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CHAPTER The Teaching/ Learning Process - …

KEYS TO effective LD teaching PRACTICE51 CHAPTER4 The teaching / Learning ProcessThis CHAPTER begins with key guidelines to the LD Teaching/ learningprocess. It continues with a discussion of specific LD-appropriate strate-gies for reading, spelling, reading comprehension, and to effective LD teaching PracticeBridges to Practices: Guidebook 4discusses several guidelines for workingwith adult learners with Learning disabilities. We have focused on thethree key guidelines that are wide-reaching and encompass the Key #1: Create an Appropriate Learning Environment ThatPromotes Learner Independence Guide learners to be active and independent by asking such questions as would you do that? How would you find that information? How would you remember that information? How did you figure that out? Involve learners in how they learn.

KEYS TO EFFECTIVE LD TEACHING PRACTICE 51 CHAPTER 4 The Teaching/ Learning Process This chapter begins with key guidelines to the LD teaching/learning

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Transcription of CHAPTER The Teaching/ Learning Process - …

1 KEYS TO effective LD teaching PRACTICE51 CHAPTER4 The teaching / Learning ProcessThis CHAPTER begins with key guidelines to the LD Teaching/ learningprocess. It continues with a discussion of specific LD-appropriate strate-gies for reading, spelling, reading comprehension, and to effective LD teaching PracticeBridges to Practices: Guidebook 4discusses several guidelines for workingwith adult learners with Learning disabilities. We have focused on thethree key guidelines that are wide-reaching and encompass the Key #1: Create an Appropriate Learning Environment ThatPromotes Learner Independence Guide learners to be active and independent by asking such questions as would you do that? How would you find that information? How would you remember that information? How did you figure that out? Involve learners in how they learn.

2 Design instruction around the interests and everyday needs of learners. Remember that adult learners bring knowledge and past experiencewith them. They have insight into how they learn, compensate for dif-ficulties, and find success. Encourage learners to keep track of their progress. Reinforce the Learning by providing continuing opportunities for prac-tice and by giving immediate and frequent teaching / Learning ProcessaAs you read through the information in each key,ask yourself, In what ways am Ialready doing this? What more could I do inthis area?52 KEYS TO effective LD teaching PRACTICEp Key #2: Provide Instructional Adaptations and AccommodationsThese two terms often apply to the same tools and approaches that makea Learning task more manageable. The distinction between the terms is alegal one. Accommodationsare adaptations to which a person diagnosed withLD has a legal right.

3 They include a wide range of tools and changes inthe way a task is done, including all those listed below under adapta-tions. For people struggling with an essential life function due to alearning disability, specific accommodations can move them fromfrustration and failure to achievement and productivity! The possibili-ty of such a change is one of the strongest reasons for getting a diag-nostic evaluation. Adaptationsmay be identical toaccommodating, but when there is noLD diagnosis, there is no legal right touse them ( , in a testing situation oron the job). Many of us have stum-bled onto some helpful adaptation inlife without thinking of it as such:color-coding, reading out loud whenwe re trying to digest a complicatedarticle, or taking frequent that involve assistivetechnology are part of our everydaylives: hearing aids, glasses, computers,magnifying teaching / Learning ProcessSome examples of adaptations (which could be accommodations if legally required) are.

4 Extended time for completing a task or test or break it intomanageable chunks writing directly on the test, rather than on an answer sheet reading or planning aloud or with a partner using mind (semantic) mapping when prewriting or takingnotes writing on alternate lines when writing a paragraph or essay using legal pads turned horizontally when doing arithmeticprocesses that require figures in straight columns using large print with a lot of white space, particularlyaround math problems trying environmental changes: frequent breaks, quieterspace, white noise, different lighting using organizational aids: day planners, color-coded materials, watches with alarms using assistive technology and compensatory devices:books on tape or disc, calculators, alternate forms of tests,hand-held spell checkers, speech synthesizers; talking word processors and text readers, software for speechrecognition, outlining, brainstorming, proofreading, orsemantic mappingKEYS TO effective LD teaching PRACTICE53p Key #3: Implement LD-Appropriate InstructionThe teaching / Learning ProcessCharacteristics of LD-Appropriate InstructionWhat do we mean by LD-appropriate instruction?

5 There are important characteristicsdescribed in Bridges to Practice: Guidebook 4. LD-appropriate instruction is Structured involves system-atically teaching information thathas been chunked into manage-able pieces. Connected shows thelearner how information in andamong units and lessons arelinked to the Learning processand to the learner s goals. Informative involves makingsure that the learner is informedabout how the Learning processworks, what is expected during the instructional situation, andhow she can improve learningand performance. Explicit involves providingdetailed explanations and mod-els to the learner about how toapproach, think about, perform,and evaluate Learning and performance. Direct is characterized byhigh rates of teacher or tutorleadership and control during theinitial stages of informationacquisition, followed by carefulmonitoring of the learner s performance as she graduallyassumes control of and mastersthe information.

6 Scaffolded involves the frequent use of connected questions and collaborativelyconstructed explanations to create a context for Learning thatis based on the learner s priorknowledge. Intensive involves helpinglearners to maintain a highdegree of attention and responseduring instructional sessions thatare scheduled as frequently aspossible. Process -sensitive involvesre-shaping the activities withinthe instructional sequence totake into consideration variouscognitive barriers that mightinhibit Learning . Accommodating involvesproviding specific and generaladaptations that are legallyrequired to reduce or eliminatethe impact a Learning disabilitymight have on successful Learning and performance. Evaluated involves adaptinginstruction based on an assess-ment of the learner s progressand his or her response to previous attempts at instruction. Generalizable involvesusing activities before, during,and after information has been mastered both to ensurecontinued application of theinformation and to increase thelearner s success outside of the literacy setting.

7 Enduring means that the program providers acknowledgeand commit the time necessaryto ensure that learners masterthe information and use it toincrease their successes in TO effective LD teaching PRACTICET each important skills:Deciding what is important to teach is crit-ical given the limited amount of time for instruction in most litera-cy programs. Adults with LD should be involved in deciding what isimportant, and skills should be as functional as less better:Most adults with LD need explicit, intensiveinstruction combined with numerous practice sessions to trulymaster a skill or strategy. It is more effective and efficient to pickfewer (but important) skills and teach them to mastery rather thantrying to teach a wide range of skills in a cursory explicitly:Because of the Learning characteristics of manyadults with LD, a direct and explicit approach to teaching is moreeffective than more discovery types of contextually:Literacy skills and strategies should be taughtand practiced in the context of real-life what is to be learned and why it is important:Brieflyexplaining the purpose of the skill, strategy, or activity prior toteaching it clarifies expectations for the adult with LD.

8 Further, dis-cussing the relevance of what is to be learned can increase the old before teaching the new:Before beginning instruc-tion on a new skill or strategy, verify whether the adult with LD hasretained any prerequisite skills or knowledge needed to perform thenew skills. This type of review is best conducted by requesting thatthe adult demonstrate performance of the prerequisite skills ratherthan merely inquiring whether or not he or she can perform teaching / Learning ProcessaA list of characteristics from a NIFL monograph (Hughes, 1998) is compared with the list of characteristics from Bridges to Practice:Guidebook 4in the following table. As you read the table developed byAmanda Keller, identify which characteristics are already present in yourteaching and which ones might be your next steps on this instruction for adults with Learning disabilitiesCharacteristics of LD-appropriate instruction from Bridges to Practice: Guidebook 4 ConnectedIntensive Explicit EnduringExplicit Direct InformativeConnected GeneralizableConnectedGeneralizableConne ctedStructuredEvaluatedKEYS TO effective LD teaching PRACTICE55 Model what is to be learned:A clear demonstration of the skill orstrategy is a must prior to practicing it.

9 effective modeling includesboth a clear and exaggerated demonstration as well as a compre-hensive description of any covert thinking or supported practice:After viewing a demonstration/ model,adults with LD benefit from supported or guided practice in a newskill or strategy. Via a series of prompts and/or questions, they areguided through the skill as a way of providing a high level of initialsupport and controlled materials:During initial stages of practice, it issometimes effective to control the difficulty of the task in which thenew skill or strategy is practiced. Initial practice in easy materialsallows the adult with LD to focus on Learning the new skill. Taskdifficulty can be added when success is achieved in practice, practice, practice (and more practice):Adultswith LD need multiple practice opportunities over time to retainnew skills or information.

10 Independent practice (with no guidanceor prompting) should be provided only when a high level of successhas been achieved during prompted frequent responses:Adults with LD learn better whenthey stay involved during instructional sessions. One effective wayto do this is to ask frequent questions related to the informationbeing taught. This facilitates involvement and provides importantinformation about the adult learner s level of corrective feedback:Adults with LD should receive correc-tive feedback as soon as possible in a matter-of-fact rate is enhanced when feedback about quality and cor-rectness of performance is provided in this teaching / Learning ProcessDirectExplicit Scaffolded Structured Scaffolded Process -sensitiveStructuredScaffoldedEnd uringEvaluatedEnduringIntensiveGeneraliz ableIntensiveEvaluatedInformativeEffecti ve instruction for adults with Learning disabilitiesCharacteristics of LD-appropriate instruction from Bridges to Practice: Guidebook 456 KEYS TO effective LD teaching PRACTICEP romote generalization:Often adults with LD have difficultytransferring what they learn to different settings or to different, butrelated tasks.


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