Peer-Assisted Learning Essay

What I planning to be, I don’t even need to go to college. Not all people can become this kind of person though. I am planning to be a peer specialist which is a type of mental health professional. Not all people can qualify to be a peer specialist. Only certain people can be a peer specialist because of what they do. To be a peer specialist you must go through therapy for your own problems you had and you have to have recovered. I went to a psych ward 3 times in a year span and I recovered. I always wanted to help people who have gone through what I went through and I found what it was called and how to be one.

During the next two decades, the focus of reading instruction shifted away from phonics based basal reading programs. Instead, research suggested teaching children how to think and

Early reading success is the foundation of a student’s knowledge and self-esteem. The foundation also provides future opportunities for growth. Students must learn to read proficiently so that they are able to learn more in future grades, post-secondary schools, and the workforce. Beverly Tyner’s Small-Group Reading Instruction: A Differentiated Teaching Model for Beginning and Struggling Readers states “In the United States, which offers few career opportunities for the illiterate, teaching children to read proficiently is the most important single task in education.” (Tyner, 2009). Beverly Tyner created the Small-Group Differentiated Reading Model which incorporates research-based strategies for teaching beginning reading skills and skills

Author note: This paper was prepared for the American Federation of Teachers by Louisa C. Moats, project director, Washington D.C. site of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Early Interventions Project, and clinical associate professor of pediatrics, University of Texas, Houston, Health Sciences Center. Her work is supported in part by grant HD30995, “Early Interventions for Children with Reading Problems,”

The Wilson Reading System (WRS) is marketed for students from grades 2 to 12 who are not making sufficient progress with their current Tier 2 intervention and need a more intensive intervention at Tier 3. It is used most often with students in upper elementary to high school. The program can also be used with adults who need remedial reading services. Specifically, the program is based on the Orton-Gillingham approach to reading instruction. This approach relies on direct instruction, incorporates ideas of “how” and “why” individuals learn to read, and explores multi-sensory methods (auditory, visual, and kinesthetic). It is intended for individuals who have problems with phonological awareness or orthographic processing.

Peer pressure can be used in many ways. Animal Farm is an allegory by George Orwell. It is about farm animals that weren’t satisfied of how their farm is run so they rebel. They make 7 commandments being “All animals are equal” the most important one. The book shows how total equality is hard to achieve and power corrupts. The novel uses peer pressure to control and manipulate what is happening on the farm. It is evident on how the action of the animals changes. It is evident on how Boxer’s way of thinking changes. It is also evident in the actions of the sheep and what it does to the other animals. Peer pressure plays a big role in this novel.

In the summer of 2005 I had the opportunity to intern at The Franklin Institute Museum in PA. This museum is one of the many well known science museums across the country. The Franklin Institute Museum is a unique museum that gives the experience of exploring science in a fun and fascinating way. The museum touches bases on many areas of science such as, anatomy, physics, environmental sciences, and space. The Franklin Institute is named after Benjamin Franklin and is the home of his national memorial statue. It was founded in 1824 and its first building was established in 1825; since then its location has changed with in the city of Philadelphia but it still remains to be one

There are a few ways to try and minimize the label of disability placed unjustly on students due to diversity. When compiling individual assessments more extensive background information needs to be gathered pertaining to school attendance, family structure, cultural beliefs, household changes and moves, and medical, developmental, and educational histories (Ralabate, & Klotz, 2007). If there is a possible language barrier then a dual language assessment evaluation should be given. Also included in an individualized comprehensive evaluation is how a student responds to scientific evidence-based interventions.

The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) of 2004 has several different procedure and document that are to be followed when assessing individuals for a special education program. In Guiberson's (2009) research he suggests that some educators may be unprepared to work with diverse student populations. In a 200 participant survey of speech pathologist a study found that a third of the participants did not have sufficient training in multicultural issues (Guiberson, 2009). Studies have shown that students that learn in educational environment that reflect their cultural background tend to achieve more academically, which make multicultural instruction important in school with diverse populations (Ornstein & Levine, 2007). Guiberson's

I first became curious about how ELL worked because I teach on a Special Education team. Six of my students receive ELL services. Three of the students are male and three are female. Four of the students are Hispanic and two are Asian. I see all students for regular Social Studies. The success of these students varies and though accommodations are in place to help meet ELL students’ needs, I was curious to learn more about the specific practices and the inequities that may exist due to these

Yet, it is important to distinguish between negative academic outcomes due to environmental factors and actual learning or intellectual disabilities. Moreover, these factors do not justify the disproportionality, thus, many leaders suggest that the source of this misrepresentation is within the school system itself, not the students. In the specific case of learning disabilities, some experts question the validity of this condition and suggest that the real problem is that some schoolchildren are not receiving adequate academic experiences (Fletcher and Navarrete, 2003). Furthermore, test bias, conscious or unconscious bias, cultural mismatch, and racism remain regrettable but likely factors for misdiagnosis due to the lack of diversity in the teaching force and the lack of cultural responsive training (Skiba, 2013).

Last school year, three of my peers and I decided that our high school needed a peer-tutoring club, so the last few months of my junior year and the first few weeks of my senior year were dedicated to starting this organization. We organized the structure and goals of the club, and presented our ideas to the administrators. Once we got our approval, we immediately began planning lessons. Two days a week we meet with groups of students that come to us for help on improving their ACT scores or general grades. Our service is open to any and every student. We have tutored students in dual-enrollment courses and in standard academic classes.

Many students around the United States have reading difficulties, which can be due to a variety of reason such as: low socioeconomic status, family history of learning disabilities, a neurological disorder, limited exposure, etc. Reading difficulties can lead to further problems with education and learning, therefore the struggles should be addressed and intervention techniques should be implemented promptly. The interventions need to be individualized for the student based on their needs in order to improve the student’s reading to the best of their abilities.

Learning to read is one of the most foundational skills needed for educational success. As children learn to read they develop the ability to decode, interpret, and store information from what they are reading. Reading comprehension allows a child to gain meaning from text and decoding allows a child to process sounds into words. Reading is vital to educational success because it allows a student to learn new information and build upon their prior knowledge. Students who attain reading skills are more likely to achieve academic success while students who have reading difficulties are likely to struggle academically and fall behind their peers. Reading difficulties have been prominent within the US for years. For example, the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress statistics shows that only about 33% of fourth graders are at or above proficient at reading (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2011). Studies show that the cause of reading difficulties is based primarily on genes, environment, and instructional experience (Vellutino, Fletcher, Snowling, Scanlon, 2004). Students with a language learning disorder have difficulty comprehending spoken and written language thus making it difficult to learn new information. Children with reading disabilities are more likely to struggle during elementary school years as students are asked to think about what they read more critically. Speech language pathologists and teachers can help

After the survey was over, Lucy was walked back to the class where she laid down and began to read a book right away.