Introducing The Learning Team to School Staff

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Introducing The Learning Team to School Staff

• This PowerPoint presentation offers slides that
  district and school staff can use to introduce
• The Learning Team to school staff.
• Slides can be downloaded by visiting Alberta
  Learnings Web site at www.learning.gov.ab.ca.
• Click on Kindergarten to Grade 12, go to
  Resources for Parents, click on The Learning Team
  and scroll down to Also available.

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THE Learning T E A M
An overview for school staff of

• A handbook for parents
• of children with
• special needs

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The Learning Team Workshop Warm-Up!
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The Learning Team Workshop Agenda

• Introduction
• Who are children with special needs?
• Building the learning team
• Meeting childrens diverse learning needs

• Supporting social and emotional growth
• Planning for transitions
• Resolving differences
• Keeping informed
• Wrap-up

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Parents are important members of the learning
team

• Parents know their childrens strengths,
  abilities, needs and challenges.
• Parents ongoing involvement and support in their
  childrens education can make a positive and
  meaningful difference in their childrens success.

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Goal of The Learning Team

• To provide information and sample strategies that
  parents can use to become meaningfully involved
  in their childrens education

Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a
common vision. Unknown
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Special features of the resource

• Tips
• Parent Notebooks
• Links to other resources

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(No Transcript)
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(No Transcript)
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Links to other resources
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Chapter 1 Who are Children with Special Needs?
Characteristics to consider

• How a child learns
• Intellect
• Communication
• Physical characteristics
• School behaviour

Key question How do these characteristics affect
a childs learning and functioning in the
classroom?
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Continuum of assessment
Chapter 1 Who are Children with Special Needs?
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Purposes of assessment
Chapter 1 Who are Children with Special Needs?

• To find out if the child has a special learning
  need
• To identify the childs strengths and needs
• To identify programming and services that will
  meet the childs individual needs

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Parents role in assessment
Chapter 1 Who are Children with Special Needs?

• Sharing medical reports
• Reporting recent behaviour changes
• Discussing observations about their childs
  learning needs
• Completing checklists
• Providing input after assessment

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Chapter 2 Building the Learning Team
Parents role in the learning team

• Participate in decisions
• Give consent for specialized assessments
• Be informed about programming
• Provide information about their child
• Discuss their childs progress
• Consult on their childs IPP

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Chapter 2 Building the Learning Team
Build the learning team

• Know the teachers
• Share information
• Meet the school principal

Thomas Edisons response when asked why he had a
team of twenty-one assistants If I could solve
all the problems myself, I would.
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Chapter 2 Building the Learning Team
Expand the learning team

• Teacher assistants
• Mentors
• Community services
• Health-related services

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Chapter 2 Building the Learning Team
Be part of the school community

• Provide input
• Participate in school councils and committees
• Volunteer

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Chapter 2 Building the Learning Team
Tips for parents on how to advocate for their
children

• Understand that communication is key
• Invest time
• Give change a chance
• Consider what support they need
• Keep records

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Chapter 2 Building the Learning Team
Tips for parents on supporting learning at home

• Talk about learning
• Find out what children are learning
• Help practise new skills
• Recognize accomplishments

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Chapter 3 Meeting Childrens Diverse Learning
Needs
All children can learn, but not all children
learn in the same way, at the same time or at the
same rate learning is an individual process.
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Chapter 3 Meeting Childrens Diverse Learning
Needs
How to meet childrens diverse learning needs

• Identify needs
• Develop annual goals and measurable objectives
• Select appropriate accommodations and supports

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Chapter 3 Meeting Childrens Diverse Learning
Needs
Types of programming

• An adapted program keeps the outcomes from the
  provincial curriculum and adjusts instruction to
  address the special learning needs of the
  student.
• A modified program has learning outcomes that are
  significantly different from the provincial
  program and specifically selected to meet a
  students special learning needs.

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Chapter 3 Meeting Childrens Diverse Learning
Needs
Individualized Program Planning (IPP)

• Each student identified as having special needs
  must have an individualized program plan (IPP).
• IPPs are developed to address the specific
  learning needs of individual students.

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Chapter 3 Meeting Childrens Diverse Learning
Needs
What is an IPP?

• A team effort involving the student, parents,
  teachers and resource personnel
• A planning document that helps monitor, record,
  and evaluate a students education programming
  and progress
• A summary of accommodations and modifications
• A guide for transition planning

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The IPP is a game plan devised by the team
in a huddle. It decides what to do to win.
Dr. Dave Carter
Chapter 3 Meeting Childrens Diverse Learning
Needs
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Chapter 3 Meeting Childrens Diverse Learning
Needs
Accommodations
An accommodation is a change to the regular way a
student is expected to learn, complete
assignments or participate in the classroom.

• Types of accommodations
• Classroom accommodations
• Instructional accommodations
• Evaluation and testing accommodations

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Chapter 3 Meeting Childrens Diverse Learning
Needs
Classroom accommodations
Adaptations of resources and materials in order
to help students learn more successfully

• Sample classroom accommodations
• Enlarging reading materials
• Using blocks or number lines for counting
• Using word processors or electronic spell checks
• Providing different kinds of paper or supplies
• Allowing children to stand rather than sit for
  selected activities

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Chapter 3 Meeting Childrens Diverse Learning
Needs
Instructional accommodations
Adjustments to instruction in order to reflect
how individual students learn best

• Sample instructional accommodations
• Breaking instruction into small steps
• Working in partners and small groups
• Writing key questions on the board
• Showing a sample of a completed assignment

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Chapter 3 Meeting Childrens Diverse Learning
Needs
Assessment accommodations
Modifications to classroom assessment in order
to create a clear and realistic picture of
student growth and achievement

• Sample assessment accommodations
• Extended time to complete tasks
• Breaks during a test
• Use of a reader or a scribe to record answers
• Breaking the test into parts

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Chapter 3 Meeting Childrens Diverse Learning
Needs
Instruction, rather than setting, is the key to
success. Decisions related to the placement of
students are best made on an individual basis in
a manner that maximizes their opportunity to
participate fully in the experience of
schooling. Standards for Special Education
(2003) Page1
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Chapter 3 Meeting Childrens Diverse Learning
Needs
Placement options
Different children need different kinds of
support. Placement can include a combination of

• regular classroom
• resource program
• specialized classes.

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Chapter 4 Supporting Social and Emotional Growth
Ideas for how parents can support childrens
social and emotional growth

• Promote understanding of their childs special
  needs
• Offer encouragement
• Teach decision-making skills
• Encourage independence
• Build communication skills
• Foster friendships

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Chapter 4 Supporting Social and Emotional Growth
Teach self-advocacy

• Self-advocacy Speaking out and taking positive
  action to make your situation better

• Tips
• Discuss strengths and needs
• Include children in meetings
• Provide opportunities for making plans and
  choices
• Set goals

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Chapter 5 Planning for Transitions
Transition
Any event that results in changes to
relationships, routines, expectations or roles
Keys to successful transitions

• Early and systematic planning
• Consciously identifying hopes and dreams
• Thoroughly exploring a variety of possibilities
• Using appropriate strategies to help children
  move from one stage to the next

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Chapter 5 Planning for Transitions
Early planning

• Accept that change and challenges are part of
  life
• Plan well in advance of any change
• Plan with the future in mind
• Encourage and celebrate small successes

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Chapter 5 Planning for Transitions
Identifying hopes and dreams

• Parents can
• find out their childrens dreams and hopes for
  the future
• identify their own wishes and preferences for
  their childrens future
• develop a family vision for the future .

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Chapter 5 Planning for Transitions
Bridging from one stage to the next

• Consider what supports children may need
• Ask questions
• Reassure and support children

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Chapter 6 Resolving Differences
Voicing concerns at the local level

• Meet with the childs teacher
• Meet with the school principal
• Look for winwin solutions

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Chapter 6 Resolving Differences
Voicing concerns at the district level

• Every parent has a right to appeal board
  decisions
• Appeal procedures vary from district to district
• The school principal can provide information
  about the district appeal process

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Chapter 6 Resolving Differences
Voicing concerns at the provincial level

• If parents have completed an appeal at the
  district level and are still dissatisfied with a
  board decision they can request a review by the
  Minister of Learning
• The Ministers decision is in effect for one year

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Chapter 7 Keeping Informed
Beginning the search
Researching educational issues may provide
parents with valuable information to consider
when making decisions about their childrens
education.

• Choose issue to research
• Narrow down questions
• Search for information
• Carefully consider the reliability of all sources

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Chapter 7 Keeping Informed
Where to find information?

• People (including teachers and other parents)
• Libraries
• Print resources
• Internet
• Television, film and video resources

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Wrap-up Activity
How did we do?
3 Things you found out 2 Things that you will
start right away 1 Question you still have
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"Coming together is a beginning, staying together
is progress, and working together is success."
Henry Ford