Professional Learning Community

Speech-Language Pathologists & Psychologists Professional Learning Community Monday, November 12, 2012 TEC A-B-C, 8:30a.m.- 11:30 a.m.

Quick Review • Progress monitoring tool • Intervention • Practical Application • Myth Busters Quiz • Best Practices & MTSS • ICEL/RIOT • Implementation plans • Crucial Conversations • Next PLC: Problem-solving AGENDA

Data collection method • Both assessed with language samples obtained by retelling fictional narratives. • Oral Expression also assessed with scripts and personal narratives. • Personal narratives: Endorsed as critical element of elementary writing instruction. • Why retell? Naturally allows you to obtain representative samples of narrative skills. • Obtain 3+, 2 minute language samples: Timing starts when the student starts to talk Quick Review:Progress Monitoring

Scoring: • Select longest sample for analysis • Quantitative measures: Total Words Spoken, Communication Units (C-units) • C-units: Both number of c-units and average words per c-unit • Total Words Spoken use: Low verbal output, screening and progress monitoring • C-units: One complete thought, count grammatically incorrect utterances • Mazes: Series of words that are not necessary for the c-unit (i.e., repetitions, “sentences” without subject and verb) Quick Review:Progress Monitoring

Norms: • Personal Narrative: Examine structural pattern which corresponds to an age level and number of points • Script: Examine components which corresponds to age/grade level • Fictional Narratives: Examine story grammar which corresponds to an age/grade level; Progress scoring with point values assigned; Story comprehension for Preschool; Total words spoken • C-units: Mean length with corresponding age • Mazes: Corresponding age/grade level based on % • And more…. Quick Review:Progress Monitoring

Paragraph Shrinking • Comprehension: • Before: Pre-teach vocabulary, set objectives, preview text and prime background knowledge, chunk text • During: Ask questions, ID main idea, Map text structure elements, Visualizing, Model ongoing comprehension monitoring • After: Integration of comprehension instruction, Planned review, Assess understanding (i.e., retell, story maps, CLOZE summary activity, etc…) Quick Review:Intervention

Summarizing • Explicitly teach comprehension strategies • Power Write writing activity • Students write for 60 seconds • Write about what they learned from passage • Vocabulary Instruction: 2 years ahead • Teach vocabulary for language use that students will be reading in 2 years • Read Alouds Quick Review:Intervention

I really felt I could apply these ideas & methods to my current caseload & make a meaningful difference. • The justification & explanation to give to parents, teachers, or administrators about the connection between oral language skills & academics. • Excellent techniques for looking at evaluating language skills in a curriculum-based model. • Ideas for language interventions that are more relevant to children’s lives/future. Feedback: Most Significant Information Gained

How to implement the narrative & expository retells into the general ed. classroom. • I feel that I have a more focused vision of what I need to do to become a “member” of the school team. • Practical strategies to use with students. • Paragraph shrinking research. • Specific ways to teach vocab & story structure & ways to adapt books to check for comprehension. • How to tie individual goals into more functional meaningful context. • Using materials across grade levels. Feedback: Most Significant Information Gained

I’m going to change what I assess & how I approach goal writing & classroom push-in. • I was looking for a way to access the ELA curriculum & this seems to be my best option. • Helps me understand the language demands in the classroom and how important our role is in helping students be successful. • Incorporating oral language is important for literacy development in the classroom. • I’m wondering how retell is currently being utilized in my district by gen. ed. staff. • This could potentially streamline my time with students to determine if they need further intervention. Feedback: Provoke Thinking & Affect Viewpoint

Reinforced my views of the importance of using curriculum materials for assessment and intervention. • It has given me the tools to begin new ways of approaching school administration. • I need to change the way I’m providing therapy. • Gave me ideas for improving my instruction on retelling-identifying starting points & progression. • It will change the way I work with kids. • We don’t have to change everything we are doing but just improve it. • Increasing oral expression with the classroom is a critical piece for helping kids’ comprehension & written expression. • Made me think about how I can adapt materials to work on these skills with my lower language students. • It helped me clarify a plan for my next step to implement. • Thinking about all my students & how I can make a difference Feedback: Provoke Thinking & Affect Viewpoint

How might this apply to your practice? • When would this tool be used? • Could this be helpful as part of a special education evaluation? • What additional resources are needed to begin using this tool? • What obstacles are there to implementation? Practical Application:Progress Monitoring Tool

Under what circumstances may it be appropriate to determine eligibility as a Specific Learning Disability in Oral Expression or Listening Comprehension? • MTSS • SLD Guidelines • Pattern of Strengths and Weaknesses • ICEL/RIOT Special Education Services

Myth Busters Quiz

For students transitioning to middle school, it’s best to change their eligibility from SLI to SLD in Oral Expression and/or Listening Comprehension so that they get the most appropriate programming possible. Agree or Disagree?

Using the Patterns of Strengths and Weaknesses, a student is eligible for services under SLD in Oral Expression and/or Listening Comprehension when weaknesses are demonstrated using at least 4 different data sources (i.e. standardized assessment, classroom assessment, progress monitoring, etc...). Agree or Disagree?

Using the problem-solving approach for SLD in Oral Expression or Listening Comprehension eligibility determination, we would need to demonstrate a lack of growth despite the implementation of multiple research-based interventions. Agree or Disagree?

If a student has an FSIQ of 100 and scored a 69 on the CELF-4 in both expressive and receptive language, then this would be sufficient information to make them eligible for services as SLI or SLD in Oral Expression and/or Listening Comprehension. Agree or Disagree?

When a team is considering SLD in Oral Expression or Listening Comprehension, only an SLP can utilize the Oral Expression and Listening Comprehension progress monitoring tool to determine a strength, weakness, or response to intervention. Agree or Disagree?

What is the role of the SLP and Psychologist? • When might the Oral Expression and Listening Comprehension progress monitoring tool be used? What are districts doing?

Implementation Plans Revisited

With the introduction of Reading Street to my district this information helps me know how to interface more effectively. • Incorporate more literacy-based skills/strategies into my screenings, assessment, goals, and intervention. Relate what I am already doing to stories/text-based interventions. • I plan on using this with my 1st & 3rd graders immediately as a probe & text goal & session guide. • Going to consider retell goals for caseload students coming up for IEPs. • I can monitor the progress of my students much better! • Research, talk with teachers on how they implement story retell in their instruction. • I work with birth to 4 yrs. I am going to begin adapting books I use so nonverbal children can answer questions. • I will be using the rubrics & pm tool to monitor if instructional strategies are working. Feedback: Plans to Impact Student Learning

Use information as a resource when talking to teachers about strategies to use with students. • I plan to increase my push-in intervention and team more with teachers. • Use scripts in lesson plans. • Start with my students and then go into the classroom. • I really liked the ways to teach main idea & summarizing a paragraph. • Talk to principal about “power writing”. • Getting into the classroom & really finding out which teacher uses which reading system. • I felt that today’s session meshed a lot of our previous MiBLsi/PLC learning. It brought some of the PD’s down to the instructional level. • Common graphic organizer. Feedback: Plans to Impact Student Learning

Fewer kids being eligible as SLI. • Information can be shared with classroom teachers that will help develop language skills (such as requiring complete sentences). • Information can assist me in working with teachers to give them concrete strategies to improve student’s oral & written language. • To roll out at the Tier 1 level & blend into Reading Street. • Providing information to teachers to help them understand the benefits of story retelling. • I can use this info to benefit my IEP kids as well as all students. • The teachers could use this so we would all be on the same “page” when we are talking about the students that need intervention. Feedback: Impact School/District

Connecting language to school curriculum! • Increase comprehension (listening & reading); increase reading skills; increase grades, etc.; increase ability to communicate & socialize. • It gives me evidenced based DATA to support the suggestions to enrich teacher instruction and has increased my confidence to suggest changes. • Presenter was helpful in helping me see things in a different way & get new ideas. • Gives me confidence & evidence that SLPs collaborating with gen. ed. staff is a good thing. Feedback: Impact School/District

Time to review, process, then try it with my students & one or two teachers. • Feeling competent in admin/scoring/goal setting for my caseload kids based on story retells. • Not getting overwhelmed and having unrealistic expectations about implementation. • Focus of intervention, school wide is currently phonics, fluency, phonemic awareness. • Scheduling. • Systems support for another method of screening & intervening. • Focus to change the way I’m currently working. • May need to look at different service delivery options. • Time and good relationship with classroom teachers. Feedback: Greatest Obstacle

Integrating it into existing curriculum. • My confidence in myself to make this change. • Taking it 1 step at a time. • Analyzing whatis needed at each grade level and in different classes. Buy in for upper grade (3rd & 4th) teachers. • Creating a plan and implementing it. Changing my habits. • Buy-in, administrative support. • Don’t want to overwhelm teachers with too much new information. • Myself…making a change. Feedback: Greatest Obstacle

Implementation plans Next Steps?

Crucial Conversations Book by:By Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan and Al Switzler

First, opinions vary • Second, the stakes are high • Third, emotions run strong What makes a conversation “crucial” vs. typical?

Avoid them • Face them and handle them poorly • Face them and handle them well How do we typically handle crucial conversations:

Emotions tend to rule • Body physically reacts • We are under pressure • We are stumped • We act in self defeating ways Why don’t crucial conversations tend to go well?

Kick Start Your Career • Improve Your Organization • Improve Your Relationships • Revitalize Your Community • Improve Your Personal Health Why it is important to master crucial conversation skills:

Look for when a conversation becomes crucial • Look for silence (masking, avoiding, withdrawing) and violence (controlling, labeling, attacking) • Learn to look for your own Style Under Stress Learn to Look

Have I established Mutual Purpose? • Have I maintained respect? Make It Safe

Separate facts from stories • Watch for three clever stories • Victim, Villain and Helpless • Tell the rest of the story • Am I pretending not to notice my role in the problem? • Why would a reasonable, rational, and decent person do this? • What should I do right now to move toward what I really want? Master My Stories

STATE: • Share your facts • Tell your story • Ask for others’ paths (what) • Talk tentatively • Encourage testing (how) • Am I really open to others’ views? • Am I confidently expressing my own views? STATE My Path

Explore with added AMPPs: • Ask • Mirror • Paraphrase • Prime • Am I actively exploring others’ views? Explore Others’ Paths

Document who does what by when and follow-up • What is the plan from here? Move to Action

Monday, December 17, 2012 • 8:30a.m.- 11:30a.m. • TEC A-B-C • Topic: Problem-Solving • Psychologists • Social Workers • Speech-Language Pathologists Please sign-out: SB-CEU’s Next PLC Date

Professional Learning Community