[Simtrainer-l] Need some ideas

[Monica Harris]

From: Monica Harris
Sent: Monday, August 1, 2016 3:04 PM
To: 'Ellis, Edwin' <edwinellis1 at gmail.com>; Christine Bouck <christinebouck at gmail.com>
Subject: RE: [Simtrainer-l] Need some ideas

I couldn’t agree more with Ed on all of his points, especially the VOCABULARY tip! As they say in real estate, “Location, location, location!” Well, in reading comprehension, it’s “Vocabulary, vocabulary, vocabulary!”

As part of deciding which strategies to teach first, consider the kind of student data is already being collected by your school; using what is already available will make it easier for you to collect it and document student performance. As Ed pointed out, this is all about helping you to make a wise decision for which direction to go based on student data.

We all know how important building student relationships and creating a safe classroom environment is for all learners, so be sure to consider how this will be done. So typically the first couple weeks of school are about getting to know the new routine, teacher expectations, building student rapport, and so forth… This could be an ideal time to teach the two vocabulary strategies Ed had mentioned and go from there based on student data. They can begin to use it right away in their general education/content classes, regardless if they score below the 3rd grade level (in my opinion). And use Possible Selves to help you to get to know your students and help them to set goals for the year!

I am also envious…  Reading your email took me back to some of my fondest memories of developing and teaching such a class!
Best of luck,
Monica

From: Simtrainer-l [mailto:simtrainer-l-bounces at lists.ku.edu] On Behalf Of Ellis, Edwin via Simtrainer-l
Sent: Monday, August 1, 2016 1:55 PM
To: Christine Bouck <christinebouck at gmail.com<mailto:christinebouck at gmail.com>>
Cc: simtrainer-l at lists.ku.edu<mailto:simtrainer-l at lists.ku.edu>
Subject: Re: [Simtrainer-l] Need some ideas

From my perspective, which strategies to teach depend on two key factors: (1) students’ level of core basic literacy skills (e.g., reading, writing ability) and (2) setting demands of the students’ general education classes.
If for example, your students have very limited writing skills AND writing really is a needed skill to be successful in the school where you are working, then instruction in the SIM writing strategies would be a good idea. In contrast, if your students have very limited writing skills BUT writing really isn’t a critical skill needed to be successful in your school (believe it or not, writing often IS NOT critical to success in many high schools), then there may be greater pay-off by targeting other areas where mastery of the learning strategy has a more direct impact on success in the school.

One of the things we know from research on generalization of strategy instruction is that IF students don’t see a clear connection between learning the strategy and actual success in the school, many will (a) be resistant to learning the strategy in the first place, and even if they do master it, (b) will not retain their ability to apply the strategy. In other words, they will soon forget how to “do" it.  It’s a “use-it or loose it” situation. Put another way, teaching specific learning strategies based on the “one day, you’ll need this” approach tends to be a waste of time.

Having said this, what we know from research is that VOCABULARY RULES! The single best predictor of academic success is knowledge of vocabulary, and learning new vocabulary is THE most common setting demand students face in high school. Thus, chances are pretty good that your students will be facing learning an extraordinary amount of vocabulary. So, if this is a the case in your new school, I’d consider teaching LINCS Vocabulary Strategy as one of the first strategies addressed, in part because it’s both novel and relatively easy for students to learn and immediately apply. Then I’d focus on the Word Mapping Strategy (not so easy to learn or teach, but really powerful!). BTW, I would be happy to share my LINCS PPT presentation with you if you’d like a copy.

Another thing to consider is determining a scope and sequence of learning strategies to teach (e.g., which to teach this coming year, and assuming you’ll be teaching the many of the same students next year, which learning strategies you’ll be teaching them then). Personally, my favorite “starter” strategies that give a lot of initial bang-for-the-buck are LINCS, Fundamentals of Paraphrasing and Summarizing, and Fundamentals of Sentence Writing. You can make a big impact with just these three strategies.

By the way, keep in mind that a KEY thing to consider are students prerequisite skills. For example, reading research suggests that if students have not mastered at least a high-3rd grade level in basic decoding skills and word recognition skills, then instruction in reading comprehension strategies (e.g., Fundamentals of Paraphrasing) is NOT likely to be nearly as successful as when the strategy is taught to students who have mastered basic decoding skills. This means that if your students’ reading skills are, say, around 2nd grade level, the pay-off will be greater if you focus on basic literacy (e.g., phonemic awareness, basic decoding), and then, once you’ve raised their skills to high 3rd grade levels, switch to reading comprehension strategy instruction such as Paraphrasing for Self-questioning.

I must say, I’m a bit jealous. Going back to the classroom sound very exciting!
Best, Ed






On Aug 1, 2016, at 12:02 PM, Christine Bouck via Simtrainer-l <simtrainer-l at lists.ku.edu<mailto:simtrainer-l at lists.ku.edu>> wrote:

Dear Colleagues,

After 10 years in higher education, I am moving back into the classroom. Starting next week I will be teaching high school again. One of my classes is what's called "curriculum assistance" and the other four will be co-teaching math and English. I could use your help. The CA class is for students with more severe learning differences. It's set up so we can work on IEP goals and (the best part) learning strategies to help the students be more successful in their classes. The principal seemed very impressed with the SIM strategies at my interview, and I am excited to be implementing them.

Here is where I need some help. I have free rein in this class to teach whatever I feel is best for my students. It's been a long time since I've been in the classroom, and I only had a few strategies to choose from. Now that I have most of the manuals and know so much more, I'm feeling overwhelmed. Does anyone have any suggestions for how you go about determining which strategies to teach first? I've always taught the strategy to everyone at once but I was thinking about trying to do some differentiation if possible. If anyone has suggestions for that I would love to hear them. Basically, if you have any advice, I'll take it. I'm thinking that once I get back into the classroom I'll be fine but the planning stages are giving me fits. I would appreciate any suggestions you have. Thanks!

Christine
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