Posted: May 8th, 2015

Methods for Assessment: Learning Strategies and Content Mastery for Struggling Learners & Students with High-Incidence Disabilities

SPED 841: Methods for Assessment: Learning Strategies and Content Mastery for Struggling Learners & Students with High-Incidence Disabilities

This course is designed for graduate students enrolled in an endorsement sequence or Masters of Science Program with an emphasis in school-age populations primarily with high incidence disabilities and centers on how to promote evidence-based strategic instruction across general and special education classrooms in elementary and secondary schools. This course also addresses issues related to assessing progress in general education content-area courses, approaches to high-stakes assessments, and methods that lead to the provision of intensive instruction linked to improved academic achievement, work habits, and social adaptation via student acquisition of learning strategies and teacher use of content enhancement teaching routines.
One of the last courses in the endorsement and M.S. sequence, SPED 841 covers instructional procedures, curriculum alternatives, and program planning for children and youth with high incidence disabilities who are typically served in a learning center/general education classroom setting. Specifically, as exemplars and teaching models this course focuses on the research-based Learning Strategies Curriculum and Content Enhancement Routines developed by staff at the KU Center for Research on Learning, Universal Design for Learning principles put into practice, and other evidence-based strategies for content acquisition.
Expected Outcomes
Upon completion of the course, you should be able to:
•    Understand the learning process from a neurocognitive perspective and apply this information to designing effective and engaging instruction
•    Apply an understanding of data based decision making and assessment to the learning environment in order to be responsive to students and their instructional needs
•    Determine what works in education including strategies, environmental design, opportunities to learn, and instructional techniques in order to meet the needs of diverse learners
•    Develop units of instruction in any subject area while incorporating effective practices and technology to make learning accessible to all students

SPED841 Final Project Part 1 & 2

Part 1

The Big Idea:

The purpose of this assignment is to encourage a deeper understanding of individuals with disabilities, how to best support these learner differences, and how to use your Just In Time (JIT) learning skills. A secondary purpose is to encourage your growth as a young professional, in your ability to problem-solve, locate solutions, and apply research to practice.

Project Selection:

Traditional Paper: Based the research proposal (listed below), develop a practical literature review that is focused on supporting a specific disability category or students with disabilities. This literature review should follow APA 6 formatting and be roughly 8-10 page double-spaced (may also be presented in another format, such as a digital book, as long as it’s approved).

A general outline for the paper would include:

1. Introduction to the issues and topics individuals with disabilities have in your content area
2. The purpose of the paper
3. Short description of process for finding the need literature or methods
4. An understanding for what was gleaned from the literature
5. A discussion for how plan to utilize it in your future learning environment

This option should embed a minimum of 12 citations (8 that directly come from peer-reviewed research articles). Using an online library search engine; search ERIC, EBSCO, Pychinfo, etc. and you will find a lot of studies on this topic. Also look up studies by Lynn and Doug Fuchs out of Vanderbilt University, as they have lots of research in this area. Also, use the IRIS modules that are put out by Vanderbilt University and search tons of reading modules. This list of citations above will be a good start to the research.

Research Proposal

Children with learning disabilities tend to perform poorly in schools today due to various reasons. With increased mainstreaming in the normal classroom, assessment and evaluation of students with disabilities must be considered seriously. I want to develop a practical literature review that is focused on supporting different assessments for reading disabilities. This research will consist of the issues of learning disabilities faced by such students in their day-to-day learning. The basic intention of this research is to find out immediate methods and evaluation techniques that seek to improve the performance of students with learning disabilities. The topic of choice is “Unique Reading” and its primary aim assesses students with learning disabilities. The main focus is obviously to imply focus on reading supports/strategies for students with learning disabilities.
Formative assessments are the procedures that are used formally or informally by teachers during learning to change teaching and learning process so as to improve student’s performance. Learning disabilities are a major challenge and are extensively examined across disciplines offering first and second language proficiency and literacy. The reason for identifying learning disabilities in reading seeks to answer these three questions: (a). What techniques can we use to identify reading difficulties in students? (b). What can be done to help identify learning disabilities faster? (c). How will this information be useful to all stakeholders in supporting reading by individuals with a learning disability? This project will shade light on identifying distinctive characteristics of average reading from what might seem a disability among different learners. The review seeks to identify different ways of measuring levels of learning disabilities. To make sure every child with learning disabilities receives a quality education; the society must understand that a learning disability is a major challenge that must be addressed in our schools today. Finally, I will discuss how I plan to utilize, evaluate and apply the formative assessment in order to improve my future students performances.

Final Product:

Carefully follow the instructions and the rubric (listed below) in order to include all required information. Citations are required for each project. An APA formatted reference page is required with each final product. Citations may be submitted separately or in final product (it’s suggested in product). If you need guidance with APA, use the following link or the APA 6 Manual https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/. You are also encouraged to explore and propose new media formats and creativity is important, however, the actual the instructional design and associated content will be of utmost importance.

General Notes for Implementation of Projects:

The general flow for submitted projects would follow this outline: Description of the area of focus (problem, issue, unit, etc.), associated research and suggested strategies/ solutions, the methods followed for implementation and data collection, a description of results, and discussion about the outcomes and your lessons learned.

Grading Rubric

Unsatisfactory
(1)
(2)    Satisfactory
(3)
(4)    Exceeded
(5)    Weight
Content or Required Elements

The project was missing required elements.
Based on the selected project, the required elements are visibly present.
The project exceeded the required elements in multiple ways.
50%

Creativity

The final product and associated content lacked original thought, insight, or ideas. OR the ideas presented lack value to the field of practice. AND/OR Past research was generally overlooked in supporting the development of the product and associated content/ideas.

The final product and associated content demonstrates original thought, insight, or ideas that would be of value to the field of practice. These ideas were generally interlinked to research. Generally, the intended audience would find the product and content engaging and of some value.
The final product and associated content exceeded in original thought, insight, or ideas that would be of value to the field of practice. These ideas of directly interlinked to well-supported evidence. The intended audience would find the product and content engaging and of some value.
20%

Professionalism

Non-professional language was used. Descriptions and examples lacked understanding. Non-person first language was used, contained multiple errors. Contained non-flowing or awkward sentence structure.

Professional language was used throughout. Descriptions and examples were given that enhanced understanding. Contained no to only a few minor errors.
Language usage was varied in sentence structure and used field-based terminology.         Professional language was used throughout. Descriptions, examples, and references to previous professional/pre-professional teaching experience and scholarly sources show insight into subject matter and enhanced understanding. Was observed to be essentially error free. Sentence structure was varied and used field-based terminology that enhanced understanding.
20%

Use of Sources

Sources of information were lacking and/or could have used more attention.
Sources of information and data were appropriate for the project and as expected. Use of sources met the criteria of the assignment.
Sources of information and data exceeded expectations in at least two or more ways that included: number of sources, how sources were integrated into the project, or sources were used to demonstrate understanding of content, how sources were used to communicate to the reviewer/audience.
10%

100%
Part 2
Final Project Presentation
Instructions
It is now time for part 2 of the final project! Be sure to read and follow all of the guidelines below to make sure you have successfully completed the final project.
Guidelines
In order to successfully complete this assignment, you should:
•    Write a 1-2 page text summary that explains your final product
•    You should provide the following:
o    An overview of your project
o    Describe how you carried out the project
o    Describe any tools, resources, or key findings you feel are important to share
•    Complete a self-rubric
The self-completed rubric below is worth 10% of the entire point value of your grade or an entire letter grade.

SPED 841 Final Project Rubric
Criteria    Ratings    Pts
Content or Required Elements        100 pts
Creativity        20 pts
Presentation        20 pts
Professionalism        40 pts
Use of Sources        20 pts
Total Points: 200