1. Low Academic Achievement and Poor Motivation By: Jennifer Barkevich

2. Elementary school-aged students General education teachers Special education teachers

3. Students with a Learning Disability  Learner characteristics  How the characteristics affect performance  How the characteristics are assessed  Strategies  Focus on student self-management  Accommodation and modifications

4. Learner Characteristics  Low academic achievement  Cognitive disability which affects the ability to understand information  Poor motivation  Adaptive disability which affects communication, socialization and activities of daily living

5. Problems with Low Academic Achievement  Lots of variation among students with learning disabilities regarding areas affected such as math, reading, and/or writing  Greatest difficulties with reading  Aversive to writing (handwriting, spelling, and creating compositions)

6. Problems with Low Academic Achievement Continued  Difficulties with spoken language – mechanics and social uses  Difficulties initiating and engaging in conversations (trouble with give-and-take and reading non-verbal cues)  Low self-esteem due to poor academic performance

7. Problems with Poor Motivation  Motivation is either intrinsic or extrinsic  Key is to find out what is motivating to each individual student  Fear of making mistakes and hides behind his/her sense of humor  Inability to see how schoolwork relates to everyday life thinking the tasks lack meaning

8. Problems with Poor Motivation Continued  Use lack of academic success as a way to gain attention  Academic tasks are too difficult and require too much effort  Other difficulties can making learning an “unmotivating” experience

9. How to Assess a Student  Formal  Norm-referenced tests such as PASS  Woodcock-Johnson  Observer-rater instruments to be used by teachers, parents, students, etc. using a checklist or rating scale  Measures of adaptive behavior  Self-report instruments  Informal  Non-standardized procedures such as those used to monitor progress including Curriculum-Based Measurements (CBMs)  Naturalistic observations  Interviews with students, parents, and other teachers

10. Social Skills Improvement System Rating Scales  A measure of adaptive behavior  Useful for individuals ages 3-18 years old  Evaluates:  Positive social behaviors (including but not limited to responsibility and engagement)  Behaviors that can interfere with the production of social skills (including but not limited to bullying and other external factors)  Academic competence as it relates to reading achievement, math achievement, and motivation to learn

11. Self-Report Instruments  Commercial instruments versus informal techniques  Primary means for assessing a students’ self- concepts and for identifying areas that cause students anxiety or concern  Reliant on students desire to give responses that are honest and accurate

12. Important Facts!  Over 50% of students with learning disabilities spend time in the general education classroom  Students with learning disabilities are exposed to a wide variety of instructional styles  Students with diverse abilities respond differently to instruction so be sure to respect their unique learning capabilities and modify instruction accordingly  Students with learning disabilities are their own best advocates so we have to teach them self- management techniques

13. Classroom Management  Create a happy, positive, organized, and engaging classroom  Establish rules that involve respect for others and be sure to follow them  Model the type of behavior you expect your students to exhibit  Communicate expectations and consequences  Periodically review rules and practice using role modeling techniques

14. Explicit Instruction  The teacher serves as the provider of knowledge and offers extensive support (scaffolding) to students to help facilitate learning  Differs from implicit instruction where there teacher assumes students are active learners  Emphasizes student mastery  Model-Lead-Test  Immediate praise and/or corrective feedback  Pair with Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) to teach students to self-regulate learning

15. Strategies  Use self-management techniques to foster student independence  Small group instruction (Tier 2 of RTI)  Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS)  Cooperative learning groups  Mnemonics  Positive reinforcement (leads to self reinforcement)  Opportunities for students to make decisions  Contingency contracts  Goal setting

16. Accommodations & Modifications  Teach test-taking skills to reduce anxiety  Read directions  Present work in smaller amounts or spaced out  Reduce difficulty of assignments/reading level  Provide extra time on tasks and tests  Increase wait time (3 seconds) between questions and responses  Using the computer or other technical enhancements  Study guides  Using a peer to assist with note taking and tutoring  Portfolio assessments

17. The Key To Success  As a teacher, it is important to appreciate each student, including a student with a learning disability, for their own individual uniqueness.  Linking student success to their own hard work (diligence) and effort (determination) is crucial to the development of motivation.  Reduces learned helplessness  The goal is to foster student independence and skill generalization.

18. So Very True… “Don’t let what you can’t do stop you from doing what you can do.” – John Wooden “No one is perfect – that’s why pencils have erasers.” – Author Unknown

19. References LD Online. (2002). Motivation: The Key to Academic Success. Retrieved from http://www.ldonline.org/article/5730/ Luke, S. (2006). The Power of Strategy Instruction. Evidence for Education, volume 1 (issue 1). Retrieved from http://nichcy.org/research/ee/learning-strategies Mercer, C., Mercer, A., & Pullen, P. (2011). Teaching Students with Learning Problems (8 th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. Fuchs et al. (2007). Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies. Retrieved from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/pdf/intervention_reports/WWC_PALS_071607.pdf