Welcome to another online addition of the Arizona Promising Practices forum. For those new to this service, each issue, which will now be sent to you on a regular basis, will focus on: (1) Recommended National Educational Websites; (2) A Local or Arizona Website/Practice of Importance; and (3) One promising practice article in condensed form. We welcome your recommendations for improvement to this forum or suggestions on future topics (these will be wide ranging to if nothing in this update interests you, hold on for future editions!) The Arizona Promising Practices Forum and website, www.azpromisingpractices.com is a FREE resource of the Arizona Department of Education.

Mary Urich, ACPE Director murich@mail1.ade.state.az.us  

In this issue we focus on tips for teacher presentations as well as pointers on how to better administer exams for students with disabilities . Brought to you by the University of West Virginia, these practical tips can help any educator better present subject material to all students while also providing improved ways to gauge learning. Whether for use in the special education, regular education or mainstream classroom, this guide is loaded with useful suggestions and strategies.

But first:

National Website of Importance - With the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act, adequate yearly academic progress for all students is paramount. Helping students with disabilities make yearly progress will continue to be of critical importance. Helpful tips in meetings these goals can be found online at Teaching LD - check them out at www.teachingld.org

Promising Practice Research and Teaching Tips

Teacher Presentation

·        Use an overhead projector with an outline of the lesson or unit of the day.

·        Reduce course load for student with learning disabilities.

·        Provide clear photocopies of your notes and overhead transparencies, if the student benefits from such strategies.

·        Provide students with chapter outlines or study guides that cue them to key points in their readings.

·        Provide a detailed course syllabus before class begins. Ask questions in a way that helps the student gain confidence.

·        Keep oral instructions logical and concise. Reinforce them with a brief cue words. Repeat or re-word complicated directions.

·        Frequently verbalize what is being written on the chalkboard.

·        Eliminate classroom distractions such as, excessive noise, flickering lights, etc.

·        Outline class presentations on the chalkboard or on an overhead transparency. Outline material to be covered during each class period unit. (At the end of class, summarize the important segments of each presentation.)

·        Establish the clarity of understanding that the student has about class assignments.

·        Give assignments both in written and oral form.

·        Have more complex lessons recorded and available to the students with learning disabilities.

·        Have practice exercises available for lessons, in case the student has problems.

·        Have students with learning disabilities underline key words or directions on activity sheets (then review the sheets with them).

·        Have complex homework assignments due in two or three days rather than on the next day.

·        Pace instruction carefully to ensure clarity.

·        Present new and or technical vocabulary on the chalkboard or overhead.

·        Provide and teach memory associations (mnemonic strategies).

·        Support one modality of presentation by following it with instruction and then use another modality.

·        Talk distinctly and at a rate that the student with a learning disability can be follow.

·        Technical content should be presented in small incremental steps.

·        Use plenty of examples, oral or otherwise, in order to make topics more applied.

·        Use straight forward instructions with step-by-step unambiguous terms. (Preferably, presented one at a time).

·        Write legibly, use large type; do not clutter the blackboard with non-current / non-relevant information.

·        Use props to make narrative situations more vivid and clear.

·        Assist the student, if necessary, in borrowing classmates' notes.

·        Consider cross-age or peer tutoring if the student appears unable to keep up with the class pace or with complex subject matter. The more capable reader can help in summarizing the essential points of the reading or in establishing the main idea of the reading.

·        Always ask questions in a clarifying manner, then have the students with learning disabilities describe his or her understanding of the questions.

Testing

·        Avoid overly complicated language in exam questions and clearly separate items when spacing them on the exam sheet.

·        Consider other forms of testing (oral, hands-on demonstration, open-book etc.). Some students with learning disabilities find that large print helps their processing ability.

·        Consider the use of illustrations by the students with learning disabilities as an acceptable form of response to questions in lieu of written responses.

·        Eliminate distractions while students are taking exams.

·        For students with perceptual problems, for whom transferring answers is especially difficult, avoid answer sheets, especially computer forms. Allow them to write answers (check or circle) on the test (or try to have them dictate their responses on a tape recorder.)

·        For students who have reading difficulties, have a proctor read the test to the student.

·        For students with writing difficulties, have someone scribe the answers for them or use a tape recorder to take down the answers.

·        Gradually increase expectations as the students with learning disabilities gains confidence.

·        Grant time extensions on exams and written assignments when there are significant demands on reading and writing skills.

·        If distractions are excessive, permit the students with learning disabilities to take examinations in a separate quiet room with a proctor.

·        Provide study questions for exams that demonstrate the format along with the content of the exam.

·        Review with the student how to proofread assignments and tests.

·        Do not test material just presented or outcomes just produced, since for the students with learning disabilities, additional time is generally required to assimilate new knowledge and concepts.

·        Permit the students with learning disabilities the use of a dictionary, thesaurus, or a calculator during tests.

Courtesy of the University of West Virginia