Inclusive Education, Innovative Technology

Posts tagged at-risk readers

Teaching Teaches Kids

May27
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Morgan Brown

By Christine Jones, M.A. Special Education

The benefits of inclusion on peers without disabilities is not limited to improved acceptance of individual differences and respect for all people, but has great effects on the students academically. At Hope Technology students are frequently placed in groups of two to four to work with their peers. You might assume that the typically functioning student is doing all the teaching, however, there are students with disabilities that are stronger or can grasp concepts more quickly in certain subject areas, so both groups can benefit. For example, I have several students in my Algebra class that have a difficult time in math. One student in particular has some learning differences and auditory processing challenges. He will frequently ask for help when working on problems. After being given further direct instruction of the concepts, he will partner up with a couple of his typically functioning peers and teach those students the concepts that he has learned. The student who frequently asks for help continues to improve in his Math skills as he re-teaches his peers.

I also often have typically functioning students teaching/helping the students with disabilities. The benefits of these interactions go both ways because teaching what you’ve learned reinforces the concepts and improves understanding. I recently read a case study from the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis about the Academic Effects of Providing Peer Support in General Education Classrooms on Students Without Disabilities. In the study, the peers chosen were those who were infrequently academically engaged. They were paired with students with disabilities. The students were given some training to help make adaptations for their peers with disabilities. The students were required to listen to lectures, so they could help take notes, adapt in-class and homework assignments. All the peers without disabilities had made progress in their own academic skills & engagement. There are many personal learning benefits to teaching and sharing what you know.

Here are some of the advantages:

  • When teaching you review content which refreshes your memory of the content
  • You get asked questions so need to understand it in order to respond
  • Teaching it often makes you ask questions and research or study things in more depth
  • Its wonderful to have others appreciate your help and to see them learn
  • Makes you feel great to share with others
  • Teaching and learning exercise your memory which keeps the brain healthy longer in life
  • Commit things to your long term memory to increase your knowledge

I see many academic benefits of inclusion to students without disabilities through first hand observation at Hope Technology School as described in the journal article.

The benefits of inclusion on peers without disabilities is not limited to improved acceptance of individual differences and respect for all people, but has great effects on the students academically. At Hope Technology students are frequently placed in groups of two to four to work with their peers. You might assume that the typically functioning student is doing all the teaching, however, there are students with disabilities that are stronger or can grasp concepts more quickly in certain subject areas, so both groups can benefit. For example, I have several students in my Algebra class that have a difficult time in math. One student in particular has some learning differences and auditory processing challenges. He will frequently ask for help when working on problems. After being given further direct instruction of the concepts, he will partner up with a couple of his typically functioning peers and teach those students the concepts that he has learned. The student who frequently asks for help continues to improve in his Math skills as he re-teaches his peers.

I also often have typically functioning students teaching/helping the students with disabilities. The benefits of these interactions go both ways because teaching what you’ve learned reinforces the concepts and improves understanding. I recently read a case study from the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis about the Academic Effects of Providing Peer Support in General Education Classrooms on Students Without Disabilities. In the study, the peers chosen were those who were infrequently academically engaged. They were paired with students with disabilities. The students were given some training to help make adaptations for their peers with disabilities. The students were required to listen to lectures, so they could help take notes, adapt in-class and homework assignments. All the peers without disabilities had made progress in their own academic skills & engagement. There are many personal learning benefits to teaching and sharing what you know.

Here are some of the advantages:

  • When teaching you review content which refreshes your memory of the content
  • You get asked questions so need to understand it in order to respond
  • Teaching it often makes you ask questions and research or study things in more depth
  • Its wonderful to have others appreciate your help and to see them learn
  • Makes you feel great to share with others
  • Teaching and learning exercise your memory which keeps the brain healthy longer in life
  • Commit things to your long term memory to increase your knowledge

I see many academic benefits of inclusion to students without disabilities through first hand observation at Hope Technology School as described in the journal article.

Cushing, Lisa S., & Kennedy, Craig H. “Academic Effects of Providing Peer Support in General Education Classrooms on Students Without Disabilities.”Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis
30.1 (1997): 139-151

Posted in Inclusion and Typical Learners, Inclusion at Hope Technology School - Tagged , , , ,

Think Outside the Book

May11
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Morgan Brown

By Gina Kiyuna, M.A. Special Education

Any teacher or parent of a school-age child undoubtedly knows about the importance of reading and its impact on learning in general. Encouragements to read aloud to your child on a regular basis, visit libraries and book stores, and fill your child’s world with a literature-rich environment abound. Numerous reports, articles, and books have been written correlating reading with students test scores.

In 2004, a study conducted by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) found that fewer than half of Americans 18 and over read for enjoyment. According to a New York Times article in 2007, a follow-up study by the same agency indicated that students who were consistently engaged in the act of reading for enjoyment also had higher test scores.

The message is clear. Students need to read more.

But what do you do for those who struggle with reading? For some children and adults,  the very act of reading is strenuous, and as a result, it’s rendered completely unenjoyable. It can become a vicious cycle: a child struggles with reading, so he/she reads less; reading is something that requires a lot of work, so now it is seen as work and not something fun.

The goal of simply reading more will not help. The ultimate goal should be help children want to read. To accomplish that, we need to think outside the box (or in our case, the book).

Tips to encourage a love of reading:

  • Try audiobooks. This is a great option for kids (and adults) who struggle with the act of reading. Download them through iTunes or Audible, or buy the CD’s.  Buy the book, and have your child follow along or just listen to it.  Play it in the car, before going to bed, while cooking dinner, or whenever.
  • Read aloud. Reading out loud to your child should not be limited to the preschool or pre-reading years. It should not end when the child learns how to read. Children of all ages benefit from hearing books read aloud to them. They need to hear the language, intonation, vocabulary, length and story elements of books that are beyond their independent reading level. Check out this website by Jim Trelease, long-time advocate of reading aloud to children.
  • Think beyond paper. Some children read better on a computer screen. Try tools such as Kindle or Nook or the iBook app. Look for interactive software or websites that are related to children’s literature. Author websites often have great activities related to their stories. Another great resource is Scholastic.
  • Watch the movie. While I don’t recommend this as a replacement for reading the book, I’ve often found that students who see a movie about a book are more likely to read the movie-novel. I keep a collection of movie-novels/movie-books in my class and those books are the most frequently read and most frequently in need of repair or replacement.
Posted in In the Classroom - Tagged , , , , ,