utilize various assistive technology software programs and discuss strategies for incorporating their use into literacy activities in small-group format. Workshop attendees will be provided with a set of take-home resources.

E1.5 • 10:45am – 11:50am

LD Means Learn Differently

Speaker: Angie DeMarco, Education Coordinator, LDA Sudbury

This experiential presentation is intended to depict a variety of processing differences faced by students when they are academically challenged in the structured learning environment known as "school". Participants will have the opportunity to understand what a learning disability is, what it is not and, key for responsiveness, what it FEELS like. Woven into the activities will be the messages regarding a strength- based approach and the emotional components to learning.

E1.6 • 10:45am – 11:50am

Elephant in the Room: What we Overlook Regarding Dyslexia

Speaker: Dr. Nancy Mather, Professor of Special Education at University of Arizona

The purpose of this session is to address specific issues (that are often overlooked or ignored) that affect

the identification of students with dyslexia, as well as the provision of appropriate

interventions. Examples of these issues include the misguided assumptions that: (a) the only cause of

dyslexia is poor phonological awareness; (b) twice exceptional children do not exist; (c) teachers are

adequately prepared to teach reading to students with dyslexia, and (d) dyslexia only affects reading and

writing performance.

E2.1 • 1:00pm – 2:05pm

Using a School-Based Approach to Support Children with Reading Disabilities:

Supporting Academic Achievement and Changing Neurological Trajectories

Speakers:

Dr. John McNamara, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Child and Youth Studies at Brock University

Hilary Scruton, Graduate Researcher, Department of Child and Youth Studies at Brock University

This session describes an empirically-supported instructional approach for children with reading

disabilities that can be implemented within a school environment. Children with learning disabilities

represent the largest category of special education within North American schools. As such, it is critical

for educators, clinicians, researchers, and all stakeholders concerned with children with learning

disabilities to strive towards uncovering the most effective, empirically supported instructional

approaches.

For the past 7 years, the Learning Disabilities Association of Niagara has partnered with the Child and

Youth Studies Reading Project at Brock University to develop Reading Rocks – a unique reading-based

program based on explicit teaching of phonics-based word-level instruction, vocabulary, and repeated

readings. In addition, the program uses models of self-regulation to motivate children’s learning.

In this session, we will present the Reading Rocks program and will demonstrate how this type of

approach can be implemented in a school setting. We will explore how Reading Rocks not only affects

the academic achievement of children with learning disabilities but also how such a high-powered

environment can shape children's neural connections. We will present the science behind the Reading

Rocks instructional approach and also demonstrate how to deliver this type of program within

classrooms. Session participants will be provided with the understanding and tools required to

implement a similar program within their own learning environments.

Options for Breakout Session 2 (English)

E2.2 • 1:00pm – 2:05pm

A Model for Identifying Assistive Technology to Support Student with Learning

Disabilities

Speaker: Dr. Todd Cunningham, Ph.D., C. Psych. (Supervised Practice). Lecturer at Ontario Institute for

Studies in Education at the University of Toronto

Assistive Technology (AT) has been identified as any technology that can assist or improve the functional

capabilities of individuals with a disability (Wissick & Gardner, 2008). As such AT may improve the

academic, social, and functional skills for a range of individuals with a variety of disabilities. For students

with learning disabilities (LD), AT aids in circumventing specific areas of academic difficulties. The goal of

AT in education is to help students with LD gain access to the regular curriculum. Such life-changing AT

effects has led to increase awareness, funding, availability, and spawn developed of new tools.

The most up to date catalog of education AT shows there are 246 products available (National Center for

Technology Innovation, 2014). For a teacher trying to recommend the most appropriate product for a

student can be challenging. In the past, the SETT framework (Zabala, 2005) or ASNAT periodical

(Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative, 2009) have been used in guiding clinician in the selection

process. Though both the SETT and ASNAT provides guidance to the selecting of assistive technology for

students, they do not provide sufficient guidance to recommend the specific AT products. The Assistive

Technology Tool Selection Protocol provides a more comprehensive model for guiding a teacher to

identify the appropriate technology to support the specific learning needs a student may have.

E2.3 • 1:00pm – 2:05pm

Lessons Learned: Stories of Learning Disabilities, Resilience, and Mental Health

Speaker: Dr. Maria Kokai, Ph.D., C. Psycho., Chief Psychologist at Toronto Catholic District School Board

Co-occurring mental health challenges make it more difficult for educators to identify and support

students with LD who are struggling in school. Educating school staff, parents and students about these

difficulties promotes healthier learning environments for these students. By sharing the strength-based

stories of former students with learning disabilities/mental health challenges through a documentary,

the presentation aims to increase understanding and empathy, and to encourage the use of a variety of

approaches and strategies to build resilience and facilitate success.

E2.4 • 1:00pm – 2:05pm

The Journey to Build System Capacity in Understanding Learning Disabilities

Speakers:

Dr. Sue Ball, Ph.D., C. Psych., Chief Psychologist at York Region District School Board

Lynn Ziraldo, Learning Disabilities Association of York Region Executive Director / Vice Chair of SEAC at

York Region District School Board

This interactive PowerPoint presentation including video, will document the journey YRDSB went on to

enhance system capacity to support the understanding of learning disabilities, complete with processing

charts, waterfall charts and demonstration advocacy cards. This journey involved superintendents,

principals, teachers, students and parents.

E2.5 • 1:00pm – 2:05pm

Intersecting Leadership Development and the Learning Disabilities Lens in Ontario

Speakers: Bruce Drewett, Director, Leadership Development & School Board Governance Branch, Ministry of Education

Ruth Swan, Education Officer, Leadership Development & School Board Governance Branch, Ministry of Education

Research shows that school leadership is second only to classroom teaching in its impact on student achievement. The Ontario Leadership Framework is the research foundation of the Ontario Leadership Strategy that:

describes what good leadership looks like, based on evidence of what makes the most difference to student achievement and well-being;

identifies the practices of successful school and system leaders, as well as the organizational practices of successful schools and districts;

includes a small but critical number of Personal Leadership Resources (leadership traits and dispositions) that have been found to increase the effectiveness of leadership practices.

This presentation will describe the evidence-based characteristics of strong school districts and how the implementation of leadership practices and personal leadership resources at the school and system level are critical in influencing staff in supporting the strengths and needs of students with learning

disabilities. The session will include an illustrative video on successful school leadership as well as small and whole group activities including scenarios. Participants will take away practical application of how their leadership supports the student achievement and well-being of students with learning disabilities.

E2.6 • 1:00pm – 2:05pm

Learning with Learning Disabilities: Practical Suggestions for Success

Speakers:

Nancy Hastings, recently retired Special Education Consultant

Colleen Patterson, Psychologist at Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board

Students with LD represent the greatest number of exceptional students in the Ontario school system.

For these students, the majority of their school day is spent in regular classrooms. As a classroom

teacher, perhaps the greatest challenge is accommodating the diverse learning needs of the class.

Students with LDs present with their own unique profiles. One of the goals of this presentation will be

to demonstrate how accommodations may work, not only for the individual student but for small groups

and whole class instruction - “strategies that are seen as essential for some may be good for all”.

This introductory presentation is geared towards middle school and beginning secondary school

teachers (grades 6-10). By addressing the common misperceptions of LDs and providing a solid

foundation towards understanding the diverse learning styles of students with LDs, teachers will leave

better equipped to support the learning challenges in the class. This will be done by helping teachers

recognize LDs in the classroom and understand and apply the information from the psychology

assessment into real life accommodations/ strategies to help their students. Information presented is

based on high yield research-based methods. Academic, organizational and assistive technology based

accommodations will be highlighted.

E3.1 • 2:20pm – 3:30pm

Universal Design for Teaching and Learning: Technology Tools to Support

Students with Learning Disabilities and their Teachers

Speaker: Dr. Gabrielle Young, Assistant Professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland

In Canada, students who have learning disabilities are at risk for exclusion from full participation in

school (Council of Ministers of Education in Canada, 2008). Significant concerns surround the capacity

for schools to effectively support the diversity of learners present in schools (Kozleski & Waitoller, 2010)

and the capacity for traditional special education approaches to support inclusion (Slee, 2010). Universal

design provides a framework that guides the design of educational environments, materials, and

instruction, to ensure that all students can access the curriculum (Rose, Meyer, & Hitchcock, 2005).

Based on its success within technology-rich classrooms in the US (e.g., Coyne et al., 2012), universal

design has been recommended as an approach for effective inclusionary practices in K-12 classrooms

across Canada. With the endorsement that universal design and assistive technology help to make

learning accessible for all students (Brand, Favazza, & Dalton, 2012), advocates suggest that such

methods enhance educational opportunities for students with various educational needs (e.g.,

Messinger-Willman & Marino, 2010).

This presentation will provide an overview of universal design as well as free and low cost assistive and

instructional technology that can improve access to the general educational curriculum for students

with and without learning disabilities.

E3.2 • 2:20pm – 3:30pm

Helping Students Read Words: Putting it Altogether

Speaker: Patricia Post, System Educational Technology Support at Hastings Prince Edward District School

Board

This presentation is intended for classroom teachers, special education teachers and others in the field

of education, who have the responsibility of providing remedial word reading instruction to students

Options for Breakout Session 3 (English)

with learning disabilities and struggling readers. Given the complexity of reading, it can be difficult to

determine exactly where the word reading process is breaking down and to provide interventions that

target a particular area of deficit.

The session will focus on three key reading components – phonemic awareness, phonics and fluency and

participants will have the opportunity to navigate the Helping Students Read Words website to access

at-your-fingertips research based information and a variety of intervention resources that will engage

your struggling readers. Educators who wish to enhance their understanding of word reading and

provide effective intervention strategies that incorporate current technology (whiteboard activities,

apps for iDevices, online computer sites) are encouraged to attend.

Participants are encouraged to BYOD – bring your own device.

E3.3 • 2:20pm – 3:30pm

Awakening the Sleeping Giant: The Potential and Promise of Data-Informed

Collaborative Planning to Address the Learning Needs of Students with Learning

Disabilities

Speaker: Dr. Chris Mattatall, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education at Memorial University of

Newfoundland

Is it possible that a teacher can become a better teacher just by being in the right school? Yes! What

happens to teachers who are a part of a powerfully positive, uplifting, and cognitively challenging school

environment? What would happen if schools were able to systematically tap the full potential of the

cognitive, creative and experiential knowledge and skill of it’s teachers within a culture of trust, sharing,

care, and accountability? What teacher would not want to be in that type of professional culture? It is

possible, and it is happening in several schools.

This session will take a close look at data-informed collaborative cultures and discuss the research that

shows that these school settings have a dramatic effect on meeting the needs of students with learning

disabilities. A culture where no student goes unnoticed, where teachers intensify instruction through a

systematic process that helps them reach beyond their own autonomy because the entire school shifts

its resources and schedules to address learning at all levels. This session will tell the story of how data-

informed collaboration—when skillfully crafted and utilized—produces strong learning effects for

students and their teachers.

E3.4 • 2:20pm – 3:30pm

What Does This Mean for Everyday Life? Practical Tips for Interpreting

Psychology Assessment Reports

Speaker: Dr. Marjory Phillips, C. Psych., Director of Clinical Services & Community Education at Integra

Psychological or psycho-educational assessment reports provide a wealth of knowledge about how a

person learns and processes information. However, the professional jargon and practical applications of

the assessment measures and test findings can be difficult to interpret. This workshop is intended to

provide participants with an understanding of how psychological concepts relevant to the diagnosis of

Learning Disabilities are assessed and interpreted. In this workshop, we will use interactive exercises and

practical examples to understand how psychological processes such as processing speed, phonological

processing, and working memory are assessed and explained. We will relate test findings to behavior

seen in the classroom or on a school yard.

It is anticipated that workshop participants will become more comfortable in reading psychology

reports and in asking questions about report findings. It is also hoped that participants will be better

able to integrate information contained within psychology reports into teaching styles, curriculum

accommodations, behavioral strategies, and when developing or implementing Individual Education

Plans.

E3.5 • 2:20pm – 3:30pm

Early Identification and Intervention to Foster Literacy Development and Prevent Reading Disabilities

Speaker: Dr. Linda Siegel, Dorothy C. Lam Chair in Special Education, Professor, Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology and Special Education of British Columbia This study was designed to test a system for identifying children at risk for reading disabilities and to assess a classroom based intervention program.

The participants in this study were 792 children from a school district in the metropolitan area of Vancouver, Canada. Approximately 20% of the children had English as a second language (ESL). The screening battery consisted of a variety of tasks, including measures of phonological awareness, letter identification, and syntactic awareness. The district used a phonological awareness program called Firm Foundations that included the use of activities and games to teach phonological awareness, vocabulary, and syntactic skills. This program was developed by the teachers of North Vancouver and is easy to use in the classroom and enjoyable for the children.

In kindergarten, 25% of the children English as a first language were at significant risk for reading disabilities and 48% of the children of English as a second language were at risk for reading disabilities. At the end of grade 7, 1.9 % of the children were showing reading disabilities (dyslexia).

When the children started school there was a strong relationship between socioeconomic level and reading. This relationship decreased significantly after the children had been in school, indicating that with appropriate educational intervention is possible to reduce socioeconomic differences. Early intervention for potential reading disabilities and can be successful, efficient and cost-effective.

E3.6 • 2:20pm – 3:30pm

Self-Advocacy Matters - It Begins with Believing in Yourself First!

Speaker: Julia Osborne, Lead Intermediate Special Education Resource Teacher, Special Education Reading Specialist, LD Steering Committee Member at York Region District School Board Introduction: Explain the inspiration behind the video and how it began the journey towards improving self-advocacy. A video will be shared, documenting students growth over a year long journey in providing the right support to each individual and believing in their abilities.

Journey: discuss the journey that was taken throughout the past two years – the ups and downs

Self-advocacy cards: discuss the self-advocacy cards and their purpose, benefits, and provide student voice (through video – former students who are in video #1 describing how self-advocacy has helped them later in life as well as current students and the benefits they have experienced this year)

New focus and findings: discuss the new focus this year around engaging students in the IEP process and how it is all linked to the teaching of self-advocacy in order for it to be meaningful

Resources to take away – ideally would like to be able to provide a link online with a self-advocacy template that can be manipulated for students as well as the manual in a PDF version so that teachers can begin their own journey in self-advocacy come September 2014.