Special Education Paraeducator
Training Series
2009-2010
Working with Secondary Students in the Academic Content Areas:
Focus on Reading and Math
~Handouts~
Handout #1: Give 1/ Get 1
Effective Instructional Strategy / Give 1/ Get 1 (Strategies modeled)Engagement Time / Think-Write-Pair-Discuss
Incorporate High Rates of Success / Formative Assessment
Scaffolded Instruction / Guided Notes
Activating and Organizing / Mnemonics
Teaching Strategically / K-W-L-S Chart
Handout #2: Effective Teaching Principles
Based on work by: 2007. Coyne, Kame’enui and Carnine, Effective Teaching Strategies that Accommodate Diverse Learners and 2001. Marzano, Piickering and Pollock, Classroom Instruction and Works.
Effective Teaching PrinciplesThese ten principles are empirically supported as effective teaching principles and have been derived from research on behavioral, cognitive, social-learning, and other theories.
1. Engagement Time / Students learn more when they are actively engaged in instructional tasks.
Selected strategies:
· Think – write – pair – discuss (Think-Pair-Share)
· Response cards (yes, no, why)
· Choral responding
· Reciprocal teaching / Think-Pair-Share
(Resource: Teaching Matters/PDE)
The think-pair-share strategy is an active learning, cooperative learning technique that encourages individual participation and is applicable across all grade levels and class sizes.
· Think: Students think independently about the question that has been posed.
· Pair: Students are grouped in pairs to discuss their thoughts. This step allows students to articulate their ideas and to consider those of others.
· Share: Student pairs share their ideas with a larger group, such as the whole class.
Response Cards
Response cards are simply sheets of paper or card stock that students simultaneously hold up to indicate their response to a question or prompt asked by the teacher. Response Cards can be blank with the student then writing in the answer or the teacher can provide pre-printed responses with words or pictures that the students choose from. Another option is to simply make the Response Cards different colors with each color representing a different answer.
Choral Responding
(Resource: Teaching Matters/ PDE; www.interventioncentral.org)
Many teacher-led activities are suitable for using choral responding (all students in the class or group respond orally in unison to a teacher prompt). Choral responding is ideal for curriculum content that:
· Can be answered in short (1-3 word) responses
· Has only a single correct answer to a question can be presented in a fast-paced manner. (Intervention Central)
Reciprocal Teaching
(Resource: http://forpd.ucf.edu/strategies/stratreciprocalteaching3.html)
Reciprocal teaching is interactive, supported instruction in which the teacher or peer leads a group of students as they talk their way through a text to understand it. As they work together, group members will monitor their understanding by stopping at regular intervals to ask questions, summarize, predict, and clarify.
· Generating a Question
Students identify key information in the text, frame that information in the form of a question, and self-test for understanding and recall.
· Clarifying
Students note when they have experienced failure in comprehension, identify the source of that breakdown, and take appropriate steps to restore meaning. (Strategies, asking for help). For example: What does a word mean?
· Predicting
Students make a prediction about what they think will happen in the text. This strategy provides the opportunity for them to activate relevant background knowledge.
· Summarize
Students will summarize the text that was read.
2. Success Rates / Students experience high and moderate success rates, which are correlated positively with student learning outcomes.
Selected strategies:
· Errorless Learning
· Constructive Feedback
· Skill Sequencing
· Pacing / Errorless Learning
· Errorless learning refers to teaching procedures that are designed in such a way that the learner does not have to – and does not – make mistakes as he or she learns new information or new procedures.
Feedback
· Make sure feedback is corrective in nature; tell students how they did in relation to specific levels of knowledge. Rubrics are a great way to do this.
· Keep feedback timely and specific.
· Encourage students to lead feedback sessions.
Constructive Feedback
· Constructive feedback is key to shaping:
--If the student feels successful about their attempt
--What future steps they take to continue the learning process
Skill Sequencing
· Sequencing is a very systematic skill and does not require creativity. The idea is to identify the order in which things occurred: to remember specific details about the reading.
Pacing
· Pacing is the speed or rate at which an educator presents the task in a lesson.
3. Content Coverage/
Opportunities to Learn / Increase opportunity to learn content is correlated positively with increased student achievement. Selected strategies:
· Identify Essential Content
· Reduce Transition Time
· Begin and End Lessons on Time
4. Grouping for Instruction / Students achieve more in classes where they spend most of their time being directly taught by a teacher. The manner in which teachers deliver instruction (i.e., in large/small groups or individually) is an important instructional principle that directly impacts student achievement. Classroom instruction should include:
· Whole group Instruction
· Small group Instruction
· Individual Instruction
· Flexible Grouping / Center on Instruction
(Resource: centeroninstruction.org)
Florida Center for Reading Research
(Resource: www.fcrr.org)
Appropriate grouping is the strategy of grouping students according to the intended outcome of the lessons. Groups should be flexible and changing. Grouping may be done according to which specific learning skill is being taught. Grouping may be done to expand learning by grouping students of differing abilities so that all students are learning from the others. Grouping allows students to move within groups according to their learning needs.
5. Scaffolded Instruction / Students become independent, self-regulated learners through instruction that is deliberately and carefully scaffolded. Teachers provide support and structure, then systematically remove guidance and increase student competence. Selected strategies:
· Guided Notes
· Think Alouds
· Verbal Prompting
· Physical Prompting / Guided Notes
Structured format that students use when listening to a lecture, reading from the text, or watching a demonstration.
Think Alouds
When the teacher/paraeducator explicitly “talks through” the process, modeling the correct sequence and concepts and enabling the student to gain that insight firsthand.
Verbal Prompting
Direct – clear statement of what the student should do
Indirect – ask a question, such as “what should you do next?”
Physical Prompting
Full – Hand over/under hand
Partial – Supportive guidance
6. Addressing Forms of Knowledge / The critical forms of knowledge must be addressed in order for students to become independent, self-regulated learners. They include:
· Declarative
· Procedural
· Conditional / Declarative
· Factual Information
Procedural
· How to use the knowledge in specific ways
Conditional
· Knowing when and where to apply the knowledge
7. Activating and Organizing Knowledge / Learning is increased when teaching is presented in a manner that assists students in organizing, storing, and retrieving information. Selected Strategies:
· Graphic/Content Organizers
· Note Taking
· Study Guides
· Mnemonics / Graphic/ Content Organizers
(Resource: http//edhelper.com/teachers/graphic_organizers.htm)
· “Visual displays teachers use to organize information in a manner that makes the information easier to understand and learn” (Meyen, Vergason, &Whelan, 1996).
· Graphic organizers are visual frameworks to help the learner make connections between concepts. Some forms of graphic organizers are used before learning and help remind the learner of what they already know about a subject. Other graphic organizers are designed to be used during learning to act as cues to what to look for in the structure of the resources or information. Still other graphic organizers are used during review activities and help to remind students of the number and variety of components they should be remembering.
· Content materials often present text which is dense. By teaching your students how to use content organizers such as webs, Venn diagrams, and charts you can help students understand and organize information. They are like mind maps which promote active learning. Organizers can also help students develop higher level thinking skills and promote creativity.
Note Taking
· Note taking is the process of recording information presented by a teacher for the purpose of improving recall or understanding by the student. Notes typically include a combination of direct quotes of what a teacher says, diagrams, and additions by the student to add emphasis or to indicate areas where outside study may be required.
Study Guides
· Are graphic organizers that organize learned content to aid in deeper learning and retention and provide support for students in independent study.
Mnemonics
· Mnemonic strategies are memory or learning aids which assist students in retention of important information,
8. Making Instruction Explicit / Strategic instruction is designed to teach students how to apply techniques, principles, or rules in order to solve problems and complete tasks successfully and independently and will help students to become more independent, self-regulated learners. Selected Strategies:
· Ten-Two
· Card Sort
· KWLS Chart / Ten – Two
· Direct instruction variation where the teacher presents for ten minutes, students share and reflect for two minutes, then the cycle repeats.
Card Sort
· Words and images associated with topic are put on individual cards. Groups sort cards into categories and label and discuss categories.
KWLS
· “What I Know or think I know”, “What I want to know”, “What I learned”, “What I still want to know."
9. Making Instruction Explicit / Explicit Instruction Includes:
· Controlled Instruction and Practice
· Demonstrate/Model/I do
· Guided Practice
· Independent Practice
· Instructional level match
· Opportunities for maintenance and generalization / Source: http://glossary.plasmalink.com/glossary
Guided Practice:
· Guided practice allows learners to attempt things they would not be capable of without assistance. In the classroom, guided practice usually looks like a combination of individual work, close observation by the teacher, and short segments of individual or whole class instruction.
Independent Practice:
· Practice done without intervention by the teacher. This approach includes many activities done with a computer
10. Teaching Sameness in the Curriculum / Teaching sameness is linking a single concept with many ideas and providing students with numerous examples to promote generalization. By teaching sameness both within and across subjects, teachers promote the ability of students to access knowledge in any problem-solving situation.
Selected Strategies:
Thematic units across subject areas
Teach to generalization and/or transfer
Scavenger hunts
Inspirations software – concept webs, graphic organizers
Ellis, E.S., L.A. Worthington & MJ Larkin (January 13, 1994). Research Synthesis on Effective Teaching Principles and the Design of Quality Tools for Educator, Technical Report. Effective Teachings Principles.
Handout #3: Constructive Feedback Activity
High Rates of Success Group Activity: Analyzing Feedback:
Directions: Place a “+” in front of statements that are examples of constructive feedback. Place a “0” in front of statements that are not examples of effective feedback.
___ You did a great job on that lab activity today, Alex!
___ Last week you correctly identified 5 out of 10 parts of a cell; this week you correctly identified 8 out of 10 parts of a cell. You are certainly improving!!
___ Excellent work, Jared! Very nice job with reading that passage!
___ Mary you earned all ten points on the scoring rubric for grammar and punctuation! In all instances, there is noun-verb agreement, proper nouns are capitalized and punctuation is used correctly. Congratulations!
___ Your homework was completed with 100% accuracy!!
___ Jennifer, keep up the good work!
___ Your presentation met the project expectations. You earned a total of 15 points which is a perfect rating of 3 in each of the 5 categories: Organization, Topic Maintenance, Accuracy, Relevance, and Delivery.
___ James, you and your team worked really hard today! You deserve an A+ for your effort!
Handout #4: Constructive Feedback Activity
Order of Operations
Use a mnemonic to remember the order that all mathematical operations are performed:
Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally
Imagine a story about my dear Aunt Sally. She is always very rude to my friends and interrupts them all the time. So I always say, “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally.”
Please – Parenthesis ( )
Excuse – Exponents
My – Multiplication 23
Dear – Division
Aunt – Addition * /
Sally – Subtraction left to right
+ -
left to right
Perform math operations the way you read, from LEFT to RIGHT:
7 + 25 / (3 + 2)
7 + 25 / 5
7+ 5
12
1. Do the work in Parenthesis first: (3 + 2) = 5
2. Check for exponents. There are none in this problem.
3. Perform multiplication or division problems in LEFT to RIGHT order (whichever comes first): 25/5 = 5
4. Finally, perform addition or subtraction problems in LEFT to RIGHT order (whichever comes first): 7 + 5 = 12
Handout #5: P – Q – R – S – T
This mnemonic can be used for reading expository text. It’s simple to remember and it uses sound practices for reading comprehension.
Basic Sequence:
To start your students with this technique, explain or show what P – Q – R – S – T stands for:
P – Preview to identify main parts
Q – Develop questions for which you want to find answers
R – Read the material, twice if possible
S – State the central idea or theme
T – Test yourself by answering questions (or teach the material to someone else).
Source: Rick Wormeli, Summarization in Any Subject, (pages 131-132).
P – Q – R – S – T
P – Preview to identify the main partsQ – Develop questions for which you want to find answers
R – Read the material twice if possible
S – State the central idea or theme
T – Test yourself by answering questions or teach it to someone else
Handout #6: Feedback Frayer Graphic
Frayer Diagram 1
Definition / CharacteristicsExamples / Non-Examples
Handout #7: Graphic Organizer – Timeline
Timeline
TOPIC: ______
Event 1 Event 2 Event 3 Event 4 Event 5 Event 6
Beginning Date Date 2 Date 3 Date 4 Date 5 Date 6
Handout #8: Compare/Contrast
______Compare / Contrast With Summary______
Concept 1 Concept 2
Handout #9: KWLS
K – W – L – S
Topic: ______
K W L S
(What I know or think I know) (What I want to know) (What I Learned) (What I still want to know)