Cara Benak

Intellectual Disabilities Strategy

Name of Article: Effects of Planning Instruction on a Young Writer with Asperger’s

Syndrome

Population: Students with Intellectual/Learning Disabilities

Objective: Students will improve writing quality and composition by using the SRSD
model for writing

Age/Grade Level: K-12

Procedure: This article includes a study that shows the effects of the Self-Regulated
Strategy Development (SRSD) model on a child with Asperger’s Syndrome. This method
has been used to successfully improve the writing of children with a variety of
intellectual disabilities. Because children with AS require a learning/working
environment with clear structure and literal directions, the SRSD model works to fulfill
those needs to allow the child to become more open to constructing more thought out and
imaginative stories. The goals of the SRSD include helping writers master higher level
cognitive processes involved in writing, develop the ability to monitor their use of
effective writing strategies, and form positive attitudes about writing and about
themselves as writers. It is required that the teacher modify the framework of the model
to meet the needs of each individual child, revolving around 6 stages of
instruction. These stages include development of background knowledge, discussion of
the strategy, modeling of the strategy and self-instructions, memorization of the
strategy, support and collaborative practice, and independent practice. During this
procedure, the teacher worked with a student named John through four
conditions: baseline—when John wrote four stories to establish pretreatment skill
level; treatment—which began after John displayed a stable baseline for number of basic
elements in his stories and continued through seven lessons; posttreatment—during which
John wrote four stories immediately following instruction under the same conditions as
during baseline; and maintenance—when a probe was collected 8 weeks after the
completion of the final posttest.
Summary: Throughout the 7 lessons of implementing the procedure, the teacher gave
John two different randomized black and white pictures that were used as prompts. John
was asked to choose one and plan his story before writing about it. Each session, John’s
stories were scored by two unfamiliar individuals based on basic story elements and
holistic quality using an 8-point holistic scale based on work by Graham and Harris. The
lessons were based on the SRSD instructional model. The planning and story writing
strategy included a mnemonic device, POW (pick my ideas, organize my notes, write and
say more), and WWW (what= 2, how= 2). During the first lesson, the instructor and John
mainly practiced learning the mnemonic devices through a chart and how they apply to
stories. The instructor read a story and asked John to identify parts of the story through
the chart. Each lesson from this point on began with the review and practice of the
POW and story parts reminder strategy until John could provide and explain them
entirely from memory. Throughout the lessons, it was evident that John was remembering
the devices more and more and began to apply them when constructing a story. They
worked on verbalizing self-instructions to assist with problem definition planning, self-
evaluation, self-reinforcement, and coping. John became increasingly more dependent
when writing his stories. He began to add all of the missing elements in the story without
the use of the POW or charts. By the last lesson, John was writing stories without the use
of props or any assistance. His overall holistic quality tripled from a mean of 1.5 at
pretest to 4.6 at post-test.
Possible Adaptations: Overall, this study went extremely well given the limitations John
has due to his disability and the time frame of the procedure. Although John had a
substantial positive impact on his writing ability, there could be some complications
when attempting to implement the SRSD on a larger group of individuals. Children with
AS and a number of other intellectual disabilities have many wide-ranging behaviors,
needs, and abilities. This would possibly require the instructor to revise the framework of
the SRSD to meet the specific needs of each child. Specifically pertaining to children
with AS, conducting this procedure would be rather difficult and time consuming because
of reluctance from the child, persistence, and interfering behaviors. Despite of this, I
believe that this framework for writing would have a positive impact on a larger group
of children if the amount of time and quantity of instructors is provided.

Reflection: I personally enjoyed reading about this model of teaching and how it affected
John. It is very enlightening learning about different ways we can adjust the way we
teach children with disabilities in order to become more equitable in hopes of their
success. With a few minor adjustments to this model, I believe that it can help a multitude
of children with varying disabilities overcome difficulties with writing.

Research: The research for this article is based on the study of multiple children with
Asperger’s Syndrome with a focus on one case study in particular. The research was done
over a course of 7 weeks.

Reference:
ASARO, K., & SADDLER, B. (2009). Effects of Planning Instruction on a Young
Writer With Asperger Syndrome. Intervention In School & Clinic, 44(5), 268-275.
 Cara Benak
Learning Disabilities Strategy

Name of the Article: “Understanding STEM Education and Supporting Students

Through Universal Design for Learning”

Population: Student who struggles with STEM content.

Objective: Improve students STEM skills through clear goals, progress monitoring and
flexible methods and materials.

Age/Grade Level: 6-8 (Middle)

Procedure: This article focuses on the problems that students with learning disabilities
face in subjects such as math and science. The authors give us many ways to make the
STEM field more accessible to these students. Some of the methods are clear goals for
the student, flexible methods and materials, and intentional planning, and progress
monitoring. With implementing these things into a student’s time in the classroom, the
authors hope to bring the STEM field into reach for students with a learning disability.
The first method they give is having clear goals. This is not only for the student to
understand what is asked of them, but it is also important for the teachers to understand
what they want from the students. With these goals set, the teacher can then try to teach
the big picture to the students. Some teachers have used video games to do this, such as a
video game of the human body. This helps the students visualize what they should be
learning. The next method is intentional planning for learner variability. Basically, this
means that teachers should not try and make one lesson plan work for everybody, because
everybody has different strengths and weaknesses. The next method is using flexible
methods and materials. Through a combination of strategies to teach a topic, the teacher
is increasing their likelihood of the topic becoming clear to the student. Just as every
student learns differently, every student needs to be exposed to different types of teaching
styles so they can better understand a subject. The last method is progress monitoring.
The first method was to set goals, and this method is a follow up to that one. As a
teacher, you have to monitor the progress of your students to make sure that these goals
are being accomplished. Also, this can show the teacher if they need to change their ways
of teaching. If nobody has met his or her goals, then the teacher should try a different
strategy to teach the topic.

Possible Adaptations: I would probably add that teachers should also collaborate with
each other. I know that sometimes I need to hear someone else explain something to
understand it better. Maybe teachers could come into classes that they don’t teach and
answer students’ questions.

Reflection: This article was very interesting to me. Not only are these strategies great for
students with learning disabilities, but they could also be used on general education
students. The flexible methods and materials is something that should be used with every
student to ensure that they understand the topic thoroughly.

Research: They used many different articles to form this opinion on instruction in STEM
classrooms. However, I did not see that they implemented these methods in a classroom
and had positive results.

Reference

Basham, J. D., & Marino, M. T. (2013, March). Understanding STEM Education and
Supporting Students Through Universal Design for Learning. Council for
Exceptional Children. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
 Cara Benak
Emotional Disabilities Strategy

Name of Article: Prove Them Wrong: Be There for Secondary Students With an
Emotional or Behavioral Disability

Population: Students with various emotional and behavioral disabilities

Objective: Teachers will improve relationships with students with ED by constructing

their learning environment and lesson plan in a positive way

Age/Grade Level: K-12

Procedure: This article shares advice with secondary school teachers about classroom
practices that may help to build and develop trusting relationships with students with
EBD. These practices include classroom techniques for collaborating with the student and
his/her parents. Throughout their lives, some students with EBD have had few, if any,
consistent, appropriate adult relationships in their lives. The experiences they have had
are most likely negative and can even be abusive. The emotional distress they experience
as a child migrates into their future relationships and life experiences. This can be seen
in an inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health
factors; an inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with
peers and teachers; inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal
circumstances; a general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression; and a tendency to
develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems. The
way they view their adult counterparts in the school system can negatively affect the way
they view education as a whole. The majority of the time, students with emotional or
behavioral disorders never receive the appropriate help they need because of the
difficulties identifying the symptoms of their disorder.
Summary: It is a teacher’s job to give every student an equal and fair opportunity
to succeed. It is of the upmost importance that teachers recognize the warning signs of
any emotional disorder to provide the most equitable classroom structure that suits the
needs of every child. We must recognize and become more considerate of students with
emotional disabilities’ social responses and respond in the most appropriate and
constructive manner. The key is to not listen, but hear what the student is saying to give
the student the feeling that they are not wasting your time. We can do this by showing
interest in body language, allowing the person to talk, being open-minded during the
conversation, understanding the student’s feelings or point of view by asking specific
questions, observing the student’s body language, repeating back what the student has
shared with you to make sure you heard him/her correctly, and encouraging and
reinforcing his/her behavior of confiding in you as a teacher. Not only must we obtain
active listening skills, but we should also help the student find a solution to the problem
by giving resources to help them. We can also revise our classroom environment and
management style to maintain a structured environment that minimizes disruptive
behaviors and promotes learning. We can enhance the classroom by decorating the walls,
allowing natural light to come in, and use tables instead of desks to encourage social
interaction and collaboration among students and teachers. This way, students with EBD
feel safer because they are aware that they are in a positive and consistent environment
and understand the guidelines and expectations of the teacher. Another way we can revise
our teaching style for students with EBD is consulting regularly with parents in a
positive manner. Teachers should notify the parents of any behavior problems in the
classroom in a constructive way. Let the parents know that you are an advocate for their
child.

Possible adaptations: This article highlights the importance of establishing an

appropriate relationship for students with EBDs, but it can be applied to all students that
may or may not have a disability. I also believe that this teaching style is important for all
ages and grades in order to provide the most constructive classroom environment.
Reflection: Personally, I agree with every teaching strategy I read in this article. I
remember when I was a student in high school I noticed other students having behavior
problems in the classroom and became truant. Instead of recognizing the possible
disability that these students might have been struggling with, the teacher reported the
students for their misconduct and passed them on to a higher official to handle their
situation. Teachers need to recognize the importance of an equitable learning
environment and take in to consideration the struggles a student might be dealing with
outside of the classroom.
Research: This research comes from many different articles to form one example of a
structuralized environment that is proven to be beneficial for students with emotional
disabilities.

Reference
Solar, E. (2011, September 1). Prove Them Wrong Be There for Secondary Students with
an Emotional or Behavioral Disability. Retrieved February 02, 2018, from
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/004005991104400105#articleCitationDownl
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 Cara Benak
Teaching Tolerance Strategy

Name of Article: “It’s Okay to Feel Different”

Population: All students

Objective: Provide a lesson plan that helps teachers teach the topic of diversity

Age/Grade Level: K-5

Procedure: This lesson plan provides a format for teachers to discuss the topic of
diversity with students. It also explores the concept of self-acceptance in regards to
diversity. The objectives of this lesson plan include to read and analyze themes from the
book Its Okay to Be Different, create text-to-self connections, understand the terms
“difference,” “diversity” and “community”, and develop an understanding of the
importance of diversity in a community. Other than the book, some materials needed for
this lesson include a jigsaw puzzle, construction paper, oil pastels or crayons, and a poster
board but into enough jigsaw pieces for each student to have one. After a quick run
through of the vocabulary, it is time to begin.

The first thing the teacher will do is ask the students “What do you think of when you
hear the words difference and diversity?” The students should create word webs on chart
paper of ways people or things might feel or seem different from each other. After that,
the teacher asks the student to challenge themselves to think about ways you have felt
different in school in the past. The students can turn and talk to their neighbor about one
way they feel different, special or unique in the classroom community. Maybe you speak
a language that no one else in your class speaks; maybe your family enjoys an unusual
kind of food; or maybe you have a unique pet. After that, the teacher will read the book
It’s Okay to Feel Different and ask the students to make any personal connections to the
text. Then, discuss as a class why it is important to have many different types of people in
a class community. On the jigsaw puzzle piece, ask the students to write down the
differences they talked about with their partner. Work as a whole class to assemble the
jigsaw puzzle. Finally, explain the finished product. It represents the diversity of your
classroom community!

Possible Adaptations: If I were to revise this lesson plan at all, I would add an additional
hands on activity that allowed my students to work together. This activity would also
recognize the advantages/disadvantages some students have because of their diversity.
Although this is a difficult topic, it is extremely important to teach especially at an early
age. This activity could be in the form of the game “Red Rover Red Rover” and we will
use topics that outline diversity.

Reflection: Personally, I love this lesson plan and procedure. It is very important to be
that I teach diversity in my classroom to let my students learn about each other and
themselves. This lesson plan also introduces the topic of equity: one that is difficult to
understand in elementary school and middle school. This lesson plan is extremely
beneficial because school is likely one of the only places where the children get to
interact on this level with children that are different than themselves.

Reference:
https://www.tolerance.org/classroom-resources/tolerance-lessons/its-okay-to-feel-
different-0