Access to General Curriculum for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities

1
Access to General Curriculum for Students with
Significant Cognitive Disabilities

• Diane M. Browder, PhD
• Tracie-Lynn Zakas
• University of North Carolina at Charlotte

2
Something is happening to curriculum for students
with significant disabilities
3
(No Transcript)
4
Access to general curriculum

• Where did the idea originate?
• Why has this idea persisted?
• Is there any research to support it?
• What happens to functional life skills?

5
Whose Idea Was Access to General Curriculum?

• Momentum of increasing expectations

• Serendipity in federal policy

6
Changing Curricular Context for Students with
Significant Disabilities

• Early 1970s
• Adapting infant/ early childhood curriculum for
  students with significant disabilities of all
  ages
• 1980s
• Rejected developmental model
• Functional, life skills curriculum emerged

• 1990s
• Also social inclusion focus
• Also self determination focus
• 2000
• General curriculum access (academic content)
• Plus earlier priorities (functional, social, self
  determination)

7
Serendipity

• serendipity    (srn-dp-t)  NOUN pl.
  serendipities
• The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by
  accident.
• The fact or occurrence of such discoveries.
• An instance of making such a discovery.

8
IDEA 1997

• All students have access to general curriculum
  content
• All students assessed on state standards
• Creation of alternate assessment

• All?
• Content?
• What is an alternate assessment?

9
No Child Left Behind

• Schools accountable for ALL students
• AYP in language arts/reading, math, and science

• Did you say ALL?
• Schools are accountable?

10
NCLB Regulations/ Guidance

• AYP can use alternate achievement standards for
  up to 1 of Ss with SCD
• These standards must be based on academic content
  linked to grade level

• Really reading? Really math? Science??

11
What promoted general curriculum access.

• A national focus on reading, math, and science
• Includes all students (yes, including Ss with
  significant cognitive disabilities)
• Schools report as part of AYP
• (yes, including Ss with significant cognitive
  disabilities)

12
Why has the idea of general curriculum access
persisted?

• False starts and new hopes
• Research on AA
• Browder, D., Flowers, C., Ahlgrim-Delzell, L.,
  Karvonen, M., Spooner, F., Algozzine, R.
  (2004). The alignment of alternate assessment
  content with academic and functional curricula.
  Journal of Special Education, 37, 211-233.

13
UNC Charlotte Research on Alignment of Alternate
Assessments

• New hopes (strong links to standards)
• Math
• Compare volumes of more and less
• Use strategies such as counting, measuring, to
  determine possible outcomes in problem solving
• Reading
• Answer questions related to story
• Identify pattern in familiar story

• False starts (weak link to standards)
• Math
• Replace rollers in beauty parlor
• Measure growth of fingernails
• Reading
• Show anticipation on roller coaster
• Attend to visual stimuli

14
Have we gotten carried away with our hopefulness?

• What does research indicate about whether
  students with moderate and severe disabilities
  can learn academics?

15
Reading Mostly sight words (without
comprehension)

• Browder, D. Wakeman, S., Spooner, F.,
  Ahlgrim-Delzell, L., Algozzine, R.F. (2006). A
  comprehensive review of reading for students with
  significant cognitive disabilities. Exceptional
  Children. 72, 392-410.

16
Math Mostly money

• Browder, D., Spooner, F., Ahlgrim-Delzell, L.,
  Harris, A., Wakeman, S. (in submission). A
  comprehensive review of research to teach math to
  students with significant cognitive disabilities.

17
Science Almost nothing!

• Courtade-Little, G., Spooner, F., Browder, D.
  (Accepted). A literature review of science for
  students with significant disabilities. Research
  and Practice in Severe Disabilities.

18
Evidence?

• Known
• How to use systematic prompting and fading to
  teach some academic skills
• How to apply for students with severe as well as
  moderate disabilities
• Sight words and money!!!!!!!!!!!!!

• Learning as we go
• How to extend to other areas of academic content
• How to adapt for students with most significant
  disabilities

19
Have we lost sight of the big picture?

• Functional life skills
• Preparation for adult life in the community

20
Academics vs. Life Skills

• Both can be taught both are important
• Academics can be taught in ways that are
  meaningful
• We do not know what students can learn until we
  try teaching the content
• Life skills are not a prerequisite to learning
  academics
• Students who are not disabled do not have to
  master all life skills to be eligible to learn to
  read double standard
• Balance is needed-in planning IEPs and developing
  daily schedule

21
Questions and Review

• Where did the idea of teaching more academic
  content to students with significant
  disabilities?
• How is it part of an ongoing evolution of
  curriculum for this population?
• How is it meant to add to not replace the
  teaching of functional life skills?
• What might we off load so there is time and
  energy to teach more academics?
• Your questions and comments

22
Knowledge Needed to Implement General Curriculum
Content

• A clear understanding of what it means to teach
  general curriculum content linked to grade level
  standards
• Examples of interventions teachers can follow as
  models for planning instruction
• Social validation from students and parents that
  goals and outcomes are valued and meaningful

23
What is Access to General Curriculum Content?

• Access to the general curriculum for students who
  in the past focused solely on functional or
  remedial academics requires NEW THINKING ABOUT
  CURRICULUM

24
What Is Access to General Curriculum Content?

• Browder, D.M., Wakeman, S.Y., Flowers, C.,
  Rickelman, R.J., Pugalee, D., Karvonen, M.
  (Accepted). Creating access to the general
  curriculum with links to grade level content for
  students with significant cognitive disabilities.
  Journal of Special Education.

• Seven Criteria for Access to the General
  Curriculum
• Four derived from federal policy
• Three based on needs of population

25
Criterion 1 The Content is Academic

• Self check
• I am familiar with my state standards
• I know the major strands of math, science,
  language arts/ reading
• I collaborate with general education teachers
• I realize that this might be difficult
• I may need to commit to some research and
  self-study to learn my state standards

26
Criterion 2- The students assigned grade level
is the point of reference

• Middle School (Grades (6-8)
• Literature of Focus The Call of the Wild by Jack
  London
• Students read chapters of book on grade level and
• make diagram (e.g., fishbone) of story events
  describing cause and effect with evidence.
• identify facts and opinions related to the
  characters
• write a narrative comparing Phillips quality of
  life before and after the boat accident using
  evidence from the text.

27
Criterion 3-The Achievement Level Differs from
Grade Level

• Examples of Alternate Achievement for The Call of
  the Wild
• Students hear chapter summaries read and
  participate using pictures, repeated story lines,
  and controlled vocabulary.
• Students select pictures for fishbone diagram
  after hearing story.
• Students use pictures to answer simple yes/no
  questions about characters in the story (e.g.,
  Was Buck a dog?)
• Students compare events from their own life to
  events in Bucks life in the story using a yes/no
  chart, and a Venn diagram.

28
Criterion 4- Differentiation in achievement
across grade levels/bands

• Elementary
• Childrens picture books provide support for
  comprehension
• Stories have simpler themes and story lines
• Answers can more often be found on the page
  (matching)

• Middle School
• Chapter books student follows along in own book
• This may be an adapted book
• Books may have picture symbol supports objects
  may still be used to support comprehension
• Themes are more mature
• More content from which to glean answer

29
Criteria 5- Promote access to grade level
activities, materials, contexts

• - JAFTA Thinking Map (by Bree Jimenez)

30
Criteria 6- Content centrality and when possible,
performance centrality

• State Standard
• Student will identify, analyze, and apply
  knowledge of the structure and elements of
  fiction
• Content
• Structure and elements of fiction
• Performance
• Identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of

• Camilla will use her AAC to greet peers in
  English class
• Content? No
• Performance? No
• Camilla will choose a fictional story
• Content? Yes?
• Performance? Some
• Camilla will use pictures to identify components
  of a fictional story
• Content? Yes?
• Performance? Stronger link

31
Criteria 7- Multiple levels of access to general
curriculum

• Some students with significant disabilities rely
  on nonsymbolic communication or may have limited
  intentionality in communication consideration
  needs to be given to expectations for these
  students

32
Questions and Review

• Self Check I can explain-
• Strands/ domains of academic content
• Grade appropriate instruction
• How is it like age appropriate instruction
  what is different about this term
• How to teach grade level content but with
  ALTERNATE achievement
• Examples of students at different symbolic levels
• Your questions and comments

33
Steps To Align Instruction From General
Curriculum to IEP

• Whats available
• Grade level standards
• Typical content
• Alternate achievement
• Alignment
• Enhancement
• Pivotal Skills for the IEP

34
Step One Whats Available?

• List the domains of content for each academic
  area to begin creating a curriculum planning
  chart
• E.g., Mathematics may include data analysis,
  geometry, algebra, numbers and computation,
  measurement
• Use the categories of your state standards

35
Step Two Grade Level Focus

• Identify the students specific grade level
• Obtain the state standards for this students
  grade level and any state extensions Alternate
  Knowledge Skills
• Review together as an IEP team
• List some priority standards in your curriculum
  chart general educators can help you know which
  are core to overall learning
• A Thought By looking at the general standards
  you may discover other ideas for teaching the
  curriculum not identified in the AA guidelines.

36
Step Three Typical Content

• For the priority standards, ask general educator
  to give examples of activities, materials, key
  concepts taught
• To be sure everyone understands the standards and
  to create a framework for the next steps

• Discuss how teaching this typical content could
  be done using principles of UDL share resources
  on UDL with team
• This discussion can promote planning for all
  children from the beginning

37
Example BiographiesGrade Level Achievement

• Standard
• Compare and contrast elements of biographies
• Symbolic Level
• Reads and writes at grade level
• Content
• Biographies of well known Americans
• Depth of knowledge
• Requires connecting ideas
• Activities/skills
• Silent reading of biography answer questions
  about comparisons compose biography with all
  elements

38
Step Four Alternate Achievement

• Target what this students goal for achievement
  will be related to these standards
• In Idaho you can use Alternate Sample
  Applications
• In the next three slides, we suggest a way of
  thinking about different levels of access

39
Alternate AchievementLevel 1- Symbolic

• Standard
• Compare and contrast elements of biographies
• Symbolic Level
• Reads sight words sentences with pic symbols
  writes sight words or can circle large vocabulary
  of picture symbols
• Content
• Biographies of well known Americans
• Depth of knowledge
• Requires connecting ideas
• Activities/skills
• Read aloud biography written in simple sentences
  with picture cues circle pictures to answer
  questions about comparisons compose biography by
  selecting pictures and making captions

40
Alternate AchievementLevel 2- Concrete Symbolic

• Standard
• Compare and contrast elements of biographies
• Symbolic Level
• Recognizes a few picture symbols recognizes
  larger number familiar objects and can use some
  symbolically
• Content
• Biographies of well known Americans
• Depth of knowledge
• comprehension
• Activities/skills
• Simplified text with pictures and repeated lines
  and vocabulary read to student about student
  selects pictures to answer question about the
  story puts pictures into circles to show same
  and different to compare biography with own
  life story

41
Alternate AchievementLevel 3- Presymbolic

• Standard
• Compare and contrast elements of biographies
• Symbolic Level
• Picture recognition is inconsistent, must be
  paired with objects communicates by looking at/
  moving to objects or people
• Content
• Biographies of well known Americans
• Depth of knowledge
• recall/ matching
• Activities/skills
• Adapted text with pictures read with student
  objects also used to give meaning student looks
  at/ points to objects from story

42
Alternate Achievement-Special Consideration

• Standard
• Compare and contrast elements of biographies
• Symbolic Level
• No consistent voluntary responding that can be
  used reliably (continue to observe for response/
  AT consultations)
• Content
• Biographies of well known Americans
• Depth of knowledge
• Level ? Awareness
• Activities/skills
• Adapted text with pictures read with student
  objects also used to give meaning note whether
  student made any response to these stimuli
  (change in respiration, opened eyes, vocalizes)

43
Scaffold Concept of Biography by Using
Autobiography First

• Standard
• Compare and contrast elements of biographies
• Symbolic Level
• Recognizes a few picture symbols recognizes
  larger number familiar objects and can use some
  symbolically
• Content
• Biographies of family members autobiography
• Depth of knowledge
• Level connections
• Activities/skills
• Adapted text with pictures read with student
  objects also used to give meaning student
  compares elements of family members and own
  story into same/ different charts using
  pictures/objects

44
Scaffold Understanding of Life Story by Beginning
with a Display

• Standard
• Compare and contrast elements of biographies
• Symbolic Level
• Recognizes a few picture symbols recognizes
  larger number familiar objects and can use some
  symbolically
• Content
• Biographies of famous Americans
• Depth of knowledge
• Level Comprehension
• Activities/skills
• Adapted text with pictures read with student
  recreates biography by placing objects related to
  story on shelf for biography display as teacher
  rereads story

45
Step 5 Double Check for Alignment

• A match between the written, taught, and tested
  curriculum

46
Alignment of Instruction

• As you plan instruction based on standards and
  using your states guide for alternate
  assessment, you create this match or alignment

47
Questions and Review

• We have some more steps to help you get from
  standards to lesson plans and IEPs, but before we
  move on
• Are you clear about how to translate a standard
  into a skill you can teach students in your
  classroom? Questions?
• In the slides to follow, we are going to give you
  a few more ideas from our work

48
An Intervention Strategy

• Task analytic instruction
• Student masters the academic routine
• General curriculum content can vary
• Student learns to generalize routine to the new
  content

49
An Intervention Strategy

• Task analytic instruction
• Student masters the academic routine
• General curriculum content can vary
• Student learns to generalize routine to the new
  content

50
Middle School Literacy Study

• Browder, D.M., Trela, K.C., Jimenez, B. (In
  preparation). Increasing participation of middle
  school students with severe disabilities in
  reading of grade appropriate literature.
• Zakas, T. L., Browder, D. M., Spooner, F. (In
  preparation). The Effects of Peer Support in
  Reading Adapted Grade Level Books on the Literary
  Responses of Middle School Aged Students with
  Significant Cognitive Disabilities

51
Literacy Task AnalysisWhat Teacher or Peer
Tutor Does

• Before Reading
• Use an attention getter
• Review vocabulary (picture symbols/ sight words/
  letter sounds)
• Point to title
• Point to author
• Ask what story is about (prediction)

• While reading
• Give turn to point to text as you read
• Give turn to fill in repeated story line
• Give opportunity to turn own pages
• Give turn to find vocabulary on page
• After reading
• Ask comprehension question

52
Literacy Task AnalysisWhat Student Does

• Before Reading
• Attends to attention getter
• Identifies each word/ picture
• Finds title
• Finds author
• Chooses picture or says what story is about
  (makes a guess)

• While teacher/peer reads
• Turns own pages
• Points to text as teacher reads a line
• Anticipates word in repeated story line
• Finds vocabulary on the page
• After reading
• Answers comprehension question

53
Intervention
Baseline
54
Baseline
Intervention
55
Math Algebra

• Jimenez, B., Browder, D.M., Courtade-Little, G.
  (In preparation). Teaching an algebraic equation
  to students with moderate disabilities.

56
Equation Prompt
ADD

SUBTRACT


-
57
Algebra Task Analysis

• 1. Student points to sum on equation (e.g.,
  7).How many (spoons) do you need?
• 2. Moves red marker to sum on chart (at 7)
• 3. Counts number of items in container and finds
  this known number on equation (3)How many spoons
  do you already have?
• 4. Moves the green marker to known number on
  chart (at 3)
• 5. Count to the sum with materials (from 3 to
  7)How many more spoons will you need to get?
• 6. Selects the number counted (4)
• 7. Puts correct number in for x in for formula
  (4)
• 8.Puts correct number needed in container (4
  items)
• 9. Solves for x (writes 4 for x4)
• For more information-Bree.jimenez_at_cms.k12.nc.uc

58
(No Transcript)
59
Science

• Courtade, G. (2006). The Effects of Inquiry-Based
  Science Instruction Training on Teachers of
  Students with Significant Disabilities. Doctoral
  Dissertation, UNC Charlotte.

• Students learn about density.

60
Science Steps

• Engage
• Student interacts with materials and communicates
  what wants to know
• Investigate Describe Relationships
• Plans ways to gather information
• Looks for pattern
• Construct Explanation
• Communicates explanation
• Tests explanation
• Report
• Communicates what found (e.g., selects picture)
• Contact Ginevra Courtade-Little for more
  information.

61
Results-Teachers
Number of lesson components taught during science
instruction
62
Results-Students
Number of Inquiry Skills Acquired by the Students
during Science Instruction
63
Step 6 Enhancement

• In this step we apply some of the values we have
  for working with students with significant
  disabilities to be sure the academic content we
  teach will be meaningful and beneficial

64
Value Added Promote literacy across the
curriculum

• Brian will eye gaze to select pictures to be
  included in a picture report for science
• Melissa will identify the main characters of a
  story by using pictures/ initial letter sounds
  for their names.
• Nadia will select the picture/word phrase that
  best summarizes the math problem to be solved.

65
Value added Use assistive technology to increase
active, independent responding

• Examples
• John will read 10 complete sentences composed
  with Writing with Symbols using picture cues to
  identify at least one novel word per sentence.
• After using assistive technology to independently
  read a Start-to-Finish novel, Henry will answer
  five comprehension questions based on the novel.

66
Value added Promote Self Determination in
academic learning

• Choice-making
• Make choices within an activity
• Choose between two or more activities
• Decision-making
• Decide topic for class project
• Determine best resource to use to get information
• Problem-solving
• Look at a picture to determine why DVD player is
  not working
• Identify three alternative ways character in
  story could resolve a conflict

67

• Goal setting
• Set a goal for number of books to be read in a
  month
• Identify and communicate IEP goals
• Self management / self evaluation
• Use a bar graph to track number of assignments
  completed
• Rate self on how well performed on given
  assignment
• Self awareness
• Develop picture/word list of likes and dislikes
• Develop and learn to read a list of facts about
  me

68
Value Added Apply Academic Skill to a Real Life
Activity

• Academic skills can be taught in functional,
  meaningful contexts
• Consider the students chronological age and life
  environments (home, work, leisure, community)

69
Examples of Functional Applications

• How do we get from the music store to the food
  court when we go to the mall?
• To practice drawing a line segment
• Recipe for Sweet Southern Tea
• Sugar melts better in the boiled water steep the
  tea then iceto apply how temperature affects
  solvents (Chemistry)

70
Step Six Writing the IEP

• Look at the curriculum map that has been created
• Domains of academic content
• Priority standards from the grade level
• How these standards are typically taught could
  be taught with UDL
• Achievement targets for this students symbolic
  level/ instructional level
• Double check alignment
• Enhance it- literacy, self determination, AT,
  functional

71
The IEP

• Do not try to write a goal/ objective for each
  standard!!!!!!!!!!
• An IEP is not meant to be the curriculum an IEP
  shows how students ACCESS the curriculum

72
The IEP

• Instead, look for pivotal skills that will access
  the target standards. Examples-
• Skills to indicate comprehension
• E.g., point to select correct picture
• Skills to synthesize learning
• E.g., develop a report
• Skills to gain information
• E.g., ask a question find internet site
• Core content to be taught to mastery
• E.g., target vocabulary

73
The IEP

• Review other priority needs
• Functional goals
• Therapy goals

74
The IEP will have

• Goals to access general curriculum academic
  content
• Functional goals
• Therapy goals
• Social goals
• Etc.

75
Social Validation

• Parent perspective
• Student perspective

76
Questions and Review

• What goes on the IEP?
• What background planning was needed to write this
  standards-based IEP?
• Why NOT one IEP objective per standard?
• Your questions and comments (Last call!!)

77

• There can be no acting or doing of any kind, till
  it be recognized that there is a thing to be
  done the thing once recognized, doing in a
  thousand shapes becomes possible.
• Thomas Carlyle

78

• We learn to do something by doing it. There
  really is no other way.
• John Holt, Educator

79

• Adventures dont begin until you get into the
  forest. That first step is an act of faith.
• Mickey Hart, Grateful Dead Drummer

80
Contact Information

• Diane M. Browder, PhD
• Snyder Distinguished Professor of Special
  Education
• Department of Special Education
• University of North Carolina at Charlotte
• 9201 University City Blvd
• Charlotte, NC 28223
• Dbrowder_at_email.uncc.edu
• Project website
• http//education.uncc.edu/access

81
New Resources

• Browder, D.M., Ahlgrim-Delzell, L.,
  Courtade-Little, G., Snell, M.E. (2006). Access
  to the general curriculum. In M.E. Snell F.
  Brown (Eds.). Instruction of students with severe
  disabilities. Upper Saddle River, NJ Prentice
  Hall.
• Browder, D.M., Spooner, F.H. (In press for
  2006). Teaching reading, math, and science to
  students with significant cognitive disabilities.
  Baltimore Paul H. Brookes.
• Courtade-Little, G. Browder, D.M. (2005).
  Aligning IEPs to academic content standards.
  Madison, WI Attainment Co.