Title of Product
Supporting Students with Learning Disabilities
Name of Author(s)
Ministry of Education of Canada and the British Columbia School Superintendent’s Association
Name of Producer
Ministery of Education British Columbia. Canadá
Language of the review
English
Language of the product
English
Type of product
Book, Online Publication
Thematic Area
Students with learning difficulties
Description of Contents
The material presented has been developed through a partnership between the Ministry of Education and the British School at Columbia in collaboration with educators, experts in the field of learning disabilities . The book is based on the document "Special Education Services : A Manual of Policies , Procedures and Guidelines " ( Special Education Services : A Manual of Policies, Procedures and lines of action) that is in the website of the Ministry of Education: www.bced.gov.bc.ca / specialed / ppandg.htm
The content of the material is based on the principles of early intervention and response to intervention. Thus, a study to identify difficulties early, robust intervention and the use of evidence-based practices . Similarly, the intervention aims to develop a continuum of support from broader interventions aimed at the school as a whole, to individual interventions in small groups. In addition , this support should be framed a continuous cycle of assessment, planning , intervention and monitoring.
The manual is divided into five sections plus a series of appendices . The first section introduces the concept of learning disability and discusses its prevalence , characteristics and types. The second section addresses the educational techniques for working in this area. The third is devoted to psycho -educational assessment of learning difficulties and planning, from the same , the resources , supports and accommodations the student needs (IEP , Individual Education Plans ) . The fourth addresses the main strategies and resources for supporting students with learning disabilities. The strategies introduced in this section are raised more as guidelines to consider as a starting point closed as intervention strategies . The fifth section includes a number of case studies. Finally, we include a series of appendices that provide planning tools , quick references to strategies , resource lists , and a glossary of useful terminology.
Review
This material is an excellent tool for working with children with learning difficulties caused by different disabilities. For this, it performs a prior explanation of the specific problems and subsequently exposed interventions tailored for specific cases. It also offers a set of strategies for assessment and intervention proposals , set out in a clear and detailed teaching resource assuming true for teachers who have among their students a disabled child and therefore must know and have strategies specific to assess and intervene to ensure , insofar as possible, the development and learning of the student. To facilitate this task is also of particular interest that this material
includes a series of case studies that serve as examples of information transfer action. That is, these studies illustrate the process to be followed from the suspicion or detection of possible difficulties to selecting the most appropriate support , implementation and evaluation, assuming a tool that facilitates the use of the guide as a tool.
The content structure is appropriate and instructive as it goes from the general to the specific illustrating also a practical way the information presented. Throughout the material was introduced numerous summary tables that serve to emphasize , amplify or clarify the information presented and various figures and graphs that facilitate the understanding of what is going exposing . Thus, in the chapter on strategies , following each sub - section on one of the difficulties , we introduce a table listed resources where you can find more information and concrete strategies to apply (books and web resources) .
This material is useful to train education professionals to students with learning disabilities because of their rigor , comprehensiveness and clarity. Such training is essential in relation to students' academic success and dropout prevention motivation associated with being unable to achieve the objectives.
The material has a great potential for transfer because of its ease of access, free form through the web, it is written in English, and it is suggested and recommended material from within the educational administration country. Moreover, the fact that the proposals come from people working in the area facilitates the understanding and dissemination of the same by colleagues .
Among the strengths of the paper highlights its rigor and its practical utility , since the proposed strategies are clearly stated and defined for each problem. The fact that the Ministry of Education itself supports your development and dissemination "guarantees " , to some extent , the use of it by the educational community and its relevance to the priorities in this area.
As improvable aspect highlights the need for some specialized training prior to understand in depth the content of some of its sections .
In conclusion we can say that this material is very useful for School Project Safety Net project as it aims to minimize the cases of social exclusion caused by learning difficulties or special characteristics of some people. This exclusion is a risk factor for those students who suffer and premature cessation of the school.
