Module 2
Assessment and the IEP Process & Specialized Instruction and Technology
A. Uses of Assessment Information
Assessment is the process of collecting information about a student that will be
used to form judgments and make decisions concerning that student. Assessment
procedures are used to identify the nature of the student’s challenges and to plan
instruction. To be eligible for special education services, a student must be identified—or
classified—within a special education category within the law.
Response-to-intervention (RTI) is a procedure that is intended to identify students
who are having academic difficulties when the problems first become apparent by using
response-to-intervention (RTI) (IDEA-2004; Regulations for IDEA-2004, 2006). RTI is a
practice to be used with all students, including students in general education classes,
students who are considered at-risk for school failure, and students with suspected
disabilities (including students with suspected mild disabilities and learning disabilities).
The goal of RTI is to prevent academic failure for all of these students (Fuchs & Vaughn,
2012; Division for Learning Disabilities, 2007; Renaissance Learning 2009; Fuchs &
Deshler, 2007).
Since 2003 when RTI was still an emerging idea, RTI has become a major force
in education reform. It is collated into federal law as a method for evaluation of students
with learning disabilities (IDEA, 2004, 2006). It is integrated in the laws of all 50 states
in various forms (Fuchs & Vaughn, 2012). Although there are several different versions
of RTI, many descriptions of RTI use three tiers (or levels) of intervention (see Figure
2.1). Each tier represents a level of intervention or instruction. Students with differing
needs receive more intensive instruction. RTI is the most successful screening tool for
reading and mathematics.
The RTI model proposes that if a student responds well to the evidence-based
interventions, at Tier 1 (first level), the student does not have a disability. However,
students who do not respond positively to the RTI instruction at Tier 1 are given more
intensive instruction in the next level (Tier 2). If the student still does not respond or
learn after intensive intervention at Tier 2, the student receives still more intensive
intervention in a smaller group at Tier 3. Finally, students who do not respond positively
to interventions at Tier 3 may then be considered for an evaluation for special education
(Fuchs & Vaughn, 2012, Renaissance Learning, 2009; Division of Learning Disabilities,
2007).
To summarize, RTI targets all students. Students in general education classes,
students considered to be at-risk for learning failure, including students with suspected
learning disabilities, and students with suspected mild disabilities. Students who respond
well to the instruction in the RTI procedure at Tiers 1, 2, or 3 are not considered eligible
for special education services. Students who are not learning with the RTI interventions
are considered to be “nonresponders” and may be referred for a special education
evaluation.
B. Progress Monitoring
Progress monitoring is used to determine whether students are making appropriate
gains in learning in the instructional program. It is an assessment procedure to measure a
student’s academic performance and to evaluate the effectiveness of instruction. Progress
monitoring is typically done on a regular and frequent schedule. The teacher measures the
student’s academic performance on a regular basis (weekly or monthly) and charts the
academic performance (Division of Learning Disabilities, 2007; Fuchs & Fuchs, 2006;
Council for Exceptional Children, 2004).
Many progress-monitoring programs are prepackaged, and many enable teachers
to use computers to produce the graphs and charts that they need to see how individual
students are progressing. Figure 2.3 shows a progress-monitoring chart for mathematics
for Tony, grade 2. It shows how many math problems Tony completed correctly during
2-minute mathematics measurements over a 10-month period. One progress-monitoring
procedure is curriculum-based measurement (CBM). Curriculum-based measurement is a
procedure designed to test what a student actually does in the student’s school or
classroom curriculum. The assessment requires that the student actively perform some
tasks through frequent and repeated measures.
Curriculum-based measurement (CBM) is described as a procedure for assessing
the growth of basic skills (Deno, 2003). First, the teacher determines the area of the
curriculum or the goal for the student in the student’s IEP. Then, the student’s progress is
measured through frequent, systematic, and repeated measures of that learning task.
Performance results are graphed or charted so that the student’s progress is clearly
observable to both the teacher and the student. CBM performance samples are 1 to 3
minutes long, and they are charted to display the student’s performance changes over
successive time periods, such as days or weeks.
In Figure 2.4, CBM is used to monitor growth in reading through frequent
measurements of the number of words the student reads aloud during 1-minute reading
samples, which are the base-line period over three successive days, as shown in the left
side of the figure. The right side of Figure 2.4 shows the progress achieved after a
targeting instructional program is used for 14 successive weeks, with measurements taken
weekly. It demonstrates the improvement in oral reading performance over the 14-week
period by showing the number of words read correctly in successive 1-minute reading
samples. The dashed line shows the IEP goal, which is reading 65 words per minute
within 14 weeks (Deno, 2003). CBM can be used to measure many academic areas:
spelling, writing, mathematics, and reading.
C. The Comprehensive Evaluation
Comprehensive evaluation is another way to determine a student’s eligibility for
special education services. A comprehensive evaluation entails collecting information
about an individual student that can be used to form judgments and make critical
decisions about the student and to plan appropriate instruction. Comprehensive
evaluations are used by the schools in the process of preparing for an individualized
education program (IEP) for a student (Hallahan & Cohen, 2008; Salvia, Ysseldyke, &
Bolt, 2007). The RTI process cannot be used to delay-deny an evaluation for eligibility
under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (U.S. Department of Education
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, January 21, 2011).
The comprehensive evaluation of students with suspected disabilities has been
used since the passage of the first special education law in 1975. Many other
professionals use comprehensive evaluations, as well: psychologists, physicians, and
other health professionals. The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the right of students with
suspected disabilities to have a comprehensive evaluation. In the case Forest Grove
School District v.T.A. (08-305), decided on June 22, 2009, the Supreme Court ruled that
under IDEA-2004, a student has the right to a timely and appropriate evaluation to make
certain that decisions about eligibility to special education are correct. In this case, the
Supreme Court determined that the parent should receive reimbursement for the tuition at
a private school because, in part, the school district did not provide a comprehensive
evaluation for the student (Cohen, 2009; Wright & Wright, 2009).
One of the most controversial issues in the comprehensive evaluation of students
with suspected learning disabilities is the evidence of a severe discrepancy between
intellectual ability and the student’s actual achievement. As noted earlier, the final
Regulations for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004
(2006) permits (but does not require) schools to use evidence of a severe discrepancy
between intellectual ability and achievement as one criterion for determining if the child
has learning disabilities. Actually, the discrepancy factor is but one component that is
considered in the comprehensive evaluation of a child.
Discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability has been a component
in the comprehensive evaluation. Briefly it is based on the concept that the student has
the intellectual potential for learning but is not meeting this potential in his or her
academic performance (Hallahan, 2007; Hallahan & Cohen, 2008). The discrepancy
means that the student’s achievement (what the student has actually learned) is compared
to the student’s intellectual ability (what the student is potentially capable of learning). A
student’s intellectual ability is often measured with an IQ score, and IQ tests have been
under severe criticism.
It is important to keep in mind that cognitive tests or tests of intellectual ability
provide much more than a single score of intelligence. It is also necessary for teachers to
know the student’s strengths and affinities, as well as areas that are difficult for the
student, and to recognize that each student has a “different kind of mind” (Scherer, 2006).
A discrepancy score is a mathematical calculation for quantifying the discrepancy
between achievement and intellectual ability (or potential for learning). There are several
different formulas for calculating a discrepancy score, and these formulas are explained
on the Student Website. Discrepancy should be seen as a critical marker with specific
learning disabilities seen as a category that is based on underachievement; not based
solely on low achievement. Discrepancy is a reliable criterion (Batsche, Kavale, &
Kovaleski, 2009).
D. The Individualized Education Program (IEP) and Stages of the IEP
IDEA-2004 offers all students with disabilities a free, appropriate public
education (FAPE), This means that special education and related services are provided at
public expense and meet the standards of the state education agency. The education
includes appropriate preschool, elementary school, or secondary school instruction and
provides conformity with the individualized education program (IEP).
A major provision of the special education law is the requirement that each
public-school child who receives special education and related services must have an
individualized education program (IEP) (IDEA-2004). The IEP is a written statement for
each child with a disability. Each IEP is designed for one student and should be a truly
individualized document. The IEP creates an opportunity for teachers, parents, school
administrators, related services personnel, and students (when appropriate) to work
together to improve educational results for children with disabilities. The IEP is the
cornerstone of a quality education for each child with a disability.
Procedural safeguards are provided in federal law, and they are designed to
protect the rights of children and parents. The term parents’ rights are used in IDEA-2004
as a procedural safeguard to protect the rights of parents and families. An instructional
support team (or a teacherassistance team) develops prereferral activities for a student
who is encountering difficulties in the general education classroom to be used by the
general education classroom teachers. Before referring a student for a special education
evaluation, teachers use these interventions with the child. If the interventions are
successful, the student does not need to be referred for an evaluation. Most school
districts now require evidence that a prereferral process has occurred before a referral is
initiated. (Some have identified RTI as a prereferral process.)
The instructional support team is a peer group of colleagues to help the classroom
teacher analyze the student’s academic and/or behavioral problems and recommends
interventions and accommodations for the classroom. The classroom teacher then
initiates the suggested methods to help the student. The prereferral stage is important
because the decision to refer a student for a multidisciplinary evaluation has serious
consequences. Once a student is referred, the probability is high that the student will be
declared eligible for services (Salvia, Ysseldyke, & Bolt, 2007).
The initial referral of a student for special education evaluation can come through
several sources: the parent, the teacher, other professionals who have contact with the
student, or a selfreferral by the student. After a referral is made, school personnel must
follow it up. Parents must be notified of the school’s concern and must give written
permission for an evaluation. In addition, decisions must be made about the general kinds
of evaluation data needed and the people who will be responsible for gathering this
information.
At this stage, specialists representing various disciplines obtain pertinent
information by assessing academic performance and behavior in areas related to the
suspected disability. For example, specialists for the multidisciplinary evaluation might
include a school psychologist, school social worker, school nurse, speech and language
pathologist, learning disabilities specialist, or reading specialist. The law (IDEA-2004)
outlines the procedures for gathering information for the evaluation. Several features of
the law regulate the evaluation. The tests must be appropriate, validated for the purpose
used, and as free as possible from cultural or racial bias. Evaluation materials must be
administered in the student’s native language. The evaluation team must represent several
disciplines and must include at least one teacher or specialist in the area of the suspected
disability. The specialists on the multidisciplinary evaluation team administer tests and
obtain other evaluation data. fter the multidisciplinary evaluation has been conducted, the
information is gathered, and the parents are contacted for the IEP meeting. It is at this
meeting that the eligibility for special education is determined, and the IEP is written.
In addition to determining the necessary special education services, the IEP team
also determines the need for related services that may be required to enable a child with a
disability to benefit from special education. Related services may include transportation
and developmental, corrective, and other supportive services. Such assistance may
include speech-language specialists and auditory services, psychological services,
physical and occupational therapy (including therapeutic recreation), social work
services, counseling services (including rehabilitation counseling), orientation and
mobility services, and medical services for diagnostic and evaluation purposes.
This is the teaching portion of the assessment-teaching process. It occurs after the
IEP document has been written. During this stage, the student is taught in the agreed
upon setting and receives specialized instruction designed to help the student reach the
goals set forth in the IEP. This stage involves implementing the IEP plan through
teaching (see Chapter 3, “Clinical Teaching,” and Chapter 4, “Educational Settings and
the Role of the Family”). This stage calls for the review and reevaluation of the IEP plan
in terms of the student’s progress. The IEP must include explanations that show how this
evaluation will be accomplished, who will conduct the evaluation, and what assessment
instruments and criteria will be used. IDEA-2004 requires that the child’s parents be
informed of their child’s progress toward reaching annual goals as frequently as parents
of nondisabled children are informed. One way to do this is to send the parents a progress
report that accompanies the student’s report card.
Students with learning disabilities and related disabilities have many strengths,
and it is important to recognize and encourage these strengths. For example, some
children will do well in math or computer applications, yet they may have difficulty with
reading skills. Some children have strong social skills and acquire many friends, others
do well in artistic and creative endeavors, and some children excel at physical activities
and sports. It is important to recognize the child’s strengths and to use those recognized
strengths when determining the child’s teaching plan.
It is also helpful to look for clusters of characteristics in evaluating a student. For
example, a student with a severe handwriting problem may also have difficulty with other
fine-motor skills. Likewise, a student with a reading problem may also have an
underlying oral language disorder. A student who does poorly in oral expression may
have a history of delayed speech, speech-motor difficulties that affect articulation, and
difficulty with remembering words.
What specific special education and related services are needed, including the
specialized instruction that is required to individually meet the student’s needs? How will
the special education teacher provide specialized instruction? To what extent will the
student attend general education classes? What accommodations will be made within the
general education classroom? These decisions are related to the educational setting in
which the student receives instruction (see Chapter 4, “Educational Settings and the Role
of the Family”). In addition, decisions must be made about the extent to which the
student will be placed in the least restrictive environment (i.e., with students who do not
have disabilities). In IDEA-2004, the general curriculum is presented to be the
appropriate beginning point for planning an IEP for a student, and the general education
curriculum is the preferred course of study for all students.
E. Obtaining Assessment Information
Often, several kinds of information are compiled at one time, or one assessment
procedure may lead to another. For example, observation of a student may suggest that a
specific test should also be used. Or the detection of speech misarticulation accompanied
by the student’s frequent misunderstandings of the examiner’s conversation could suggest
an auditory difficulty and lead to a decision to administer a test of auditory acuity or
auditory discrimination.
Information obtained through a case history contributes clues and insights about
the student’s background and development. During an interview, parents share
information about the child’s prenatal history, birth conditions, neonatal development, the
age of developmental milestones (sitting, walking, toilet training, and talking), the child’s
health history (including illnesses and accidents) and learning problems of other members
of the family. The student’s school history can be obtained from parents, school records,
and school personnel (e.g., teachers, nurses, and guidance counselors).
Interviewers must try to establish a feeling of mutual trust, taking care not to ask
questions that might alarm parents or make them defensive by indicating disapproval of
their actions. Further, interviewers should convey a spirit of cooperation, acceptance, and
empathy while maintaining a degree of professional objectivity to guard against
excessive emotional involvement and consequent ineffectiveness. Skillful interviewers
are able to obtain much useful information during the case history interview, gathering
information in a smooth, conversational manner. Case history information and
impressions are integrated with knowledge obtained through clinical observation,
traditional tests, and alternative assessment measures.
According to Yogi Berra, “Sometimes you can observe a lot just by watching.”
Observation of the student is a required part of the assessment of a student, and the
information that it produces can make a valuable contribution. Many attributes of the
student may be inadequately identified through testing or case study interviews, but the
skillful observer can often detect important characteristics and behaviors of the child in
the classroom setting.
Observation of student behavior can corroborate findings of other assessment
measures. For example, a skillful observer can note whether the student is attending the
lesson or is engaged in other activities. Observation is also useful for shedding light on a
student’s general personal adjustment. How does the student react to situations and
people? What is the student’s attitude toward the learning problem? Motor coordination
can be appraised by observing the student’s movements and gait. Can the student hop,
skip, or throw and catch a ball? How does the student attack a writing task? Is there a
contortion of the body while writing? How does the student hold a pencil? Must the
student expend an inordinate effort in trying to make the handwriting presentable?
Language is readily assessed through observation. Is there evidence of articulation
problems or infantile speech patterns? Does the student have difficulty finding words?
Does the student possess an adequate vocabulary? Does the student speak easily,
haltingly, or perhaps excessively? Does the student use complete sentences or single
words and short, partial phrases? Are there misarticulations (e.g., aminal or psghetti)?
What is the student’s primary or native language and facility with English? Games and
toys offer activities for making observations of the student and also serve as a way to
build rapport. Can the student zip a zipper, tie a shoelace, button clothing, or lock a
padlock?
Observations of everyday classroom behavior can provide much information. For
example, while reading, how does the student react to an unknown word? Does the
student stop and look to the teacher for help, look at the initial consonant and then take a
wild guess, attempt to break the word into syllables, or try to infer the word from the
context?
Standardized norm-referenced tests are frequently used in our schools. In
developing a norm-referenced test, test publishers give the test questions to a large
number of children of the same age. This group is called the norm-referenced group
because the test norms are based on their performance. When a student’s achievement on
a standardized test is analyzed, the scores of an individual student are compared with the
scores of students of comparable age or grade in the norm-referenced group. Formal
standardized tests are statistically designed so that one-half of the student scores will be
below the mean (average), and one-half will be above the average.
Teachers should know the techniques of using and interpreting tests. Frequently,
the value of a test may not be so much in the final test score as in the measurement of a
particular subtest performance, the profile of all the subtest scores, or the clinical
observations of the student during the test. The evaluator who has had extensive
experience with a test may find that some parts used alone yield the necessary
information.
Disenchantment with standardized testing led educators to turn to informal
assessment procedures. Interest in informal assessment is growing because it evaluates
the student in the natural setting, uses the school curriculum, and capitalizes on what the
student actually does in the classroom. Informal assessment approaches encourage
students to produce, construct, demonstrate, or perform a response.
Informal assessment measures are useful and practical assessment procedures that
measure student achievement on the ordinary materials and activities they are currently
working with in the classroom. A major advantage of using classroom materials for
informal tests is that the assessment is as close as possible to the expected behaviors.
Informal tests also give teachers freedom in administration and interpretation. For
example, a teacher can encourage the student during the assessment or give the student
more time to complete the test. Such adjustments put students at ease and help ensure that
they will put forth their best effort. Informal assessment measures can also be given more
frequently than formal tests, and they can be administered over a period of time rather
than in a single session. In addition, informal assessment measures can use a variety of
materials and procedures, they can be given during regular instruction periods, and they
are less expensive than formal tests.
In portfolio assessment, multiple samples of a student’s actual classroom work are
collected over an extended period of time. This portfolio is used to evaluate the student’s
current achievement level and progress over time. Portfolio assessment is often used to
measure reading and writing progress. Samples of student work can be used to determine
achievement and progress in all academic areas. A portfolio might contain the following
kinds of materials: selected samples of daily work done in the classroom, academic
classroom tests (e.g., in spelling or mathematics), checklists of behavior, sample stories,
writing drafts at various stages of development, science projects, art samples, a teacher’s
observational notes, or the results of group projects.
In deciding what samples to collect, the teacher must first consider the goals of
the instructional program, and the samples should then reflect these goals. For example,
the portfolio might include samples of the objectives in the IEP. Students can be
responsible for organizing their own portfolios. Because portfolios serve as mirrors of the
process of learning in the classroom, they should be available for student-teacher
conferences or for parent conferences (Salend, 1998).
Criterion-referenced tests describe rather than compare performance, measuring
mastery levels rather than grade levels. In contrast, norm-referenced tests (traditional
standardized tests) compare the pupil’s performance to that of other children of the same
age. This difference can be illustrated in a nonacademic area of learning, such as
swimming. In criterion- referenced terms, a child would be judged as being able to
perform certain tasks, such as putting his or her face in the water, floating, or doing the
crawl stroke. In contrast, in norm-referenced terms, the child would be tested and judged
to swim as well as an average 9-year-old child.
Criterion-referenced tests are useful because they provide a way to show growth.
It is often difficult to show that a student has improved in terms of percentiles, stanines,
or even grade-level scores, but the teacher can show that the student has learned certain
specific skills, in terms of mastery, of criterion-referenced measures.
F. Testing and Accountability
Under the No Child Left Behind Act (2001), each state must develop and
implement a statewide assessment system that is aligned to the state standards in
reading/language arts, math, and science. Under IDEA-2004, each state must achieve
goals that are measured by statewide tests for all public schools. Common core standards
have been adopted in most states, and the states must administer statewide assessments to
measure the progress of students in meeting these standards. Many states have now
adopted the common core standards, and statewide testing is being updated so that it is
based on those standards.
This regulation means that children with disabilities must participate in the
statewide tests and that any accommodations that are needed for this testing must be
included in each student’s IEP. Further, reports to parents about children with disabilities
must be made in the same detail and with the same frequency as reports about other
children. Thus, if report cards are issued on a quarterly basis for all children, then
progress reports must be issued for students with disabilities.
IDEA-2004 requires that states develop guidelines for accommodations that allow
students with disabilities the opportunity to participate in statelevel assessments. Most
states have developed guidelines for accommodations (Yell, Shriner, & Katsiyannis,
2006). Accommodation for students with disabilities serves to level the playing field for
these students. A concern about accommodations is whether they invalidate the
psychometric qualities of the test. For example, does giving extended time on a test
nullify the validity of the test (Johnson, Kimball, & Brown, 2001)? There are several
studies on the effects of extended time on the test scores of postsecondary students with
learning disabilities. Students with learning disabilities had significantly better scores
after being allowed extended time, whereas students without learning disabilities did not
improve their scores by using extended time (Weaver, 2000).
States must develop guidelines for alternate assessments based on alternate
achievement standards to be used with students with significant cognitive disabilities who
are unable to participate in the general state assessment. Alternate assessments refer to
another way to measure performance. The alternate assessments should be included in the
student’s IEP. This type of assessment can be used with 1% of the students with the most
significant intellectual disabilities.
In April 2007, the U.S. Department of Education issued final regulations
concerning the ability of states to create alternate assessments based on modified
achievement standards for up to 2% of students with disabilities. The responsibility for
the determination of whether the student should take such an assessment is made by the
IEP team and that decision is made when the IEP team is reasonably certain that the
student will not achieve grade-level proficiency because of the nature of their disability
(Regulations, 34 C.F.R. Parts 200 and 300, 2007). The next section describes the
regulations for accommodations and alternate assessments.
G. Specialized Instruction
Instruction based on the individualized needs of the students constitutes
specialized instruction. It is what is special about special education. It is the instruction
that is unique to a particular child. Provided with a thorough assessment of the student,
the special education teacher plans instruction based on the individualized needs of the
student. One size does not fit all. Rather we provide the instruction that is needed by the
child. One student may need a specific multisensory approach to teach him reading
because he has poor auditory and visual memory skills; another may need to be taught a
specific learning strategy because she does not know how to take tests well and has a
high degree of anxiety. One student may need a fading approach to learn his math facts.
Another student may be preparing for a job in a laundromat and needs to be taught how
to fold clothes utilizing a particular folding board. Figure 3.1 reflects the critical
components in designing an appropriate approach to instruction for the student with
special needs.
Oftentimes we hear individuals discussing the accommodations and modifications
a student needs. If the child cannot read, we may provide them with someone who can
read the material to them. This is not enough, and this is not specialized instruction. The
student must also be taught to read in the specialized way in which he or she can learn.
Services for students with disabilities must include specialized instruction provided by a
credentialed special educator. That special education must include remediation of the
specific disability. In the case of students who cannot read, students must be taught to
read in a way that is appropriate for them. The student must also be taught compensatory
strategies for his or her reading disability. The student will need to be taught how to use
context clues, how to attack a word he or she does not know, and what techniques help as
they struggle with reading.
This differentiated instruction takes place within the general education classroom
and involves the classroom teacher using techniques that are designed to meet the range
of diversity within the classroom. Accommodation and modifications are provided to
students to assist them. Accommodations will be discussed later in this chapter; they are
tools provided to students, such as extended timelines or large print materials.
Accommodations do not change content. Modifications, on the other hand, change the
content of material being learned.
Accommodation should always be utilized together with specialized instruction. If
a student is provided with extended timelines, then the student must also be taught time
management skills. If a student is provided with a scribe, the student must also be taught
how to write. Accommodations or modifications are not specialized instruction; they are
tools that are provided to assist in instruction. Special education must truly be special. It
is different from the typical instruction, and it is something that general education cannot
be. (Kauffman & Hallahan, 2005). Good general education is certainly demanding but
special education requires more precision and more dimensions including pacing or rate,
intensity, relentlessness, structure, reinforcement, low pupil teacher ratio, monitoring, and
assessment. (Kauffman & Hallahan, 2005). Kirk’s diagnostic-prescriptive approach is the
pillar of special education. It is what makes special education special. (Minskoff, 1998).
H. Clinical Teaching
Assessment is only a starting point. The process continues with teaching—a
special kind of teaching that is required to help students who encounter difficulty in
learning, which we call clinical teaching. Clinical teaching embodies methods and
strategies to reach students with learning disabilities and related disabilities.
Clinical teaching implies a concept and attitude about teaching. Clinical teachers
enjoy teaching, they believe that they can make a difference in the life and learning of a
student, and they are jubilant when a student shows that he or she “gets it” with the “aha”
moment. Several terms describe this special kind of teacher, such as effective teachers,
specialized instruction, remedial teachers, educational therapists, or simply good
teachers. All of these concepts describe a teacher who is enthusiastic, sensitive,
optimistic, and serious about student learning. Clinical teaching does not require any one
particular instructional system or educational setting. Clinical teaching can reflect the
teaching of special education teachers, of general education classroom teachers, of
secondary subject matter teachers, or of collaboration teams.
The goal of clinical teaching is to tailor learning experiences for the unique needs
of an individual student. By using information gathered through the evaluation of the
student, along with an analysis of the student’s specific learning characteristics, the
clinical teacher designs a plan of instruction for that student. Assessment does not stop
when teaching begins. In fact, the essence of clinical teaching is that assessment and
instruction are continuous and interwoven. The clinical teacher modifies the teaching as
new needs become apparent.
Many different intervention strategies can be used in clinical teaching. A clinical
teacher is a “child watcher,” carefully observing what the student is doing. For example,
by observing the kinds of errors a student makes, the clinical teacher can obtain
information about the student, such as the student’s current level of development, way of
thinking, or underlying language system. A student’s oral reading errors can provide
insight into the student’s way of thinking.
Clinical teaching can be viewed as a cycle. The student is evaluated, and then a
unit of work based on the evaluation is taught. After teaching, the student is again
evaluated to determine what has been learned. If the student performs well, the clinical
teacher knows that the teaching has been successful and plans for the next step of
learning. If the student performs poorly, the teacher must reassess the teaching plan,
analyze the errors to try to determine the cause of the failure to learn, and develop a new
course of action for teaching.
I. Differentiated Instruction
The term differentiated instruction reflects the philosophy of teaching that enables
teachers to reach the unique needs of each student, capitalizing on the student’s strengths
and weaknesses. Differentiated instruction embodies the qualities of clinical teaching by
giving students multiple options for taking in information and making sense of ideas
(Hall, Strangman, & Meryer. 2011; Tomlinson, Brimijoin, & Narvaez, 2008; Tomlison,
2001). One of the biggest mistakes we make in teaching is to treat everyone equally when
it comes to learning. By recognizing that not all students are alike, differentiated
instruction applies an approach to teaching and learning that gives students multiple
options for taking in information and making sense of ideas.
Children do not respond well to a one-size-fits-all curriculum. Children process
information differently from one another; some form images, others form words, and
others form sentences. Differentiated instruction takes their individual needs into account
with teaching by responding to each student’s personal talents, interests, varying
background knowledge, and distinct experiences. In differentiated instruction, the teacher
seeks to find that special method that will be successful for an individual student to help
that student learn (Bender, 2006).
The concept of “multiple intelligences” presents another view of differentiated
learning. Many parents and teachers correctly observe that their children may encounter
learning problems in school, but they have incredible talents that are generally
undervalued or not well represented in school curricula. Multiple intelligence are a view
of learning that reflects the idea that people possess different kinds of intelligences that
are not represented in the school curriculum. Howard Gardner (1983, 1993, 1999)
suggests that there are at least eight different types of intelligence. Each type of
intelligence calls for a distinctive approach to teaching.
In this section, we describe some of the teaching approaches to meet the unique
learning needs of students who learn differently. Teachers should know and have at their
disposal many strategies to meet the needs of an individual student, and teachers should
not be overly dependent on a single teaching approach. Such a flaw is exemplified in
Student Stories 3.2, “A Fable for Teachers.” The point of the fable is that each student (or
animal) is different, and that one method cannot be relied on as the best way for teaching
in every case. There is no magic formula for teaching a child. Teachers need to have a
wide range of instructional approaches at their disposal, and they need to be imaginative
and flexible enough to adapt them to the particular needs of each child.
The notion of cognitive processing refers to the different ways that children
process information within the brain as they learn (Sousa, 2001). Federal law permits
states to use research-based procedures for determining if a child has a learning disability
(IDEA, 2004; Regulations for IDEA, 2006). Many states allow the use of a procedure
that determines if a student exhibits a pattern of strengths and weaknesses in areas of
cognitive processes that interfere with learning (Schultz, 2009).
Identifying a student’s cognitive processing approach to learning has given
meaning to the most salient components of the federal definition of learning disabilities,
which is a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes (IDEA, 2004).
Information about a student’s cognitive processing can be linked to the student’s ability
to perform academically (Flannagan, Ortiz, Alfonso, & Mascolo, 2006; Kavale,
Holdnack, & Mostert, 2005).
Direct instruction is a method of teaching the academic skills of the curriculum in
a structured and controlled manner. With direct instruction, the curriculum and the tasks
that the student is to learn are first analyzed. Then the desired academic curriculum skill
is carefully sequenced so that the teacher teaches each step-in sequence. The student
practices and repeats each step of the sequence until the skill is mastered. Research shows
that direct instruction is very effective, and that students do learn academic skills with
this procedure (Carnine, Silbert, & Kame’enui, 1990; Mainzer et al., 2003).
J. Controlling Instructional Variables
The teacher and the school can do relatively little about many factors linked with
learning disabilities and related mild disabilities. The home environment or the genetic or
biological makeup of the student may be key elements contributing to the learning
problem, but such variables cannot be modified by the teacher. Other factors, however,
can be changed by teachers, and these factors should receive careful consideration.
Variables in learning that can be readjusted by teachers include the difficulty level, space,
time, and language.
The difficulty level of material is an extremely important consideration. Difficulty
levels can be modified to meet a student’s present performance and tolerance levels. The
concept of readiness, which is defined as the state of maturational development that is
necessary before a skill can be learned, applies here, as does Lev Vygotsky’s notion of
the zone of proximal development (ZPD). The zone of proximal development is a
concept that envisions a range of difficulty levels for a student, with the ZPD at the
midpoint of a student’s capacity and an appropriate level for the student’s learning
(Vygotsky, 1962). (See Chapter 5, “Theories of Learning.”) Many students fail tasks
simply because the tasks are too difficult, and the required level of performance is
beyond their present skill level. Expecting a student to perform a task far beyond her or
his skill level can result in a complete breakdown in learning. A synthesis of intervention
research shows that “control of task difficulty” is a critical feature of effective
intervention (Vaughn, Gersten, & Chard, 2000).
Many skills or responses must be overlearned so that they can become automatic.
Many skills must be internalized or become automatic before they can be used quickly in
new situations or transferred to new situations. Internalization permits a shift from the
conscious, cognitive level to the automatic response, or habitual level. For example, in
reading, the student initially may use phonic skills in a conscious, deliberate way to
decode words; but later, the process must become automatic for effective reading.
Space refers to the physical setting, which should be conducive to learning.
Among the ways to modify space are using partitions, cubicles, screens, special rooms,
quiet corners, and removing distracting stimuli. Space also involves the student’s work
area, such as the size of the paper and the desk surface. The school environment should
not be a distraction from learning, but rather should enhance learning. The goal of space
control is to slowly increase the amount of space with which the student must contend.
Gradually, students must internalize their own controls so that they can get along in an
unmodified space environment.
There are a number of ways to control time in the teaching setting. Lessons for
students with a very short attention span can be limited so that they can be completed in
less time. For example, one row of mathematics problems can be assigned instead of an
entire page. The work page can be cut into squares or strips to shorten the time required
to complete one section. Fewer spelling words can be given in a spelling assignment. In
timed exercises, the allotted time can be increased. Time can be broken into shorter units
by varying the types of activity so that quiet activities are followed by livelier ones.
Planned activity changes, such as having the student come to the teacher’s desk or walk
to a shelf to get supplies, can be useful breaks during long lessons. Homework
assignments can be shortened. The goal is to gradually increase the time that the student
works on a task.
Language can also be modified to enhance student learning. To ensure that
language clarifies rather than confuses, teachers should examine the wording of their
directions. The language should match the student’s level of understanding. For students
whose first language is not English, it is especially critical that the teacher’s language be
clear, precise, and unambiguous. Using a visual support, such as a chart, can be helpful in
understanding the language.
K. Building Self-Esteem and Motivation
Robert Louis Stevenson observed that life is not so much a matter of holding good
cards but of playing a poor hand well. This observation expresses the plight of students
with learning disabilities and related mild disabilities and the call for teachers to help
students learn how to play their hand well. Clinical teaching requires an affirming and
positive teacher-student relationship. Although effective teaching requires objectivity and
a thorough knowledge of the curriculum, skills, and methods, it also requires a subjective
understanding of the student as an individual with feelings, emotions, hopes, and dreams
(Brooks & Goldstein, 2002; Brooks, 2000). Students often feel lost and frightened
because they have suffered years of despair, discouragement, and frustration. Sometimes
they experience feelings of rejection, failure, and hopelessness about the future that affect
every subject they study in school and every aspect of their lives. The emotional plight of
students who are failing is further explored in Student Stories 3.3, “The Emotional Plight
of Students with Learning Disabilities and Related Disabilities.”
A problem in learning can impinge upon every aspect of the student’s world. It is
important to recognize the emotional impact of failure on the student. Not only are
parents and teachers displeased with the child, but the parent’s anxiety also often
becomes uncontrollable. The parents wonder whether their child is unable to learn or is
just plain lazy. Even the most loving parents can become so alarmed at their child’s
inability to learn that they will tend to punish, scold, and threaten, or even reward with
the hope of producing desired results. Teachers also feel frustrated by their inability to
reach the child. A student’s problems in learning do not begin and end at the classroom
door; they pervade every aspect of the child’s life. They interfere with everything
important to the child—from riding a bicycle to making friends, from knowing how to
behave at recess to being an effective student.
A good relationship between the teacher and student is an essential first step in
clinical teaching. Much of the success in clinical teaching depends on the establishment
of healthy rapport. The teacher must accept the student as a human being worthy of
respect in spite of a failure to learn. A healthy relationship implies compassion without
over-involvement, understanding without indulgence, and a genuine concern for the
student’s development. The clinical teacher’s relationship with a student should provide a
new atmosphere of confidence and acceptance. Because it may be extremely difficult for
a parent or a family member to retain an accepting, yet objective, attitude, the student
becomes very sensitive to the parent’s disappointment. Parents are often unaware of their
child’s reaction to their efforts. For example, one well-intentioned father in a public
library helping his son pick out a book and listening to him read, was overheard saying,
“I’ll tell you that word one more time, and then I don’t want you to forget it for the rest of
your life.” This is not an attitude that is conducive to learning. Children need to see a
word dozens of times before they readily recognize the word.
Success is similar to vitamins. If you don’t get enough of it growing up, you
suffer a very severe deficiency that could result in long-term problems (Levine, 2002).
Self-esteem cannot be injected or taught; it is a result of many successful experiences
(Richardson, 2003). Students should become aware of and appreciate their successes.
Students should know what they can do well, and teachers and families should help them
pursue their areas of strengths. Many students and adults with learning disabilities and
related mild disabilities achieve success by understanding the nature of their learning
problems and learning to use their strengths. The chance of successful achievement
increases when a teacher provides materials based on the student’s special interests.
Teachers can find student interests through conversations with the student or by
administering interest inventories. By finding materials in the student’s area of interest,
teachers can give the student a strong motivation to learn.
Students have a range of reading interests that include sports, adventure and
action, history, science, biography and memoir, mysteries, and humor. Valuable reading
lessons can be developed from materials that students have an interest in—TV Guide,
newspapers, baseball and football programs, music, popular magazines, and even
computer manuals. The first real interest in reading shown by some high school students
is stimulated by the need to pass a written test in order to get a driver’s license. Engaging
this interest, some teachers have successfully used the driver’s manual as material to
teach reading. A favorite author or series books have been the impetus for other
youngsters to become readers.
Once in a while, dramatic changes occur in a student’s attitude and outlook
because of clinical teaching. When such a change occurs because of a book the child has
read, it is sometimes called bibliotherapy. Learning about the experiences of others can
foster release and insight as well as hope and encouragement. Students with personal
problems (e.g., children who are short, overweight, unpopular, or who have physical or
academic disabilities) identify with book characters who suffer similar problems and are
helped by the characters’ resolution of their problems (Sridhar & Vaughn, 2002). For
example, Peter, a seventh-grade student with learning disabilities, was fascinated by
Houdini, the great escape artist. Peter read all the books he could find on Houdini in the
school library and in the public library. During this period of extensive reading about
Houdini, Peter’s teachers observed personality and attitude changes, as well as
tremendous improvement in his reading.
L. Effective Instructional Strategies for General Education
Peer tutoring is a strategy for the general education classroom in which two
children work on learning tasks together. One child is the tutor and serves as a teacher;
the other child is the tutee and serves as the learner. The children work in pairs, so peer
tutoring supports one-to-one teaching in the general education classroom. The peer tutor
helps the tutee learn, practice, or review an academic skill that the classroom teacher has
planned. Examples of peer tutoring tasks are saying aloud or writing spelling words,
reading sentences, or solving a mathematics problem. Types of peer tutoring include
same-age peer tutoring (in which one student in the classroom tutors a classmate) and
cross-age peer tutoring (in which the tutor is several years older than the tutee
(Greenwood, Maheedy, & Delquardi, 2002).
Both the tutor and the tutee benefit from the peer-tutoring experience. For the
tutees, there are gains in academic achievement. The child can learn more effectively
from a classmate whose thinking processes are closer to the child's than an adult's. For
the tutor, there are also academic benefits because the best way to fully learn something
is to teach it to someone else. The experience also offers the tutor a sense of
accomplishment. Other advantages of peer tutoring are that the tutor serves as a model of
appropriate academic and nonacademic behavior and the relationship between the two
children provides opportunities for establishing additional social relationships within the
classroom.
Research consistently shows that peer tutoring is a successful and valid strategy
(Fischer, Schumaker, & Deshler, 1995; Fuchs & Fuchs, 1998; Greenwood et al., 2002). It
is also relatively easy for teachers to implement. Peer tutoring is a practical way to
provide support for children with learning disabilities and related mild disabilities in the
general education classroom, and more importantly, children like peer tutoring.
Classwide peer tutoring is a more organized version of peer tutoring that involves
the entire class. For this activity, tutor-tutee pairs work together on a classwide basis. At
the beginning of each week, all students are paired for tutoring, and these pairs are then
assigned to one of two competing teams. Tutees earn points for their team by responding
to the tasks presented to them by their tutors. The winning team is determined daily and
weekly on the basis of the team with the highest point total (Greenwood, 1996; Utley,
Mortweet, & Greenwood, 1997).
Many students with learning disabilities need explicit teaching. Like direct
instruction, explicit teaching means that the teacher clearly states what is to be taught and
explains what needs to be done. Students are not left to make inferences from experiences
that are unmediated by such help. In explicit instruction, students are provided with
models of appropriate methods for solving problems or explaining relationships. They are
amply supported during the stages of the learning process, and they are provided with
adequate practice (Gersten, 1998; U.S. Department of Education, 1997). Teaching Tips
3.3 provides some principles of explicit teaching.
Scaffolding refers to abundant teacher support at the initial stage of a student
learning a task. An analogy is made to the scaffold used by builders. A building scaffold
is a temporary structure used to support a building in the early stages of construction that
is removed when it is no longer needed. Similarly, in teaching the metaphor of a scaffold
describes supports that the teacher provides for the student in the early stages of learning
a task. These supports are removed when they are no longer necessary (Pea, 2004;
Gibbons, 2002).
The concept of scaffolded instruction is often linked to Vygotsky’s (1962) notion
of the zone of proximal development (ZPD). The term ZPD refers to the difficulty level
for effective learning; it is neither too easy nor too difficult for the child (the
“Goldilocks” approach to instruction; see the section titled “Developmental Psychology”
in Chapter 5). Also, Vygotsky notes that learning depends upon the social interaction of
an experienced adult (teacher) and the learner (student). The teacher provides the support
or scaffolding that the student needs during the initial stage of learning the task (Pea,
2004; Gibbons, 2002; Rosenshine, 1997).
Instruction in learning strategies is increasingly being used as a teaching method
for students with learning disabilities and related mild disabilities. These students tend to
be inefficient learners because they lack systematic ways of learning, remembering, or
directing their learning. Learning strategies instruction helps students learn the secrets of
being a successful student, how to study, how to integrate new materials with what they
already know, how to monitor their learning and problem solving, and how to remember
or to predict what is going to happen. Research supports learning strategies as an
effective way to teach students with learning disabilities and related mild disabilities
(Mainzer et al., 2003; Swanson, 1999b). Instruction in learning strategies helps students
take charge of their own learning; thus, they become active learners and acquire a
repertoire of learning strategies (Deshler, Ellis, & Lenz, 1996).
M. Technology in the Classroom
Technology should be viewed as a tool for learning and can supplement the
specialized instruction that is being provided by the special educator. Students enjoy
using technology in the classroom. It offers them an opportunity for active learning.
Students who are technologically savvy are eager to share their knowledge with others.
Using technology in the classroom increases student motivation and self-esteem. Students
want to learn how to use the Internet. Here are some suggested websites.
Teachers use technology to provide instruction to students. They may utilize
PowerPoint slides or prezi to provide visuals. They may download information about a
given country. They may utilize the Smartboard for interactive instruction. They may use
survey tools to get their students’ opinion about a given topic. More teachers are utilizing
Skype as a way to feature speakers from other parts of the country. Some classrooms
have a relationship with a classroom from another country that they are studying, and
they use Skype to have a discussion with a classroom in Japan. Some teachers create
podcasts that are short lectures about a critical topic and the student can listen to the
podcast using her iPod or iPhone.
Voki is an online tool that allows the teacher to create a talking avatar. The
teacher creates a character, tells it what to say, and then publishes the character with the
message. This is an excellent way to gain student attention (Elliott, 2012). Many teachers
now have webpages as part of their school’s website, and they can utilize the webpage to
provide a preview of the lecture or provide clues to a key vocabulary word that will be in
the lecture. Teachers can also create their own free website utilizing weebly for
education.
Some teachers have utilized Facebook as a way to enhance instruction. However,
be advised that some schools will not allow its use so the teacher must always check the
school district’s policy. Teachers who are allowed to use it create a separate account and
only allow their students to utilize it for specific educational purposes. They may pose
questions about a topic that they are discussing, and the students can respond. Online
discussion boards are an excellent tool for teachers to use to post a question about what is
being studied and all students are expected to provide one or two responses to the
question.
Technology can be utilized to post homework assignments, to post helpful hints to
students about how to complete an assignment, and to provide reminders to students
about assignments that are due. For parents, helpful hints can be provided about the topic
that is being discussed in class. Reminders can also be posted to parents about important
school events. Some teachers utilize dialogue journals with their students. Students create
an e-mail specifically for school use and their journal can be sent to the teacher by e-mail.
The teacher can then respond personally to the student.
Some teachers are texting parents or students to provide reminders about specific
activities or assignments. The rapid changes in technology make it very important for
teachers to stay current with what is available, know what the technology policies of the
school district are, keep any use of technology appropriate for school use, and supervise
students’ use of technology
