Why did you choose this research article? What school counseling topic/concept/theory did you learn from the research article?

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Research-based Discussion Paper

This is a short, maybe 5 page research paper for an introductory school counseling program. One article (peer reviewed) needs to be used for this paper. The article must be related to school counseling, not just something that a school counselor might do. The research must come from a peer reviewed journal. There are threee questions that have to be answered:

1. Why did you choose this research article?
2. What school counseling topic/concept/theory did you learn from the research article?
3. As a school counselor, HOW WILL YOU USE what you have learned? Or, what is your action plan to demonstrate what you have learned?

It will be graded on a summary of the article, analysis of how the article was chosen, reflection of what was learned in relation to school counseling from reading this article, and the plan for using this material in your own classroom or school counseling practice.

Discuss the characteristics of individuals with exceptionalities whom you serve, including gifted as well as those with disabilities. Describe the educational, developmental, and medical services available for individuals with disabilities in your district.

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Students with disabilities

When working with students with exceptionalities, it is important to understand the roles of various members of the special education team. Administrators, paraprofessionals, service providers (such as a speech, occupational, and physical therapists), teachers, and school nurses can all be members of this group, depending on the individual needs of the student. Understanding the role of each person during the IEP process and providing students with services in an educational setting is an integral part of instructing students with disabilities. This ensures their needs are being met within the requirements of the law and that the students and families are receiving appropriate support and resources.

In the interview, address the following.

Discuss the characteristics of individuals with exceptionalities whom you serve, including gifted as well as those with disabilities.
Describe the educational, developmental, and medical services available for individuals with disabilities in your district.
Describe the specific steps in the IEP process.
Explain how special education and general education teachers are supported in the IEP process.
Describe how you collaborate with members of the IEP team. List other stakeholders you collaborate with as part of the IEP process and describe this collaboration.
Describe what you do to support families of individuals with disabilities.
Explain the process of addressing behavioral issues for students with disabilities.
Discuss the professional development that is available to you regarding special education policies, services, and educational strategies. Discuss whether there is specific training related to confidentiality, including who leads the training and how often it is required.
Discuss what you do to stay current on special education law.

In 250-500 words, consider what you learned from the two interviews and discuss the following:

Describe the similarities you noted in the responses of both interviewees. Include discussion of why you think that, regardless of their unique roles on the special education team, these commonalities exist.
Describe what made the role of each of your interviewees unique on the special education team. Include discussion of the key responsibilities each has in ensuring the needs of individuals with disabilities are being met in the educational setting.
Discuss what you learned about the significance of collaboration between members of the special education team. Include discussion of why collaborative professional practice is essential to meeting the needs of students with disabilities in the educational setting.
Explain how you will apply what you have learned from the interviews in your future professional practice related to using collaboration and other best practices to meet the needs of students with disabilities in the educational setting. Provide specific examples of ways that you can collaborate with individuals in the roles of the interviewees.

Explain why it is important for teachers to be able to identify developmental and individual differences and recognize some of the typical signs of various disabilities when interacting with students.

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Disability Comparison Template

In 250-500 words, consider that you learned from researching, completing the matrix, and viewing the videos by discussing the following.

Explain why it is important for teachers to be able to identify developmental and individual differences and recognize some of the typical signs of various disabilities when interacting with students.
Describe how you can use what you saw in the videos to help you better articulate the challenges faced by students with disabilities to those who are non-disabled. Include discussion of how what you observed in the videos can be used to help you collaborate and seek best practices for working with students with a wide range of disabilities.
Discuss how having a basic understanding of the ways various disabilities affect learning and other areas of a student’s life can assist teachers in responding to the needs of individuals with disabilities.

Support the assignment with a minimum of three scholarly resources

How would you address this issue in your classroom? How would you address this issue in your classroom? How would you address this issue in your classroom?

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Typical and Atypical Development

 Scenarios

Scenario 1: Linguistic  

Ashley and Essmae are third graders. Ashley is an English language learner who is one year below grade level in reading and writing. The only language spoken in her home is Spanish. Essmae’s native language is English. She is also one year below grade level in reading and writing. Both Ashley and Essmae struggle with reading comprehension, but while Ashley is behind in vocabulary development, Essmae’s vocabulary is advanced for her age. Both girls struggle to form complete sentences while writing, but Ashley does a better job sounding out words she is unfamiliar with.

Scenario 2: Physical 

Steven and Jorge are 6 year olds in first grade. Steven is having trouble gripping and holding his pencil and creating accurate marks. He does not have sufficient control over holding his writing utensil. Jorge is proficient in using a pencil correctly and accurately making marks on his paper; however, he is left-handed and sometimes his hand gets in the way and his letters lean to the left to the point of unreadable.

Scenario 3: Cognitive 

Peter and Cam are both seventh grade students. Cam struggles with using critical thinking skills and consistently gives only basic responses to questions in class. Peter struggles to problem solve and gets set on one method that he will not deviate from. Both enjoy learning when there is activity involved but need assistance in getting started and keeping motivated during difficult parts of the activity.

Typical and Atypical Development Chart
Scenario 1

Linguistic

 Typical Milestones: Research typical linguistic milestones of a student in the grade level scenario and add them below. Proposed Strategies: How would you address this issue in your classroom?
 

 

 

 

 Strategy 1:

 

 

 

Strategy 2:
Atypical Example: What are the atypical linguistic characteristics of the student in the scenario?
 

 

 

 
Scenario 2

Physical

 Typical Milestones: Research typical physical milestones of a student in the grade level scenario and add them below. Proposed Strategies: How would you address this issue in your classroom?
 

 

 

 

 Strategy 1:

 

 

 

Strategy 2:
Atypical Example: What are the atypical physical characteristics of the student in the scenario?
 

 

 

 
Scenario 3

Cognitive

 Typical Milestones: Research typical cognitive milestones of a student in the grade level scenario and add them below. Proposed Strategies: How would you address this issue in your classroom?
 

 

 

 

 Strategy 1:

 

 

 

Strategy 2:
Atypical Example: What are the atypical cognitive characteristics of the student in the scenario?
 

 

 

 

 

References

Explain how this data could be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the RTI strategies and how this information could be used as justification for testing for possible special education eligibility.

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MTSS/RTI

Tiered instruction and support programs are often implemented on a school or district-wide level. Response to Intervention (RTI) and Multi-tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) are common programs that provide a framework for assessment, delivery of instruction, provision of supports, and guidelines for referrals for eligibility in special education. The law requires that teams document efforts to support students in general education settings before they can be referred for special education evaluation. Not all students who struggle have a documented disability or meet eligibility requirements. Teachers and staff must address screening and assessment to identify the needs of students and make data-driven decisions regarding delivery of instruction, needed supports, and referrals when necessary for additional supports and services. RTI is a framework that includes general supports for all students, supports that are more specific for at-risk students, and identification of students who need interventions that are more intensive.

Select a grade level “Class Profile” relevant to your field of study and imagine you are the classroom teacher for these students. Review the profile and formulate a small group of students with whom you will implement RTI strategies. Using this group as an example, create a 15-20 slide digital presentation providing an introduction to the RTI for new educators.

Within your presentation, provide:

An overview of RTI and MTSS, including an explanation of the tiers and how these systems can be used to enhance and adapt instruction.

An explanation of the role of the child study team.

A discussion and examples of the types of data collected throughout the RTI process.

An explanation of what factors determine appropriate student placement within the RTI tiers. Refer to your example student group to illustrate specific ideas.

An explanation of how the RTI model can help meet the needs of students without disabilities and as a means of adapting instruction prior to evaluating students for a disability.

Five examples of research-based intervention strategies that you will use with students in your example student group who are struggling in English language, arts, or mathematics. Include justification for each intervention strategy.

Description of the data that would be collected as part of implementing the research-based intervention strategies. Explain how this data could be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the RTI strategies and how this information could be used as justification for testing for possible special education eligibility.

Explain how social interactions, culture, society, and technology can positively and negatively affect student development and readiness for learning. List instructional strategies and tools that could be used to address each contextual factor during classroom instruction.

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Contextual Influences on Learning

Contextual factors play an integral role in the learning process. Teachers who recognize these factors equip themselves to meet the learning needs of diverse student populations. Additionally, by modifying instruction or procedures to address all of the students’ contextual factors, they will have an increased likelihood of academic success.

Create an 8-10 slide digital presentation for a teacher professional development on how contextual factors affect student learning.

Include the following:

Explain how social interactions, culture, society, and technology can positively and negatively affect student development and readiness for learning.
List instructional strategies and tools that could be used to address each contextual factor (social interactions, culture, society, and technology) during classroom instruction. Example: grouping strategies for social interactions.
Discuss two specific examples of how you would modify classroom instruction to address any of these four contextual factors (e.g., you provide an internet-based family activity, but several of your students’ families do not have internet access at home). Discuss how you would modify each activity to meet student needs and ensure growth in learning.
A title slide, a reference slide, and presenter’s notes. The title slide and reference slide DO NOT count as part of your slide count, because they are not considered content. Include a minimum of eight slides of content to be successful with this assignment.
The digital presentation should include graphics that are relevant to the content, visually appealing, and use space appropriately.
Support your presentation with 2-3 scholarly resources.

Select an article relevant to this course and how literacy is integrated across other subjects and type a one-two page critique for the article using the American Psychological Association (APA) format.

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Teaching Literacy Skills in Content Areas

Each Candidate will select an article relevant to this course and how literacy is integrated across other subjects and type a one-two page critique for the article using the American Psychological Association (APA) format. (IRA Standards 1 to 5; MSLAF #1; #2; #3 and #4, REF #1, #2, & #5)

The following journals are good possible sources (not a complete list) for journal articles that are relevant to the field of reading research:

  • The Reading Teacher
  • Reading Improvement
  • Reading Research and Instruction
  • Research in the Teaching of English
  • Reading Research Quarterly
  • Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy

 

What did you know about the approach prior to this class? Locate and interview one early childhood educator who is familiar with it and get their perspective of the program?

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Alabama’s Approach to Family Engagement

In the Appendix of your textbook, Families & Educators Together, on page 126 there is the section titled, “State Approaches to Family Engagement.” One state approach that is highlighted is Alabama.
1. Do your research on Alabama’s approach that is mentioned on page 127.
2. Write a two-page report that includes:
a. What is it?
b. Who sponsors it?
c. Who does it serve?
d. What did you know about the approach prior to this class?
e. Locate and interview one early childhood educator who is familiar with it and get their perspective of the program? (program director, child care provider, or teacher)
f. Identify its strengths and weaknesses.
g. Include in your paper at least three references. (the textbook and two others)
h. Write your paper using a basic APA 7th edition format. (cover page, two pages for the body, reference page, double space, 12 point font, Times New Roman, 1 in margins on all sides)

Articulate and develop an argument thesis, claims and support/evidence that will be used in all three drafts of this essay between weeks three and ten of the term.

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Many k12 schools and libraries in America continue to ban books

is this appropriate or is it taking away intellectual freedom from students?

Read ALL of these instructions carefully.

Your formal argument essay for the term must argue the impact of one of the three topics listed below:

America is experiencing a shift in how we participate in our workplace(s). Some people are choosing to quietly quit, some joined the great resignation, others are choosing to continue to work from home. Will American workplaces and employers and employees shift with this new trend or will employers bring employees back to the traditional workplace?
Many k12 schools and libraries in America continue to ban books, is this appropriate or is it taking away intellectual freedom from students?
Is it the best approach for the US to make the first four years of college free to all qualified students?
(Use the same topic you presented in the Defining the Argument Thesis and Claims assignment. Once you choose a topic, you must stay with this topic all term)

In your essay draft, as Graff says, “Make it an argument that counts.” However, make it an argument you can undertake a final essay of 6 to 7 pages.

In this assignment, you are articulating and developing an argument thesis, claims and support/evidence that will be used in all three drafts of this essay between weeks three and ten of the term.

These are the instructions for the first draft of the argument essay.

This formal academic research-based argument essay requires inquiry, research and critical thinking on your part since this is an argument driven, where evidence must be provided as support. Therefore, the essay you write cannot be merely a report on your chosen topic, because a report only informs the reader, it does not argue a stance. Overall, this first draft shows your preliminary argument.

Write a Teacher Recommendation in 1000 words or less that connect the details and appealing stuff to form a compelling portrait that will wow Admission Officers.

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Teacher Recommendation

Write a short Teacher recommendation (1000 words or less) that will help colleges differentiate this student from others.

Write a Teacher Recommendation in 1000 words or less that connect the details and appealing stuff to form a compelling portrait that will wow Admission Officers.