Strategic Intervention to cope with underachievement in India and the Far East

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Lalitha Ramanujan

Alpha to Omega

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• Students who underachieve in school often lack the skills or the ability for academic competence.

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• The common belief is that he/she is learning handicapped and his/her academic growth is constrained.

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• Intervention is planned on building thinking skills and learning.

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Current Eastern Culture

• Academic success is based on the product and not the process.

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• Product is the grade at the end of the academic year.

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• The child life is school- tutor- home work.

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• Parental view “ My child must face today’s competitive world.”

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• Indian Culture’s focus is rote learning.

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• The question is :�

Can we adopt a “Free Size Cap” to fit all our students?

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• We need techniques to teach specific pre academic skills to overcome the incompetency.

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• Is there a limitation to learn and improve?

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• Is IQ score the last word? NO

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• IQ score only indicates the current level of functioning.

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• It is not a trait that cannot be enhanced or changed.

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Theory of Structural Cognitive Modifiability

• Ability to change

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Age

Cause

Severity

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• IQ score indicates the current level of functioning

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• Tools to help the child learn, how to learn is an invaluable asset.

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• SIM in my life.

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Workshop “Word Identification” by Dr.D.Deshler and Dr. J. Schumaker in 1991

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• Our guests who helped to spread our mission.

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Ms Sharon Schindele

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Ms Ann Hoffman

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Dr Jim Knight

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Trainees remarks:

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• “ Why can’t we implement this in the mainstream”. “ It is not something special for special students” .
• Breaking the ice.
• Reading and writing workshops in mainstream.

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Workshops - India

• Chennai –
• State Resource Training Commission – outreach programs across the state of Tamil Nadu
• Nagpur Assam
• Rajkot Salem
• Delhi Trinevelli
• Mumbai Mangalore
• Pune Goa
• Kochi Jamshedpur
• Hyderabad Coimbatore
• Kolkata

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Far East

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• Dubai
• Korea
• Sri Lanka
• Singapore
• Indonesia - Jakarta and Medan

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Alpha to Omega Learning Centre

Chennai

Kilpauk; Khazipattur

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Alpha to Omega Learning Centre�

• Founded in 1988 for remedial intervention.

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• Currently is a a co educational day cum residential school for children between the ages of 4-18 years.

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• The Learning Centre is dedicated to children with various Learning Difficulties affecting school performance.

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• Is a specialized school and is an independent body accredited to the National Institute of Open Schooling since 1996.

Our belief

• every student should be given the opportunity to achieve his/her potential, irrespective of the obstacles

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* every individual should have access to higher education via college or vocational training programs;

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* everyone has the ability to learn, even if the method of learning is different;

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* learning methods should be moulded to suit the student.

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• Objective:

Transform

Learning disabilities into abilities.

Cultivate the inherent potential of each individual student.

The School

Senior

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• Children above the age of 10 years.

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• Established 2005

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• Location Kazhiputtur on the IT Highway

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• Limited residential facility (only for senior school) for a few outstation students since 2006

Junior

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• Children up to 10 years

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• Children with developmental delays and Specific Learning Difficulties

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• Location Kilpauk , Chennai.

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School Strength - Present

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Student teacher ratio 8 : 1

• Learning Strategies Curriculum

The Strategies Intervention Model developed by the Kansas University Centre for Research on Learning, teach students how to strategically analyze and complete a task. The main focus is to teach students independent learning skills.

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• Curriculum Based Assessment

• Instrumental Enrichment program

To change the overall cognitive structure of the underachiever and build thinking skills to improve reasoning and verbal expression.

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Sports day

Sports day

Karate

Field trip

Field trip

Build a four-tier institution.

Curriculum at Alpha to Omega

The common jargon in our school

• TRIMS
• CONCEPT chart
• SLANT
• SCORE
• COPS
• PENS
• MARK
• MAPS etc

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Modifications

Sentence Writing

• Control practice - sentence modified with Indian names and apt to the culture
• More time spent on text material
• No individual progress chart
• Teachers lesson plans based on Lesson organizer
• Teaching schedule based on dates set in the Progress chart

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CONCEPTS

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COMPLETE SENTENCES

• Body Actions Mind Actions
• Search & Check Step
• Linking Verbs
• TYPES OF SIMPLE SENTENCES
• Helping Verbs

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Nairobi - SIM reading workshop for support teachers �Oswall Academy

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A . C . T . I. O. N !

• A - Action Word ( underline twice in red)
• C- Cross off action words with “to” in front of it
• T- Try helping verbs (underline twice in red)
• I- Is there a being verb instead of an action verb?
• O- Circle “‘and” if there is more than one subject or verb
• N - Now ask ‘ Who or what is doing the action or state of being (underline once in green)

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Reading

• Skip Pre test.

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• Roots, prefixes and suffixes introduced through flash card drills based on Orton Gillingham multisensory approach

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• Word Mapping strategy

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• Practice with class English Reader

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Comprehension

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• Fundamentals In Paraphrasing And Summarising

First year – building vocabulary and paraphrasing phrases and sentences.

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• Visual Imagery –

Step one Visualization \Verbalization by Nancy Bell

Step two – Visual Imagery strategy

The two are combined to build recall and language skills

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Some of the SIM Techniques that is demonstrated for use in the Regional language.

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• Visual Imagery

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• Concept Mastery

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• Self questioning Strategy

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• Lesson Organizer

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• Survey Routine

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Courses Offered:

• Tutor Training in Specific Learning Disability (5 Weeks)

SIM – Word Mapping, Sentence Writing Strategies, Fundamentals in paraphrasing and Summarizing, Visual Imagery, Concept Mastery, Lesson Organizer and SCORE

• Teacher Training in Learning Disability (One Year Program) Paragraph Writing Survey Routine, Self Questioning Strategy

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• ATOLC Level 1 (one week - outside Chennai) Reading and writing Strategies

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• Cognitive Intervention Programs
• Instrumental Enrichment Standard Level I, II & IIII
• Instrumental Enrichment Basic Level I & II
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• Two Day Workshops - Any two Content Enhancement Routine

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• One Day Workshops - Writing strategy

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• Awareness Programme - Introduction to SIMS

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Mumbai

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Home schooling

• Parents of children who are home schooled lack tools to help.

Learning strategies and Content Enhancement Routines – Indonesia.

• Reading -- Word Mapping, Fundamentals in Paraphrasing and summarizing.

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• Writing – Fundamentals and Proficiency in Sentence Writing strategies

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• Some of the presentation titles that have attracted schools around India are:

Teaching Tactics for Underachievers,

Remedial Intervention for Reading.

Holistic Curriculum To Develop The Potential Of Low Achievers.

Educational ENRICHMENT Tools & Training Methods.

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Vision

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• Reach out to more and more children who have academic incompetence.

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• Build a large force of mediators trained in Strategies Intervention Model to help children achieve their potential.

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Alpha to Omega - Singapore

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• This is a new venture. We hope to spread the learning of the past 25 years to the Far East whilst understanding and learning from the Far Eastern child.

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• We hope to develop a training centre that would enrich the knowledge of teachers and therapists as they assist more children.
• We look forward to engaging the Singapore government in order to incorporate educational therapy techniques into the schools which boast of impressive infrastructure.

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• At the same time, we are working towards opening our own therapy centres where accessibility is the key and children can work directly with trained therapists. Through these centres, we can build a strong base for research in the field in Asia.

We hope you will support us in our long-term goal.

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Singapore - Fundamentals in Sentence Writing – Towner Garden

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Singapore - Conference Jan 2014

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• This SIM tools are like the parable

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Teach to fish and not give just a meal.

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My prayer

“Lord give us the strength, wisdom and compassion to carry out our mission with complete surrender to you.”

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Thank you

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