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Course
Description:
The purpose of this
course is to expose students to a variety of assessment methods appropriate
for culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) individuals with exceptionalities.
This course will explore a range of assessment techniques, based on an
ecological model of assessment which recognizes the impact of the assessment
context on student performance. Additionally, normal patterns of first
and second language acquisition will be discussed, as means of facilitating
accurate and appropriate assessment of bilingual students. Emphasis will
be on those instruments and assessment methods which provide direction
for instruction as well as diagnosis, including, but not restricted to:
traditional psychometric instruments, curriculum-based assessment, clinical
observation, interviews, dynamic assessment, criterion-referenced assessment,
and other alternative assessment techniques, with a consistent emphasis
on the assessment of CLD students.
Rationale:
The mission of the
College of Education is to educate professionals who can facilitate human
growth in schools, homes, communities, and workplaces and prepare students
for participation in a complex and challenging society. In carrying out
this mission, the College explicitly values diversity in people and perspectives,
relationships of service, accountability, collaboration, and advocacy,
and innovation in teaching, technology, and leadership. This course will
address this mission by preparing students to participate in the assessment
of CLD students by understanding it as necessarily thoughtful and individualized
process, rather than simply as a technical one.
The vision of the Special Education program is to facilitate the development of supportive and culturally responsive environments for individuals with special needs and their families. By relying on an ecological model of assessment, this course will go beyond simple identification of disabilities to assessment of the learning environment. This course supports the College of Education and Special Education Program frameworks by addressing student abilities within the context of a diverse society, recognizing the need to support all individuals in life-long learning, and validating all individuals, including those with disabilities, as valuable members of their communities, including their communities of learners.
Required
Texts and Readings:
Available at the
Campus Bookstore:
1. Valdés,
G., & Figueroa, R. (1994). Bilingualism and testing: A special case
of bias. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
On Reserve at Zimmerman
Library:
2.)
Baca, L., & de Valenzuela, J. S. (1996). Practical and theoretical
considerations for the assessment of culturally and linguistically diverse
students. Albuquerque, NM: Alliance 2000.
.
3.)
Bell, S. H., & Barnett, D. W. (1999). Peer micronorms in the assessment
of young children: Methodological review and examples. Teaching Early
Childhood Special Education, 19(2), 112-122.
.
4.)
de Valenzuela, J. S. (1998). Language acquisition and the bilingual exceptional
child. In L. Baca & H. Cervantes (Eds.), The bilingual special education
interface (3rd ed., pp. 121-143). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.
.
5.)
de Valenzuela, J. S., & Cervantes, H. (1998). Issues and theoretical
considerations in the assessment of bilingual children. In L. Baca &
H. Cervantes (Eds.),
The bilingual special education interface (3rd
ed., pp. 145-166). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.
.
6.)
de Valenzuela, J. S., & Cervantes, H. (1998). Procedures and techniques
for assessing the bilingual exceptional child. In L. Baca & H. Cervantes
(Eds.), The bilingual special education interface (3rd ed., pp.
170-186). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.
.
7.)
Madelaine, A., & Wheldall, K. (1999). Curriculum-based measurement
of reading: A critical review.
International Journal of Disability,
Development and Education, 46(1), 71-85.
.
8.)
Ochoa, S. H., Robles-Pina, R., Garcia, S. B., & Breunig, N. (1999).
School psychologists' perspectives on referrals of language minority students.
Multiple
Voices, 3(1), 1-14.
.
9.)
Ruiz, N. T., & Figueroa, R. A. (1995). Learning-handicapped classrooms
with Latino students: The Optimal Learning Environment (OLE) Project. Education
and Urban Society, 27(4), 463-483.
.
10.)
Sileo, T. W., & Prater, M. A. (1998). Creating classroom environments
that address the linguistic and cultural backgrounds of students with disabilities.
Remedial
and Special Education, 19(6), 323-227.
.
11.)
Witt, J. C., Elliot, S. N., Daly III, E. J., Gresham, F. M., & Kramer,
J. J. (1998). Assessment of at-risk and special needs children.
(2nd ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.
Recommended
Texts & Readings on Reserve at Zimmerman:
Baca,
L. & de Valenzuela, J. S. (1994). Reconstructing the bilingual special
education interface.
Program Information Guide, No. 20. Washington,
DC: National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education.
.
Idol,
L., Nevin, A., & Paolucci-Whitcomb, P. (1996). Models of curriculum-based
assessment: A blueprint for learning. Austin, TX: PRO-ED.
.
Ooserthoof,
A. (1999). Developing and using classroom assessments. (2nd ed.).
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
.
Pierangelo,
R., & Guiliani, G. (1998) Special educator's complete guide to 109
diagnostic tests. West Nyack, NY: The Center for Applied Research in
Education.
Ryan,
C. D. (1994). Authentic assessment. Westminster, CA: Teacher Created
Materials, Inc.
.
Webb-Johnson,
G., & Anderson, M. G. (1999). Review of the McIntrye Assessment of
Culture (MAC). Multiple Voices, 3(1), 37-47.
Course
Objectives:
To prepare and develop
teachers and other leaders who:
Course
Design:
This course is designed
so that students will interact actively with the course material
-- small group projects, discussion of readings, and in-class activities,
rather than instructor lecture, will make up the bulk of in-class sessions.
Therefore, it is imperative that students arrive at each class having
read all of the assigned readings. Graded assignments are designed to be
instructional as well as providing a means of arriving at a final grade
for each student. Therefore, less emphasis will be placed on quizzes and
exams and more will rest on graded out-of-class assignments that rely on
interpretation of course materials and development of library research
skills and critical thinking. Students’ ability to participate appropriately
during in-class discussions and small group work will also factor into
their final grade. Students who require special accommodations or instructional
modifications need to notify the instructor by the beginning of the semester
with appropriate documentation from the Learning Support Services Center
(277-6670).
Specific
Course Requirements:
1) Homework (50
points maximum -- 10 points possible each)
2) Major Assignments
(35 points)
3) Class
Participation (15 points)
Evaluation
Procedures:
Final grades will
be determined by a point system (X out of 100 total possible points). Fractionated
grading will be used, with the following breakdown:
Class Schedule:
| DATE | TOPIC & ASSIGNMENT DUE | READING(S) |
| Aug 26 | Introduction | . |
| Sept 2 | Statistical concepts | Read: #11 (chs 4 & 5) |
| Sept 9 | Second language acquisition
diagnostician interview due |
Read: #1 (ch 1) & #4 |
| Sept 16 | Legal issues
standardized test description #1 due |
Read: #1 (ch 5) & #11 (ch 3) |
| Sept 23 | What's the problem? | Read: #8 |
| Sept 30 | Guidelines for assessment
standardized test descrition #2 due |
Read: 5 & 6 |
| Oct 7 | Guidelines, cont.
standardized test description #3 due |
Read: #1 (ch 6) |
| Oct 14 | NO CLASS - UNM SPRING BREAK | . |
| Oct 21 | Alternative assessment | Read: #2 |
| Oct 28 | Observations | Read: #3 |
| Nov 4 | Criterion-referenced A. | Read: TBA |
| Nov 11 | Reading Assessment
Guest Speaker - Laura Staal observation assignment due |
Read: TBA |
| Nov 18 | Curriculum-based assessment
criterion-referenced assessment due |
Read: #7 |
| Nov 25 | NO CLASS - THANKSGIVING BREAK | . |
| Dec 2 | Creating contexts
for learning
curriculum-based assessment due |
Read: #9 & 10 |
| Dec 9 | in-class poster sessions/presentations
final project due |
... |
Purpose:
The purpose of this
assignment is to identify the battery of tests and assessment procedures
used to assess students who speak a home language other than English for
possible special education needs.
Directions:
For this assignment,
you will need to contact a local diagnostician (preferably attached to
your school) and ask him/her what specific tests and assessment procedures
are used to identify disabilities among bilingual students. If you are
not currently working in the schools, you may team up with a partner in
the class or contact the diagnostician at a school where you have previously
worked.
You will need to type
up the list, including the name of the person you contacted, and the date
of the interview. Please remember to include your name, the date your homework
is turned in, and the title of the assignment at the top of the page. Since
this should probably not take more than a page, do not include a cover
page. Please use at least 1" margins all around and use a legible font
(12 pt at least). The list does not need to be double spaced.
Purpose:
The purpose of these
homework assignments (you may turn in up to three for credit) is to add
to your knowledge base about commonly used standardized tests and to begin
to build a resource notebook that you can use for reference in your future
practice as a special educator working with culturally and linguistically
diverse students.
Directions:
You will select one
of the standardized tests from your diagnostician interview list to review.
You may want to team up with other students in the class, so that as a
group you review the greatest number of tests possible.
You will need to include the following information, using the format from Pierangelo and Giuliani's (1998) "Special Educator's Complete Guide to 109 Diagnostic Tests (copy on reserve at Zimmerman and example distributed in class):
1. General Test Information
* Author
* Publisher
* Address of Publisher
* Phone Number of Publisher
* Fax of Publisher
A. Purpose of Test
B. Description of Test
* type of test
* administration time
* type of administration (individual/group)
* who administers this test
* age/grade levels
C. Subtest Information
D. Scoring Information
2. Strengths of the
Test
3. Limitations of
the Test
4. Appropriateness
for Use with CLD Populations
To obtain this information, you will need to consult at least three different sources. Zimmerman library has a variety of test reference manuals, in the Reference Department (see the library handout for titles and reference numbers). You can also search the world wide web for information, but remember that test publishers may not be as critical in reviewing their own tests as others may be. Therefore, please use at least one printed reference manual per test review.
Remember to include your name, the date your assignment is turned in, and the name of the assignment at the top of the page. Use a legible typestyle (12 pt minimum) and at least 1" margins all around. You do not need to double-space this assignment. Use bullets and headers for maximum legibility.
Purpose:
The purpose of this
assignment is to develop a useful instrument for assessing CLD students,
specific to your teaching, classroom and/or interests that you will be
able to use in the future. This homework assignment can be used as part
of your resource notebook (final project).
Directions:
You will develop a
short, criterion-referenced assessment that would be suitable for the age,
grade, subject area, and ability levels of your students (real or ideal).
You will need to turn in this assessment instrument in "camera ready" form
(i.e. typed and formatted the way you want it, not hand written). You will
need to decide what scoring system -- checklist, rating scale, analytic
rubric, or holistic rubric -- is appropriate for your instrument and incorporate
it.
Along with the instrument
(on a separate page) you will need to include a brief description of the
instrument, similar to that you did for the standardized test descriptions.
The suggested format follows:
1. General Assessment
Information
A. Purpose of Assessment
B. Description of Assessment
* type of assessment and scoring system
* administration time
* who administers this assessment
* age/grade levels
C. Subtest Information
D. Scoring Information
2. Strengths of the
Assessment
3. Limitations of
the Assessment
4. Appropriateness
for Use with CLD Populations
Remember to include
your name, the date your assignment is turned in, and the name of the assignment
at the top of the page. Use a legible typestyle (12 pt minimum) and at
least 1" margins all around. You do not need to double-space this assignment.
Use bullets and headers for maximum legibility.
Purpose:
The purpose of this
assignment is to develop a useful instrument for assessing students with
mental retardation and severe disabilities, specific to your teaching,
classroom and/or interests that you will be able to use in the future.
This homework assignment can be used as part of your resource notebook
(final project).
Directions:
You will develop a
short, currirulum-based assessment that would be suitable for the age,
grade, subject area, and ability levels of your students (real or ideal)
with mental retardation and/or severe disabilities. You will need to turn
in this assessment instrument in "camera ready" form (i.e. typed and formatted
the way you want it, not hand written), along with a description of how
you will be charting individual student progress.
Along with the instrument (on a separate page) you will need to include a brief description of the instrument, similar to that you did for the standardized test descriptions. The suggested format follows:
1. General Assessment InformationRemember to include your name, the date your assignment is turned in, and the name of the assignment at the top of the page. Use a legible typestyle (12 pt minimum) and at least 1" margins all around. You do not need to double-space this assignment. Use bullets and headers for maximum legibility.
A. Purpose of Assessment
B. Description of Assessment
* type of assessment and scoring system
* administration time
* who administers this assessment
* age/grade levels
C. Subtest Information
D. Scoring Information
2. Strengths of the Assessment
3. Limitations of the Assessment
4. Appropriateness for Use with Individuals with Mental Retardation and Severe Disabilities
Purpose
The purpose of this
assignment is to facilitate the development of observational skills and
description of communication and language use.
Directions
You will observe one
student who has been identified as needing special education services.
If you do not have access to a student in person, you may analyze a video
tape of a student. Check with the instructor to coordinate this. You will
need to observe your chosen student for a minimum of 30 minutes total,
and you will need to observe him/her in a variety of contexts (three minimum).
This variety should include both instructional and non-instructional contexts
and you will need to observe your student in interaction with different
individuals. The idea is to try to discover how this student's communication
and langauge use varies across contexts, and how different contexts (individuals,
settings, activities, etc.) facilitate or hinder the student's expressed
communicative competence.
You will need to take notes at the time of the observation, being as descriptive (objective) as possible. Make quick sketches of the room, notes about the individuals involved in the interaction, and write down as many direct quotes as possible. The focus of the observation should be on the interaction of the student with the context, not just on what the student says or does. Be as discrete as possible during your observation. If it is not possible to take time to do an observation because you are in direct contact with students at all times, you will need to video tape the student for later review. Make sure, though, that you jot down some notes at the time or just following, as you might forget important details later on.
Minimal information about the student is needed. You only need to report his/her age, grade level, setting(s), and possibly, diagnosis category. Please refer to you student using a pseudonym, and do not include any information that could lead to an obvious identification of the student, such as referring to the only student with a particular diagnosis in your class. Instead, do not make it obvious that you are referring to your own student, but rather, a student in an X grade classroom.
When making statements about your observations, please try to refrain from using value loaded (subjective, not clearly definable) language. Keep your observations and the language that you use to describe the student's communicative behavior as objective and specific as possible. Try to refrain from ascribing motivation to the student unless warranted by the student's own statements (i.e. "he does this because..."). Include actual statements made by the student, if pertinent. Please do not make general statements about the student's abilities or skills -- you need to provide several concrete examples for any communication patterns you identify.
You will need to provide an introduction (describing the student and the context of the observation), a description of each of the three observations and their contexts, and a conclusion, where you try to draw some conclusions about the patterns in language use you saw. Remember, you are not performing an evaluation or making hypotheses about the student's diagnosis -- you are attempting to identify patterns of communication and language use in different interaction contexts.
Purpose
of the Assignment:
There are multiple
purposes for this assignment:
1) to provide an element
of choice in the direction of your learning this semester,
2) to encourage a
review of the entire semester's materials in your preparation of this assignment,
3) to allow you flexibility
in providing me with concrete and adequate evidence of your learning this
semester, and
4) to provide you
with experience in yet another form of performance assessment this semester.
Directions
for Preparation of the Resource Portfolio:
1) You will need to
review all of your materials gathered and prepared over the course of this
semester. This can include handouts, class notes, copies of assignments
(yours and copies of colleagues), readings, additional materials used in
the preparation of assignments, and materials from other courses that you
used in developing an understanding of the course content. In short, anything
that relates to the course content.
2) FOCUS OF PORTFOLIO: Out of this wealth of material, you need to start thinking about how you want to select and organize this material This is very, very, very important. A pile of stuff that needs to be sifted through is an a good resource (to yourself or anyone else). You need to think about what can be left out and what you want to include (now and in the future). You may to have place holders for things that you want to get, based on something you learned in this class. If so, that needs to be apparent.
3) INCLUSION OF ITEMS: When you think you have a focus for organizing and selecting your materials, you then need to start going about getting that you may still need (i.e. assignment from other students in the class, web site addresses, extra resources, etc.).
4) ORGANIZATIONAL SCHEME: Then, you need to put it together in some sort of system that works for you. This could be an accordion file, a notebook, a file box with hanging files, or something else entirely, like a web site... You will need some way of identifying the categories you have and of putting the pieces in those categories so that you can find them easily. Also, each piece needs to be clearly identified as well.
5) REFLECTION ON OWN LEARNING: Finally, you will need to write a brief essay, that makes a clear argument for your learning in this class. The portfolio, both in its organization and in the items included, with constitute the evidence that you rely on in your essay. It is not appropriate to talk about my teaching in this essay, but rather, about what you have done with the information and resources provided in the course to construct a personally meaningful and successful learning experience for yourself. Some of the questions you might consider as you think about developing your essay include the following:
Note:
steps 2-5 above relate directly to those same categories of the rubric
which will be used to grade this assignment.
Fifteen points have been assigned for "Class Participation" in this course. Each student will be asked to grade his/herself and the instructor will also grade each participant. Where there is more than a two point total disagreement between the student and instructor, an average of the two grades will be used. In the case of less than two point disagreement in scores, the instructor's score will be used for determining the points earned. The following four areas will be scored: 1) respect, 2) contribution to group, 3) listening, 4) openness. Rubrics for each are included below. Directions: circle the appropriate categories and/or statements within categories.
Respect: category points:
| POOR | FAIR | GOOD | EXCELLENT |
| A
lack of respect for self, colleagues and instructor is shown by: 1)
failure to follow interaction norms established by class and instructor
(i.e. circle of voices), 2) frequent use of inappropriate oral and body
language, such as eye rolling, profanity, or name calling, and 3) complete
lack of reference to classmate's opinions and perspectives during class
discussion.
1 point |
Little
respect for self, colleagues and instructor is shown by: 1) following
group norms during discussions only infrequently, 2) some use of inappropriate
oral and body language, such as eye rolling, profanity, or name calling,
and 3) infrequent reference to classmate's opinions and perspectives during
class discussion
2 points |
Some
respect for self, colleagues and instructor is shown by: 1) frequently
following group norms during discussions, 2) frequent use of oral and body
language that is professional, and 3) frequent reference to classmate's
opinions and perspectives during class discussion.
3 points |
Consistent
respect for self, colleagues and instructor is shown by: 1) always
following group norms during discussions, 2) consistent use of oral and
body language that is professional, and 3) frequent reference to classmate's
opinions and perspectives in class discussion in a positive and supportive
manner.
4 points |
Contribution to Group category points:
| POOR | FAIR | GOOD | EXCELLENT |
| Contribution
to the class is poor when: 1) the quantity of contributions is either
much more or much less than most of the other students, 2) contributions
to discussions are consistently off the topic at hand, 3) contributions
consistently fail to engage other students, OR 4) contributions frequently
have the effect of silencing other participants.
1 point |
Contribution
to the group is fair when: 1) the quantity of contributions is neither
significantly more or less than that of other students, AND 2) contributions
to discussion are frequently tangential to the topic at hand, 3) contributions
frequently fail to engage other students, OR 4) contributions sometimes
have the effect of silencing other participants.
2 points |
Contributions
to the group are considered good when: 1) the quantity of contributions
is neither significantly more or less than that of other students, 2) student
is not always the first one to talk after a prolonged silence, 3) contributions
are frequently on topic, AND 4) contributions frequently engage other participants
or support the engagement of other students.
3 points |
Contributions
to the group are considered excellent when: 1) the quantity of contributions
is neither significantly more or less than that of other students, 2) student
is not usually the first one to talk after a prolonged silence, 3) contributions
are almost always on topic, AND 4) comments frequently engage other participants
or support the engagement of other students in a consistently positive
manner.
4 points |
.
Listening
category points:
| POOR | FAIR | GOOD | EXCELLENT |
| Lack
of listening is shown by: 1) frequent requests for information already
provided, 2) frequent repetition of previously stated information, 3) inability
to follow provided directions, AND 4) failure to incorporate others' reposes
in comments and contributions.
1 point |
Little
listening is shown by: 1) frequent requests for information already
provided, 2) frequent repetition of previously stated information, 3) inability
to follow provided directions, OR 4) failure to incorporate others' reposes
in comments and contributions.
2 points |
Good
listening shown by: 1) infrequent requests for information already
provided, 2) infrequent repetition of previously stated information, 3)
inconsistently following provided directions, AND 4) some incorporation
of others' responses in comments and contributions.
3 points |
Excellent
listening is shown by: 1) providing previously provided information
to colleagues, 2) not redundantly repeating what was already stated, 3)
consistently following directions, AND 4) incorporating others' responses
and comments in contributions.
4 points |
.
Openness
category points:
| POOR | FAIR | GOOD | EXCELLENT |
| A
lack of openness is shown by: 1) consistent failure to recognize and
consider alternative perspectives, 2) reaction to alternative ideas in
a dogmatic manner, AND 3) negative response to even positively worded criticism.
0 points |
Little
openness
is shown by: 1) consistent failure to recognize and consider alternative
perspectives, 2) reaction to alternative ideas in a dogmatic manner, OR
3) negative response to criticism.
1 point |
Good
openness is shown by: 1) recognition and consideration of alternative
perspectives, 2) reaction to alternative ideas in a thoughtful manner,
AND 3) an acceptance of positively worded criticism.
2 points |
Excellent
openness is shown by: 1) consistent recognition and consideration of
alternative perspectives, 2) consistent reaction to alternative ideas in
a thoughtful manner, AND 3) a positive response to criticism.
3 points |
Total
points: