Pamela J. Hudson

Effects of Peer Coaching on the Acquisition of Direct Instruction Skills by Low-Performing Preservice Teachers:

We examined the effects of peer coaching, a method of supervising preservice teacher trainees who were learning to deliver direct instruction procedures to small groups of elementary-age students with mild disabilities. Coaches helped five low-performing trainees acquire effective teaching behaviors by (a) evaluating videotapes of their teaching performance, (b) meeting individually with trainees to review videotapes, (c) helping trainees evaluate their own performance, (d) providing feedback on effective and ineffective behaviors, (e) setting objectives for improved performance, and (f) periodically grading performance. The effects of peer coaching were examined in a multiple baseline design across trainees. Results indicated that peer coaching increased the effective teaching behaviors of five trainees.

If It Takes Two to Tango, Then Why Not Teach Both Partners to Dance? Collaboration Instruction for All Educators

Being able to collaborate effectively is important for teachers who work together to serve students with learning disabilities in general education classrooms. Effective collaboration requires that teachers have knowledge and skills in how to effectively communicate and share their technical expertise for the purpose of solving classroom problems and providing continuity across instructional settings. Although both special education and general education preparation programs provide preservice teachers with the technical expertise for their respective areas of certification, few programs provide both special education and general education majors with instruction in interpersonal communication skills and collaboration strategies. The purpose of this article is to suggest guidelines and strategies to help teacher preparation programs move toward collaboration instruction for all educators. Suggestions for what to teach and how to teach it are offered, as well as an overview of factors that influence the implementation of collaboration instruction for all educators.

Helping Students with Disabilities Understand What Mathematics Means.

instructional process ensures that educators integrate various modes of representation into mathematics instruction for teaching important concepts. Regardless of the mode of representation that the teacher selects for a particular lesson (manipulative models, pictures, or tallies), he or she also displays written number symbols to ensure that students make a connection between the conceptual and abstract representations. For example, if a teacher is using Unifix cubes to demonstrate the concept of subtraction, students should see the numerical representation of the problem (e.g., 8 – 3 =___ ), as well as the cubes. To ensure that students pay attention to the numerical representations in addition to the manipulative or pictorial models, students should read the problem aloud before and after they build the concrete or pictorial model to represent and solve the problem. Guideline 2: Consider Appropriate Structures for Teaching Specific Concepts One of the most important aspects of planning and implementing instruction intended to teach mathematical concepts is determining the appropriate lesson structures to use with a specific concept. The lesson structure is the framework, or the way that the teacher will demonstrate the concept and the way that the students will practice it to increase their conceptual understanding. Although educators agree that using manipulative devices, pictures, and diagrams to represent mathematical concepts is beneficial (Miller, Butler, & Lee, 1998), teachers must also consider the best way to use these materials. Different concepts seem to lend themselves to particular conceptual lesson structures. Included among these structures are comparing and contrasting, examples and nonexamples, and stepby-step processes (Hudson & Miller, 2006). The Compare-and-Contrast Lesson Structure The compare-and-contrast lesson structure is helpful when students need to recognize similarities and differences while they learn the target concept. This lesson structure is particularly useful when teaching geometry, numbers and operations, and measurement standards (Kamii & Clark, 1997; NCTM, 2000). For example, a teacher who is explaining the concept of weight can demonstrate by holding one object in each hand and comparing the weight of the two objects (e.g., “Hmm, which is heavier?”). The teacher can let students handle the objects, which should have distinctly different weights. After the demonstration, students can work in pairs to weigh the objects, compare them, and identify the heaviest object in a set of objects. The compare-and-contrast lesson structure is also useful when teaching such fraction concepts as equivalent fractions (NCTM, 2000). Fraction bars and plastic fraction pies, as well as number lines, are concrete and pictorial materials that allow students to compare fractions and identify equivalent fractions. At the concrete level, students can stack fraction foam pieces to observe the representation of equivalence, such as 4/8 = 2/4 = 1/2, as shown in Figure 4. The teacher can also use a fraction number line to show equivalence. The Example-and-Nonexample Lesson Structure The example-and-nonexample lesson structure is another way to teach a concept. The teacher provides multiple examples of the concept, along with nonexamples that allow the student to discriminate and identify representations of the concept (NCTM, 2000). For example, if the instruction focuses on the concept of a polygon, the teacher begins by showing many examples of polygons of different sizes and shapes, as well as examples of polygons in different positions. The teacher points out the characteristics of a polygon and then elicits these characteristics from the students. When students are consistently able to identify the concept’s 30 ■ COUNCIL FOR EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN 3 ❒ ❒ ❒ +2 ❒ ❒ ❒ ❒ ❒ ❒ 2 ❒ ❒ ❒ ❒ 4 4 ❒ ❒ ❒ ❒ –2

Coaching: A Strategy to Enhance Preservice Teacher Behaviors.

Susan Peterson is a visiting assistant professor of the Department of Special Education at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Pamela Hudson is assistant professor of the Department of Special Education at Utah State University in Logan. A persistent problem in preservice instructional programs is failure of student teachers to transfer skills taught in college classrooms to the teaching arena. An increase in the use of field experiences in teacher preparation programs is evidence of current efforts to link theory with practice. Field experiences provide student teachers with opportunities to apply and increase positive teaching behaviors. It is sometimes assumed that skills will

Successfully Employed Adults with Handicaps: Characteristics and Transition Strategies.

Preparation of this manuscript was supported in part by a grant from the Florida Department of Education, Project No. 121808457, awarded to the Department of Special Education, University of Florida. In recent years, the difficulties encountered by students with handicaps making the transition from school to work, home, and community have been well documented. The high rate of unemployment of adults with handicaps is one indicator of this problem. In 1983, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights estimated unemployment in the population of people with handicaps to be between 50% and 75% (Wehman, Kregel, & Barcus, 1985). Recent follow-up studies of adults with mild handicaps in Vermont (Hasazi, Gordon, & Roe, 1985) and Florida (Fardig, Algozzine, Schwartz, Hensel, & Westling, 1985) support these unemployment figures with figures of 45% and 50%, respectively. Difficulties obtaining work are often attributed to failure to complete high school (Fardig et al., 1985; Hasazi et al., 1985) and inadequate vocational preparation. Halpern and Benz (1984) reported that in a survey of special educators and parents of high school students with handicaps in Oregon, vocational preparation was identified as the curriculum area

Competencies for Teachers of Students with Learning Disabilities

In the field of learning disabilities, the delineation of teacher competencies lacks consensus among professionals. The purpose of this review is to identify competency statements specified in the professional literature for teachers of learning disabled students. A thorough literature search of the past 20 years resulted in 16 competency statements in five areas: general and special knowledge, planning and evaluation, curriculum content, clinical teaching strategies, and behavior management. The implications of these competencies are discussed.

A New Model for Preservice Training: Teacher as Collaborator

mon goals and have high expectations for students. The need for collaboration among professionals also is supported by the increase in the numbers of students with learning problems (Morsink, 1984; Will, 1986) and cultural differences (Bell & Morsink, 1986; Levin, 1985; McNett, 1983; National Center for Health Statistics, 1985), which increases the range of students with special needs in the classroom. In addition, increases in substance abuse, teenage pregnancy, and family instability may complicate the teacher’s task of facilitating student learning (Brown, 1980; Morsink, 1984). The difficufty any teacher would face in working alone to assist students with these problems is only one reason professionals need to collaborate in educational planning and problem solving. Finally, new legislation, PL 99-457, providing funds for infant through preschool handicapped students, requires the development of a coordinated family services plan that further requires a collaborative effort of all related professionals who provide services. Teacher-training programs have an important role in preparing future teachers for collaboration. Recently, Courtnage and Smith-Davis (1987) conducted a survey to determine the status of preservice training in collaboration in special education programs. Analyzing the 360 returns from a possible 513 special education preservice programs, they found that some training on teaming was provided in 52% of the responding institutions. Only 34 of the respondents indicated that training was provided in

A Time Analysis of Cooperating Teacher Activity

Twelve cooperating teachers documented the time they spent with preservice teachers during 11 weeks of student teaching in special education classrooms. The cooperating teachers recorded their time in a daily log that included five major categories (i.e., preparing for, orienting, planning, supervising, and professional development) and sixteen activities derived from the cooperating teacher literature. At the conclusion of student teaching, the cooperating teachers completed a survey in which they rated (a) the importance of each category in relation to training student teachers and (b) their own skill in conducting nine planning and supervision activities. Cooperating teachers spent the largest amount of time observing and providing feedback to the student teachers. They also spent a significant amount of time planning with the student teachers. Cooperating teachers rated planning as the most important category for training and supporting student teachers. Additional trends in the recorded time, results of the cooperating teacher survey, and suggestions for using this methodology in future research on cooperating teachers are addressed in the discussion.