BSE Bulletin for Educators
October 2022
Happy Autumn, Pennsylvania Educators!
This month's issue of the BSE Bulletin for Educators contains valuable information from the BSE, timely notices on professional development opportunities, and tools and strategies used by schools in the commonwealth.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us at any time at bsebulletin@pattankop.net
With appreciation for all you do,
The Pennsylvania BSE and PaTTAN Staff
TOOLS FOR TEACHERS
Looking to improve reading outcomes for middle and high school students?
Here is a simple, but effective, instructional routine!
Last June, Dr. Anita Archer gave a presentation at the 2022 Virtual Literacy Symposium. She shared a vocabulary instructional routine with examples in a variety of content areas. The steps are simple, but the routine is POWERFUL!
- Step 1: Introduce the word’s pronunciation.
- Step 2: Introduce the word’s meaning with a student-friendly definition.
- Step 3: Illustrate the word with examples and nonexamples when helpful.
- Step 4: Check students’ understanding.
If you are interested in learning more about this evidence-based practice, please view Dr. Anita’s presentation by clicking this link.
You may also follow along with her handouts, starting on slide 109 where she provides a social studies example. Access the handout at this link.
Develop Students' Skills Using the "Three 3's in a Row" Technique
This is a great technique to use to develop listening, summarizing, and critical thinking skills. It gets students up and moving around and sharing their knowledge.
- Students are given a template with nine boxes. Each box has a teacher-prepared question inside.
- Students move around to their classmates and they listen to each other and get information from their peer "experts."
- Students have to summarize what the peer expert stated and then enter it into the corresponding box.
- The owner of the template is the one who must write the answer in the box.
- This is crucial because it helps students engage with what their peer said, and it helps the student develop the processing skills through listening to each other.
- If you let others write on the template, then it becomes very passive. The students can only use a peer one time for a question, so they will be talking to nine different students.
The teacher's job is to walk around and see the quick assessment of what the students have learned well. The question boxes that remain blank let the teacher know what is still difficult for students. After students have finished, students can share out as a class what they learned. Higher order questions allow students to synthesize, analyze, and evaluate the components of the concepts.
Excerpt from Konen, A. (2017). 11 Total Participation Techniques That Involve Movement. Teacher.org [Online]. Available: https://www.teacher.org/blog/11-total-participation-techniques-involve-movement/
Image credit: Buncome County Schools. [Online]. Available: http://bcsbt.weebly.com/engagement-strategies-presentation-for-middle-and-high-school-teachers.html
Building a Positive Partnership with Parents of Students with Disabilities
Whether this is a student’s first IEP or their 10th, the process can be overwhelming to all involved, especially to the parents. Ideally, educators will build a positive partnership with parents to allow for a productive process.
- Provide multiple opportunities for input. A casual conversation in the car line or a weekly phone call to check in establishes a connection that lets parents know the school cares about them. Parents have a unique understanding of the needs of their children. Set up conditions for them to share their perspectives.
- Make the content accessible to parents. Education is full of terminology that is difficult to understand. Share information in simple terms and explain words or concepts that are complex. Keep their native language in mind when communicating terms that may not translate easily.
- Allow parents to be co-creators of the IEP. When a positive relationship has been established with the parents, they are willing to share. Turn this into a positive partnership with parents by keeping them involved through the IEP development process, not just at the meeting or through the input form. What areas of growth do the parents feel are necessary for transitioning from home to school and life beyond?
- Build on the assets and strengths of the family and student. Parents spend more time with their children than we do. What talents or interests are displayed outside of school that may have a productive impact on how they learn in the classroom?
Excerpt from Davis, A. (May 2022). "Build a positive partnership with parents of students with disabilities." SmartBrief. [Online]. Available at: https://corp.smartbrief.com/original/2022/05/build-a-positive-partnership-with-parents-of-students-with-disabilities?utm_source=brief
Are you a teacher of students who qualify for the PASA?
Use these instructional resources to support students:
- Explore these Exemplar Text Supports – Dynamic Learning Maps Professional Development (dlmpd.com) and Instructional Resources – Dynamic Learning Maps Professional Development (dlmpd.com) to support students academically in daily classroom instruction.
- Use the New and Returning Quick Start Guides to learn about alternate assessment preparations and training requirements.
- For the 'big picture," check out the 2022-23 PASA DLM Instruction and Assessment Calendar (pdf)
Stay tuned for upcoming details on the PASA DLM Instruction and Assessment Hub and teacher office hours to support your efforts.
TIMELY OPPORTUNITIES
A-P-R Mentoring Project - Open Enrollment Continues!
The APR Mentoring Project will continue to accept applications for any Pennsylvania special education teacher, special education administrator, or school psychologist with three or less years of experience in their current position.
If you, or someone you know, could benefit from being paired with an experienced mentor for the 2022-2023 school year, you are encouraged to apply. Access the application by using this link: https://fs25.formsite.com/3fHiZQ/mentee22/index.html.
Receive support, ideas, and resources throughout the year from someone who knows special education and has a vested interest in helping you to navigate it all.
Contact Christine Moon, APR statewide lead, at cmoon@pattanpgh.net with any questions you may have about this project.
A-P-R Networking and Learning Communities
You are invited to build connections with other special education personnel across Pennsylvania as you share ideas, engage in problem-solving, and learn from one another!
The following sessions will be offered across the month of October:
- Teachers of the Visually Impaired and Orientation & Mobility Specialists: TVI and O&M Time: October 12 from 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM
- Teachers of Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities: Networking for Novice Teachers: October 18 from 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM
- Emotional Support Teachers: Quality Indicators of Emotional Support Services and Programs: October 19 from 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
- Speech and Language: Networking for Supervisors of Speech-Language Programs: October 20 from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
- School-Based Speech and Language Pathologists: Foundations of School-Based Practice Learning Network: October 24 from 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM
- Special Education Teachers in the Department of Corrections: Learning Community to Support Student Learning: October 28 from 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
All sessions will be posted on the PaTTAN training calendar and open for registration soon, so check back often!
Content Enhancement Routines from the Strategic Instructional Model (SIM)
Are you interested in learning evidence-based practices to support all secondary students to better understand, remember, and apply their learning?
If so, you may be interested in participating in a PaTTAN training on Content Enhancement Routines from the Strategic Instructional Model (SIM). Content Enhancement Routines will enable you and others in your school to better think about, adapt, and present critical content in a learner-friendly fashion that results in more effective instruction. A wealth of research illuminates the power of these routines to promote explicit and direct instruction that leads to improved student outcomes.
The mastery of critical content is organized, presented, and promoted through:
- Planning and Leading
- Concepts
- Explaining
- Increasing Performance
- Higher Order Thinking and Reasoning
Click the following link to hear about educators’ and students' success stories using SIM: https://sim.ku.edu/sim-stories
To learn more about training opportunities on SIM Content Enhancement Routines, please reach out to your regional PaTTAN office. PaTTAN can provide you or your school team with training and professional development on these evidence-based practices.
What is Cultural Navigation?
Cultural Navigation is a growing practice in the field of education that is proving effective in assisting refugee and immigrant students and families in navigating the educational system.
Emergent bilinguals and newcomers face challenges that impact the student's academic experience. The intersectionality of disability and emergent bilinguals presents significant obstacles; and, traversing the systems to address relevant responses requires a high degree of cultural competency.
Though the concept of navigation, otherwise known as cultural brokering, is not a new one, the practice has prevailed in the health and human service sectors to address disparities, improve access to quality services, and produce better outcomes for culturally and linguistically diverse families.
Who are Cultural Navigators and what do they do?
- Cultural Navigators are members of the linguistic communities that have received extensive training and work collaboratively with families, communities, and schools to promote responsive policies and practices.
- Cultural Navigators can employ explicit, evidenced-based practices to act as the bridge between environments and persons of different cultural backgrounds to create culturally and linguistically responsive systems of support.
- Cultural Navigators employ their cultural competencies to improve attendance, acclimation and persistence in school, credit accrual, and school completion rates.
- Cultural Navigators help to build relationships and mutual trust between all stakeholders to establish a partnership and ensure equitable access.
Interested in finding out more?
Consider attending PaTTAN EL’s 60-minute collaborative presentation entitled Cultural Connections: Using Cultural Navigation & Check and Connect to Promote Student Success at the 2022 PaPBS Implementers’ Forum scheduled for November 30 through December 2nd at the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center. Delivered in a dynamic and compelling narrative format that captures the diversity of language and culture while addressing complex questions and dilemmas, Cultural Navigators and teams will demonstrate the transformative capabilities of building a shared experience.
NEWS YOU CAN USE
Teachers Receive Increased Deduction for School Supplies
Teachers will now be able to deduct up to $300 of out-of-pocket classroom expenses in 2022, up from the $250 that has been set since the incentive first started in 2002.
"The limit will rise in $50 increments in future years based on inflation adjustments," the IRS said.
Eligible educators include K-12 teachers, principals, teachers' aides or counselors who spend more than 900 hours at the school during the academic year. Public and private school educators can benefit.
RESOURCES
New Informational Video on RENEW
RENEW™ is an intensive intervention that focuses on supporting secondary youth in developing a plan for transition from high school to adult life.
For more information on RENEW™ in Pennsylvania, check out the video or click the link below!
Tell Us Your Story!
Would you like to see your school featured in an upcoming issue of BSE Bulletin?
We are looking for quick tips and tangible tools that teachers can begin using in their classrooms right away. If you are using a strategy or tool that you would like to share with others, we’d love to hear from you! Send an email to bsebulletin@pattankop.net to submit your story.
The resources contained in this newsletter do not necessarily represent endorsement by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
The mission of the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN) is to support the efforts and initiatives of the Bureau of Special Education, and to build the capacity of local educational agencies to serve students who receive special education services.