3 years ago
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
THE SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE CITIZEN
Nowadays schools emphasize too much on examinations. The problem with such an attitude is that it does not promote morality and social balance.
Monday, January 25, 2010
RECOVERY STRATEGIES
All decisions made in the rehabilitation of education related to information gathered through the assessment process.
We need to assess because we need:
Information needed to identify the problems faced by a student.
To assess the effectiveness of planning and teaching.
WHAT IS ASSESSMENT?
Assessment in the context of a special rehabilitation can be defined as a process of gathering information to make decisions.
Assessment and evaluation of the Special Rehabilitation
In a special recovery there are many decisions to be made by teachers and other professionals involved in services to students who have trouble learning.
The decision should be made carefully so that teaching and service provided is appropriate and in line with the problems they face in learning.
Among the decisions to be made include:
Who among students in your school who may have difficulties in learning and be provided with remedial education?
What kind of problems faced by students and the weakness of the recovery and the strength of the students?
Performance in the areas affected by the problems faced?
What type of placement appropriate remedial education for students and what skills should be taught to the students?
What specific services to be provided to help achieve the skills taught at the optimum level?
Does the teaching program that has been prepared to be continued or replaced with a new program or the student is placed back into the mainstream?
All the results mentioned above can be made wisely and accurately with the help of the information collected through the assessment and evaluation.
We need to assess because we need:
Information needed to identify the problems faced by a student.
To assess the effectiveness of planning and teaching.
WHAT IS ASSESSMENT?
Assessment in the context of a special rehabilitation can be defined as a process of gathering information to make decisions.
Assessment and evaluation of the Special Rehabilitation
In a special recovery there are many decisions to be made by teachers and other professionals involved in services to students who have trouble learning.
The decision should be made carefully so that teaching and service provided is appropriate and in line with the problems they face in learning.
Among the decisions to be made include:
Who among students in your school who may have difficulties in learning and be provided with remedial education?
What kind of problems faced by students and the weakness of the recovery and the strength of the students?
Performance in the areas affected by the problems faced?
What type of placement appropriate remedial education for students and what skills should be taught to the students?
What specific services to be provided to help achieve the skills taught at the optimum level?
Does the teaching program that has been prepared to be continued or replaced with a new program or the student is placed back into the mainstream?
All the results mentioned above can be made wisely and accurately with the help of the information collected through the assessment and evaluation.
THE ORTON-GILLINGHAM MULTISENSORY METHOD
The Orton-Gillingham Multisensory Method was developed in the early 1930's by Anna Gillingham and a group of master teachers.
Dr. Samuel Orton assigned Anna's group the task of designing a whole new way of teaching the phonemic structure of our written language to people with dyslexia.
The goal was to create a sequential system that builds on itself in an almost 3-dimensional way. It must show how sounds and letters are related and how they act in words; it must also show how to attack a word and break it into smaller pieces.
And it must be a multi-sensory approach, as dyslexic people learn best by involving all of their senses: visual, auditory, tactile, and kinesthetic.
The Orton-Gillingham Multisensory Method is different from other reading methods in two ways: what is taught, and how it is taught.
What is taught:
Phonemic Awareness is the first step. You must teach someone how to listen to a single word or syllable and break it into individual phonemes.
They also have to be able to take individual sounds and blend them into a word, change sounds, delete sounds, and compare sounds -- all in their head. These skills are easiest to learn before someone brings in printed letters.
Dr. Samuel Orton assigned Anna's group the task of designing a whole new way of teaching the phonemic structure of our written language to people with dyslexia.
The goal was to create a sequential system that builds on itself in an almost 3-dimensional way. It must show how sounds and letters are related and how they act in words; it must also show how to attack a word and break it into smaller pieces.
And it must be a multi-sensory approach, as dyslexic people learn best by involving all of their senses: visual, auditory, tactile, and kinesthetic.
The Orton-Gillingham Multisensory Method is different from other reading methods in two ways: what is taught, and how it is taught.
What is taught:
Phonemic Awareness is the first step. You must teach someone how to listen to a single word or syllable and break it into individual phonemes.
They also have to be able to take individual sounds and blend them into a word, change sounds, delete sounds, and compare sounds -- all in their head. These skills are easiest to learn before someone brings in printed letters.
WHAT DOES RESEARCH TELL US ABOUT DYSLEXIA?
If your child has an I.E.P., this description of a reading program should be on the I.E.P.:
"Independent scientific, replicated research supports the use of a reading and spelling system that is simultaneously multisensory, systematic, and cumulative with direct and explicit instruction in both synthetic and analytic phonics with intense practice."
Yes, you can get methodology onto an I.E.P. Click here to learn how.
Here are links to some of that research:
Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children
http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=6023&page=R1
National Reading Panel Report
www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/nrp/smallbook.cfm
Summary of NIH Reading Research by G. Reid Lyon Director of Research Programs in Reading Development and Disorders, Learning Disabilities, Language Development and Disorders, and Cognitive Neuroscience. Also Chief of the Child Development and Behavior Branch at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
www.schwablearning.org select Reading from the Topic list, click on Lyon: Developing Reading Skills
Why Reading is not a Natural Process by G. Reid Lyon
http://www.cdl.org/resource-library/articles/why_reading.php?type=recent&id=Yes
NIH Research Results
www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/jeffords.htm and www.ncld.org/research/keys99_nichd.cfm
Article on Brain Differences
www.schwablearning.org, select Reading from the Topic list, click on Brain Research and Reading
National Center on Learning Disabilities Research Links
www.ncld.org/research/links.cfm
Catch Them Before They Fall, Identification and Assessment to Prevent Reading Failure in Young Children by Joseph Torgeson
www.ldonline.org/article/225
California Reading Initiative
http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/se/sr/documents/readnit.pdf
Texas Reading Initiative
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/reading/
Children of the Code A Social Education Project A Public Television, DVD & Web Documentary Series
"Independent scientific, replicated research supports the use of a reading and spelling system that is simultaneously multisensory, systematic, and cumulative with direct and explicit instruction in both synthetic and analytic phonics with intense practice."
Yes, you can get methodology onto an I.E.P. Click here to learn how.
Here are links to some of that research:
Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children
http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=6023&page=R1
National Reading Panel Report
www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/nrp/smallbook.cfm
Summary of NIH Reading Research by G. Reid Lyon Director of Research Programs in Reading Development and Disorders, Learning Disabilities, Language Development and Disorders, and Cognitive Neuroscience. Also Chief of the Child Development and Behavior Branch at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
www.schwablearning.org select Reading from the Topic list, click on Lyon: Developing Reading Skills
Why Reading is not a Natural Process by G. Reid Lyon
http://www.cdl.org/resource-library/articles/why_reading.php?type=recent&id=Yes
NIH Research Results
www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/jeffords.htm and www.ncld.org/research/keys99_nichd.cfm
Article on Brain Differences
www.schwablearning.org, select Reading from the Topic list, click on Brain Research and Reading
National Center on Learning Disabilities Research Links
www.ncld.org/research/links.cfm
Catch Them Before They Fall, Identification and Assessment to Prevent Reading Failure in Young Children by Joseph Torgeson
www.ldonline.org/article/225
California Reading Initiative
http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/se/sr/documents/readnit.pdf
Texas Reading Initiative
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/reading/
Children of the Code A Social Education Project A Public Television, DVD & Web Documentary Series
A BASIC NEED : LEARNING TO READ
American children suffer more long-term life-harm from failing to learn to read than from parental abuse, accidents, and all other childhood diseases and disorders combined.
In purely economic terms, reading related difficulties cost our nation more than the war on terrorism, crime, and drugs combined. More than any other subject or skill, our children's futures are determined by by how well they learn to read.
So begins this fascinating website that contains amazing statistics, quotes, and over 100 interviews with leading neuroscientists, reading researchers, educators, and policy leaders. To watch a 5-minute on-line video called Part 1: We Have A Problem, which contains statements from many of these famous professionals, go to: www.childrenofthecode.org/genpreview/index.htm
To read the interviews and other fascinating information on this website, go to: www.ChildrenoftheCode.org
In purely economic terms, reading related difficulties cost our nation more than the war on terrorism, crime, and drugs combined. More than any other subject or skill, our children's futures are determined by by how well they learn to read.
So begins this fascinating website that contains amazing statistics, quotes, and over 100 interviews with leading neuroscientists, reading researchers, educators, and policy leaders. To watch a 5-minute on-line video called Part 1: We Have A Problem, which contains statements from many of these famous professionals, go to: www.childrenofthecode.org/genpreview/index.htm
To read the interviews and other fascinating information on this website, go to: www.ChildrenoftheCode.org
NO QUICK FIX FOR DYSLEXIA
There is no magic bullet to quickly fix or cure dyslexia. Your child was born with dyslexia and will die with dyslexia. Orton-Gillingham-based training methods can avoid the reading, writing, and spelling failure so often associated with dyslexia. But these methods take time; anywhere from one to three years.
Watch out for any method or product that costs lots of money and promises 4 to 8 week "cures."
A method is considered a "controversial therapy" if:
There is no research to prove that it works.
The research has not been independently replicated.
The claims of the method or product far exceed the research results.
Before signing any contract or purchasing any product that sounds too good to be true, ask to see the independent research papers that support their claims. Also ask for local references. Talk to professionals in the field about the method. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Click here to see a list of what won't work.
Watch out for any method or product that costs lots of money and promises 4 to 8 week "cures."
A method is considered a "controversial therapy" if:
There is no research to prove that it works.
The research has not been independently replicated.
The claims of the method or product far exceed the research results.
Before signing any contract or purchasing any product that sounds too good to be true, ask to see the independent research papers that support their claims. Also ask for local references. Talk to professionals in the field about the method. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Click here to see a list of what won't work.
TECHNOLOGY AND DYSLEXIA
Computer technology makes the lives of dyslexic students much less difficult while they are acquiring their basic reading, writing, and spelling skills.
Here are some of the most useful technology tools I've found:
Naturally SpeakingContinuous speech recognition software that runs on Windows-based PCs. Software comes with a headset. You just talk, and the software types in what you said, spelled correctly. The hardest part is training the software to recognize your voice. Training requires reading a long passage displayed on the computer screen. (I sit beside my students and whisper the hard words into their ear.) Once trained, the person with dyslexia just talks to the computer in his/her normal voice at a normal speed, and the software types in the words, correctly spelled. It will even read the passage back to you when you're through. Available in most major computer stores. It can also be purchased from the publisher, Scansoft, in Newton, Massachusetts (800-443-7077 or 978-977-2000).
Franklin Spelling Ace This portable electronic dictionary runs on batteries and is a wonderful tool. You can enter the phonetic approximation of a word, and the closest choices will be displayed, along with a brief definition. Franklin web site. Available at many office supply stores. Suggested retail: $ 29.95.
AlphaSmart ProThis less-than-two-pound portable, battery-operated, virtually indestructible keyboard with a small display provides an ideal way to take notes in class or at meetings IF you know how to touch type. At home (or back in your office), start your personal computer (Macintosh or Windows-based PC), open your favorite word processor, plug in the AlphaSmart Pro, and watch your typed-in words fly into in the document. This is a lifesaver for people with dysgraphia. For more information, check out the AlphaSmart Pro web site.
Books on Tape . Virtually every textbook used in the United States is available on 4-track audio tape through Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic. Books for pleasure and books for literature classes, read by professional actors, can be rented through Recorded Books Rentals.
And most states also sponsor a state-funded Books Aloud program through their public libraries. Contact your closest library for details.Even after a dyslexic person has learned to read, recorded books are useful, especially in high school and college, where it may prove impossible to read fast enough to keep up with the demands of many different teachers.
Type to Learn
This is an excellent program that teaches both children and adults how to type by touch. It is available from Sunburst Software for both Macintosh and Windows-based PCs.
Any Word Processor
It goes without saying that once you can type, your most important technology tool will be any word processor that has a good spell checker.
Here are some of the most useful technology tools I've found:
Naturally SpeakingContinuous speech recognition software that runs on Windows-based PCs. Software comes with a headset. You just talk, and the software types in what you said, spelled correctly. The hardest part is training the software to recognize your voice. Training requires reading a long passage displayed on the computer screen. (I sit beside my students and whisper the hard words into their ear.) Once trained, the person with dyslexia just talks to the computer in his/her normal voice at a normal speed, and the software types in the words, correctly spelled. It will even read the passage back to you when you're through. Available in most major computer stores. It can also be purchased from the publisher, Scansoft, in Newton, Massachusetts (800-443-7077 or 978-977-2000).
Franklin Spelling Ace This portable electronic dictionary runs on batteries and is a wonderful tool. You can enter the phonetic approximation of a word, and the closest choices will be displayed, along with a brief definition. Franklin web site. Available at many office supply stores. Suggested retail: $ 29.95.
AlphaSmart ProThis less-than-two-pound portable, battery-operated, virtually indestructible keyboard with a small display provides an ideal way to take notes in class or at meetings IF you know how to touch type. At home (or back in your office), start your personal computer (Macintosh or Windows-based PC), open your favorite word processor, plug in the AlphaSmart Pro, and watch your typed-in words fly into in the document. This is a lifesaver for people with dysgraphia. For more information, check out the AlphaSmart Pro web site.
Books on Tape . Virtually every textbook used in the United States is available on 4-track audio tape through Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic. Books for pleasure and books for literature classes, read by professional actors, can be rented through Recorded Books Rentals.
And most states also sponsor a state-funded Books Aloud program through their public libraries. Contact your closest library for details.Even after a dyslexic person has learned to read, recorded books are useful, especially in high school and college, where it may prove impossible to read fast enough to keep up with the demands of many different teachers.
Type to Learn
This is an excellent program that teaches both children and adults how to type by touch. It is available from Sunburst Software for both Macintosh and Windows-based PCs.
Any Word Processor
It goes without saying that once you can type, your most important technology tool will be any word processor that has a good spell checker.
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