Course Introduction Psychoeducational Issues of Diverse Learners

Text Overview Rhodes, R. L.; Ochoa, S. H.; & Samuel O. Ortiz, S. O. (2005). Assessing culturally and linguistically diverse students: A practical guide. NY: Guildford Press. Payne, R. K. (2005). A framework for understanding poverty: Fourth Revised Edition. Highland, TX: aha! Process, Inc.

Differentiated Assignments Based on Student Needs School Psychologists: Need: Training on how to dx children who do not speak English as L1. Assignments: UNIT (IQ testing) and Report Writing Others in COE: If you are not a school psychology student, this course may not be appropriate for you. Please contact me for me information and/or differentiated assignments.

Course Requirements Participate in weekly discussions and class assignments. Complete readings as assigned by the instructor. Complete a psychoeducational report and eligibility document based on information given during class. Write a paper a mid-term project. Complete an online midterm exam and a final exam. Students will maintain a high level of professionalism.

School Psychology Grading 10%: Participation and WebCT posting (at least 2 informative postings) 25%: Midterm 20%: Debated Paper 20%: Psychoeducational Report & Eligibility Document 25%: Final

Attendance/ Participation Policy for Online Class Attendance/participation means that you read the materials as assigned, participate in online discussion boards, listen to or watch any video or audio provided, and ask questions to the instructor and/or other members of the class as they arise. If you cannot participate for any reason, let me know ASAP.

WebCampus Informative Posts 2 informative per topic area. Informative means not simple agreements or disagreements. See the following: An on-topic question. An answer to someone’s on-topic question. Additional outside information or links to support the lecture or discussion. A description of a “real-world” situation where the information is applicable.

Ruby Payne: Useful or Bunk? Two Parts: First ½ of the paper = in support Second ½ = a dispute Requirements: Min.15; max. 20 pages (without references). APA format, 12 pt font, double space References: No more than 15% from internet websites, No more than 20% from books. Original articles MUST make up the majority Turned in through the “Assignments” tab.

School Psychology: Psychoeducational Report You will be given basic information about a bilingual child and accompanying test results. Based only on this information, you will write a comprehensive report and you will make a dx that is to be written up using an eligibility document. This assignment is NOT a group project. You should treat it as a take-home test. You should use the templates and handouts provided to you in this class to guide how you write your report.

Midterm and Final Exams Midterm = 1 st ½ of the semester material. Final = 2 nd ½ of the semester material MC items 1 hour to complete Test available for 2 days & must be completed in one setting. Open book/ open notes Available through the “Assessments” tab on WebCampus. Item-analysis may be conducted

General Topics Culture of poverty. Multicultural awareness. Cultural generalities versus cultural stereotypes. Referral process on the multicultural child. Home/ School barriers on the multicultural child. Assessing the multicultural and multilingual child. Bilingual/ special education interface. Multicultural counseling.

Why study ELL students? LV 20.5% of population foreign born. LV 28.3% speak a language other than home. CCSD (2/06) 27% receive ELL services CCSD: 91 languages served Census, CCSD website

Why study poverty? U.S. % of workers < $15,000 = 10.7% (2000) NV % of workers < $15,000 = 9.5% (2000) U.S. = 16.6% of children in poverty (2000) NV = 17% of children in poverty (2000) LV = 17% of children in poverty (2004) $16,454 per year for family of 4 is defined as poverty. 2000, 2003, 2004 Census

Why study poverty? 11% of variance in achievement accounted for by child’s race and SES 70% of variance in achievement accounted for by school’s SES SES better predictor of school success than race. The longer a child is in poverty the worse they do in school 2000 Census;

Most importantly… Ochoa, Rivera, and Ford (1997) found that about 83% of school psychologists in 8 states w/ large culturally and linguistically diverse pupil populations (AZ, CA, CO, FL, NJ, NM, NY, and TX) self-reported feeling less than adequately trained by their university training program.

Group Assignments Assignments used to be done as groups in class. In an online format, you will be holding these same discussions online. When you see “group assignment” go to the online forum.