2008 SYMPOSIA SESSIONS

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SESSION 1 – JULY 14-18
Using Strategic Interventions to Enhance Intermediate, Middle, and High School Literacy Skills

Facilitators:  Harvey Rude, Ed.D., and Diane Bassett, Ph.D., Professors of Special Education, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, Colorado

This year, in honor of the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning, we are presenting a number of learning strategies and content enhancement routines to enhance instruction for intermediate elementary, middle and high school youth, with and without disabilities. These strategies reflect sound empirical practices and have been used in many schools districts for two decades. Come and learn why thousands of teachers nationwide have successfully used these strategies for ALL students they serve.

As part of the Bresnahan-Halstead Symposium’s commitment to quality content, all participants will receive copies of the Learning Strategies and Content Enhancement Routines for the days they attend.  These books can only be acquired by attending  sessions presented by KU-trained professional developers. We are proud to share this training with you.

Monday, July 14

Susan Miller, Ph.D., Professor
Special Education
University of Nevada Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada

“Learning Strategies and Content Routines: What are They and How Do They Enhance Student Learning?”
Dr. Miller, noted author, scholar, and co-developer of the Strategic Math Series, will provide an overview of the Strategy Instruction Model developed at the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning. She will introduce the Content Literacy Continuum (CLC); a school-wide framework designed to address the literacy needs of students with diverse needs and abilities. Throughout the Bresnahan-Halstead symposium, participants will learn a variety of evidence-based Content Enhancement Routines and Learning Strategies that are used within the CLC framework. Dr. Miller will kick the week off with the Paraphrasing Strategy and Concept Anchoring Routine.

Tuesday, July 15

Luann Todd, M.A.
The Learning Coach, Inc.
1303 Cody Trail
Golden, Colorado

“Content Enhancement™:  Increasing Diverse Students’ Understanding & Performance Using Teaching Routines”
Content Enhancement™ is a validated approach to teaching in academically diverse classes in which the integrity of the essential information is maintained, but transformed and taught in partnership with students using ‘teaching routines.’  On average, ALL STUDENTS in diverse classes gain 10-15 percentage points on tests of content information covered in instructional units using these routines.  Participants will learn to use the following:

• The Concept Mastery Routine: used by teachers to interactively analyze a previously introduced critical concept with students by relating it to their prior knowledge, identifying always, sometimes, and never characteristics of the concept, sorting examples and non-examples, and synthesizing their understanding of it.
  
• The Question Exploration Routine: used by teachers to help diverse students unpack a 'critical question' to arrive at a main idea answer and to explore higher order thinking and manipulation of information in it so that it has relevance to their lives.

Wednesday, July 16

Lori Peterson, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
School of Special Education
University of Northern Colorado
Greeley, Colorado
Jennifer Urbach, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
School of Special Education
University of Northern Colorado
Greeley, Colorado

“Where the Rubber Meets the Road: The Sentence Writing Strategy: Fundamentals and Proficiency”
Drs. Urbach and Peterson have been trained in the Strategies Intervention Model and are currently teaching strategies as critical components in UNC’s elementary and secondary literacy content. They will co-present the Sentence Writing Strategy, one of the most widely used foundational strategies  to help students become effective writers by learning basic and advanced sentence structure. (Note: this strategy can also help educators who are unsure of their skills in this area!) 

Thursday, July 17

Jon Paul Burden, M.A., Senior Consultant
Exceptional Student Leadership Unit
Colorado Department of Education
Denver, Colorado

“Tools for Writing: The Error Monitoring Strategy and the LINCS Vocabulary”
Jon Paul Burden, Senior Consultant at the Colorado Department of Education, is well aware of the literacy demands on intermediate to high school youth. His training in SIM allows him to blend the needs of secondary students with overall school reform efforts. He will present the Error Monitoring Strategy, which is typically implemented after the Sentence Writing Strategy has been taught to assist students in editing their own writing.  He will also present the LINCS Vocabulary Strategy which helps students to learn new vocabulary words to apply in reading and writing.

Friday, July 18

Harvey Rude, Professor and Director
School of Special Education
University of Northern Colorado
Greeley, Colorado
Diane Bassett, Professor
School of Special Education
University of Northern Colorado
Greeley, Colorado

“Using Strategic Interventions and Routines in a Multi-Tiered Instructional System”
Drs. Harvey Rude and Diane Bassett will explore ways to use the strategies and routines as part of a multi-tiered instructional system. They will explore effective practices using a response to intervention process, and guide participants in ways by which to integrate these newly acquired strategies and routines into effective school practices.

SESSION 2 – JULY 21-25

Planning and Interventions for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Facilitators:  Robin Brewer, Ed.D., Associate Professor of Special Education, and Tracy Mueller, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Special Education, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, Colorado

Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday, July 21, 22, & 23

Brenda Smith Myles, Ph.D., Associate Professor
Department of Special Education
The University of Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas

“Planning Comprehensive Programs for Students with ASD: Using Evidence Based Practices That Match Student Needs”
This 3-day session will provide an overview of comprehensive program planning for individuals with autism spectrum disorders and related disabilities. This model, which can be easily implemented in general and special education settings, incorporates evidence-based practices while meeting state and federal mandates and guidelines. Specifically, this session provides participants with the skills and knowledge to apply the Ziggurat Model and Comprehensive Autism Planning System for individuals with ASD across the lifespan. In addition, this training will overview evidence based practices for individuals across the spectrum.

Thursday, July 24

Robin Brewer, Ed.D., Associate Professor
School of Special Education
University of Northern Colorado
Greeley, Colorado
Tracy Mueller, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
School of Special Education
University of Northern Colorado
Greeley, Colorado

 “Choosing Evidence-Based Strategies when working with Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders.”
All participants will receive a copy of the Strategies at Hand: Quick and Handy Strategies for Working with Students on the Autism Spectrum!! This session will highlight the newly published Strategies at Hand: Quick and Handy Strategies for Working with Students on the Autism Spectrum.  Strategies at Hand was designed to be a quick reference tool that would allow teachers to easily identify successful evidence-based strategies that have been developed for teaching students who are on the autism spectrum.  This color coded tool is organized so that special education professionals can select a topic and strategy from the following areas: environments (i.e., general education class, special education class, specials/electives, community field trips, cafeteria); specific needs (i.e., communication, social, behavior,visual, sensory,academic , transitions (i.e., scheduled, unscheduled) , and resources (i.e., references for further I formation about the interventions presented).  This session will present the tool, as well as the appropriate way to identify the strategies and implement them with students who are on the autism spectrum.  It is our hope that after the workshop you will be able to  use the Strategies at Hand to select effective strategies ensuring the student is successful in his/her environment.

Friday, July 25

Donna MacLauchlan
Parent
Ft. Collins, Colorado

Sheila Coker
Parent
Ft. Collins, Colorado

“Developing Programs and Problem Solving Solutions for Students who have Autism: A Parent’s Perspective”
This session will feature the perspective of parents who have children with autism. These parents will share stories of success and struggles they have encountered while moving through the special education system with their children. Specific information will be provided about their child’s educational planning, program implementation, and team collaboration Session attendees will walk away with an understanding of the parent perspective, specific collaborative strategies that have worked, and more importantly, the “bigger picture” about true parent-school partnerships.