Module 7:

Middle and High School

Learners
Project ACCEPT
Lecture Presentation
Instruction in the General
Education Classroom
The content parameters of the general curriculum
usually cannot be altered.
Efforts to promote individual learning must not inhibit
or detract from the learning of other students in the
class, and to the maximum extent possible, should
benefit all or the majority of students in the class.
The preparation, implementation, and evaluation of
efforts must be easily integrated in on-going
instructional efforts and time-frames
Those efforts must be sufficiently powerful to
influence the performance of low-achieving students
in the context of the general education classroom
setting (Deshler, Ellis & Lenz, 1996).
Five Key Skill Areas Students Need
to Perform Independently
Gain information from text and materials
Listening to directions, taking notes
Retrieving information
Remembering task and how to carry it out
Expressing information
Taking tests and writing essays
Self advocacy
Setting goals, developing and carrying out
Managing time
Effort toward reaching goal
Adaptations
The goal of adaptations is to provide all
students with the opportunity to participate
to the maximum extent possible in typical
activities in the classroom (Deschenes,
Ebeling, & Sprague, 1994, p.13).
The use of adaptations enhances learning for
all students, not only those with learning and
behavior problems (Roller, 2002).
Three Categories of Adaptations
Instructional design
Example: accessing resources, collaborating
with other professionals
Instructional and curricular
Example: making learning visible and explicit,
using clear simple language, breaking a task
or activity into steps
Behavioral support
Example: teaching alternative behaviors,
being consistent, providing structure
(Bos & Vaughn, 2006).
Instructional Trends for Students
with Disabilities in the Inclusive
Classroom
Effective teaching practice
Promoting active learning
Scaffolded instruction
Reciprocal learning strategies
Learning strategy instruction
Procedures Effective Teachers of
Students with Disabilities Use
Explicit instruction
Give praise and use good management
Offer a good attention & emotional
climate
Provide opportunities for responding
time
Use active learning strategies (Learner,
2000).
Promoting Active Learning
Active learners: attend to instruction,
attribute results to their own efforts, relate
tasks and materials to their knowledge and
experience, and actively construct meaning
during learning.
Instruction for active learning capitalizes on
the childs interests, stresses the
importance of building background
knowledge prior to teaching and
encourages the active involvement of
students (Lerner, 2000).
Scaffolded Instruction
Teacher supports at the initial stage of a
students learning of a task
Supports are removed when no longer
necessary
Scaffolding procedure uses an ongoing
interaction in which the teacher provides
carefully calibrated assistance at the
childs leading edge of competence
(Stone, 1998).
Supports and Scaffolds to Help
Student with Identify and
Understand Content Information
Advance organizers
Information presented verbally and/or visually that makes
content more understandable by putting it within a more
general framework
Cue words for organizational patterns
Words that represent the most common patterns of
information
Study guides
Outlines, abstracts, or questions that emphasize important
information in text
Graphic Organizers
Visual format to organize thoughts while looking
for main ideas from content information (Friend
& Bursuck, 2006).


Reciprocal Teaching
An instructional method designed to promote
metacognitive understanding of the materials
through a structured dialog between the teacher
and the students. This method focuses on the
things the teacher can do to facilitate the
students use of metacognitive strategy planning
(Bender, 2001).

Common goals of each member:
Prediction
Question generation
Summarizing
Clarifying
Learning Strategies
The goal of the learning strategies approach is
to teach adolescents with learning disabilities
to become involved, active, and independent
learners. After identifying the demands of the
curriculum that the student cannot meet, the
teacher provides instruction to meet those
demands. The cognitive aspects of learning
rather than specific subject matter content are
emphasized (Bos & Vaughn, 2006).
What is a Learning Strategy?

Learning strategies are techniques,
principles, or rules that enable a student
to solve problems and complete tasks
independently (Lenz, Ellis, & Scanlon,
1996; Schumaker, Deshler, & Denton,
1984).


Why Uses Learning Strategies?
Research indicates:
Students with learning disabilities have trouble
with processing information independently at a
high level of cognition
Students have difficulty generalizing information
learned to new learning situations
Students lack strategies to apply learning and
rely on random answers
Using specific cognitive strategies to
improve learning has shown to be successful
Essential Strategies to Teach
Computation and problem solving
Verbalization, visualization, chunking, making associations,
use of cues
Memory
Visualization, verbalization, mnemonics (strategy or device
that assists memory), making associations chunking (grouping
information into sets in order to allow working memory to handle
more pieces of information)
Productivity
Verbalization, self-monitoring, visualization, use of cues
Reading accuracy and fluency
Sounding out unknown words, self-questioning for accuracy,
chunking, using contextual cues
Reading comprehension
Visualization, questioning, re-reading, predicting
Writing
Steps to Using Strategy Instruction
1. Choose a strategy that matches a task or setting
demand for the student.
2. Assess the students current level of strategy use
and teach a strategy that is needed to increase
their performance level.
3. Have students set goals about what they intend
to learn and how they will use the strategy.
4. Describe the strategy, give examples,
and discuss its applications.


Using Strategy Instruction (cont.)
5. Model the strategy for the students. Verbalize your own
thinking and problem solving, including ways you
monitor, make corrections, and adjust your task
approach and completion.
6. Make sure students can confidently name and explain
the strategy.
7. Give sufficient practice of the strategy with materials
that are controlled for level of difficulty before expecting
use of the strategy in advanced materials.
8. Have students practice the strategy in materials from
classes in which they are placed for instruction.
9. Make sure students give examples and actually practice
the strategy in various settings in school, at home, and
in the community (Day & Elksnin, 1994).
Examples of Learning Strategies
Reading comprehension:
SCROL
Written expression:
WRITER, PLAN/WRITE
Math problem solving:
DRAW, SOLVE
Homework organization:
ADAPT

Instructional Techniques that
Promote Content Enhancement
Devices
Instructional tools teachers use to enhance learning
They enable teachers to focus on specific points make
learning explicit, prompt elaboration on a point
Routines
Instructional procedures designed to involve students
in constructing or using a device and processing the
information the device targets
Helps students learn the content and the thinking
process that can be generalized to other areas
Procedures associated with strategic teaching
Informing students about the use of the devices and
routines, teaching content explicitly with the devices
and routines
Arranging for student interaction and involvement in
the learning process.
Using Strategies Independently
Self-Instruction
Learners are taught to guide their performance
Self-Monitoring
Students watch and check themselves to make
sure they have performed targeted behaviors
Self-Questioning
A form of self-instruction in which students guide
their performance by asking themselves questions
Self-Reinforcement
Occurs when students reward themselves for
behaving appropriately or achieving success in the
learning task (Friend & Bursuck, 2006).
How to Teach a Learning
Strategy
Provide rational for learning a new
strategy
Model the strategy using think aloud
Monitor student during guided practice
Provide and opportunity for
independent practice
Assess usage on a regular basis
Resources
Bender, W.N. (2001) Learning disabilities: Characteristics,
identification, and teaching strategies (4
th
ed.). Needham
Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Bender, W.N. (2002) Differentiating instruction for students
with learning disabilities: Best teaching practices for general
and special educators. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin
Press.
Friend, M. & Bursuck, W.D. (2006) Including students with
special needs: a practical guide for classroom teachers (4th
ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Lerner, J., (2000) Learning disabilities: Theories, diagnosis, and
teaching strategies (8
th
ed.) Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
Mercer, C.D. & Mercer, A.R. (2005). Teaching students with
learning problems (7
th
ed.). Upper Saddle River, New
Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Dennis,
Again here is information I thought we might
use be did not find a great place to put it in
the power point.

Had difficulty getting slides to jump correctly,
please call me on this slide set.

K
CSI
Instruction in learning strategies is based on a cognitive
approach to teaching

What happens internally (cognitively) is just as
important as what happens externally (learning
process)

Cognitive approach to teaching is providing instruction
consistent with how a student thinks in the context of
the learning process (Deshler, ???)

Teachers job to find the perfect example, experience or
analogy to help students magically connect new
information
What is Cognitive Strategy
Instruction? (CSI)
Teaching students about strategies
Teaching them how and when to use
the strategies
Assisting students in identifying
strategies to individual personal
learning styles
Encouraging student to make
behaviors part of their learning
Regular Educators and CSI
How can you adapt basic skills instruction
for students with special needs?
1. Teach pre-skills
2. Select sequencing examples
3. Decide the rate of introduction of the new skill
4. Provide direct instruction and opportunities for
practice and review
Benefits of Cognitive Strategy
Instruction
Students trust their minds
Students know theres more than one right way to do
things
They acknowledge their mistakes and try to rectify them
They evaluate their products and behavior
Memories are enhanced
Learning increases
Self esteem increases
Students feel a sense of power
Students become more responsible
Work completion and accuracy improve
Students develop and use a personal study process
They know how to try
On-task time increases; students are more engaged
Sources
Mercer C. D., & Mercer, A. R. (2005). Teaching students with
learning problems (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Deschenes, C., Ebeling, D. G., & Sprague, J. (1994). Adapting
curriculum and instruction in inclusive classrooms: A teachers
desk reference. Bloomington, IN. ISDD-CSCI.
Lenz, B. K., Ellis, E. S., & Scanton, D. (1996). Teaching
learning strategies to adolescents and adults with learning
disabilities. Austin, TX: ProEd.
Mercer C. D., & Mercer, A. R. (2005). Teaching students with
learning problems (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Deschenes, C., Ebeling, D. G., & Sprague, J. (1994). Adapting
curriculum and instruction in inclusive classrooms: A teachers
desk reference. Bloomington, IN. ISDD-CSCI.
Lenz, B. K., Ellis, E. S., & Scanton, D. (1996). Teaching
learning strategies to adolescents and adults with learning
disabilities. Austin, TX: ProEd.