CHRIS BORGMEIERPORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY

Individualization

Reading Review

Stanovich, 2010

Thompson, Wehmeyer & Hughes, 2010 Mind the Gap: Implications of a Person-Environment

Fit Model of Intellectual Disability for Students, Educators and Schools

Calicott, 2003 Culturally Sensitive Collaboration within Person

Centered Planning

Thompson, Wehmeyer & Hughes, 2010

Perspective on Disability Disability is not a defect within the individual, but a

poor fit between the person’s capacities and the context in which a person functions

• Thompson, Wehmeyer & Hughes, 2010• World Health Organization, 2001

Shift the emphasis from measurement of traits to understanding the individual’s actual functioning in daily living

• Luckasson et al., 1992

Disability

In a person-environment fit model The pathology is not the Disability The Disability is “the expression of a physical or

mental limitation in social context – the GAP between a person’s capabilities and the demands of the environment

The purpose of Special Education is to close the GAP between personal capacity and environmental demands

Supports

From a person-environment fit perspective Intellectual Disability is characterized by limitations

in intellectual functioning that result in individuals needing extraordinary supports (supports that people from the general population don’t need) in order to participate in activities associated with everyday life

Assess: Student’s present level of performance AND Ways in which the environment might be modified

Fad or Fact?Individualization x Learning Styles

The term learning styles refers to the view that different people learn information in different ways. Visual learners Auditory learners Kinesthetic learners

Pashler, McDaniel, Rohrer & Bjork, 2008

The learning-styles view has acquired great influence within the education field, and is frequently encountered at levels ranging from kindergarten to graduate school.

There is a thriving industry devoted to publishing learning-styles tests and guidebooks for teachers, and many organizations offer professional development workshops for teachers and educators built around the concept of learning styles.

Pashler, McDaniel, Rohrer & Bjork, 2008

“Although the literature on learning styles is enormous, very few studies have even used an experimental methodology capable of testing the validity of learning styles applied to education. Moreover, of those that did use an appropriate method, several found results that flatly contradict the popular meshing hypothesis. “

“We conclude therefore, that at present, there is no adequate evidence base to justify incorporating learning styles assessments into general educational practice."

Arter & Jenkins, 1977

Conducted a Research Review & practitioner survey re: “Learning Styles”

• "In spite of the absence of evidence that supports modality instructional matching, textbooks urge teachers to adopt this approach, and the majority of special education teachers believe in and employ this model.“

• “no one has successfully demonstrated that beginning reading instruction can be improved by modality and instructional matching” 

Individualization

A systematic and collaborative process to

develop and adapt environments, supports and instruction to individual needs.

Individual considerations include the strengths, cultural and family contexts, preferences and priorities of the learner and family.

A-B-C

Instruction & Support

Student Independence

A-B-CAcquisition

FluencyMaintenance

Generalization

A-B-C

Instruction & Support

Student Independence

Individualization

Race

Ethnicity

Age

Ability

Culture

Language

Data-Based Decision Making

Sexual

orientation

Gender

Primary Prevention:School/Classroom-Wide Systems for

All Students,Staff, & Settings

Secondary Prevention:Specialized Group

Systems for Students with At-Risk Behavior

Tertiary Prevention:FBABSP for Students

with High-Risk Behavior

~80% of Students

~15%

~5%

CONTINUUM OFSCHOOL-WIDE

POSITIVE BEHAVIORSUPPORT

Academic Systems Behavioral Systems

1-5% 1-5%

5-10% 5-10%

80-90% 80-90%

Intensive, Individual Interventions•Individual Students•Assessment-based•High Intensity

Intensive, Individual Interventions•Individual Students•Assessment-based•Intense, durable procedures

Targeted Group Interventions•Some students (at-risk)•High efficiency•Rapid response

Targeted Group Interventions•Some students (at-risk)•High efficiency•Rapid response

Universal Interventions•All students•Preventive, proactive

Universal Interventions•All settings, all students•Preventive, proactive

Designing School-Wide Systems for Student Success

Universal

Targeted

IntensiveContinuum of

Support for ALL

Dec 7, 2007

Science

Soc Studies

Reading

Math

Soc skills

Basketball

Spanish

Label behavior…not people

IMPLEMENTATION W/ FIDELITY

CONTINUUM OF EVIDENCE-BASEDINTERVENTIONS

CONTENT EXPERTISE &

FLUENCY

PREVENTION & EARLY

INTERVENTION

CONTINUOUSPROGRESS

MONITORING

UNIVERSAL SCREENING

DATA-BASEDDECISION MAKING

& PROBLEM SOLVING

RtI

Response To Intervention (RTI)

Learning Disability v. Instructional Disability

Want to rule out instruction as cause for disability Assess Learning & Environment Other factors:

attendance

Necessary components of Assessment

When a student is experiencing difficulty, several related & complementary types of assessment should be performed

1) Assessment of the Learner (Student)

2) Assessment of Instruction (or Intervention) Curriculum and Environment

LearnerInstruction/ InterventionCurriculumEnvironment

Instructional Disability v. Learning Disability

The INSTRUCTION a student has received is assessed to determine whether the student’s difficulties stem from inadequate curriculum or teaching (Instructional Disability)

When instruction is found to be inadequate, the student should be given appropriate instruction to see whether it alleviates the difficulty

When appropriate instruction fails to remediate the difficulty, further assessment of the student is carried out to determine if there is a Learning Disability

Criteria: Double Deficit

The student is significantly below grade level when compared to grade peers

The student is not making progress toward the benchmark according to the progress monitor data (i.e., flat trajectory)

Instructional Challenge

For instruction to be effective, it must be possible for the learner, with reasonable effort, to master the information (facts, skills, behavior, or processes) being taught

1) Unchallenging Content teaching what is already known

2) Appropriately Challenging Content3) Overly Challenging Content

Individualization

What does individualization mean for a student who:

a) Is exceeding grade level and has not behavioral problems (mainstream student)

b) Is 4 grade levels behind in reading (6th grade student reading at a 2nd grade level; learning disability: reading)

c) Is at grade level academically but has signficiant behavioral problems

d) Is in 6th grade w/ significant cognitive deficits (IQ = 65); limited functional living skills (e.g. does not dress, clean or toilet independently)