Jane Pemberton

Desktop Videoconferencing: Examples of Applications to Support Teacher Training in Rural Areas

This article presents examples of desktop videoconferencing used as a tool for supporting teacher training, particularly in rural settings. The accessibility of videoconferencing desktop systems makes it possible to directly observe and supervise students in actual teaching situations. Videoconferencing presents unique opportunities for working with students in rural settings, as well as other students with limited access to university programs. The benefits and challenges of using desktop videoconferencing are discussed. The discussion section addresses the need for additional research to determine the appropriate application of desktop videoconferencing systems as the technology becomes more available for school use.

Comparison of Discipline Referrals for Students With Emotional/Behavioral Disorders Under Differing Instructional Arrangements

Academic assessment for students with challenging behavior is often overlooked. Confronted with a curriculum that is above or below their instructional needs, students may engage in a range of inappropriate behaviors (e.g., acting-out, withdrawal, social avoidance). In that behavioral and learning problems are reciprocal, academically related problems such as lack of concentration, failing memory, bad study habits, family interference along with inappropriate classroom behavior are not examined from an instructional perspective but immediately explained as the symptoms of a possibly more serious condition (Tucker, 1985). In this study, we attempt to show how the use of curriculum-based assessment (CBA) can have a positive effect by lowering the number of inappropriate behavior occurrences within the classroom.

A Model for Making Decisions About Text Adaptations

Text adaptations have a significant impact on a students success in the general education classroom. This article examines a process for teachers to use when deciding whether or not to adapt a particular text for an individual student. The following five options for text adaptations are described: (a) bypass reading, (b) decrease reading, (c) support reading, (d) organize reading, and (e) guide reading. Text adaptation is a strategy that should be considered in a variety of settings for students with disabilities and their nondisabled peers, from the prereferral stage in the general education classroom to the continuum of placements available through special education services.

Aligning Assessments With State Curriculum Standards and Teaching Strategies

This article describes the steps of moving from state curriculum standards for writing to selecting and teaching a writing strategy to designing curriculum-based assessments in writing. The relationship between assessment and instruction is strengthened as educators monitor student progress in the state curriculum standards, make sound instructional decisions, and prepare students for annual assessments required by state education agencies.

Integrated Processing A Strategy for Working Out Unknown Words

From Helping the Struggling Reader (pp. 307-314), by N. Sundbye and L. McCoy, 1997, Lawrence, KS: Curriculum Solutions, Inc. Copyright 1997 by Curriculum Solutions, Inc. Adapted with permission. Students who are having difficulty with reading need to be taught strategies to help them figure out unknown words while reading. Without an effective strategy, many struggling readers simply guess or use an inefficient method to pronounce unknown words. Some students who are inaccurate readers have a limited knowledge of phonics and apply their phonetic knowledge with no regard to meaning. The result is a loss of understanding about what is being read. Integrated Processing (Sundbye & McCoy, 1997) is a reading strategy for students who have some phonics skills but fail to integrate phonics with context clues for the meaningful pronunciation of unknown words. This strategy can be used to help readers who are hesitant to attempt long words, omit the middles or ends of such words, or sound out and blend words without correcting their

How Teachers Used Reading Performance Charts Compiled Weekly by a Technical Support Agency

Abstract This study examined how 26 teachers in two elementary schools used performance charted data provided for them by a technical support agency. Using a multidimensional reading assessment (MRA), the support agency staff administered reading probes weekly and charted the data monthly for teachers during one school year. Results of teacher interviews at the conclusion of the study indicated that using a technical support agency was an effective way to provide charted achievement data to teachers. Although teachers did not report using the data extensively to make explicit instructional decisions, a majority of the teachers reported using the data to verify their own observations about student progress, and as a communication tool with students and parents.