Children’s Meeting House Montessori School
Are we seeing more learning differences in children? This is a question that teachers have repeatedly asked me. They are seeing students who struggle with concentration issues, processing information, an inability to follow multiple-step procedures or directions, sensory challenges, and an inability to capture thoughts on paper. And more importantly, they ask: Why are we seeing more and how do we meet their learning needs?
The prevalence of learning disability identification has increased dramatically in the past 20 years. The “real” prevalence of LD is subject to much dispute because of the lack of an agreed-upon definition of LD with objective identification criteria. Some researchers have argued that the currently recognized 5% prevalence rate is inflated; others argue that LD is still under-identified. In fact, it appears that there are both sound and unsound reasons for the increase in identification rates.Sound reasons for the increase include better research, a broader definition of disability in reading, focusing on phonological awareness, and greater identification of learning disabilities in girls. Unsound reasons for the increase include broad and vague definitions of learning disability, financial incentives to identify students for special education, and inadequate preparation of teachers by colleges of education, leading to overreferral of students with any type of special need. (Lyon, 1996)
As a society, we now know more about child development, medical conditions, brain research, experiential learning and memory studies. As a result, are we as educators finding more information? Are we more critical in our analysis of how and what students know and retain? Are our students coming to us with this information already uncovered?
Educators of all persuasions, including Montessorians, are witnessing significant increases in the number of students with learning difficulties. In recent years, both researchers and practitioners have noted a rise in attention issues, autism spectrum disorders, and sensory integration difficulties. Blame it on television, environmental toxins, aging parents, or more systematic identification; the rise crosses ethnic, racial and economic lines. (Cossentino, 2010)
Educators bring theory; training, and experience in their backpack of teaching and learning. The desire of every teacher who is passionate about education is to approach each student as a masterpiece in progress, unveiling strengths and challenges. The work of the educator is complicated because the learning clues for each individual vary and are not always obvious.
In my three decades dedicated to education, I believe that we all have challenges; it is just a matter of where they are worn. Some of us wear them on the inside, some us wear them on the outside, and some of us wear them both inside and outside. It is often easiest to work as an educator with students who wear challenges on the outside that are visible to the eye. Challenges worn on the inside are more complicated. These challenges are often not as evident in detection, and we expect a typical, age-appropriate response from a student.
As a Montessori private school administrator for the past six years, I have worked with my teaching team to create a process that can be used when a red flag in a student’s learning is detected. Many of the step-by-step procedures are refined procedures and a result of my previous administrative work with an exceptional Intervention Assistance Team (IAT) at Dater Montessori School, a magnet program in the Cincinnati, Ohio Public School System.
Step One: When red flags are seen in a student’s learning, start with observation and documentation of these explanations. The teacher’s experience of observation should be considered in three parts: Perceptual Observation; Rational Observation; and Contemplative Observation. These three parts overlap. Paul Epstein speaks about distinguishing the importance of Observations versus Record Keeping. He proposes a new kind of observation framework in which we record our Perceptual Observations (what we see, hear, contrast), our Rational Observations (what we analyze or infer from what we are seeing/hearing), and use the skill of Contemplative Observation to bring forth new ideas, allowing us to see the “spiritual truth” of the situation. (Epstein, 2009)
Step Two: If there is a concern that may be of a behavioral nature, look for patterns of what happens prior to the action and following the action. These are often referred to as triggers. Ask what triggers the behavior? Triggers tell people to “do it now!” Sometimes a trigger can be external, like an alarm sounding. Other times, the trigger can come from our daily routine. The concept of a trigger has different names: cue, prompt, request, and call to action. (Fogg, 2009) An example of a behavioral data collection form follows. Often behaviors can mask learning challenges or are present due to pure frustration from a student when learning obstacles exist.
Step Three: Ask a trusted colleague or administrator to observe for a second set of eyes and another opinion. Share your observations and findings only after he/she has had a chance to observe so that their views are not obscured by what you might already suspect. Consult reliable child development resources like Yardsticks (Wood, 2007). This comprehensive, user-friendly reference offers clear descriptions of children’s development from age four to fourteen. For each age, this book includes narrative description of developmental traits and charts summarizing physical, social, language, and cognitive growth patterns. Yardsticks as a resource, has helped countless teachers and administrators shape classrooms and schools where all children can succeed.
Step Four: Use your discussions to fuel your next steps. Look at what strategies you are using in the classroom that might be working or not working.
Strategies for attention/concentration challenges:
- The child has his own ‘office.’
- A daily work plan rather than a weekly plan.
- In lessons, the student has preferential sitting next to an adult.
- Provide rocking chairs in the classroom or office chairs that will move and rock as needed.
- A chewy necklace made from a squishy pencil grip.
Strategies for active memory and processing challenges:
- Directions or steps are chunked into smaller steps.
- The child is asked to paraphrase or “self talk” summarizing what he or she needs to do in the assignment.
- The student does a check-in after each step to simplify the process.
- The student uses visual cues or index cards for core curriculum rules and steps.
- The child sets a goal of length of time needed to complete task and uses a timer to keep him on track.
- Use ‘sensory guides,’ such as books on tape, study guides, outlines and notes.
Strategies specifically with transferring thoughts/ information to paper:
- Allow student to dictate some responses to peer or adult.
- Provide hands-on manipulatives.
- Allow other visual options for student to demonstrate knowledge
Strategies with executive functioning and organization:
- Use a simple file folder system for each curricula.
- Use graph paper to help align work.
- Color code operational symbols.
- Use a picture schedule for tasks to be completed in order, with the student choosing the order.
Strategies for anxiety and other behavioral challenges:
- Structure careful transitions.
- Provide sensory prompts – visual, physical, nonverbal as needed.
- Reinforce desired behaviors.
- Redirect or ignore inappropriate behaviors.
- Allow for movement and varied work spaces.
- Have a routine and system in place for students to express concerns in a nonverbal manner when worried, anxious or need assistance.
- The following cases demonstrate how specific strategies for success can support student learning.
The Case of Colby
Consider the following case of Colby. Colby’s smile could light up a room if you could catch the toothy grin between his very active whirlwind of work. He struggles with any information “sticking” and staying on task. His teachers use various work agendas for him from a modified color-coded work plan to a picture schedule that he was involved in choosing and setting. Part of Colby’s routine following a lesson is to have him verbalize or “self talk” what he needs to do as a first step for an activity, with continuous check-ins after each step. Colby varies his work location in the classroom from rocking chair at a table to a gel cushion on the floor. As well, he has benefited from intense after-school phonetic-skill tutoring. Most recently, Colby has been diagnosed as dyslexic and as having attention deficit disorder (ADD).
The Case of Ava Jane
Ava Jane, from an observer’s eye, appears reserved and rather shy or timid by nature. From a teacher’s perspective, she is an active listener who does not participate much. When Ava Jane is asked a question in a group, she often shrugs her shoulders. When working one on one with students, she sometimes talks so much, she has a hard time getting her work done. Ava Jane has selective mutism. She is able to speak to her friends one on one in the class; however, in group settings (small or large), she rarely contributes. For her teachers, the challenge is determining how to assess her and how to phrase questions so that she can comfortably respond. For Ava Jane, the teachers have given her older-student partners to work with for some activities.These are children who have learned how to ask question that require ‘identifying’ information by pointing to labels, pictures, or with nonverbal responses. The same has been true for how the teachers assess Ava Jane’s knowledge. They use the same method as the student partners though more in-depth when searching for skill progress or mastery. Most all of her assessment is currently written, or the second period of the Montessori three-period lesson.
As the Primary teacher, when you have gathered enough information about the student’s red flags in learning, discuss ideas with your teaching team at your level. Often, the collective power of teaching experience may reveal other questions or observations that you have not considered. Be sure that at this point the administrator has also been brought into the discussion. This will allow you, as the classroom teacher, to determine who should be present at a meeting with parents. Often, a team leader or administrator can provide a view or make suggestions from a different lens of observation.
Step Five: The child’s plan of success must include the primary partnership of the parents and the teaching team. The purpose of creating an intervention plan following the parent and teacher meeting is to create a road map and documentation of what has worked or not worked. It will also provide next steps if outside resources or an educational evaluation might be warranted. The simplest form of an intervention plan requires outlining the areas of concern, the strategies or interventions to address these concerns, and the desired outcomes. A more detailed plan will include areas of challenge, strategies, and forms of ongoing evaluation. Any intervention plan deserves 4-6 weeks before reconvening as a team to see what strategies have been effective, as well as adjustments to the plan for further success. Data is only useful when it helps match a student’s needs with appropriate assistance. This depends entirely on the capacity of teachers to make sense of the observations, tallies, and scores they compile. Early intervention calls teachers to activate the analytic and experimental side of their practice, which is, central to Maria Montessori’s vision of “scientific pedagogy.” (Cossentino, 2010) The following is an example of an intervention plan.
The case of Bailey is why this systematic approach works.
The Case of Bailey
Bailey has an intervention plan in place that was collectively discussed and written by her parents, teacher, administrator, and Orton Gillingham (tutor). As a six-year-old, she struggles with remembering letter sounds consistently and putting letter sounds together into words. As a result, Bailey relies on the method of making educational guesses. The intervention plan provides the teachers and parents with framework to set strategies in place and review them in a six-week framework. Part of the review will be to determine strategies that are working and those that are not, as well as next steps, such as a continued four-week period with some of the same strategies, as well as different ones. It may also help to decide if an evaluation is needed for Bailey’s future learning success.
In an intervention plan meeting with the parents, teachers, an administrator, child psychologist, and the student who was old enough to participate in creating her plan, Dr. David Smoot, a Raleigh child psychologist explained it well to a student who was old enough to be a part of his intervention plan for successful learning. The child was a fourth grader at the time. Dr. Smoot explained that each of us is unique or different, and how unexciting life would be if we all looked, learned, and responded in the same way. He continued to tell the student that we all have obstacles to tackle in our journey whether in learning or life. How we choose to tackle them is the important part. Some of us will leap over these hurdles, some of us must climb under the hurdles and some of us will run around them, being encourage and supported by our team members that surround us. We might fall down and scratch our knees, but not giving up is key. A team is not one person alone; rather, it is a collective group that begins with the student, the parents, the teaching team, and other members as needed. It can be a tremendous team and rewarding process if the collaboration is present with the student’s success in mind.
Conclusion
We, as educators, must learn to trust our educational intuition when we see red flags in students’ learning. A systematic approach will guide each step beginning with observation and data collection followed by discussion and documentation. This method will allow a clear road map to set up children for success in the classroom and ultimately set strategies that support how they work and learn best. We must not dwell on the limitations— we must focus on the possibilities. (Wolf, 1996).
References:
- Cossentino, J. (2010). “Following All the Children: Early Intervention and Montessori.” Montessori Life, 22(4), 38-45.
- Epstein, P. (2009, May 16). Montessori Conference Part 2: Observation. Retrieved from http://thesecretofchildhood.blogspot.com
- Fogg, B.J. (2011). “Fogg’s Behavior model.” Retrieved from http://www.behaviormodel.org/index.html
- Lyon, G. R. (1996). “Special Education for Students with Disabilities.”
- The Future of Children, 6(1). Retrieved from http://futureofchildren.org
- Wolf, A. (1996). Nurturing the Spirit in Non-Sectarian Classrooms. Westminster: Child Parent Press.
- Wood, C. (2007). Yardsticks. Turners Fall: Northeast Foundation for Children.
Montessori Leadership / December 2012 / p 4
