SERGE resources

SERGE stands for Special Education Resources for General Educators. 

I like the link to Differentiated Instruction.  It has a description of the general process, (Figure out what you want your students to learn.  Find out what your students know.  Instruct with variety.  Use formative assessments.) and then links to a bunch of sites.

I can get help arranging my classroom to benefit everybody, including students with disabilities.  It doesn't have any actual prescriptions other than that I ought to talk to my students.  On the other hand, there are great links through to other sites.

The question of why minority populations are overrepresented in Special Education is a depressing one, but worth the consideration.  There's a lot of information here about what is the situation and what to do, and also the usual excellent selection of websites to go to.

Education Apps

Quizlet By Quizlet LLC

has a bunch of ways to study facts, including flash cards and audio in 18 languages.  It's free.

Mathway By Bagatrix

is also free, and solves problems for students without helping them understand how to solve them.  It's a very bad thing, I think.

Graphing Calculator Pro Free By deftapps.com

Graphing calculators are so much more powerful than normal calculators, but they cost so much money. Now, we get one for free, so students who can't afford a graphing calculator can use this.

How to make Paper Airplanes By Sergey Burlakov & How to Tie Knots By Sergey Burlakov

These apps introduce students to some hands-on concepts that don't even feel like math.  And, it's free.  I think that these kinds of ideas are awesome for students.  In graduate school, I used to have these long discussions with my roommate about how people are fooled into believing that math is the same as arithmetic.  Anyone who does well in arithmetic in elementary school believes that they are destined to be great at math, and a lot of them wind up being disappointed when they get into high school or beyond.  Anyone who struggled with arithmetic when they were young, on the other hand, believes that they aren't good at math.

There is some relationship between success at math and skill at arithmetic, but we get entirely the wrong idea if we think that's all there is to it.  By introducing students to ideas like tiling, knots, folding paper, etc., I can introduce them to ways to think about math without thinking about arithmetic.

 

Autism information

Mari Powers' and Allie Cohn's autism handout:

Autism defined by IDEA

Autism means a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age three, that adversely affects a child's educational performance. Other characteristics often associated with autism are engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences.

IDEA Regulations: Part 300 / A / 300.8 / c / 1 / i

Statistics

CDC Report 2012 from http://www.autism-society.org/

1 in 88 are diagnosed
1 in 54 boys

Austim Spectrum includes:

 

Autistic Disorder

Rett syndrome

Childhood disintegrative disorder

Pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS)

Asperger syndrome

Characteristics

• Social Relationships:
  • Difficulty establishing relationships
  • Resist human contact
  • Issues with social interaction
  • Lack of eye contact
  • Uninterested in others

Communication

• Delayed language
• Struggle to maintain communication (conversations)
  • Poor communication leads to inappropriate behaviors (screaming, hitting, biting, running)
• Echolalic speech – repeat what others say

Repetitive Behaviors

Interests

• Narrow range of interests
• Can spend hours alone exploring 1 thing obessesively

Student Stress

• Tend to get stressed easily
• Difficultly dealing with stress
• Get stressed or “set off” by little things
• Often need rituals to complete tasks

Non Profit Organizations

www.autismspeaks.org

www.autism-society.org

Teacher Tips

• Create structured/predictable environments
• Establish and display clear procedure for tasks
• Establish and display rules
• Establish consistent pattern for instruction
• Use visuals (pictures) for displaying rules and procedures
• Foster social interactions
  • Teach children with autism to take turns, wait, complete tasks, be flexible, be quiet…
• Communication
  • Variety of strategies depending on level of ASD
    • Language
    • Sign Language
    • Communication boards

Other tips:

• Social Stories: Brief stories of when certain behaviors are acceptable and not acceptable
• Picture Exchange Communication System: display picture of desired item or task…student responds…no words used
• Visual Schedules: Pictures that depict daily routines displayed in classroom and in student notebook
• Special Education Department: work with SPED to develop a plan that works with each individual student.

Resources from

http://www.autismspeaks.org/family-services/resource-library/tools-professionals

Autism Speaks School Community Tool Kit
This tool kit is intended to be a support for the general education and administrative school staff who interact with students with autism in various capacities.www.autismspeaks.org/school

Eden Autism Services Free Webinars: Teaching Students with Autism
This program provides free monthly webinars and "live chats," free lesson plans, and online discussion forums to help teachers connect and collaborate on the best practices for supporting students with autism.EffectiveStrategies for Students in Grades PreK-5
EffectiveStrategies for Students Grades 6-12

How to Set Up A Classroom for Students with Autism
A Manual for Teachers, Para-Professionals and Administratorswww.autismclassroom.com

Skills®: The Online Autism Solution
Skills® is an online tool for educators of children with autism that provides comprehensive assessment and curriculum, positive behavior support planning for challenging behavior, progress tracking and treatment evaluation all in one place.www.skillsforautism.com

The Birthday Problem

Another Steven Strogatz.  He discusses the classic birthday problem:  how many people do you have to have in a room in order for there to be a better than even chance that two of them will share a birthday?  The answer, as nobody's intuition tells them, is 23.  The problem is linked to its most famous correspondent, Johnny Carson.  Who, you ask?  Bah!  Click through SS's post to the link to JC's complete digital archive, and find out.