Teleconference 17: January 15, 2009

11:00 am Pacific, 12:00 pm Mountain, 1:00 pm Central, 2:00 pm Eastern.
1.5 hours duration

NAAC Curriculum Summit for State Department of Education Leaders:
A Conversation about Curricular Priorities for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities (and for AA-AAS)

• How do we decide the most important content when linking to state standards?
• What outcomes are we trying to achieve in teaching academics to students with significant cognitive disabilities?
• What do content experts identify as essential to content that is “really” science, math, or language arts?

While deep knowledge of curricular content is not feasible in one conversation, this teleconference will help state level educators consider how and why to articulate conceptual foundations for work in developing alternate assessment, linking to state standards, and providing professional development.

FORMAT AND PRESENTERS: Using a conversational 90 minute interview format, a team of experts from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte will discuss issues in planning alternate achievement of grade level content. The panel will be led by Dr. Diane Browder, a partner in the National Alternate Assessment Center. Participants will include four content experts - Dr. Bob Rickleman and Dr. Mary Ann Mraz in language arts, Dr. Warren Di Biase in science, and Dr. Dave Pugalee in mathematics.

During the conversation, information will be provided on the rationale for teaching academic content, conceptual models for prioritizing the content, and considerations for planning content with strong links to the curricular areas. In preparation for this curriculum summit, the UNC Charlotte team developed conceptual frameworks and sample target skills for each content area. These resources were then submitted to national experts in the curricular content, to special educators who focus on low incidence disabilities, and to teachers who administer AA-AAS. A content analysis of the participants’ feedback was used to refine the sample materials and generate topics for the summit. A sample of some of the issues follows:

• Why should science not be taught like a foreign language? Why do science educators want learners to experience “wonder”? What standards should be emphasized? What personal relevance can science have for a student with significant cognitive disabilities?
• What forms the core of most language arts instruction? Why not just teach communication skills in language arts? What changes in focus as students move across the grade spans?
• What is the most important outcome for all students in mathematics? Why are mathematics educators focusing on literacy in the context of math? How can math problem solving be taught in ways that are personally relevant for students?
• How does the “work it across” format help general educators understand the goal of linking to state standards with alternate achievement? How does this tool help special education teachers?
• What do we know now that we wished we had known when we first started trying to collaborate on teaching content standards to students with significant cognitive disabilities?

OBJECTIVES: Participants will be able to:

1. Identify how to articulate a conceptual model for content that can be used as a guide in prioritizing and extending standards for students with significant cognitive disabilities.
2. Plan for future discussions between general and special educators.
3. Explain the concept of differentiated expectations for achievement of grade level content.

Co-hosts for this teleconference: Rachel Quenemoen, NCEO and Diane Browder, NAAC.

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E-mail Rachel Quenemoen at quene003@umn.edu with your questions, comments, and ideas for future telephone conferences, before or after our January 15 call.

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In order to get the most out of our September 29 telephone conference, please review these materials online, or if you prefer, download them to your computer, or print them out. Thank you.

Note: Some of the files below require Acrobat Reader. If you don't have this software, go to the Acrobat Reader Web site for a free download.

I. Materials for Teleconference 17

Curriculum Summit Transcript, 1-15-09

Handouts:

ELA Conceptual Model Handout
Math Conceptual Model Handout
Science Conceptual Model Handout

I. Materials for Teleconference 17 – Agenda link here

a.   Conceptual models/ maps for language arts, mathematics and science with related skill progressions
ELA Conceptual Diagram
ELA Conceptual Statement
ELA TA Elem
ELA Middle story based lesson
ELA HS Story based lesson
Math Conceptual Diagram
Math Conceptual Statement
Math TA Elem
Math TA Middle
Math TA HS
Science Conceptual Diagram
Science Conceptual Statement
Science TA Elem Inquiry
Science TA Middle Inquiry
Science TA HS inquiry

b.   Discussion starters for building general education and special education team collaboration

Discussion Starters

c.     “Work it across”:  planning that links to state standards at three levels of symbolic communication and reprints of two articles on general curriculum access

Work it across- ELA example biographies
Work it across- Math example
Work it across- Science example earth and space

Curriculum Summit Expert bios

 

 

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