English/language arts (ELA) is one of the core content areas of the general curriculum. Through ELA instruction, students gain a means for accessing and understanding the various forms of text they encounter in daily life as well as skills in research and communication. The overarching goals of ELA focus on effective communication, including comprehension: a goal critical to students with significant disabilities. Typical ELA curriculum creates opportunities for students to communicate in different contexts, for different purposes through exposure to culturally diverse text (Browder & Spooner, 2014). The challenge in developing language-arts instruction for students with significant disabilities, however, is that they may have few skills to engage with text (Mims et al., 2012). Recent research has helped to bridge the gap between the incoming skill set of individuals with a significant disability and the gains in effective literacy skills, communication, writing and comprehension skills. This presentation will highlight some of the most recent research that features strategies for providing meaningful-access, grade-aligned fiction and nonfiction text depicting diverse cultural and socioeconomic themes, but adapted for greater student access. Highlighted strategies will include a discussion of how grade-aligned adapted books and systematic instruction such as response-prompting strategies, error correction, positive reinforcement, data collection and graphic organisers can promote student gains in literacy, communication, writing, student-led research and comprehension across Bloom’s Taxonomy. In addition, this presentation will discuss ways to meaningfully adapt grade-appropriate text for students who have limited-to-no reading ability, as well as provide resources for fiction and nonfiction texts that have already been adapted. Finally, this presentation will provide participants with strategies to promote personalised learning in concert with maintaining a high level of rigour for students with intellectual disability and autism. - See more at: http://sydney.edu.au/education_social_work/professional_learning/teachers/2016/major-events/successful-learning-conference.shtml#sthash.hTRDzYbP.dpuf

This session will provide a text comprehension research overview for students with intellectual disability (ID). The presenters will review the instructional strategies and text supports (accommodations) that have been used to improve student text comprehension, with emphasis on strategies that teachers can immediately implement, and discuss opportunities for future research. Learner Outcomes: • Participants will gain knowledge of the text comprehension research base, as well as explore practical issues related to researching text comprehension. • Participants will learn about the instructional strategies and supports that have been used to improve student text comprehension and how to implement these in their classrooms. • Participants will describe recommendations for implementing research-based instruction and supports into their practice.

This education resource guide supplements the presentation made by Tanya Lee Stone at In Search of Wonder: Common Core and More, a professional development day presented by The National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance, in conjunction with the Perry Ohio School District. Included on these pages are engaging activities and discussion questions based on Common Core English Language Standards for two of Stone’s books: Courage Has No Color and Who Says Women Can’t Be Doctors?

The focus of this quantitative study was to discover perceptions of pre-K and kindergarten teachers within public schools in Tennessee regarding the appropriateness of the student growth portfolio model. This study explored teachers’ perceptions of the appropriateness of the math standards, English language arts standards, and the scoring guide included within the SGPM. A quantitative survey was used to understand pre-K and kindergarten teachers’ perceptions of the appropriateness of the 2017-2018 student growth portfolio model. There were 16 pre-K teachers and 51 kindergarten teachers who participated in the survey. Single sample t-tests were used to analyze responses. Research indicated that pre-K teachers do perceive the counting and cardinality and measurement and data standards as appropriate for measuring student growth. There was not enough statistical data to infer that pre-K teachers perceive the geometry standards or ELA standards as appropriate for measuring student growth. The research found that kindergarten teachers do not perceive the math or the ELA narrative standards as appropriate for measuring kindergarten student growth. There was not enough statistical evidence to infer that kindergarten teachers perceive the ELA informative standards as appropriate for measuring student growth. The research indicated that pre-K and kindergarten teachers do not perceive the scoring guides for math and ELA as appropriate for measuring student growth. Through comparison of the survey results and development in early childhood it can be concluded that the standards included within the student growth portfolio model are appropriate; however, the scoring guides need to be revised to align with the standards for pre-K and kindergarten.

Analysis is typically listed in taxonomies of higher order thinking. Academics consider these taxonomies worthwhile, but they are hard to teach and we are apt to ignore them. Today higher education is criticized for “dumbing down” curriculum or lowering standards. To rectify this, many policies at the state or national level are requiring higher education institutions to change. In K-12 education, Race to the Top and Common Core requirements are placing new demands on K-12 teacher preparation, which include evaluation of the analysis skills of pre-service teachers. But professors do not always view their disciplines as the proper place for teaching analytical skills. Others become frustrated when trying to teach analysis. But if we do not teach these skills, our teacher candidates will be poorly prepared for success, a problem which will cascade throughout our society, rendering our citizens less educated. In this paper, we describe our efforts to teach analysis in two courses from widely differing subject areas, literacy and mathematics education. We are now requiring teacher candidates to analyze simulated or actual samples of student work. We have developed a sequenced process of analysis education that we believe can be generalized to many other courses

Research has suggested that speech pathologists (SPs) in Australia involve parents in intervention when working with children with phonological impairment. However, details of what this practice entails are unknown. If parents are considered integral to meeting service delivery challenges regarding recommended intervention intensities, there is a need to better understand how parents are involved and trained to provide intervention. This study addresses that need. An anonymous, voluntary online survey was completed by 335 SPs in Australia who work with children with phonological impairment. Participants answered questions about how they involve and train parents, and the type of home practice activities provided. In addition, SPs were asked to identify barriers they faced when involving parents in intervention for children with phonological impairment. Overall, 96.36% of SPs involved parents in intervention. SPs reported involving parents in a range of intervention tasks, including goal planning, observing sessions, and completing home practice activities. Sixty-eight percent reported training parents to provide intervention, of whom 87.77% indicated that they do not follow a structured training program or approach when working with parents. Of note, 83.9% of SPs strongly agreed that parent involvement is essential for intervention to be effective; however, most SPs reported barriers to involving parents in intervention, notably compliance with completion of home practice activities. Although SPs consider parent involvement to be valuable, they identified several barriers to this practice. This poster will offer practical suggestions for how parent training and parent involvement could be implemented for children with phonological impairment.

The purpose of the study is twofold: I. To make a comparative analysis of recently published preprimerrs from the standpoint of: A. Relation of the content of the picture to the content of the printed text. B. Style of writing C. Elements of interst D. Vocabulary burden II. To evaluate the difficulty and relative merit of the preprimers analyzed.

The predictive reliability of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) as a predictor of academic success of international students at Belmont University, a small Baptist university, was examined. Data were collected and examined on 168 international students. They were profiled by gender, language background, Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score, grade point average achieved, and major area of study. No significant correlation was found between TOEFL scores and academic achievement as measured by CPA. However, significant correlation was found between major field of study, TOEFL ranges, and gender in relationship to academic success. TOEFL scores were also correlated with GPA for each specific academic major. A higher correlation was found for the humanities (r = .26, p < .05), and undecided students (r = .38, p < .05), than for business (r = .08, p < .05). A t-test showed that students with TOEFL scores below 500 attained significant lower grades (GPA means = 2.44) than students with scores above 500 (GPA means = 2.72). Closer examination of GPA means for subjects in the TOEFL score ranges above 500 indicate that the higher the TOEFL score range the higher the mean GPA.

The textbook, an important factor in public school education, is nowhere so wonderfully developed as in the United States. It occupies a more important position in our educational system than it does in the systems of many foreign countries. In fact, most of the teaching in our schools today revolves around the textbook - the cause of much criticism by many writers. They deplore the fact that both our teachers and pupils are dependent on textbooks.

An incredible proliferation of knowledge has generated a critical need for professionals in all fields to have access to current information and research results. Costs for study and research are extremely high, particularly in science fields, and most professionals seek to minimize loss in time and funds by avoiding duplication of efforts. Language is often a handicap, preventing the voluntary sharing of valuable information between individuals and countries, and many recognize the establishment of a universal language as a means of eliminating this unnecessary barrier. English is rapidly becoming accepted as a universal means of communication, but those who seek the skill often cannot afford the time to commit themselves to years of study to acquire it. To meet the needs of such a group of scientists in Bucaramanga Colombia, a program for study in English communicative competence was designed, implemented and evaluated in 1988, through the cooperative efforts of Western Kentucky University and Instituto Colombiano del Petroleo.