Let's teach for mastery -- not test scores

Key Points:

The traditional academic model groups students together by age and perceived ability and all learn at the same pace.  No matter what grade a student receives on a test , the whole class will then move on to the next subject, a more advanced subject that's going to build gaps  

in knowledge

Sal Khan believes students need to be given the option to practice a piece over and over again until students master an idea before they move on to a more advanced one to avoid creating gaps in knowledge.     

Individualized Learning Plans

 Full Article

Key Points:

- School system in Indiana wanted to develop individual plans for their students with unique education situations

- The district had no tools in place for this so they used Google Docs to collaborate

- Students were to take part in creating their individual learning plans (ILPs), and they were live documents that changed as their needs in education changed

- After one year, the ILPs failed, as they were too much work to keep up with

- The moral of the story is to try, and understand that failing is learning

Relevance:

This article is highly relevant in education because it supports trying new things and understanding that "failure" isn't really failure. It is a chance to revisit something and try again. The ILPs described are also very similar to Oregon's Individual Education Plans (IEPs).

Interest-based Education for Students with Autism.

They Deserve Good Teaching, Too. Social justice in a classroom for students with autism.

Leanna Carollo, Rethinking Schools Spring 2015 Vol. 29 No.3

Key Points:

Leanna Carollo is a public school Special Edu. teaching in California and writing a reflection on her time working as an IA.  She takes issue with Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) methods of instruction, and the inappropriate use of extrinsic motivation in particular.  Carollo experiments with methods from “Relationship Development Intervention,” that focus on using the child's strengths and interests to make progress in objectives.  Key to her approach is cultivating methods for student emotional expression.  

Intended Audience:

Practicing Educators

Relevance:

Yet another article in favor of student voice as crucial to valuable instruction.  I am eager to continue learning from my Spec. Ed. compatriots about the challenges they face from d

ata collection / other pressures that prevent this style of instruction and ways to make progress.

Online Coursetaking Evolving Into Viable Option for Special Ed.

Key Point: The article reviews the beginnings of online education for students with special needs. Most of the case studies were with school districts in the southeastern United States. The benefits of the online education is the collaborative work between a classroom teacher and an online teacher that work together. The classroom teacher would give feedback through a google doc to describe the process the student goes through including their behavior. The online teacher then reviews the information and creates assignments that would best support the student. The online program can support these students through repetition, speech therapy, visual supports, etc. Specialist are also on hand to help these students succeed. The concern is whether or not the purposed individualized education plans actually happen, or will they be they same struggles we face in the face to face classrooms today.

Intended Audience: Educators, Special Educators, Parents of Special Needs Children

Published: Education Week on April 1st, 2015

URL: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/04/01/online-course-taking-evolving-into-viable-option-for.html