Ideas from the Field

A teaching strategy that I used was instructing students on how to study for test. It is important to have learned how to take effective notes in order to prepare to study. 

Preparing to study should be compiled of three components: main idea, reviewing, and practice self-testing. All of my students were special education and seeing that my strategy only involved three steps made them more willing to try it.

Main Idea: Very important: students must have already identified with being successful in knowing main idea. The main idea is normally listed within the first paragraph of any lesson. Once this has been established, moving forward to small and large details of the main idea should be identified. Most of this information should be highlighted, written, placed in order of action, etc.

Reviewing: Once information is complete, reviewing should take place as soon as possible. This is what I call the train brain; this gives the brain a slim chance at being allowed to disremember any new information that is expressed as being important. After reviewing is performed within days (2 to 3) revisit prior to self-testing. 

Self-testing: Self-testing which is speaking questions out loud and then writing and speaking answers aloud, the brain will 90 percent of the time store information giving brain the ability to recall more swiftly. Most of my students who were presented with these tips identified them as being effective when used to prepare for testing in most subjects. 

Please note that when studying for math, students would perform self-testing by writing down problems while speaking aloud as they would write and then writing and figuring answers/solutions while speaking aloud as they would write. Almost like a check and balance sequence. This really worked well for students that learned better visually/hands-on. This gave students the opportunity to utilize written out/spoken aloud notes continually while preparing for test.

Submitted by:

Gail Bonds Carpenter

Manager, Services for Students with Disabilities Office

South Suburban College

Enhancing Support for Special Populations through Understanding Neurodiversity

ICSPS invites you to join Dr. Ann P. McMahon for an engaging and informative day learning to serve learners through an understanding of neurodiversity.  Dr. McMahon will provide an overview of the research on how attachment, scarcity, trauma and response to failure form neurodiverse patterns in the brain.  Participants will be invited to apply the research to create strategies that accommodate neurodiverse learners in their classrooms.  Through an increased understanding of neurodiversity, workshop attendees will be better equipped to support learners to consider, pursue and succeed in both traditional and nontraditional careers.
 
Target Audience
Secondary and Postsecondary Administrators and Adult Education Providers

Address: Marriott Hotel & Convention Center
201 Broadway Street
Normal, IL 61761

Date & Time 

May 21, 2014

9:00 am - 3:00 pm

Visit the link below for more information or to register:
http://icsps.illinoisstate.edu/events/?ee=42

Congratulations to Illinois Special Learning Needs Resource Specialists

Institute to Credential Special Learning Needs Resource Specialists Central/Southern Group – 2013-14

Ben McDaniel, Illinois Community College Board, Monica Grove, Olney Central College, Monica Foster, John Wood Community College, Sandra Hoffmann, Heartland Community College

Institute to Credential Special Learning Needs Resource Specialists   Northern Group – 2013-14

Beverly Gage, Richard Daley College, Sarah Goldammer, SLN trainer, Ellen Lindsey, Greater West Town Training Partnership, Gail Carpenter-Bonds, South Suburban College, Camille Johnson, South Suburban College, Pam Carpenter, William Rainey Harper College, Venise Hayes, South Suburban College, Andrea Young, Parkland College, Erica Humphrey, South Suburban College, Evette Fortenberry, Olive Harvey College

Building Rapport with 10-Minute Interview

 Looking for ways to get to know your students better? Build rapport? Know how to guide and manage instruction? Increase retention? Use the link below to view a video on the SIPDC website role playing an introductory interview with a new student in adult education.

http://www.siue.edu/SIPDC/Special%20Learning%20Needs/Special_learning_needs.htm

Fresh Ideas from the Field of Adult Education

I love using music in my classroom, and that can be done in a variety of ways. I most enjoy using music when I teach poetry. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website has great ideas for incorporating music into one's curriculum. When I was teaching high school, I taught a novel about the Vietnam War to a sophomore English class. After reading the book and studying the political/historical background of that time period, I had the students work on power points in groups of three and four. Their assignment was to find political protest songs to use in their power point presentations. When we were reading something by Maya Angelou in our GED class last year, I told them how even today, young people/performers are influenced by the works of authors, even those no longer with us. I brought in Alicia Keyes song called Caged Bird. That provided me the opportunity to share with them poetry by Langston Hughes, poetry in which he writes about a "caged bird" and, of course, talk about Angelou's autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

Submitted by: Camille Johnson, Instructor/Coordinator, Adult Education, South Suburban College

Advance Organizer 101

Check out a new online training available on the iLEARN site! Advance Organizer 101 is training directly from national expert Neil Sturomski. 

A graphic organizer is a great learning and teaching tool! An advance organizer uses a visual depiction of the information as it’s explained and helps individuals classify previously learned material with new information in an organized way. 

This training is available online and qualifies for Illinois adult education professional development hours. Email sipdctrainer@gmail.com and ask for the code to sign up for this free training.