ELLs with Disabilities: From Identification to Instruction

1. ELLs with Disabilities: From Identification to Instruction SED 500: Introduction to Special Education Janet Medina, Psy.D. Associate Professor of Education McDaniel College jmedina@mcdaniel.edu 410-857-2417 No material may be used without permission of author

2. Myths of Second Language Acquisition and Bilingualism – Take this quiz and see what you already know [the answers will be provided at the end of this presentation] 1. Adults learn second languages more quickly and easily than young children. T F 2. According to research, students in ESL-only programs, with no schooling in their native language, take 7-10 years to reach grade level norms. T F 3. A lot of immigrant children have learning disabilities, not language problems. They speak English just fine but they are still failing academically. T F 4. Older generations of immigrants learned without all the special language programs that immigrant children receive now. It was "sink or swim" and they did just fine! T F 5. Second language learners will acquire academic English faster if their parents speak English at home. T F 6. The more time students spend soaking up English in the mainstream classroom, the more they quickly they will learn the language. T F 7. Once students can speak English, they are ready to undertake the academic tasks of the mainstream classroom. T F 8. Cognitive and academic development in native language has an important and positive effect on second language acquisition. T F 9. The culture of students doesn’t affect how long it takes them to acquire English. All students learn language the same way. T F No material may be used without permission of author

3. Berta Hernandez is a newly-arrived student who came to the United States just 3 months ago. She has been placed in Megan’s fourth-grade classroom because, although she is 11 years old, she is physically very small compared to her same-age peers. Her mother is living in Lima, Peru (her home country), with her youngest sibling, a sister and, so far, has not been able to get a visa to travel to the United States. Berta arrived in the United States with her father, aunt (her father’s unmarried sister), and a younger brother (he is 7). She is the oldest child. They all now live with her grandmother and grandfather in your school district. The grandparents speak Quechua, a little Spanish, and no English. The father and aunt speak Quechua, Spanish, and very little English. Mercedes and her brother speak Spanish as their primary language, a little Quechua, and very little conversational English, though they are catching on quickly. Berta has demonstrated a great deal of reluctance to read in class, especially aloud. In Peru, she made it only to the second grade, missed a year of class due to some local unrest, and was retained for a year. Her father has suggested that perhaps Berta was in some kind of special class in Lima, but cannot explain it well. Megan is also noticing that she tends to want to sit alone, not participate in activities with the other students, and cries whenever she is called on to answer a question in class. Berta has not made any new friends in the fourth grade, and she is responsible for walking her younger brother, who is in kindergarten, home from school every day. What conclusions can you make about this student? What is still not not clear? No material may be used without permission of author

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5. Familiar? A accomplished and added at belief brain cannibals certain changed doing English from in logical method minor missionaries must needed numbers occurrences replace sentences surgery the this when 3 4 No material may be used without permission of author

6. Elaboration Tolerance [John McCarthy, Stanford University] Changing a parameter This is needed when the number of missionaries and cannibals are changed from 3 to 4. In English, this is accomplished by an added sentence. Doing it that way in logic requires a suitable belief revision method as part of the basic logical formalism. At present we must use minor brain surgery to replace certain occurrences of the number 3. No material may be used without permission of author

7. Did you understand that paragraph? If you struggled understanding the preceding paragraph, maybe you are not familiar with the context. Could you tell that this was about Computer Science? Even if you understood each word individually, lack of prior knowledge and experience has an effect on your comprehension. No material may be used without permission of author

8. English is a crazy language • Can you read the following sentences? • Can you see why a student with a learning disability and/or an ELL might have difficulty figuring out these heteronyms, homographs, homonyms , and homophones? • Multiple meanings for words can throw someone off as well. • How important is it to understand the context of a sentence? • If you want to test your skills, try this homograph online game here (for a Flash version) or here (for an html version). No material may be used without permission of author

9. How’s that again? The buzz was in the air that Freida was to become the heir to a fortune. Liza conceded that Hillary was very conceited. Your friends are not happy when you’re sad. Kyla was trying to plot a murder set in a garden plot. It was an airy perch from the aerie. Jessey was afraid of having a date with a lemon. Canela had a great idea to stand on the grate to grate the cheese. It is very difficult to wind the yarn in the wind. No material may be used without permission of author

10. Visual-spatial tasks The next series of slides are visual-spatial tasks. In the assessment process, particularly in psychoeducational evaluations, diagnosticians often try to evaluate a student’s skills in viewing and reproducing what they see through a variety of tasks – in other words, how does the student “see” the world, how do they “fit” in space, how do they manipulate the world, etc.? Examples of these skills are as follows: looking for details, seeing part-to-whole or whole-to-part relationships, determining how much “cueing” a student might need to see something they might not see right away, and so on. No material may be used without permission of author

11. Can you trust this person? Hint: If you don’t see it right away, tilt your head slightly to the right. See it now?Side note: I have discovered that exposure to English is crucial in this exercise. No material may be used without permission of author

13. Contrast • This grid, known as Hermann's Grid, is an example of how contrast affects color perception. The area at the corners of the black boxes appear gray. This happens because of something called lateral inhibition. In the retina when some light-receiving cells are activated others around them shut down. You will notice that where the white lines intersect, there is black on four sides, whereas the lines themselves are surrounded by black on only two sides. When you look at the intersections, the cells in the retina are surrounded on four sides by other cells that are also receiving light. They are therefore more inhibited than the cells focused on the lines. It is their inhibition that causes the dark spots to appear. No material may be used without permission of author

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17. What are we really seeing? These sidewalk chalk paintings give us the impression that they are three-dimensional objects, yet when we view them from another angle, we can see that they are actually flat. No material may be used without permission of author

18. The picture on the next slide looks a little strange, some jumbled monkeys there. It will be worth your time to fixate it for at least 10 seconds. Let your gaze “hang” on the tiny red target at the centre, making ready to move your mouse over the image thereafter. On the white background you may recognize a face, a topic of 2009.Alternatively: after fixation, close your eyes. After a few seconds a face will appear. No material may be used without permission of author

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20. You should see Charles Darwin’s face. Faces are difficult to recognize when rendered as a negative. Prolonged fixation creates a retinal afterimage, which over several seconds is a negative afterimage, making it recognizable. The longer and the more steady you fixate, the longer lasts the afterimage. When it fades, blink and it will be prolonged. On of the tricks is to introduce the tiny white lines (here chosen to delineate monkeys, appropriately). These impede face recognition in the initial negative (related to the blocking illusion). In the afterimage, however, they are gone because an afterimage is always a little blurry. Rob Jenkins & Richard Wiseman give some delightful background and also the original image on their website – Happy Darwin Day! – referenced below. http://www.richardwiseman.com/Darwin.html No material may be used without permission of author

21. What’s different? The next two photos are borrowed from the Washington Post magazine (May 20, 2012). The first photograph is the original, and the second photograph has 12 alterations made to the original picture. Can you find the 12 differences in the 2nd altered photo? The third photo has the answers. When individuals are assessed cognitively, attention to detail is a crucial skill that is evaluated. No material may be used without permission of author

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23. PRINT EDITOR: RANDY MAYS, ORIGINAL PHOTO: WASHINGTON POST READER JOHN C. CONSOLI No material may be used without permission of author

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25. Color Vision Pilots and others are often tested for color vision. Children in schools are sometimes assessed for color vision if they show some inconsistencies in recognizing colors. The most common color “blindness” is red-green color blindness. The following three slides are samples from the PseudoIsochromatic Plate Ishihara Compatible (PIP) Color Vision Test 24 Plate Edition. What numbers do you see? No material may be used without permission of author

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29. Answers You should have seen the numbers 16, 2, and 5. For more information about assessing color vision, you might be interested in this website: Color Blindness or Color Vision Deficiencyhttp://www.archimedes-lab.org/colorblindnesstest.html No material may be used without permission of author

30. Bev Doolittle – Prayer for the Wild Things (contains more than 40 animal images) No material may be used without permission of author

31. Sketch of Prayer for the Wild Things No material may be used without permission of author

32. Visual Figure Ground Look at the following woodcut by M.C. Escher. Escher frequently played around with figure ground in his work. What do you see? No material may be used without permission of author

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34. Gestalt Principles Gestalt theorists followed the basic principle that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In other words, the whole (a picture, a car) carried a different and altogether greater meaning than its individual components (paint, canvas, brush; or tire, paint, metal, respectively). In viewing the "whole," a cognitive process takes place – the mind makes a leap from comprehending the parts to realizing the whole. We visually and psychologically attempt to make order out of chaos, to create harmony or structure from seemingly disconnected bits of information. The major principles are: Similarity; Continuation; Closure; Proximity; Figure and Ground. [http://facweb.cs.depaul.edu/sgrais/gestalt_principles.htm] No material may be used without permission of author

35. An example of Closure Closure occurs when an object is incomplete or a space is not completely enclosed. If enough of the shape is indicated, people perceive the whole by filling in the missing information. Although neither the panda nor the IBM logo are complete, enough is present for the eye to complete the shape. When the viewer's perception completes a shape, closure occurs. You can view more example of the Gestalt Principles here at: http://graphicdesign.spokanefalls.edu/tutorials/process/gestaltprinciples/gestaltprinc.htm And if you want to test your understanding of these principles, try this worksheet. No material may be used without permission of author

36. Definition of Diversity according to the McDaniel College Department of Education “Diversity is defined as differences, or variety, among groups of people based on a range and combination of backgrounds and histories related to: ethnicity, race, gender, language, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, disability, geographical region, religious background, and exceptionalities in learning.” If you click on the hyperlink on the word race, you should be transported to the PBS website on Race. I recommend that you check it out. – it’s very interesting. No material may be used without permission of author

37. Alphabet Soup – Do you know what all of the terms mean? • ESL • ESOL • *ELL • CLD • CLDE • LEP • PHLOTE No material may be used without permission of author

38. Alphabet Soup – Do you know what all of these terms mean? • ESL – English Second Language • ESOL – English Speakers of Other Languages • *ELL – English Language Learner [the preferred term among many professionals in the field of bilingual studies] • CLD – Culturally and Linguistically Diverse • CLDE – Culturally and Linguistically Diverse with Exceptionality • LEP – Limited English Proficient [this is the term still used by the federal government to some degree, and some states as well] • PHLOTE – Primary Home Language Other Than English No material may be used without permission of author

39. Reflective of California’s diversity, the majority of K–12 girls (74%) are from an ethnic minority background. [http://www.msmc.la.edu/PDFFiles/status-of-women/3-RSWG-education.pdf] No material may be used without permission of author

40. Percent of Students Receiving Special Education Services by Race/Ethnicity and Disability Category – Ages 6-21 (http://www.IDEAdata.org, 2004) Please do not use any material without permission of the author

41. Percent of Students Receiving Special Education Services by Race/Ethnicity and Disability Category – Ages 6-21 (http://www.IDEAdata.org, 2007) Please do not use any material without permission of the author

42. Number and percentage of children ages 6 through 21 served under IDEA, Part B, by educational environment, race/ethnicity and state: Fall 2010 [https://www.ideadata.org/arc_toc12.asp#partbLRE] Please do not use any material without permission of the author

43. Number and percentage of children and students ages 6 through 21 served under IDEA, Part B, and as a percentage of the population, in the U.S. and outlying areas, by gender and state: Fall 2010 [https://www.ideadata.org/arc_toc12.asp#partbLRE] Please do not use any material without permission of the author

44. Number and percentage of students ages 6 through 21 served under IDEA, Part B, and as a percentage of the population, in the U.S. and outlying areas, by LEP status and state: Fall 2010 [https://www.ideadata.org/arc_toc12.asp#partbCC] Please do not use any material without permission of the author

45. PreK-12 Legislation – Indirect Impact on Postsecondary Education • No Child Left Behind (NCLB) – 2001 • Four Pillars of NCLB: • Stronger Accountability for Results • More Freedom for States and Communities • Proven Education Methods • More Choices for Parents Please do not use any material without permission of the author

46. Four Pillars of NCLB No Child Left Behind is based on stronger accountability for results, more freedom for states and communities, proven education methods, and more choices for parents. • Stronger Accountability for Results Under No Child Left Behind, states are working to close the achievement gap and make sure all students, including those who are disadvantaged, achieve academic proficiency. Annual state and school district report cards inform parents and communities about state and school progress. Schools that do not make progress must provide supplemental services, such as free tutoring or after-school assistance; take corrective actions; and, if still not making adequate yearly progress after five years, make dramatic changes to the way the school is run. Please do not use any material without permission of the author

47. More Freedom for States and Communities Under No Child Left Behind, states and school districts have unprecedented flexibility in how they use federal education funds. For example, it is possible for most school districts to transfer up to 50 percent of the federal formula grant funds they receive under the Improving Teacher Quality State Grants, Educational Technology, Innovative Programs, and Safe and Drug-Free Schools programs to any one of these programs, or to their Title I program, without separate approval. This allows districts to use funds for their particular needs, such as hiring new teachers, increasing teacher pay, and improving teacher training and professional development. Please do not use any material without permission of the author

48. Proven Education Methods No Child Left Behind puts emphasis on determining which educational programs and practices have been proven effective through rigorous scientific research. Federal funding is targeted to support these programs and teaching methods that work to improve student learning and achievement. In reading, for example, No Child Left Behind supports scientifically based instruction programs in the early grades under the Reading First program and in preschool under the Early Reading First program. Please do not use any material without permission of the author

49. More Choices for Parents • Parents of children in low-performing schools have new options under No Child Left Behind. In schools that do not meet state standards for at least two consecutive years, parents may transfer their children to a better-performing public school, including a public charter school, within their district. The district must provide transportation, using Title I funds if necessary. Students from low-income families in schools that fail to meet state standards for at least three years are eligible to receive supplemental educational services, including tutoring, after-school services, and summer school. Also, students who attend a persistently dangerous school or are the victim of a violent crime while in their school have the option to attend a safe school within their district. Please do not use any material without permission of the author

50. Legal IssuesNo Child Left Behind (NCLB)[from AFT] • February 2004 – U.S. Department of Education made two important policy changes with respect to the ELL subgroup and adequate yearly progress (AYP) calculations. • DOE will now allow states to exempt students who are new to this country and to the English language from taking the reading/language arts content assessment for one year. • still be required to also take a mathematics content assessment, with appropriate accommodations. States may, but would not be required to, include results from the math, and, if given, the reading/language arts content assessment in AYP calculations. • will continue to count for NCLB's required 95 percent participation rate. As required under Title III, ELLs will continue to be tested for English language proficiency. (2) The second recent change announced by the Department will allow states, for up to two years, to include in the ELL subgroup students who have attained English proficiency. No material may be used without permission of author