Teaching Strategies for Undocumented Adult Special Education Learners.

From LiteracyTentWiki

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION IN CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES

Some of my fellow correctional educators and myself are participating in a class through the California State University, San Bernardino, CA on teaching the adult correctional (prison) student. All states now provide education opportunities for people who have been incarcerated and we are the teachers that teach in these prison schools.

While participating in this college course our group was asked to develop a burning question that we as a group wanted to answer. The question we selected is: What instructional strategies have been found effective or are being experimented with in teaching the undocumented adult special education learner in such areas as: reintegration skills, retention skills, or general study skills?

As many as 1 out of 3 people who enter correctional facilities may have a learning disability and this is why we selected this topic for our burning question. We posted our question to several listservs and the following is what we received. Listservs posted include: http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Focusonbasics

Here are replies that address special education (LD included):

“Such an important and relevant issue. The Virginia legislature just passed a measure to require LD screening for all individuals entering the state’s adult facilities. We will probably use the “Washington Screening” tool that came out of NIFL’s Bridges to Practice” initiative. But that only flags a possible problem. The resources’ to diagnose and provide Tx alternatives is costly and labor intensive. Still, yours is a great question.”

Prince, Anita Holm <anita.prince@dce.virginia.gov>

“Last week I again watched the video F.A.T. City by Richard Lavoie, a learning disabilities expert. F.A.T. stands for frustration, anxiety, and tension. I don’t have an address but do know that he travels presenting workshops. He talks about how processing is different for the LD student. He says the greatest gift we can give the LD student is time. He suggests calling on the LD student first, only asking them a question when standing in front of them, etc. This a great video for teachers, tutors, and students.”

Lanari, Patricia lanarita51@yahoo.com

“A good strategy for them (ESL) is to talk and write about their personal experiences, their history, their struggles as immigrants, etc. They have fascinating stories to tell.”

http://bordersenses.com/memorias

“Our best guess is that 35-45 percent of our literacy learners have reading disabilities, almost always undiagnosed, and therefore, often dismissed as only an attitude problem. I believe that this problem needs to be solved at the system level as well as the classroom.

It took eight years for the Federal BOP to implement an assessment program. Currently the FBOP policy requires (a) each institution to staff at least one teacher with a masters degree in special education; (b) an intensive (two-week) training program for each sp. ed. teacher to become certified in using Woodcock-Johnson to diagnose, create instructional plans, and make referrals to GEDTS for accommodation; (c) at least one psychologist per institution, trained in the use of the Weschler Adult Intelligence Scales, to test learners referred from education for possible learning disabilities; (d) each institution sets a strategic goal for the number of GED referrals per year. (The minimum allowable target is 3/year.) This is a modest beginning, and we were challenged every step of the way, but the policy is in place and at least holding its own (not perfect by any means.)” If anyone is interested in learning more about this policy, you should e-mail Sue Chabot, Education Administrator, FBOP at schabot@bop.gov.

At the classroom level – Even if we can’t “officially” diagnose them with formal diagnostic tests (like WJ-III and WAIS-III), we may still be able to identify hypotheses for effective instructional interventions.”

Muth, William wrmuth@vcu.edu

In conclusion, we found the above statements useful and some will be used in our classrooms. However, we still do not feel that we received enough information on retention, reintegration, and general study skills. I’m sure each of us will have to continue our search for information on these important areas of learning. Part of the reason for a lack of responses could have been that the question was too broad and not specific enough. The listservs were somewhat of a disappointment, as far as, getting the information we were seeking. This was new territory for most of us and that may have also played a part in our group not getting the information we were seeking.

Teaching in a correctional school has many more challenges than teaching in a public school. In a correctional school some of the problems you have with special education students involve the fact that inmates are moved from one place to another on a regular basis, conflicts with scheduling between security and school, shortage of qualified teachers, and limited if non-existence interagency coordination. Not all of our correctional schools have special education teachers

We do know this much and that is that the number of special education students are increasing each year and we as correctional teachers are struggling to meet the needs of these students. That is why we are always looking for innovative ways to teach and learn.

TOPIC: Teaching strategies for undocumented adult special education learners