Improving the Students Learning - Assignment Example

Implementation Plan and Report Introduction Special education is basically the special attention in the education sector given to a particular type of students with special requirements and in particular areas of need. Individuals with such are identified from larger groups of students upon which special attention is given with the program plan normally known as the individualised education Program introduced to meet the needs of that particular student. In the diagnosing of the problem a teacher is expected to prescribe recommendations of systematic arrangements with close monitoring of planned teaching procedures which will see to the remediation of the case. A correct identification of the problem is eventually expected to bring results (Rothstein & Johnson, 2009). This report seeks to present a case of a student with a learning need in reading and comprehension of simple task. Foremost, this report will provide a general profile or background information of the student. Secondly, it will provide an account of how the student’s special needs and the learning area in need of improvement were identified. Subsequently, this report will provide a plan on how the necessary improvements will be realized and what took place during the learning sessions with the student. In addition, report will provide recommendations geared towards improving the student’s learning in future. Background Information/ Student profile John Doe is an 11year old first grade student in an elementary school in Sydney, Australia. He lives with his foster parents who adopted him at the age of two as their only child. He loves playing football and video games and likes spending most of his free time on the computer. He is often seen in the company of friends mostly younger than himself. At home, John has duties assigned to him, one being cleaning his room. Proper maternal care was not observed during pregnancy, it is alleged that his maternal mother was in the habit of using drugs and alcohol while pregnant with John. Nevertheless, John’s delivery was normal and without any disorders noted in the early stages of his growth. Despite of the normalcy in his early years, he delayed in talking and creation of sentences as compared to the normal child growth. Drug usage in the family and the factor of being raised in a foster family appeared to be traumatic for him. However, he is reported to have no problems adjusting to current environment. Currently, John is under no medication and is overall health condition is good nonetheless, he uses glasses to aid his sight abilities which are somewhat defective. In school, John’s learning progress is poor, although he is the oldest student in class, his performance is very poor with regards to reading and understanding simple instructions. Generally his main learning need or difficulty revolves around reading, in class, John avoids any learning task that requires him to read. Difficulties in reading amongst children are common and can be linked to poor academic achievement in the long-term. Evaluation/identifying learning needs In order to identify the learning needs of John, an evaluation on his family history developmental and educational aspects was conducted. Hamilton & Glascoe (2006), note that reading difficulties in children are in most cases caused by organic and environmental risk factors. In order to identify the learning needs of John, I conducted an interview with his parents and class teacher. The interview conducted with his parents was mainly geared towards identifying the risk factors in his existing environment, family history and medical condition. Furthermore, an interview conducted with his class teacher, this interview aimed at establishing what John knows, his areas of difficulties with regards to reading and the kind of teaching strategies or pedagogy the class teacher employs. In addition, the interview with John’s class teacher aimed at establishing the factors that impact on his learning abilities. The samples of questions used in the interview are depicted in the appendix section. The findings of the interview with John’s parents revealed that John’s family history is characterized by lack of proper maternal care during pregnancy. It is alleged that his maternal mother was in the habit of using drugs and alcohol while pregnant with John. Drug usage in the family and the factor of being raised in a foster family are some of the risk factors identified during this interview. This interview also revealed that, despite of these risk factors, John’s delivery was normal and without any disorders noted in the early stages of his growth. Despite of the normalcy in his early years, he delayed in talking and creation of sentences as compared to the normal child growth. John is also reported to have no problems adjusting to current his environment. Currently, John is under no medication and is overall health condition is good nonetheless, he uses glasses to aid his sight abilities which are somewhat defective. The findings of the interview with John’s class teacher revealed that in class, John’s learning progress is poor, although he is the oldest student in class, his performance is very poor with regards to reading and understanding simple instructions. Generally his main learning need or difficulty revolves around reading, in class, John avoids any learning task that requires him to read. The interview with John teacher also revealed that basic lessons on reading such as reading comprehension, sight word vocabulary, phonological awareness and decoding skills were taught earlier on however John has still not familiarize himself with this aspects of reading. From the interview with his teacher, I also established that John has a grasps on the letters of the alphabet. Additionally, the interview revealed that in class the teacher does not employ individualised instruction to teach reading comprehension, sight word vocabulary, phonological awareness and decoding skills. Moreover, IQ tests and standardized screening tests such as the literacy screener were used to identify the learning needs of John. The Intelligence Testing (IQ) is a method used by Clinical Psychologists to measure particular intellectual abilities of a child. The tests include knowledge, verbal comprehension, reasoning and visual-spatial abilities. It is important in determining a child’s potential academically. The results aim to determine the child mental ability in relation to his or her age (Kakkar, 1993, p.63).After conducting the IQ test it John’s ranking was placed at 4.5% which is quite impressive. With such a ranking, John is expected to perform well in class. During the session, John was given several tests to undertake, that is, the problem solving, spelling and word reading. Standardized screening tests that were used include the Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTPP) and the Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests (WRMT). The Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTPP), helps to identify students who require help in developing their phonological skills. This model also helps to identify students who are significantly behind their peers with regards to basic phonological abilities. Furthermore these tests help to determine the strengths and weaknesses of students in the phonological processes. The tests incorporate tests on phonologic awareness, decoding skills, rhyming words, phonologic memory and rapid naming (Pearson 2011). The Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests (WRMT) were used in this case to identify the learning needs of John. These tests set standards to evaluating struggling readers. These tests can be used to identify the specific weaknesses and strengths of learners. Moreover, these tests help to screen for reading readiness and provide guide for educational placement and selection decisions. WRMT incorporate tests on phonological awareness such as sound matching, blending and Rhyming. In addition this model includes testing on listening comprehension, passage comprehension and Oral reading fluency (Pearson 2011b). Overviews of these screening tests are provided in the Appendix section. Interactive Teaching Session From the interview conducted and tests conducted I was able to confirm that John has a serious problem revolving around reading. His poor skills in reading can be linked to his poor performance in class. In addition, other factors like poor nonverbal skills (as indicated by his 46 score ranking) also confirm the problem. For example, I held a one on one teaching session with him on reading comprehension, however, on cross examining on the same topic a short while later I noted that he had only managed to grasp 35% of what I had taught. After repeating the session twice, I notice a marginal improvement of 7% to 42%. This highly confirms the student’s difficulties in comprehension and mental retention during lectured classroom sections. From this I recommended a change of the teaching style in order to evaluate the best way to help John assimilate most of the information being conveyed to him during the learning process. I planned to use an interactive classroom section where I would actively engage John and the rest of the students in continuous discussion. In addition, I would follow up such sessions with a one on one session with John to ascertain whether there was any significant progress in his mental retention capacity. I was also eager to know whether he was enjoying his sessions in class. Right from the deployment of this interactive teaching technique, it was noted that John began to be actively involved in the classroom sessions although his initial contribution was minimal. Another positive development was the fact that he begun to ask questions in class. By the end of the third week, it was noted that his level of concentration and engagement in interactive class room sessions had increased significantly. Upon conducting an individual test to grade his performance, it was discovered that he was able to retain 71% of what was taught during the interactive classroom sessions. This was a remarkable improvement from the initial 35% score before the employment of this new teaching technique. The interactive teaching technique not only helped John to improve in his class performance but also helped him develop a remarkable interest in reading and classroom learning. It is clearly evident that John’s case required an interactive approach during classroom session. His ability to concentrate and read in class was stimulated by making the classroom an interactive and social learning zone. Under such conditions, the student was noted to assimilate much of what was taught. In addition, he was also actively engaged in reading and other learning processes in class. Recommendations Based on the significant improvement noted when the interactive teaching session was employed. It is highly recommended that the progressive teachers who will continue with classroom sessions with John to continue employing interactive classroom sessions in order to help John to realise his full learning potential. The teachers handling John in future class sessions should be innovative is developing new ways and procedures that are compatible to his learning needs. This may necessitate the need for personalised attention in order to further evaluate his class performance at a personal level. In addition, it is highly recommended that teachers should keenly study John’s behavioural traits in order to be able to quickly ascertain whether he is assimilating whatever is being taught in class.John is a child who needs special attention in class in order to perform well. Therefore, the institution should be ready to provide all the necessary facilities which can aid in his learning process. This also calls for the institution to tailor its teaching sessions in a manner that will accommodate his unique learning process without affecting the needs of other students (Hamilton & Glascoe 2006). It is also recommended that further attention be given to John in order to further evaluate his learning needs and establish the best ways to facilitate his learning process. The method used above is not exhaustive in dealing with his learning challenges. It only provides an insight which is a crucial bedrock for further research and improvement. Better ways can still be developed in order to provide a better learning environment for John and other students who suffer from similar challenges. From the results of the four tests carried out on John, it is evident that he has other mental conditions which may hamper his learning abilities. Therefore it is recommended that the proper corrective action be administered in order to help him overcome these challenges. This may necessitate the need for medical attention in order to correct some of the conditions. (Hamilton & Glascoe 2006). Bibliography Hamilton, S. & Glascoe, F. (2006). Evaluation of children with reading difficulties, American Family Physician, 74(12), pp.2080-2083. Kakkar, S. (1993). Readings in Educational Psychology. New Delhi: Atlantic publishers & Distributors. Pearson (2011). Clinical Assessment: Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP). Retrieved on July 2, 2011 from Pearson (2011b). Clinical Assessment: The Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests .Retrieved on July 2, 2011 from Rothstein, L. & Johnson, S. (2009). Special education law. New York: SAGE. Appendix Interview questions for John’s parents 1. Provide a brief family history 2. Is John suffering from any medical condition that inhibits his learning progress? 3. Is John under any medication? 4. What tasks or activities does John engage in at home? 5. How John ’s learning progress in School? 6. What are some of the difficulties you have identified with regards to his progress in learning? 7. What do you think contributes to the challenges he experiences in learning? 8. What steps have you taken to counter these challenges? 9. What do you think should be done in order to improve John’s learning outcomes? Interview questions for John’s parents 1. What areas of learning pose a great challenge to John? 2. How is John’s performance in class? 3. What tasks or activities does John engage in class? 4. How John’s learning progress in class? 5. What are some of the difficulties you have identified with regards to his progress in learning? 6. What do you think contributes to the challenges he experiences in learning? 7. What steps have you taken to counter these challenges? 8. What do you think should be done in order to improve John’s learning outcomes? 9. What pedagogy or teaching strategy do you employ in class? Overview of tests evaluating reading difficulties Test Age Screening Parameters Accessed on Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing 6-24 years phonologic awareness, decoding skills, rhyming words, phonologic memory and rapid naming http://ags.pearsonassessments.com The Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests 5 years and above Student’s strengths and weaknesses in reading skills http://ags.pearsonassessments.com Read More