Structures and Strategies

Learning Support Structures and Strategies

This list of structures and strategies was developed at the Saudi Arabian International School- Riyadh (SAIS-R) Middle School as part of our Student Services Support System (1994). Some of the ideas might not seem so great today 25+ years later but take a gander just in case. :)

_________________________________________

Teaming: Core teachers meet on weekly basis to discuss the needs of their students. An administrator, learning strategies teacher, and a counselor also make up the grade level team. The teams meet to discuss students in need of support and to construct learning strategies which might assist students in need. Time lines are arranged and bi-monthly check-ups on students follow the Learning Strategy session. The teams work to answer the following questions about students in need:

• What are the struggles?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the student?
• What are the exceptions to the problem (What works for who and why?)
• What is each of us doing individually to meet the needs of this student? What is the student's learning style?
• What are the learning strategies that we are going to use?
• When will we check up on the outcomes of these strategies?

The administrators, learning strategy teachers, and the counselors are assigned to specific grade levels. They follow their respective students as they proceed from one grade level to the next. This builds a great deal of continuity and sharing of information for students as they go through the middle school.

Documentation: Team meetings, students conferences, parent contacts, etc. are recording in the Student Information System.

Mentoring: teacher advocate who works as liaison between teaching team and parents of student, checks in with student on weekly basis, and monitors student's progress and the learning strategies that are applied. The mentor works with counselor to review student's cumulative file and to contact previous teachers for historical information.

Bimonthly Check-ins with team by mentors for respective students.

Language used in discussion of students is constructive and based on empirical data as opposed to emotional responses.

Monthly meeting with elective teachers by teams to gather and share student information.

Quarterly Reflection and Celebration: Each team sets aside a meeting period to review the progress that has been made by each Red Flag student. This is a time for only positive comments. The team should also reflect upon their goals from the beginning of the year and how they are working to reach them. This is also a good time to review how the team works together and the procedures that they follow in supporting students in need. Also, is the team working to reach a broader base of students than just the Red Flag students? How are other students being supported and celebrated?

Student-led Conferencing: The counselor sets up appointments with a student's teacher so that the student, counselor, and each teacher can meet together. Students lead out as a part of the ongoing effort to empower them to be in charge of their learning. The student uses this time to see what he/she needs to do to improve to reach his/her goals in each teacher's class. Possible questions for the teachers to ask the students at this time are: what are you doing to be an active participant in my class?, what are the aspects of my class that seem to help you learn in the best manner?, what are the activities/assignments where you are not learning at your optimal level?, what can I do to make a difference for you in my class?, what can you do to make a difference for yourself in my class?

Goal Setting: Whether it be with the learning strategies teacher or the counselor, conferencing time is arranged for the student to construct his/her goals whether they be short or long term. Students journal to process and record their thinking and progress towards reaching their goals.

Learning strategy teacher pulls student out of a few classes to review the organizational and study skills of the student. This is a short term strategy.

Team Designate To Encore (Elective) Teachers: Designate a team member to touch base with encore teachers concerning team news and student services. It is especially important to contact encore teachers when a parent conference is scheduled.

Individualization to Differentiation: The team works to find the strengths and weaknesses of the student building out a learner profile. The team works to develop modifications from the profile. Examples: photocopy of notes, student using tape recorder for notes, extended time and alternative test taking, assignments constructed on worksheets with outlines and metacognitive notes included, student uses word processor for all work, use of calculator, breaking down of assignments and questions into smaller pieces, using concept maps to get ideas from mind to paper to then put in outline form, concept maps at times in place of paragraph writing, nightly review of class notes to write up summaries of understanding, use of outlines to structure understanding, etc.

Parents and Student Reading Time: Parents and student set aside specific time for family to be together to read for pleasure.

Weekly Study Guides: All teachers prepare written study guides which contain daily assignments, in-class work, and long term projects. These are given to each student at the beginning of each week.

Student Work Binders: Every new student is given a binder to hold his/her Study Guides and homework.

Student Self Progress Reports: Students keep charts and reflections for each class to record all graded material.

Parent Strategies: 1) Meet as family at the beginning of each school week to go over the Study Guides and to construct a study plan for the week. 2) Work to find where and when your child studies the best. Then set that specific time and place for daily study. 3) Follow through on assignments and record the progress of your child. Keep up-to-date on grades by working with your child to keep the binder organized and to hold on to graded materials. 4) Review of student self progress reflection and grades from the previous week.

Counselor adds assessment of student's developmental status including affective and social domains to his/her profile document.

Individual Counseling: The counselor meets on a weekly basis with students having either academic, emotional, and/or social difficulties. If the problems goes beyond the range of counseling offered through the school, a referral is made to therapists in the greater community.

Group Counseling: Students with leadership potential can take part in the Peer Leader training program. Students having social difficulties or difficult times adjusting to SAIS-R can take part in the New Student group.

Tutoring: The counselors keep an updated list of tutors from the community who can provide additional support outside of SAIS-R. The list includes tutors who offer support in several areas including the core classes and foreign languages. The list also includes specialists who can provide learning support for students with learning difficulties. It is a good idea for the tutors to make contact with the teams and possibly meet with them to gain background information.

Tutor as Structure Provider: It is often not a good idea for the parent to act as tutor or taskmaster. A hired tutor can often better fill this role. The role is to prepare the student organizationally for the week and check his/her mastery of skills. Also, time to plan work schedule for completion of projects and test preparation which will be incorporated into weekly study plan. The student to then write up checklist of daily HW with explanation of what parents should be looking for to support long term project status. This will also be a time for the student to demonstrate his/her mastery of skills learned during the preceding days of the week. Parent responsibility will be to enforce daily structured study time and to go through completed HW using the checklist which the student has constructed.

Parent Assessment of Student: Parents are requested to write up a summary of the student's educational history, the strengths and weaknesses of the student, the student's learning style, and their educational goals for the child. A copy of this report is reviewed by the team. Parents are to send in these reports before they meet with the teams.

Weekly Self Progress Reports: The parents and student construct a progress report template which contains questions that they would like teachers to answer on a weekly basis. The family is to make plentiful copies and the student is to meet with each teacher to ask that he/she fills out the form and has it ready for the student to take home at the end of the week.

Slow Start Phone Calls: Either teachers or educational aides make short phone calls to parents two weeks into quarters to communicate when the student is off to a slow start.

Peer Partner: The student works with a fellow student in each class to make sure that he/she understands all directions. The Peer Partner is also a resource to ask questions to and to compare notebooks as to the quality of note-taking.

Study Lab: After school study hall where student works to complete work. It is also time to seek out teachers for additional assistance.

Behavior Modification Program: The teaching team meets with the administrators to follow through on a stated course of working with the parents and the student. The modification program clearly defines expected behavior. The student will also be given guidelines of when he/she will be removed from the classroom. The student will be given the opportunity and time to write out the sequence of events leading to his/her behavior infraction. The student will then write down other choices for decisions that could have been made.

Breakfast Club Tutoring: Some teachers have organized weekly schedules where students can make appointments to meet them before school to discuss difficulties the student may be having with course content.

Classroom Strategy: The learning strategies teachers produced a listing of Learning Strategies to assist our students in the following areas: Class Environment, Texts and Assignments, and Differentiation Techniques.

Student Preparation For Class Checklist: The teachers conference with students to guide them to create a checklist of prompts and guides to help them while in the classroom. The student is asked to list the main preparation steps that he/she should take at the beginning of each class. With this information, the student creates write the final list with checkboxes. The teacher then covers the list with plastic and assists the student in attaching the list to the binder. The student then must have the binder out on his desk after the bell rings to begin each of his/her classes. Before the teacher walks by, he/she must review the list, follow the directions, and check each one as he/she completes them (with felt tip pen). The teacher quickly reviews the list and offers feedback if needed.

Developing Awareness: The family is to use the weekly meeting time to develop the child's awareness. One of our main tasks is to develop active learners who feel that they have the power to affect their development and growth as well as deal with difficulties when they arise. A major developmental task for MS students is to become aware of their environment and their place within it. More awareness leads to more active learning, responsibility, ownership, and maturation. The parents ask open ended questions about how the students sees his/her involvement in the learning process of each class, etc. Some possible questions are: what are you doing to be an active participant in your classes, sports teams, social groups, etc.?, what are the aspects of each class that seem to help you learn in the best manner?, what are the activities/assignments where you are not learning at your optimal level?, what is important to you?, what do you value?, what has meaning for you, what gets you fired up?, what are the effects that come about when you are an active participant (learner) in and out of school?, what are the short term and long term effects of being involved or not involved?, where do you see yourself and doing what in 6 months, 2 years, 4, etc.?, how will your involvement in school help you make your hopes for these future visions be realized?

Word Processor: Stress with parents the importance of supporting their children in learning keyboarding skills and the use of the computer to write and edit their written work for school.

Metacognition: The student is requested to either verbally or in written form explain the thinking process that he/she used in academic, social, or other problem-solving situations. A log can be used to record this metacognition.

Myers-Briggs: When parents have difficulty understanding the differences between their personalities and that of their child, the counselor can have the entire family take the Myers-Briggs. The follow up session should cover explanation of the codes/personality traits and how different personalities interrelate.

The parent and student construct a daily checklist of tasks that the student is to complete at school and at home regarding school work. The student checks completed tasks as he/she goes through the day. The student reviews the task list with the parents each night to verbalizes how he/she was able or not able to check specific tasks as completed.

Each team prepares letters to parents concerning Red Flag students who need additional help during the summer and into the following school year.

Parent/Teacher/Student Conference Model:

Before arranging a parent conference, be sure that you have a clear purpose in having the meeting especially if all the teachers need to be present. Parent education meetings can often be handled better with just a team member and the counselor meeting with the parents. The parents return the completed student profile forms before the meeting. Parents and teachers arrive and the team leader outlines how the meeting will run. A team member is assigned to record the information from the meeting to eventually going into the Student Information System.

The meeting begins with the parents outlining the main points of the student profile they completed which should include expectations and strategies used at home. If the student is attending, the same information should be requested from the student. The team members then share the information from the Student Profiles that they have completed. The recorder summarizes the learning strategies that are developed during the meeting. Timelines are set for each strategy. A copy of this list information will go to the parents. The student mentor is shared as the contact person for the parents. A date is set for the parents to contact the mentor to arrange for a follow-up meeting either with the team or mentor to review how the school ad home learning strategies were implemented and what success they have brought.

Parent Conferences: Some helpful hints-

• Put yourself in the position of the parents especially when the full team meets with them.
• Gather background information: how is the student dealing with life in SA?, what has the student's pattern of achievement, etc. been in previous schools?
• What concerns are the parents bringing to the table? What are their academic, social, and behavioral expectations for their child?
• What strategies have they used to assist in the growth of their child?
• What strategies were used at the previous school?
• What goals do they have for their child?
• Build consensus, what will the goals for change be that come out of the conference? What are the tasks assigned to the student, parents, and educators? When will there be a check-up on progress?
• Students attending the conference must be well thought out beforehand. If the student can handle the situation and does attend, look to see what he/she sees as his/her goals, expectations, and strategies needed to make a difference.

The teams should spend one meeting per quarter to run through the names of all the students who have not been discussed in the quarter.