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An 8th grade student's worksheet who cannot complete classwork - my own photo

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Observation of Struggling Students #2: Lack of ability to do classwork

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Observation of Struggling Students #2: Lack of ability to do classwork

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When tasked with an assignment during class, She cannot complete her classwork

She doesn’t do the worksheets in class

Her work has lots of errors

Or she relies on peers to get her work finished

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Second Step - Distinguish if the student is struggling because of a language need or a learning disability

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Second Step - Distinguish if the student is struggling because of a language need or a learning disability

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In America, English language learners seem to be diagnosed quite often with a learning disability because the teacher might not be able to differentiate between a language need and a disability. I can't say this is the case in Korea since the learners are learning English as a foreign language. They are in their own home environment of Korea and have a specialized classroom for English instruction.

So, after noticing and observing the struggling student in my class, more in depth investigation is necessary. Since I am a co-teacher to a Korean English teacher, the first thing I should do is check with my Korean English co-teacher who is always in the classroom with me. Does she notice the same thing? Does she have any more insight about the student's diagnostic scores?

The student might already be in the special education (SE) program at my school. If this is the case, then they are already receiving the support they need and most likely would not continue to attend my class, choosing instead to stay in the special education classroom. Generally, the guest English teacher English class is too difficult for students with learning disabilities and they have a choice to not attend.

However, if a student is struggling in the English as a foreign language classroom, it is really important to realize the difference between a language need and a learning disability and make sure a student isn't being overlooked as a student with a learning disability.

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Problems with special education identification rates for ELLs

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Fourth step: LANGUAGE NEED IDENTIFICATION

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Fourth step: LANGUAGE NEED IDENTIFICATION

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If the student is NOT struggling in all or most other subject areas and seems to only be struggling in English and possibly Korean class, then the student is most likely experiencing a language need.

Language needs will show up in different ways in the classroom:

The student uses language transfers between Korean and English.

The student mixes up lexical, grammatical, and syntactical structures of Korean and English.

The student struggles to remember vocabulary or grammatical patterns.

These are all normal when students are learning a new language and should not be considered a learning disability.

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IRIS | Page 2: Distinguishing Between Disability and Language Difference

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Delays in social and communication development might occur when children are learning two or more languages. Because such delays can be red flags for further developmental problems in the areas of social-emotional development and cognition, early childhood educators must determine their cause: langu…

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Fourth Step: LEARNING DISABILITY IDENTIFICATION

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Fourth Step: LEARNING DISABILITY IDENTIFICATION

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If the student is struggling in all other subject areas or has behaviors indicative of a learning disability, then the student could potentially have an undiagnosed learning disability. In Korea, at times, students slip through the system due to the idea that no child should be kept behind a grade. It does happen that some students get passed through grades without the proper diagnoses or even disagreement on diagnoses.

After conferring with other teachers and noticing that the student is in fact struggling in all content areas, then the school would contact the parents and ask for more data about the student's home life. Has the parent noticed anything? Is the behavior or drop in academic achievement recent or has the student been struggling for awhile?

The school can ask the parents to have the student be tested at an outside facility which specializes in testing for learning disabilities.

Photo Source

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PART 1: IDENTIFICATION AND DIFFERENTIATION OF A STUDENT STRUGGLING WITH A LANGUAGE NEED OR A LEARNING DISABILITY

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PART 1: IDENTIFICATION AND DIFFERENTIATION OF A STUDENT STRUGGLING WITH A LANGUAGE NEED OR A LEARNING DISABILITY

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PART 2: HELPING STRUGGLING STUDENTS IN MY CLASSROOM

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PART 2: HELPING STRUGGLING STUDENTS IN MY CLASSROOM

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Observation of Struggling Students #1: Behavior during class

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Observation of Struggling Students #1: Behavior during class

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The student consistently does not participate during the lesson

She looks around blankly

She can't ask questions and seemingly doesn't understand what’s happening in class

She appears stressed or overwhelmed during class

She is withdrawn from class activities and can't or won't work with her partner or group during our practice time

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Observation of Struggling Students #3: Assessment and Testing

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Observation of Struggling Students #3: Assessment and Testing

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The student has poor test scores

she consistently scores below average

doesn’t improve as the year progresses

she usually has the same issues and same mistakes with each test/assessment

(Source for the Observation of Struggling Students #1-3)

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First Step: Noticing and Subsequent Observation of Struggling Students

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First Step: Noticing and Subsequent Observation of Struggling Students

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Referral to Special Education process in Korea

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Referral to Special Education process in Korea

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If the student in my classroom is thought to have a learning disability, they will be screened for eligibility to join the special education program at my school. The process to refer a student to a special education program in Korea begins when the caregiver or school principal requests the diagnostic tests from the student's early education. Since I teach in middle school, it would be their elementary diagnostic tests. With the caregiver's agreement, the student can then be referred to a Special Education Support Center which will administer additional diagnostic tests. After the testing, the principal will then have the results and can conclude whether or not the student should be enrolled in the special education program.

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How to help struggling students in my classroom

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How to help struggling students in my classroom

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1. Keep a classroom routine

2. Use differentiated instruction** See image above

Using flexible classroom arrangements

Building on student's strengths

Using student interests to raise motivation and enjoyment

Scaffolding worksheets and classwork in which students need to turn in

3. Provide extra support during the lesson

Asking the Korean co-teacher to translate more directly and asking for student understanding

Having Korean translations on my PPTS

Asking higher level students to direct students during group activities or games

4. Use clear language that is appropriate for the middle school learning level

5. Provide a lot of visual aids and modeling when giving directions

6. Provide extra time for those students who struggle

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Today's guest post is written by Lisa Westman. Lisa is an instructional coach specializing in differentiation for Skokie School District 73.5 in suburban Chicago. She taught middle school gifted humanities, ELA, and SS for twelve years before becoming a coach.
I must admit, I love a good challenge. I love the learning that comes from trial and error. I love hitting roadblocks and finding detours. This probably explains why I also I love differentiating instruction. I equate differentiation to a giant jigsaw puzzle with student needs being the pieces. Once I fit the first pieces together, the next few pieces fall into place. There are moments of frustration as mistakes I inevitably make mistakes and completing the puzzle may take a while, but the result is always worth the effort.

Like puzzles, differentiating instruction can be a complicated endeavor. In fact, a 2008 report by the Fordham Institute found that 83% of teachers nationwide believe that differentiation is "somewhat" or "very" difficult to implement. Subsequent differentiation statistics support the 2008 finding; educators continue to consider differentiating instruction as strenuous. These results are not surprising. As one of differentiation's foremost experts, Carol Ann Tomlinson explains, "I absolutely understand that differentiating instruction well is not easy. But then, I've never felt that teaching should be easy."

Teaching is not easy. Teaching is a career that requires a physical, emotional, and mental commitment. Teachers are used to things being "hard". So, why should differentiating instruction be the exception? This leads me to wonder: "Is watching students struggle because their needs are not being met easier than differentiating?"

In January of 2015, educational expert Rick Wormeli tweeted, "far from being a detriment to student learning [differentiated instruction] is the only way we can teach all students, not just the easy ones."

Wormeli's tweet is a call to action. Differentiation is our puzzle and as dedicated educators, we certainly can solve it...one piece at a time. We just need the right pieces. Ironically, I have found this is precisely the issue with many educators' perception of differentiation. They have the wrong pieces of information. Teachers operating under a set a fallacies will often disregard differentiation entirely or ineffectively implement with no clear benefit to students.

To avoid exerting coveted time, energy, and resources for naught, I would like to clarify some common misinterpretations of differentiation.

#1: "Differentiation means I have to plan something different for every student."

Clarification: Differentiation means that your students are engaged in learning that is appropriate for their readiness level, and they can learn at their pace. Differentiation also considers student interest and preferred learning style. These criteria can be addressed without planning for each student individually.

Now, what? Pre-assess students. Look for patterns of performance to initially group students. Then, formatively assess students and regroup them as their needs change. To incorporate student interest, look at The Common Core Standards, Next Generation Science Standards, and the C3 framework as a gift. The majority of these standards are concept or skills-based rather than rooted in specific content. Use standards as a springboard for planning relevant, skills-based learning experiences. Allow students to have an influence on the content by asking them targeted questions to determine their interests relative to standards being assessed.

#2: "I differentiate by grouping students by reading ability and giving them leveled readings."

Clarification: This may seem like differentiation, but in actuality this is tracking within the classroom setting. Leveled texts don't necessarily address the specific needs of students which are often unrelated to reading ability. All students deserve access to challenging and interesting material. Differentiation comes into play with how students interact with the text.

Now, what? Differentiate the process (task) and product (how learning is demonstrated) for students. Consider the level at which students will engage with the text and how they can best show their understanding. The same text can be used by most students by compacting the curriculum for high-achievers and scaffolding for students who need more support. Refer to Webb's Depth of Knowledge and Bloom's Taxonomy in conjunction with student conferencing to co-evaluate student progress and co-design their learning process. Not only is conferencing a type of formative assessment, but it is an opportunity to model effective questioning, gain insight into students' thought processes, and offer students ownership of their learning.

#3: "I can differentiate effectively using one data point."

Clarification: Impossible. First of all, there is quantitative data (think numbers) and qualitative data (think observations). To differentiate most effectively a combination of data types should be used. Additionally, multiple formative assessment results need to be examined to allow for flexible pacing and grouping which are the hallmarks of differentiation.

Now, what? Think about the data you are currently using. Is this data giving you information about the whole child on a day-day basis? What does this information tell you? What other information do you need? Work to eliminate meaningless data points, offer a multitude of formative assessment types, and use academic data as well as affective data to get a clear picture of each student.

#4: "Differentiation is easy, just give the high students more and the low students less."

Clarification: Differentiation is not more or less. Differentiation is challenging a student just enough so that it neither impedes learning if too hard or causes apathy if too easy or redundant. ( Cash, Richard).

Now, what? Think quality over quantity. It is quite possible that one high-level question is more challenging than twenty low-level questions. Plus, being asked to show mastery of a concept or skill twenty times builds frustration for high-achieving students because they don't need the practice and similarly produces frustration for struggling students because they are practicing the skill incorrectly 20 times.

#5: "I don't need to change anything about my instructional practices to effectively differentiate."

Clarification: Frankly, the factory model of teaching is not appropriate for today's learners. If at any point while reading this blog post you thought, "Well, I can't do that because what would the rest of the students be doing...?" this misinterpretation may be subconsciously preventing you from truly differentiating for your students.

Now, what? Don't beat yourself up; you are not alone. The first step in change is recognizing the issue. Take small steps and allow yourself time to learn and practice. If your district employs instructional coaches, partner a coach in an authentic coaching cycle. If your school district does not have instructional coaches, partner with a colleague. Engage in a book study and try something together. Lastly, I encourage everyone to build a global PLN (professional learning network) by connecting with other educators on social media.

As you begin the school year, try to reconcile these misconceptions by attempting to implement one of the clarifications. Be patient and if a piece isn't fitting, reflect and try another piece. Differentiation may never be easy, but it will always be worth the effort.

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Yes, Differentiation Is Hard. So, Let's Get It Right. (Opinion)

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Today's guest post is written by Lisa Westman. Lisa is an instructional coach specializing in differentiation for Skokie School District 73.5 in suburban Chicago. She taught middle school gifted humanities, ELA, and SS for twelve years before becoming a coach. I must admit, I love a good challenge.

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After confirming the student is not already in the SE program, the next thing I should do is confer with the student's other teachers: a learning disability will show developmental delay in other subject areas and not just in the language classroom. This is the most important step - Do the other teachers agree and notice that the student is struggling in all subjects?

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Consent to testing or referral for special education is rejected by caregivers

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Consent to testing or referral for special education is rejected by caregivers

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If the parent or caregiver does not give consent to learning disability testing, then, unfortunately, the school cannot intervene on the student's behalf. If this is the case, then, the student should be supported in other ways by the teachers in the classroom as discussed in the "How to help my struggling students in my classroom" post.