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Preconvention Workshops

Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Jump start your convention experience with CEC’s Preconvention Workshops. This is your opportunity to explore special education’s hottest topics in depth and get the latest news from recognized experts in the field. And, you can earn CEUs!  This year’s workshops include:

Co-teaching is emerging as one of the strategies through which professionals hope to achieve the goals of the No Child Left Behind Act and IDEA. However, considerable confusion still exists regarding its structure, administration, and effectiveness. This preconvention workshop will offer those who are (a) developing co-teaching programs and/or (b) refining the quality of their programs, research-based information on how to create effective programs, address sustainability, conduct program evaluation, and discuss issues common in co-teaching. Presenters will discuss key dimensions of co-teaching programs (e.g., instructional, behavioral, professional relationship, program structure and management, program evaluation) and use existing and emerging research to describe effective practices related to dimensions of co-teaching and clarify misconceptions underlying many research designs.

Participants will gain a wealth of information and have the opportunity to interact with presenters and with each other regarding opportunities and barriers in maturing co-teaching programs. Large group lecture, small-group discussions, and other grouping arrangements are planned to foster meaningful discussions and establish networks. Print materials will provide examples of available data and key points for developing, sustaining, and evaluating co-teaching programs.

Participants will be able to:

1. Outline the evidence that supports or fails to support critical dimensions of co-teaching.
2. Describe program development, operation, management, and evaluation strategies that contribute to successful co-teaching programs.
3. Identify dilemmas most commonly faced in co-teaching programs and generate evidence-based strategies for addressing them.
4. Use at least three strategies for determining the quality of the co-teaching occurring and the impact it is having on student outcomes and staff as well as other stakeholders’ perceptions.

Who Should Attend:   Special and general education administrators, special and general education teachers, related service professionals, and state and regional agency personnel

This workshop will explore critical aspects of the Response to Intervention (RTI) process, moving past the basic ideas to explore effectiveness of RTI in school reform and sustainability.  Topics will include teacher and administrator roles in RTI, scheduling options, and components of appropriate instruction and behavior management at all tiers in the pyramid. 

RTI is being adopted in school systems across the country as the primary method for identifying students with learning disabilities.  However, RTI has the potential to be a powerful tool for increased achievement for all students.  When implemented effectively, RTI can rule out inadequate instruction as the cause for learning problems while providing intense instruction at the first signs of learning difficulty.  Likewise, RTI can be used to address behavioral problems which impede student learning.

This integrated model of RTI will be the focus of this workshop.  The workshop is designed for practitioners who already have a basic understanding of the elements of RTI and are ready to implement the process at the school and/or district level.  The presenter will explore the components of quality instruction at each tier of a 3-Tiered Pyramid, including general education classroom services, needs based instructional services, and special education services.  Additional topics include scheduling options for all grade levels, progress monitoring, interventions, data-based decision making, factors that impact sustainability of reform, and impact of RTI on special education services.  
 
Participants will be able to:

1. Identify an integrated model of RTI for overall school improvement.
2. Identify scheduling options for implementation of needs based instruction.
3. Identify appropriate instruction at each tier of a three-tiered pyramid. 

Who Should Attend: Special and general education teachers and administrators

^{*Participants may register for either the morning or afternoon session or for the full-day.}

Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS) is an evidence-based, classwide peer-tutoring program demonstrated to improve the reading achievement of high-, average-, and low-performing readers in kindergarten through high school, and in both high-poverty urban schools and middle-class suburban schools. In PALS, higher-performing readers are paired with lower-performing readers to conduct activities focusing on phonemic awareness and decoding in Kindergarten, and fluency and comprehension in Grades 2 to 6.

PALS provides teachers with a means of differentiating instruction and addressing diversity by supplementing conventional instruction with reciprocal peer tutoring. Thus, children in the same classroom can work at their individual levels, and teachers can address a broad range of needs, including those of English Language Learners and students with disabilities. Teachers report that PALS fits well with a variety of curricula and instructional approaches and that it is feasible to implement.

Participants will learn about the development of PALS, the research demonstrating its effectiveness, and how it can be implemented through modeling and guided practices. Workshop leaders will provide recommendations as to how to modify PALS activities for students with specific academic or behavioral needs.

The morning session will focus on Kindergarten PALS (K-PALS). The afternoon session focuses on PALS for Grades 2 to 6.

Participants will be able to:

1. Describe the benefits of PALS.
2. Assign students to PALS pairs.
3. Train students to conduct PALS activities.
4. Use PALS correctly and independently in their classroom.

Who Should Attend: Special and general elementary education teachers

Project PRIDE (Promoting Reading in Diverse Environments), focuses on addressing challenges to the reading achievement of culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse students with learning disabilities at the middle and secondary school levels.   Participants will learn about evidence-based reading comprehension strategies (Collaborative Strategic Reading) and culturally responsive teaching for improving the performance of middle and secondary teachers who teach culturally and linguistically diverse students with learning disabilities and struggling readers. These strategies will provide teachers with the tools to help students bridge text and live experiences and make connections within and across lessons.

This workshop will (1) develop teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and skills to implement reading comprehension instruction in their diverse middle and secondary school classrooms; and ultimately (2) improve outcomes for their culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students with disabilities. Although useful for all middle and secondary teachers, PRIDE is particularly designed for professionals in culturally and linguistically diverse, high poverty urban middle and secondary schools, including special education teachers, reading teachers, and content area (i.e., social studies and science) teachers. Special emphasis will be placed on teaching African American and Latino/Hispanic students, including English learners. The uniqueness of this professional development program is its emphasis that bridges knowledge and competencies in both evidence-based practices and culturally responsive instruction.

Participants will be able to:

1. Teach reading comprehension strategies using Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) to enhance reading comprehension, promote content learning, and provide access to the general education curriculum for culturally and linguistically diverse students with learning disabilities and those struggling in reading.(Note: CSR has a strong theoretical foundation and is grounded in empirical research.)
2. Identify and integrate two components, (i.e., the hidden dimensions of culture that can pose difficulties for CLD students and intercultural communication skills and attributes) of culturally responsive teaching in enhancing CSR.

Who Should Attend: Special and general middle and secondary education teachers

Get a head start on survival training for those important novice years! This workshop is geared toward beginning and novice special education teachers and students currently enrolled in teacher training programs in special education. New teachers are often unsure of their responsibilities as service providers. For example: How do you organize your time to work with students, parents, and colleagues? What should you do to be prepared for the first day of school?  How do you identify goals for your students? How do you build relationships and connect with your students? How do you collaborate with parents and colleagues? 

Participants will define case management responsibilities; learn day-to-day survival tips; and receive information on behavior management, data collection, individualized education program preparation, record keeping, child advocacy, and collaborating with colleagues and parents.  Handouts and references will be included.  Participants will receive a copy of the Survival Guide for the First-Year Special Education Teacher published by CEC.

Participants will be able to:

1. Describe activities which focus on preparing for the first days of school and providing instruction in classroom procedures and teacher expectations.  
2. Discuss classroom organization strategies, identify behavior management tips, and develop options for challenging situations.  
3. Describe the responsibilities of case management, tips for successful case management and identify strategies to improve collaboration with colleagues and parents.

Who Should Attend: Students, first-year teachers, and special education teachers

Learn about the concept of universal design for transition (UDT), a new application of an approach to instructional planning and implementation that assures that all students receive instruction that meets their academic and functional, postschool goals. Examples, tips, resources, and a framework for organizing your efforts will be provided.

The workshop is organized to provide a framework for teachers to follow as they incorporate a universal design for learning (UDL) approach in a secondary classroom. UDL characterizes efforts to create universal access to education for all students including those with cognitive, physical, and emotional disabilities. Participants will understand the core components of UDL, multiple means of representation, multiple means of expression, and multiple means of engagement, and will understand how to apply strategies in the classroom and IEP/transition development that incorporate these components.

Throughout the workshop, an emphasis will be placed on how the application of UDL in academic instruction and planning enhances teacher ability to teach all students in the general education curriculum while meeting the transition needs, academic assessments, and data collection requirements of Indicator 13 and NCLB. Specific UDL practices in instruction, assessment, and transition planning will be discussed, as well as how to successfully focus these strategies to enhance teacher data collection practices, student learning, student performance, and student involvement in the transition process.

Participants will also be introduced to the concept of Universal design in Transition (UDT), which applies a universal approach to all aspects of transition planning. Examples of UDT practices that enhance student planning skills, family and interagency collaboration, academic and functional goals, and program development (Kohler, 1996) will be provided, as well as approaches that will enhance teacher abilities to employ best practices such as student-led IEPs and how to guild strong collaborative IEP teams.

This workshop will provide you with direction for making universally designed educational decisions for the classroom in which you teach, but it will not provide you with only one answer. Instead, we will present different aspects of transition planning and/or educational planning at the secondary education level and will discuss the importance, practicality, and usefulness of UDT and UDL approaches. We will do this by introducing you to Mr. LaRon Scott, a first year teacher and nominee for DCDT Teacher of the Year, and his experience of making decisions about what and how to teach students with intellectual disabilities, who have different abilities, support needs, and desires for post-school outcomes.

He, like other teachers, must make decisions about how to address two seemingly disparate goals: teach academics versus teach functional skills; and meet individualized educational/post school goals versus standardized educational goals (Wehmeyer & Schwartz, 2002.) In addition, teachers must bridge the gap among teaching self-determination skills and academic transition planning and instruction (Thoma, Nathanson, Baker, & Tamura, 2001.) This workshop will include examples of how Mr. Scott bridged these gaps and approached the curriculum development process, examples of the strategies that he and others have used (including blank forms or templates), tips for making this work in other settings, and resources that you can employ to make your own decisions, given the students in your classroom, the curricular guidelines you have, and the policies and procedures in your school, school district, and state.

Participants will be able to:

1. Describe the essential components of universal design.
2. Apply UDT to the development of lesson plans and assessments.
3. Identify resources for the future.

Who Should Attend:  Special and general secondary education teachers; students/first-year professionals

(½ Day Workshop—9:00 a.m.-noon)

Differentiated instruction is a model of curriculum planning, instruction, management, and assessment that shows great promise as a means of making the general curriculum accessible. Technology has a powerful role to play in making differentiation work efficiently and effectively.  From preassessments, progress monitoring, and data management to delivering adapted text with various embedded supports or individualized AT solutions, technology can make differentiation inclusive to students with disabilities.

In this workshop, resources and strategies to differentiate instruction through technology will be brought to life. Each of the four key areas of planning, instruction, management, and assessment will be explored for ways to better serve all students. Strategies and resources will be demonstrated, practiced, and discussed as participants create an action plan to deepen their technology implementation.

An online toolkit of resources, strategies, professional development materials, and literature syntheses developed through the technical assistance and research work underway at the Center for Implementing Technology in Education (CITEd) will be shared.  These toolkit components have been identified as evidence-based or promising practices and are supported by real-world examples from classrooms and districts in which CITEd has provided technical assistance. Participants will benefit from exploring the technology-based resources in a stress-free environment, using a structured process to assess and plan for integrating technology in instruction, and sharing thoughts about implementation challenges with colleagues and CITEd facilitators.

CITEd supports leaders in states, districts, and schools in integrating instructional technology for all students to achieve high educational standards. CITEd provides this no-cost support through identification of evidenced-based practices, innovative online technical assistance tools, professional development, and communities of practice.  Funding comes from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs.
 
Participants will be able to:

1. Find resources and tools for implementing technology from www.cited.org.
2. Apply new tools and strategies to differentiated planning and instruction.
3. Create an action plan that sets a context for differentiated instruction through technology.

Who Should Attend: Special and general education teachers, special and general education administrators, technology specialists, and coordinators

All of the nation’s current and future teachers need multicultural education to acquire the knowledge, skills, and dispositions required to teach in a multifaceted society. Teacher education programs (TEPs) must become culturally responsive to preservice teachers so that they are better prepared to work with all students, especially those who are culturally and linguistically diverse.

There is a dire need for TEPs to offer many and varied cross-cultural experiences.  Curriculum, methodology, and instructional materials should be responsive to students’ values and cultural norms.  Thus, the ultimate challenge for teacher educators is to prepare reflective practitioners who can connect, commit, and practice an ethos of care with diverse students and their families. This workshop will provide ways to design and deliver culturally responsive strategies to work with culturally and linguistically diverse students and empower their families in the teaching and learning process.

Participants will learn how to infuse diversity throughout the design and delivery of their lesson plans inclusive of home learning activities to promote positive student learning outcomes. They will have an opportunity to create culturally responsive learning activities for the classroom and home environment for reading, math, and written expression.

Workshop participants will also focus on aligning instruction to the assets and differential needs of diverse student populations: sociocultural, academic, cognitive, and linguistic. The current demand for certified, highly qualified teachers with English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) add-on licensure continues to intensify due to the significant rise in the number of linguistically and culturally diverse students nationally in urban and rural settings in the United States. Strategies to prepare teachers for integrated, inclusive settings who will work with all students, but particularly with bilingual special education students, will be discussed. This is a critical need, a rapidly growing number of different languages are represented among the student population, but a majority of teachers are not well prepared to provide effectively for the needs of these second language learners.  A delivery model to provide instructional services to teachers who will be teaching English language learners with disabilities will be presented as well.

Participants will be able to:

1. Infuse diversity throughout the design and delivery of their lesson plans inclusive of home learning activities to promote positive student learning outcomes.
2. Create culturally responsive learning activities for the classroom and home environment.
3. Design home learning activities that reinforce the standard course of study.
4. Align instruction to the assets and differential needs of diverse student populations: sociocultural, academic, cognitive, and linguistic.
5. Apply and incorporate multicultural perspectives into the teaching-learning process to maximize the academic, cognitive, personal, and social development of learners.
6. Demonstrate effective interactions among teachers, students, and families.

Who Should Attend: Special education elementary and middle school teachers

Master the LCCE curriculum and use a proven transition curriculum based on classroom, home, and community environments. The curriculum is useful for middle school through high school populations. Participants will receive a copy of the LCCE Teacher’s Guide.
 
Participants will be able to:

1. Discuss primary components of the LCCE curriculum.
2. Utilize LCCE assessments (Knowledge and Performance Batteries.
3. Explain LCCE lesson plan development and instruction.
4. Describe requirements for school- and district-wide implementation of LCCE.

Who Should Attend: Special and general secondary special education teachers, administrators, supervisors, paraeducators, related service professionals, teacher educators and graduate students, transition and vocational coordinators, and parents.

(½ Day Workshop—1:00-4:00 p.m.)

This interactive workshop will address the rise of stress exhibited by both students of all
ages and their teachers. The presenters will examine some of the possible causes of
stress including: high stakes testing, increased classroom size, the impact of NCLB,
overscheduling, family involvement in the military, single-parent families, and the
increased demands of a fast-paced society on both children and adults.
Special emphasis will be placed on providing teachers with strategies to relieve some of
the pressure that contributes to the stress factor in their classrooms.

Participants will be able to:

1. Identify some of the familiar and unfamiliar signs of  stress in children.
2. Examine the important role that adequate sleep plays as a crucial aspect of diminishing stress.
3. Discuss how stress creates a negative impact on the brain’s ability to learn by increasing the production of cortisol.
4. Learn a variety of strategies and exercises that may help to alleviate stress in both children and teachers.
5. Implement methods to identify and reduce the causes of stress in their own lives.

Who Should Attend:   Special and general education teachers, administrators, related service providers, and parents

This workshop will have a dual focus. Participants will learn about the components of a performance-based teacher preparation program in special education. This will include aligning program curriculum with CEC standards, developing performance-based assessments, and collecting data for candidate as well as program improvement. Participants will have the opportunity to evaluate the status of their program development and identify steps to move the program forward. In addition, the CEC standards will be highlighted and the NCATE/CEC report process will be explained. This will include reviewing the report format, sharing examples of report components, and providing tips for submitting a high quality report. Participants will receive a notebook of resources.

Participants will be able to:

1. Explain the steps in developing a performance-based teacher preparation program.
2. Use the CEC standards to prepare appropriate documentation.
3. Discuss the essential elements of a performance-based review.
4. Identify how to document and present performance assessments and candidate data.
5. Review components of the NCATE/CEC program report.

Who Should Attend: College and university personnel who are preparing folios to respond to the CEC/NCATE curriculum guidelines

This workshop will describe evidenced-based instructional strategies designed to improve learning in school. Strategies for improving reading, memory, motivation, and content area learning in science and social studies will be presented. Examples illustrating differentiated instruction, peer mediation, and curriculum enhancement will be highlighted.

Teachers must meet the instructional needs of all learners, even when content is challenging, student needs are diverse, and students may lack the motivation to succeed in school. Important considerations include the systematic implementation of instructional variables such as peer mediation, hands-on learning, strategy training, developing and implementing differentiated curriculum enhancements, and implementing all these strategies within exciting and motivating classroom environments. This workshop highlights examples from recent research -- much of it conducted by the presenters -- that can help improve student motivation, reading comprehension, memory, and content area learning, combined with principles of differentiated instruction.

Participants will be able to:

1. Describe strategies to adapt materials and instruction to improve reading comprehension.
2. Discuss strategies to adapt materials and instruction to improve reading comprehension.
3. Use differentiated instruction in science and social studies
4. Explain strategies to improve motivation.

Who Should Attend: Special and general education teachers

This workshop will present a validated program for improving mathematical problem solving for students in Grades 4-12 at risk for math failure. The program has been validated for students with learning disabilities, and, with modification, for students with spina bifida. Solve It! uses explicit instruction to teach students essential cognitive processes and metacognitive strategies for solving math problems. The content and teaching methodology of Solve It! will be described and demonstrated. Participants will engage in a variety of activities for implementing the program. Preliminary results from an ongoing federally funded research project to further validate the efficacy of Solve It! will also be presented.

Participants will be able to:

1. Describe the components of Solve It!, a program for improving mathematical problem solving for students with math difficulties.
2. Implement Solve It! and monitor student progress over time.

Who Should Attend:   Special and general education teachers, administrators,and parents.

This workshop will address common behaviors experienced by individuals with autism spectrum disorders and introduce a comprehensive method of addressing these challenges. Participants will be given an opportunity to apply this model to behaviors typically seen in children and youth across the spectrum.

Presenters will focus on challenges experienced by those who teach and support students across the autism spectrum: (a) identifying the causes of behavior; (b) matching student needs to interventions; and (c) developing a plan that can be easily implemented throughout the day. Participants will learn how to use a comprehensive planning model to address student behavior needs and develop behavior programs that include student’s multiple challenges related to sensory issues, reinforcement needs, structure and visual/tactile supports, and task demands. Attendees will learn how to integrate this information throughout the student’s day. Application activities will be provided throughout the day.

Participants will be able to:

1. Match the characteristics of students with autism spectrum disorders to student behavior needs;
2. Develop a comprehensive behavior plan that addresses the multi-faceted needs of students with ASD; and
3. Place the behavior plan into a student’s daily schedule.

Who Should Attend:  Special education teachers and administrators

This workshop is an informative introduction to a comprehensive and positive approach to school-wide discipline and individual student intervention. The workshop includes an overview of an approach to behavioral intervention using the acronym STOIC (Structure, Teach expectations, Observe/monitor, Interact positively, and Correct fluently). Participants will learn how to implement all of these variables at the schoolwide, classroom, and individual student levels.
When implemented well, a full Response-to-Intervention continuum is created, ensuring the needs of all students are addressed. Participants will also learn how to evaluate their current continuum of services (identifying both strengths and areas needing improvement.)

Participants will be able to:

1. Identify areas for improvement in their school's current services for behavior support practices at the schoolwide, classroom, and individual student levels
2. Describe a plan to develop a full continuum of services

Who Should Attend:  Special and general education teachers, administrators and related service professionals

(½ day workshop—9:00 a.m.-Noon)

Presenters from CEC’s Policy and Advocacy headquarters team will examine new legislative initiatives to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, known now as No Child Left Behind; new policies from the U.S. Department of Education on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; how new NCLB and IDEA provisions affect each other; and how those initiatives impact special education professionals.  

Presenters will provide an overview of ESEA reauthorization legislative initiatives, the controversy around provisions in the legislation, and what next steps Congress will take.  In addition, they will share U.S. Department of Education supplemental regulations for IDEA Part B and final regulations for IDEA Part C and other relevant administrative guidance on IDEA/NCLB.

Finally, all of this will culminate in a discussion on how NCLB legislation will impact provisions in IDEA and how IDEA has influenced provisions in NCLB and what it means for special education professionals.

Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and share their experiences based on new and pending federal policies for children.  This preconvention workshop will be an invaluable asset for all special educators, administrators, related services personnel, higher education professionals, and others.

Participants will be able to:

1. Discuss ESEA reauthorization initiatives and next steps
2. Explain supplemental regulations of Parts B & C of  IDEA
3. Discuss their experiences related to new and pending federal policies.

Who Should Attend: Special education administrators, special and general education teachers, researchers, principals, higher education professionals and education consultants

How can we provide educational opportunities to develop the intellectual and affective areas of giftedness for our students living in an urban environment?  The urban context creates unique challenges for gifted students as they navigate the complex world of multiple cultures: giftedness, the school, the family, the neighborhood.  How a gifted student forms his/her identity within the urban context will impact their expectations of academic success, social standing, and personal goal setting.  These challenges are often magnified for gifted students from culturally/linguistically diverse and, or, economically disadvantaged families.  The urban environment will impact how giftedness is viewed, how it is nurtured, how it will manifest, and ultimately, how gifted students will utilize their abilities through life long decision making.  This workshop will address the unique needs of gifted students in an urban context.  The presenter will look at supports and services that can help students develop their intellectual and affective gifts while maintaining their integrity within an urban environment.

Participants will be able to:

1. Identify the unique challenges faced by gifted students in the urban context.
2. Describe how the urban context impacts the ways in which giftedness is viewed, how it is nurtured, how it will manifest, and ultimately how gifted students will use their abilities.
3. Implement the curriculum and instructional supports and services provided for gifted students within their own urban context in light of the information discussed during this workshop.

Who Should Attend: Special and general education teachers, administrators and school counselors

A Principal’s Guide to Special Education–A Look at the Readiness of School Principals to Preside Over Effective Special Education Programs

School principals at all levels play an important role in the effectiveness of the planning and implementation of educational programs for children with disabilities. A principal’s knowledge of, and involvement in, the process makes all the difference in the world for a program’s success.

Principals are called upon to be conveners of important meetings, organizers of classes, and advocates for financial and political support. Also, principals must often find a way to allocate inadequate resources for maximum benefit. Unless principals are fully informed about the complexities of special education needs, the best decisions may not be made.

A Principal’s Guide to Special Education, speaks directly to individual principals. The presenters will discuss what she or he must know in general about educational programs for children with disabilities, and what to do specifically in the building, to provide the proper leadership.

In addition, this workshop will focus upon what special education teachers, curriculum specialists, and administrators and supervisors can do to make individual principals more knowledgeable about the work special educators do and the complexity of the problems they face. The more a principal knows, the more supportive principals will be, thus resulting in better overall services for children with disabilities.

Participants will be able to:

1. Explain the legal basis for educating children with disabilities, by demonstrating a knowledge of the key points of: (a) IDEA, (b) Section 504, and (c) ADA.
2. Identify and explain the role of the principal in daily special education concerns such as (a) individualized education programs, (b) discipline, and (c) inclusion. 
3. Explain the details of a due process hearing as a remedy for parents in special education matters, how a hearing is conducted, how principals can reduce chances of a hearing, and how principals can prepare for a hearing.

Who Should Attend: Administrators, supervisors, special education teachers, and curriculum specialists