Common Core State Standards: Considerations for Special Student Populations

Special Student Populations  Students with Disabilities (SWD)  Talented and Gifted Learners (TAG)  Students identified as English Language Learners (ELL)

General Considerations for Implementation  Specific—based on individual students  Follow program requirements SPED, TAG, ELL  Evidenced-based, best practices  Ongoing monitoring

Students with Disabilities

Informational Documents and Articles Addressing SWD  Application to Students with Disabilities  Implications for Students Receiving Special Education Services  CCSS: What Special Educators Need to Know  Access for All … and more to come.

Application to Students with Disabilities by Common Core State Standards Initiative  Instruction for SWD must incorporate supports and accommodations, including: Supports and related services IEP annual goals aligned with grade-level academic standards Personnel deliver high-quality, evidence- based, individualized instruction

Application to Students with Disabilities by Common Core State Standards Initiative  Participation in the GE curriculum for SWD, may be provided: Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Instructional accommodations Assistive technology (along with accessible instructional materials) to ensure access

Implications for Students Receiving Special Education Services By International Center for Leadership in Education Identifies five key elements: Ownership High Expectations Intervention Systems Inclusion/Collaborative Teaching Organization/Professional Development

CCSS: What Special Educators Need to Know By Council for Exceptional Children  Identifies issues/questions to be considered and resolved  Discusses the implications for assessment processes and results  Discusses the biggest challenges with the implementation of CCSS for SWD

Access for All By National Association of Elementary School Principals Identifies six key principles that must be considered when implementing CCSS: SWD require individual educational planning Accommodations vs. Modifications Evidence-based practices Assessments measure progress and growth Alignment of IEP goals with standards Hire and support the best special educators

Webpage and SPED Contact CCSS and SPED webpage Laura Petschauer, Education Specialist

Talented and Gifted Learners

Who are these students? The Oregon Definition of TAG Talented and gifted children means those children who require special educational programs or services, or both, beyond those normally provided by the regular school programs in order to realize their contribution to self and society and who demonstrate outstanding ability or potential in one or more of the following areas:

Oregon TAG Definition continued... General intellectual ability as commonly measured by measures of intelligence or aptitude Unusual academic ability in one or more academic areas Creative ability in using original or non-traditional methods in thinking and producing Leadership ability in motivating the performance of others either in educational or non-educational settings Ability in the visual or performing arts, such as dance, music, or art.

TAG Students and Common Core  The Oregon TAG Mandate Remains.  Districts are required to: Identify TAG students Provide instructional services to TAG students Instruction is in the general education classroom (most often) through the differentiation of instruction (DI)

The Level and Rate of Instruction The requirement for reaching TAG students through instruction at the appropriate Level and Rate remains in place: “The instruction provided to identified (TAG) students shall be designed to accommodate their assessed levels of learning and accelerated rates of learning.” (Oregon Administrative Rule ) Instructional level moves up with the learner’s needs. Instructional rate (pace) moves with the learner’s needs. “Depth and Complexity” of CCSS provide challenge.

Common Core Alignment and TAG Students  Alignment to CCSS raises the expectations for all learners.  Identified TAG students may enjoy the inherent challenge in the new higher level learning, questioning, and opportunities to demonstrate learning in different ways.  However, identified TAG students could also not be comfortable stepping up to “sufficient challenge.”

“Sufficient Challenge” for TAG Students  Varies by the student’s area of TAG identification.  Varies by the place in curriculum in which the student is placed and instructed.  Students learning should be different learning, not more of the same.  TAG students will grapple with higher expectations. In the end... EFFORT EQUALS ACHIEVEMENT

TAG Students and CCSS TAG students will probably re-calibrate to the higher level instruction quickly with: The challenge in “HOTS” (Higher Order Thinking Skills) Opportunities for “Integrated Thinking” Opportunities to hold one thought while integrating a new thought in a different way Students’ conclusions appear later in the learning process, but eventually students are more satisfied with their own learning extensions and expressions. One caution: TAG students should never be used as the “second teacher” in the classroom. High ability learners have the right to learn something new each day for their intellectual growth and personal learning.

Talented and Gifted Learners Contact Rebecca Blocher, TAG Specialist 20

English Language Learners

ELLs and CCSS ELLs must be provided access to core content and instruction in English language development. Districts determine how they will provide instruction for ELLs. 22

Oral Language Development Language learning: is social learning. is most effective when the environment is supportive and adapting. must be meaningful, purposeful, authentic, and cognitively appropriate to the learner. requires comprehensible input and opportunities for language output.

Principles of Instruction for ELLs  Focus on academic language, literacy, and vocabulary.  Link background knowledge and culture to learning.  Increase comprehensible input and language output.  Promote classroom interaction.  Stimulate higher order thinking skills and the use of learning strategies.

Listening Comprehension  Hearing: Physical process (perceiving sounds with our ears) Being able to hear individual sounds in language is dependent upon prior experience with the sounds of that language Unintentional Can be prevented by physical disability

Listening Comprehension continued…  Listening: Mental process (perceiving content with our minds) Enhanced by knowledge of the topic and the structure of the language Dependent on the active construction of meaning Intentional Cannot be prevented by physical disability 26

Listening Comprehension continued…  One-Way Listening: Listener is not required to respond orally to the input Typical of school learning experiences More difficult than two-way listening opportunities More demanding because of the nature of the input 27

Listening Comprehension continued…  Two-Way Listening: Listener responds as a speaker to the input Children learn quickly how to negotiate face-to- face conversations Gestures and context provide help in comprehension Topics are typically not complex 28

Common Core Anchor Standard for English Language Arts 1. Comprehension and Collaboration Students are able to: prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively; integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, qualitatively, and orally; and evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric.

Common Core Anchor Standard for English Language Arts 2. Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas Students are able to: present information, findings, and supporting evidence that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and make sure the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience; make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations; and adapt speech to a variety of contexts and communicative tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.

Scaffolding Techniques to Assist ELLs Achieve the CCSS for Oral Language  Social Scaffolds: Small group learning Interactive structures that encourage discussion and active participation Cooperative learning structures Study buddies/Learning Partners Study groups

Scaffolding Techniques to Assist ELLs Achieve the CCSS for Oral Language  Visual and Graphic Scaffolds: Gestures, chalkboard, pictures, props Graphic organizers Tables, charts, graphs, diagrams Demonstrations and role-plays Advance organizers, outlines, structured notes, T- lists, sentence frames Picture dictionaries, learner dictionaries, translation dictionaries, word source software Alternative and modified texts

Common Core State Standards for Mathematics  Processes, proficiencies, and varieties of expertise that should be developed in students  Conceptual understanding in addition to procedural skills

Common Core State Standards for Mathematics continued…  Language skills: Produce language to explain and analyze problems. Manipulate abstract symbols and decontextualized mathematics language to create a coherent representation of a problem. Demonstrate an understanding of stated assumptions and established results in an argument. Build a logical progression of statements to justify conclusions. Communicate precisely to others about problems and findings

Higher Order Thinking Skills  Must be explicitly taught.  ELL students may need instruction on the meaning of the word: some words are polysemous some words are used as a noun and verb  Teachers need to model the skill as well as expect students to use the skill.

Developing Higher-Order Thinking Skills in Math and Science (Blooms)

Title III Contacts Kim Miller, Education Specialist Carmen West, Education Specialist