Introductory Problem

The SPED Model at UTVA

THE PROBLEM SOLVING PROCESS

Academic vs. Behavioral

Academic Route…Pinpointing the problem

Appropriate Accommdations

Collaboration

Behavioral Route…define the problem behavior Set up motivators

Set up a contract

FINAL PROBLEM TO SOLVE

It is the second week of school. Your student no longer wants to get out of bed in the morning. When you finally get them out of bed, all they can say is “This is too hard.” They lay their head on the table. Your student finally agrees to attend his Math class via Elluminate. Math class is usually your student’s best class. Today’s math class is about solving word problems. He gets to the computer, and stares at the screen. He does not answer questions, he does not text any messages, or responds in any way. After his Elluminate session is over, you decide to present the lesson that goes along with the Math Class that he just attended. He watches you read through and do a problem. Then you assign the work he needs to do. After 10 minutes you return to see that he hasn’t completed anything. He responds that it is just too hard. You decided to switch subjects, and maybe reading would be a better way to start the day. Your student struggles to read through the assigned stories. He is laboriously sounding out every letter, and many of the words you have to tell him. After reading the whole story, your student answers comprehension questions about the passage with 40% accuracy. What would you do?? AcademicBehavioral Do you think that this problem is academic or behavioral? GREAT!! Although some of these characteristics may be similar to behavior, the fact that the student struggled with the reading in solving math as well as in reading his assignment indicates that his reading may be affecting his performance in all of his classes. Good try! Although a student giving up can be a sign of behavior struggles, in this case there is a clear trigger that reading is setting off the behavior. Let’s address the academic issue first, and see if the behavior improves.

It is the second week of school. Your student no longer wants to get out of bed in the morning. When you finally get them out of bed, all they can say is “This is too hard.” They lay their head on the table. Your student finally agrees to attend his Math class via Elluminate. Math class is usually your student’s best class. Today’s math class is about solving word problems. He gets to the computer, and stares at the screen. He does not answer questions, he does not text any messages, or responds in any way. After his Elluminate session is over, you decide to present the lesson that goes along with the Math Class that he just attended. He watches you read through and do a problem. Then you assign the work he needs to do. After 10 minutes you return to see that he hasn’t completed anything. He responds that it is just too hard. You decided to switch subjects, and maybe reading would be a better way to start the day. Your student struggles to read through the assigned stories. He is laboriously sounding out every letter, and many of the words you have to tell him. After reading the whole story, your student answers comprehension questions about the passage with 40% accuracy. What would you do?? What skill is affecting this student’s performance? Math Computation Reading Comprehension Reading Decoding Although the student struggled with math, he usually does very well, this suggests this may not be the only area of concern today. Although the student struggled to understand, you need to ask why he doesn’t understand. This student can’t read the words and that is affecting his comprehension. CORRECT! The students inability to read is affecting his performance in Math and Reading Comprehension.

What would you do?? What is an appropriate accommodation for a student who is struggling with reading decoding? Read the assignment aloud to the student Reword and summarize the lesson into your own words. Have the student read the assignment aloud and then quietly to himself before preceding with the lesson. Don’t jump the gun! By doing too much, you are taking away too much of the student’s learning. Only accommodate in the area the student is struggling in. CORRECT! This is a great place to start. If the student is struggling with decoding, this should be a great place to start! If a student can’t read it, it doesn’t really matter how many times they read it alone. They need you! They need accommodations. They can’t do it alone.

IT WORKED!! After reading the problems to the student, the student started to do his math problems. As the learning coach, what are you going to do next? Keep reading the text aloud to your student in all areas Let the student start working on his history lesson alone. Contact your child’s SPED teacher and share the results. Just reading to your student will help them get through the curriculum, but it doesn’t address the need that they still don’t know how to read. Contact your SPED teacher to set up a plan of where to go from here. If a student is struggling with reading, reading another subject isn’t going to help. They will need accommodations. Contact your SPED teacher to set up a plan of where to go from here. CORRECT!! Your SPED teacher is equipped with ways to address the problems, and knows when and how to accommodate your students. They can help you find balance in this process. Talk with your teacher to set up a plan.