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Ensuring Access to the Common Core for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities Presented by Karen Erickson, PhD

Na6onal DLD Conference October 4, 2013

Center for Literacy & Disability Studies http://www.med.unc.edu/ahs/clds

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Ensuring Access to the Common Core for Students with Significant

Cogni6ve Disabili6es Karen Erickson, Ph.D.

Center for Literacy & Disability Studies University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The Common Core emphasizes:

•  Learning that builds over time. •  Application of knowledge and skills. •  Active participation and interaction in learning

activities. •  Collaboration and communication. •  Ongoing comprehensive instruction in reading,

writing, speaking, listening, and language.




Two Consor6a are Working on It

•  Two alternate assessment consor6a for students with the most significant cogni6ve disabili6es – Na6onal Center and State Collabora6ve (NCSC) – Dynamic Learning Maps Project (DLM)

•  Both crea6ng a system of linking statements and supports for students with the most significant cogni6ve disabili6es

•  Both emphasize the importance of communica6on in achieving the standards

What are your primary concerns about the Common Core and

Students with Significant Cogni6ve Disabili6es?

Work with your group to iden6fy 2 or 3 that you can share back with the whole

group.




Areas of Emphasis

•  Learning that builds over time. •  Application of knowledge and skills. •  Active participation and interaction in

learning activities. •  Collaboration and communication. •  Ongoing comprehensive instruction in

reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language.

Area of Emphasis

Learning that builds over time.




Area of Emphasis

Application of knowledge and skills.

The shiX is from ACCESS to LEARNING




Access to Text v. Learning to Read

•  Focus over the last decade has been on: – Simplified text – Picture supports – Teaching the content

•  Outcome has been: – Students learn the content of texts – Students are not learning cri6cal, founda6onal reading skills

This is a common example of simplified, picture-‐supported

text.




Tarheelreader.org Exemplar Text Companion Library

h_p://dynamiclearningmaps.org/unc/texts/index.html




Area of Emphasis

Active participation and interaction in learning activities.

What is shared reading?

“The interac6on that occurs when a child and adult look at or read a book together.”

– Ezell & Jus6ce, 2005




Why Shared Reading?

•  Shared reading is an effec6ve way to build emergent literacy understandings

•  Builds & promotes use of oral language concepts

•  Offers an authen6c context to foster expressive communica6on

During Shared Reading… •  The reader …

– Encourages communica6on – Follows student’s interests – Encourages the student to touch and interact with the book

– A_ributes meaning to all a_empts – Makes connec6ons between book & student’s experiences

– Thinks aloud to model thought processes – Models using student’s communica6on symbols




Area of Emphasis

Collaboration and communication.

A Core-‐Based Approach to AAC

•  Create communica6on systems that will grow within and across grades

•  Combines research in core vocabulary in AAC with an academic core vocabulary

•  Each system includes 10 pages of vocabulary •  Students use the vocabulary across ac6vi6es




Challenges for students with Complex Communication Needs & SCD

•  Access to adequate vocabulary to express new knowledge and increasingly complex ideas.

•  The ability to express a variety of communicative functions.

•  Adjusting to the communication demands of different contexts.

•  Use of the alphabet for reading and spelling. •  Access to vocabulary that allows expansion of the

semantic and syntactic complexity of expressive language.

Characteristics of a Core Vocabulary •  Limited set of highly useful words •  Words apply across settings •  Vocabulary is made up primarily of

pronouns, verbs, descriptors, and prepositions

•  Very few nouns are included in a core vocabulary

•  Consistent location of vocabulary




Communication Benefits of a Core Vocabulary for SCD

•  Limited overall number of words to learn and use

•  Variety of word classes included

•  Vocabulary to express a variety of communicative functions

Identifying the AAC Core

•  Review of extant core vocabulary research •  Review of several existing core vocabulary

sets




A Sample “Core” Vocabulary

AAC Core Comparison




What instructional vocabulary is required beyond the core vocabulary?

•  Character e.g., man in book; big, mad woman; sick animal

•  Setting e.g., hot dry there ; down by water; at home

•  Subtraction e.g., take from

•  Addition e.g., put together

However: Equal and same are not equivalent concepts

•  We will need to add some specific instructional vocabulary.

•  Since this is a core vocabulary, these words need to apply across multiple settings (e.g., equal as a math concept, equal as it applies to measurement, equal as applied to fairness, equal as applied to the equal rights for all citizens)




Identifying Vocabulary Demands of the Common Core State Standards

•  Search grade by grade to determine: – What specific vocabulary is clearly called out?

•  Question Words (what, who, when, where, why, how) •  Shapes (plus words like flat, solid) •  Personal and Possessive Pronoun (me, my, mine)

– What word classes are clearly called out? •  Pronouns, Nouns (singular, plural, irregular plural) •  Verbs (with tense markers – irregular past tense) •  Adjectives and adverbs

Prioritizing Words for the Academic Core

•  Priority 1: Words that are specifically called out in the Common Core and appear in the AAC Core

•  Priority 2: Words that are specifically called out in the Common Core but NOT in the AAC Core

•  Priority 3: Additional words we select based on U-scores in written language, research from Sally Clendon and others, and other sources to make sure all word classes are represented in the final systems.




AAC Systems Designed to Grow with Students with SCD

•  Core – 4, 9, 12 + locations per page •  No matter how many symbols the student has

per page, there will be additional pages (10+) with an equal number of locations that include core words.

•  Systems grow within and across grades. •  As locations are added, the relative location of

previous icons/messages stays the same.

4 Loca6on Core




9 Loca6on Core

12 Loca6on Core




18 Loca6on Core

36 Loca6on Core




Area of Emphasis

Ongoing comprehensive instruction in reading, writing, speaking, listening,

and language.

Expressive Communication

(speaking)

Reading

Receptive Communication

(listening)

Writing

Oral and Written Language Development

( Koppenhaver, Coleman, Kalman & Yoder, 1991 adapted from Teale & Sulzby, 1989)

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