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Thematic Course on Education of Students with Specific Learning Difficulties

(SpLD) for English Language Teachers, HKIEd

Franky Poon, Vice Principal

HKRSS Tai Po Secondary School

Planning effective education intervention programmes:A whole school approach to provisions for students

with SpLD in English Language Learning

Setting the scene

catering for learner diversity has become a necessity.

Getting to know my school

My school is a place where….

Students with very diverse needsS1 S2 S3 S4 S5 Total

Visual Impairment（VI） 0 0 0 0 0 0

Hearing Impairment （HI） 2 1 0 0 0 3

Physical Disability（PD） 1 0 0 1 0 2

Attention-deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder

（AD/HD）10 9 1 1 0 21

Specific Learning Difficulties（SpLD） 18 10 6 11 10 55

Intellectual Disability（ID） 3 2 7 4 2 18

Autism Spectrum Disorder（ASD） 8 5 4 5 0 22

Speech and Language Impairment (SLI） 1 0 0 0 0 1

Others 0 0 0 0 0 0

Total 43 27 18 22 12 122

Think-Pair-Share (1)

1. Think of a student who has great difficulties in learning English

2. Share with your partner:

• the difficulties he or she has

• the reasons why he/she has such difficulties

Think-Pair-Share (2)

If there are resources for a remedial program to be

held for a group of students with similar

problems,

a. when should it be held?

b. who should teach this program?

c. what should be taught?

d. how should the lessons be conducted?

e. how should students’ progress be assessed?

Part One:

Supporting students with severe difficulties in learning English in a resource class (a remedial program)

What is a “resource class”?

No. of resource classes: 3 (Chinese, English and Maths)

Targets: S.1 students with severe learning difficulties

Aim: To prepare students for full inclusion in S.2

No. of students: 8-10

Mode of operation: Spilt classes (complete withdrawal)

Length: One academic year

Assessment: Individualized assessments based on IEPs

Teachers: Junior Form panel heads / experienced teachers

Funding: Student Learning Support Grant ($1,000,000)

Student Selection:

How would you select students?

Student selection

1. Alphabet test2. Dolch sight words3. Reading a ~ z4. Attainment tests5. Short writing test6. Handwriting Speed tests7. Lesson observations8. Teacher conference9. Parent meeting10.Assessment reports

Student Profile 2009/10

Student Attainment

Test

Sight

Words

RAZ Types of

SEN

1 21 PP A ID

2 0 PP AA NAC

3 20 Finished C Autistic

4 20 PP AA Dyslexic

5 18 PP AA ID

6 24 Finished C ID & Dyslexic

7 6 PP AA ID

8 35 PP AA Autistic

From Diagnosis to Instruction:

Teaching SEN / Struggling Ss

Basic principles

1. Making no assumptions

2. Knowing your students well

3. Scaffolding

4. Assessing students continuously

What do they need to learn?

• Phonics

• Reading Comprehension and Strategies

• Vocabulary development & Part of Speech

• Writing (Text types & Punctuation)

• Grammar (Tenses and usage)

• Speaking / Listening

• Language Arts

How to start?

1. Getting to know students’ needs (IEPro)

2. Writing Individual Education Plan (IEP) for

SEN student

Teaching materials

a. Action Alphabet

b. Dolch Sight Words

(Sight word cards and online materials)

c. Reading a ~ z books

(reading and writing exercises for guided reading)

d. Phonics books

Teaching materials

e. Phonics Booster Books

f. Phonogram

g. Student’s learning records

i. SW reading record and exercises

ii. Daily record

Teaching in Action

Watch a video and comment on each activity in terms of its

1. Benefits to learners

2. Practicality / Feasibility

3. Difficulties

Lesson flow / activities

1. Action alphabet 2. Phonics - blending 3. Game4. Reward systems

5. Individual teaching – phonics cards6. Sight words7. Spelling8. Computer-assisted learning9. Shared reading

Assessment and ReportingProviding assessment accommodation

e.g. individualized examination papers

Reporting students’ learning progress

e.g attachment to report card

Parent Conference

Modes of Intervention

• Basic considerations:

– For whom?

– When?

– Who?

– How often?

– Scale?

– How long?

– Where to start with?

Modes of Intervention

After-school remedial programs

In-class strategies for learner diversity

Split-class arrangement

�Teaching / revising

sight words

�Phonics instruction

�Reading programs

�Software for self-assess learning

�Mainstream syllabus with lesson plans catering for learner

diversity

�Tailored mainstream

syllabus

�Explicit teaching of sight words, phonics and other decoding skills

Things for further consideration

• Resources:

– Relevant teaching materials

– Manpower

– Expertise

• Teachers’ readiness

• Assessment accommodation

• Parents’ support

• Labeling effects

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Part Two: Supporting SpLD

students in an inclusive setting1. diagnostic-prescriptive teaching

2. differentiated materials / learning tasks

3. visual cues / graphic organizers

4. multiple representations

5. strategies to promote learner autonomy and peer encouragement

6. task analysis techniques

7. authentic learning activities

8. computer-assisted learning (CAL)

9. student strengths as the starting point

Strategies to cater for learner diversity in

HKRSSThink-Pair-Share (3)

Scenario:

You have a few new immigrant students in your S.2 class. After teaching them for a month, you find that none of them benefit from your English lessons. You want to give them some diagnostic tests to find out their problems.

Discuss with your partner what the tests would be like.

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1. Diagnosis for effective pedagogical intervention

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nac

a n

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Pedagogical implications

a. Raising phonological awareness in tasks

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b. Putting sight words in model sentences

http://www.hkrsstpss.edu.hk/subject/English/sightwords.php

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c. Raising students’ awareness of sight words in texts

Setting Questions for Learners with

Diverse Needs

Read the following pages and set three comprehension questions:

1. One for the strongest

2. One for the average

3. One for the weakest

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2. Differentiated materials / learning tasks

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Setting questions based on Bloom’s taxonomy

Easy or Difficult?

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Easy or Difficult?

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Easy or Difficult?

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3. Use of visual cues

/ graphic organizers

Think-Pair-Share (4)

List as many as possible the benefits of mind maps to students with SpLD.

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a. Turning a mind map into art

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b. Using mind map in exam

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Think-Pair-Share (5)

Based on this

composition, what

skills do you think the

student has learnt?

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4. Allowing Multiple Representations

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The English journal of an autistic S.2 student with I.D.

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Multiple representations and Creativity

Think-Pair-Share (6)

What is creativity?

Do you think this piece of

student work is creative?

Why or why not?

Can students with limited

language proficiency be

creative?

What kind of learning

tasks can nurture

creativity among students?

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5. Promoting learner autonomy

and peer encouragement

Think-Pair-Share (7)

• Describe what you saw in the video

• Which scene impresses you most? Why?

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6. Task analysis

Step-by-step approach to completing a meaningful task

a. Multi-media input

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b. Vocabulary building through researching on the Internet

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c. Using a mind map to organize ideas

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d. Use of Q/A to promote sentence writing

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e. From sentences to passages (an

oral presentation)

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f. Peer assessment

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7. Designing authentic learning activities

• Sending a post card

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8. Computer-assisted learning

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Integrating reading, listening and speaking

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9. Building on Student Strengths

Have you ever seen H.W. like

this?

What would be your response?

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Dictation

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Short writing（H.W.）

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A (dis)abled kid? --- S.1 student with SpLD

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Oral Presentation

Think-pair-share (8)

If you were the English teacher of this

student, what would you do to help

him?

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Building on student

strengths :

From Speaking to

Reading

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Hong Kong

Schools English

Writing Contest

2011

Building on

student strengths:

From Reading to

Writing

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A question to take away …..

Poon, K.C. & Lin, A (forthcoming) “Creating a School Programme to Cater

for Learner Diversity: A Dialog between a School Administrator and an

Academic”

Social Justice Language Teacher Education, Channel View Publications

References

1. Reading a-z http://www.readinga-z.com/

2. Scholastic Phonics Booster Books

3. Ben Fax Saves the Day, Fast Forward, Thomson Nelson

4. Raz-Kids.com

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Thank you