GraceJoy+Hauser

Gracejoy Hauser



**#7 How learning strategies can be used to improve the education of learner's from diverse backgrounds:**
 This section focuses on students with Learning Disabilities:


 * Successful Strategies for Teaching Students with Learning Disabilities:**

Research confirms that we can teach students with learning disabilities how to learn. We can put them into a position to compete! Here are the strategies that work: Lee Swanson (1999) and his colleagues found two major intervention practices that produced large outcomes. One is **direct instruction**. The other is **learning strategy instruction**. Teachers need to:  Something else that seems to make a real difference is the practice of **scaffolding**. Start out with **teacher-mediated instruction -- explicit instruction –** then as students begin to acquire the skill, moving down the continuum to more **student-mediated instruction.** Whether the student is learning in a general education classroom or pulled out into a special education resource setting, be sure that activities are focused on assessing individual students to monitor their progress through the curriculum. Concerns for the individual must take precedence over concerns for the group, and over concerns about the organization and management of the general education classroom. Success for the student with learning disabilities requires a focus on individual achievement, individual progress, and individual learning. This requires specific, directed, individualized, intensive remedial instruction of students who are struggling.
 * 1) Break learning into small steps
 * 2) Give regular quality feedback
 * 3) Use diagrams, graphics and pictures to augment what they were saying in words
 * 4) Provide ample independent, well-designed, practice
 * 5) Model instructional practices that you want students to follow
 * 6) Provide prompts of strategies to use
 * 7) Engage students in process type questions like “How is that strategy working? Where else might you apply it?”

Source: Learning Disabilities Association of America

= Classroom Strategies =



Success of all students including those in diverse backgrounds is ensured when teachers display the right attitude and appreciate the individuality, uniqueness and ability of each student.


 * 1) Start class on time.
 * 2) Classroom instruction should be designed to connect the content of a course with students' backgrounds.
 * 3) Build a supportive classroom atmosphere where differences are not neglected, but are explored, discussed and celebrated.
 * 4) Help students set realistic and manageable goals based on the students' abilities.
 * 5) <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Furnish necessary resources to accomplish the above.
 * 6) <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Allow enough time for students to complete a task.
 * 7) <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Help students with difficult problem-solving situations.
 * 8) <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Interact with all the students - not just a select few.
 * 9) <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Use visual aids.
 * 10) <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Offer "hands-on" experience.
 * 11) <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Incorporate students' culture and history wherever suitable in correlation to topics being taught.
 * 12) <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Provide opportunities for all students to interact.
 * 13) <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Integrate appreciation for cultural diversity into all of your classroom activities.

=
<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">***These Classroom Strategies will improve the education of students with diverse backgrounds because they will feel first and foremost, accepted and validated in a safe learning environment thus, this will give them the motivation to learn.** ===== <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">I have seen this work during many of my service learning experiences in different grade levels. #3, building a supportive classroom atmosphere where differences are discussed and celebrated specifically worked for an ELL student I worked with who was from Argentina. When I made sure that our small reading group celebrated the value of her experiences from her country, (I allowed her to share her background and allowed her peers to ask her questions about her life in Argentina) she was more willing to read and learn with us. Soon, she interacted more with her teacher and classmates and eventually was on her way to becoming a fluent English speaker.

Source: http://www.as.wvu.edu/~equity/hispanic.html#sect4

=#10 Transition Skills and Teaching Self-Advocacy:=

Self-advocacy refers to:

an individual's ability to effectively communicate, convey, negotiate or assert his or her own interests, desires, needs, and rights. It involves making informed decisions and taking responsibility for those decisions. (VanReusen et al., 1994)


 * At school this third grader advocates for herself by letting her teachers know that she needs extra light in order to see her reading material. She also keeps a notebook, which she can use as a reading stand.**

How can we teach self-advocacy?
There are many components in developing self-advocacy skills in young adults who are engaged in the transition process. Helping the student to **identify future goals** or desired outcomes in transition planning areas is a good place to begin. **Self-awareness (self-knowledge)** is critical for the student in determining the direction that transition planning will take.

1. Promote the student as a self-advocate
Encourage the student to be active in the IEP process and other decision-making situations. Assist the student in compiling and developing an exit file. This file should include the last IEP, a transition plan, documentation of disability, recent test scores and assessment summaries, a list of strengths and areas of need, a list of home or work accommodations needed, a summary of learning style, letters of recommendation, and the telephone numbers of service providers. This file empowers the student and encourages self-knowledge.

2. Respond to students who self-advocate appropriately
Listen to the problem and ask the student for input on possible accommodations or modifications that he or she may need. Talk with the student about possible solutions, discussing the positive and negative sides. A person who self-advocates should not feel alone. Good self-advocates know how to ask questions and get help from other people. They do not let other people do everything for them or tell them what to do. Self-advocates are assertive. Assertive people tell others what they want and need, but they do not demand They respect the rights and feelings of other people. They talk over their ideas with other people. They ask questions for guidance, then make up their own minds after reviewing the information. They may have strong feelings, but they try to be objective when making their decisions.

3. Identify strategies for teaching self-advocacy
Students need opportunities to practice newly acquired self-advocacy skills. Teachers may wish to have students role play various situations, in which they can practice skills such as the following: Students apply self-advocacy skills by calling and requesting information about a service they need for transition from high school. Students can prepare to visit an adult service provider by compiling a list of questions to ask and requests for services.
 * Setting up a class schedule
 * Moving out of the home
 * Asking for accommodations needed for a course
 * Meeting with a rehabilitation counselor or social service caseworker
 * Meeting with a medical provider
 * Working with a personal care attendant
 * Interviewing for a job
 * Making choices in an IEP meeting

4. Identify examples of self-advocacy objectives on an IEP
Following are some examples of objectives for an IEP that would promote development of self-advocacy. Students will:
 * State their rights as mandate under the Individuals with Disabilities Act Amendments of 1997, P.L. 105-17.
 * State their rights as mandated under Title I of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (Vocational rehabilitation) and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
 * Be able to access information from the support service staff of the postsecondary school in which they have expressed an interest.
 * State the type of information necessary to self-advocate.
 * Define the terms assertive, passive, and aggressive.
 * Identify assertive, passive, and aggressive behavior in written scenarios.
 * State examples of their own assertive, passive, and aggressive behaviors.
 * Respond assertively in a given situation.

5. Identify student skills needed for self-advocacy in a job interview
Students need specific self-advocacy skills for job interviews. Here are a few examples: These are just a few examples of the techniques educators and parents can use to ensure that students have the self-advocacy skills needed to make the transition from school to work. It is important that self-advocacy be recognized as a critical component of transition if the ultimate goal of transition-independence-is to be achieved.
 * Be prepared: Complete an application and a resume.
 * Be alert: Greet interviewer, establish eye contact, and sit up straight.
 * Be an interested listener: Show enthusiasm.
 * Express yourself clearly: Avoid slang and negative comments.
 * Tell about yourself: Describe your strengths, goals, and past experiences.
 * Ask questions: Show interest and energy.
 * Describe what you have to offer or the types of work you want to do: Demonstrate self-confidence and enthusiasm.

Source: LDonline.org

Another informative website about Self-Advocacy is the National Center for Learning Disabilities

=Transition planning=

= Transition...just what is it? =
 * ** Transition:  **
 * is change
 * happens to everyone
 * happens throughout life || [[image:http://www.cte.osceola.k12.fl.us/images/futureahead.gif width="150" height="154"]] ||

The transition from being a student in high school to becoming an adult in the community must be made in order for each person to meet his/her personal goals. Common goals include pursuing vocational training or further academic education, getting a job, and living independently. For students with disabilities, these choices may be more complex than for others and may require a great deal of planning. Planning the transition from school to adult life begins, at the latest, in high school. In fact, transition planning is required by law to begin once a student reaches the age of 14 (or younger when appropriate). This transition planning becomes formalized in school as part of the student’s Transition IEP. Students’ needs, interests and preferences must be considered in the planning and students are therefore strongly encouraged to take part in the Transition IEP meetings. **After High School:** The student and his/her family are expected to take an active role in preparing the student to take responsibility for his/her own life once school is finished. After a student leaves school, he/she will need to organize his/her own life and navigate his/her way through a maze of adult service providers. This can be a daunting task, one for which the student and his/her family need to be prepared. The full collaboration of the student, family, educators and community service providers is needed for successful transition. The planning process helps to ensure that students participate in making decisions related to areas of education, medical, employment, social, and daily living needs. A coordinated set of activities, providing experiences within the community and school, is planned to meet the individual needs of each student. These activities are documented on the student’s Transition IEP. This ensures a continuation of instruction to assist in the development of daily living skills and practical vocational skills for those students who need them. * For each student with a disability beginning at age 14 (or younger when appropriate), the IEP must include a statement of the student’s __transition service needs__ which **focuses on the courses of study** the student will follow to achieve his desired post school outcomes (the student’s vision of where he will live, work, participate in the community and spend leisure time after graduation). > >  ||
 * The **Individuals with Disabilities Education Act** <IDEA> says the following about transition:
 * For each student with a disability beginning at age 16 (or younger when appropriate), the IEP must include a statement of needed __transition services__ (activities that help a student move from school to post school activities) for the student, including a statement of the appropriate interagency responsibilities.

** Transition services must: **

Be based on the student’s individual needs Take into account the student’s likes and interests Include needed activities in the areas of:

Instruction (academic or vocational programs, services and activities) Related services (may include physical or occupational therapy, counseling, or transportation) Community experiences (participation in community activities such as recreation and shopping). These experiences generally occur outside the classroom. Development of employment (includes services that will lead to employment as an adult, such as vocational instruction, occupational training, career exploration, paid or non-paid work, career shadowing) Post school adult living (activities that teach skills necessary for living and participating in the community, such as learning to pay bills, getting along with others, learning how to rent an apartment).

When appropriate for the individual students, the Transition IEP team will also identify needed transition services in the following areas:

Acquisition of daily living skills (skills included in taking care of one's own personal needs as independently as possible) Functional vocational evaluation when appropriate (an ongoing process that identifies a student's work related skills, interests, and need for training). These services are accomplished through work experience, formal vocational evaluation, or situational assessment. Include services provided by other agencies when appropriate (such as Vocational Rehabilitation, Developmental Disabilities Program, Division of Blind Services).

Besides all the other information included on a regular IEP, the Transition IEP includes a statement of whether a student is working toward a standard (regular) diploma or a special diploma. A special diploma may be obtained by students with disabilities who are not able to meet the regular Sunshine State Standards. Students must meet the Special Diploma Sunshine State Standards in order to obtain a Special Diploma. The Transition IEP also includes a statement, at least one year before the student turns 18, that the student and parent have been informed of the rights that will transfer to the student upon reaching the age of 18. If the student does not attend the IEP Meeting, the teacher must have the student’s transition planning notes to continue the meeting. If neither the student or his notes are available, the meeting must be reconvened.

ESE Teachers need to teach and familiarize students about the following terms:

 * Functional skills**: As used in this chapter, functional skills are those needed for independent living, such as cooking, shopping, working with or managing money, using public transportation, and knowing how to be safe at home and in the community
 * Postsecondary education:** Formal education or training beyond high school, including college, university, vocational school and trade school.
 * Courses of study**: Middle and high school course work (or classes) that lead to certain types of diplomas and/or are required for postsecondary education.
 * Transition services:** A coordinated set of activities that:
 * Improves the academic and functional skills of the student in order to facilitate the student's movement from school to post-school activities such as postsecondary education, vocational education, integrated employment (including supported employment), continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living or community participation
 * Is based on the individual student's needs, taking into account his or her strengths, preferences and interests
 * Includes instruction, related services, community experiences, the development of employment and other post-school adult living objectives and, when appropriate, the acquisition of daily living skills. Transition services often include a functional vocational evaluation.
 * Summary of performance:** A summary of the student's academic achievement and functional performance that includes recommendations to assist the student in meeting his or her postsecondary goals.
 * Vocational Rehabilitation Agency:** A publicly funded state agency that provides direct and indirect services to youth with disabilities as they transition from school to work, in order to maximize their employability, independence and integration into the workplace and the community..
 * Vocational rehabilitation (VR)**: a set of services offered to individuals with disabilities designed to enable participants to attain skills, resources, attitudes, and expectations needed to compete in the interview process, get a job, and keep a job.

Sources: Career and Technical Education Program

@http://www.family-friendly-fun.com/special-needs/transition-planning.htm


 * Other transition resources:**

@http://www.thinkcollege.net/ is for transition aged students as well as adults attending or planning for college. It provides resources and tools for students, families, and professionals.

@https://www.ocps.net/cs/ese/support/transition/Pages/TransitionServicesOCPS.aspx Transition services for Orange County Public Schools