In this 3-part series, Petersen and Spencer unfold an easy-to-follow roadmap that integrates early and valid identification of learning...
In this 3-part series, Petersen and Spencer unfold an easy-to-follow roadmap that integrates early and valid identification of learning difficulties, explicit and systematic instruction, and efficient progress monitoring. They aim for precision services that amplify impact.
The series will run...
In this 3-part series, Petersen and Spencer unfold an easy-to-follow roadmap that integrates early and valid identification of learning difficulties, explicit and systematic instruction, and efficient progress monitoring. They aim for precision services that amplify impact.
The series will run over three sessions on the following dates:
Tuesday 26th August 10 am - 12 pm (AEST - Melbourne time)
Tuesday 2nd September 10 am - 12 pm (AEST- Melbourne time)
Tuesday 9th September 10 am - 12 pm (AEST- Melbourne time)
**All sessions will be recorded and available for two weeks after the event**
See below for a description of what will be covered in each session:
Session 1: Get on the Right Track by Measuring What Matters (Tuesday 26th August)Quick and clear identification of dyslexia and developmental language disorder (DLD) is complicated by their complexity and overlap in young learners. Misaligned and imprecise assessment instruments create slowdowns and cause wrong turns along students’ educational highway. In this session, Petersen and Spencer will guide participants to survey the various instructional routes that depend on the sufficient understanding and valid measurement of learning difficulties. They will contrast (traditional) static assessment with (innovative…or maybe even revolutionary) dynamic assessment. Using dynamic assessment, educators can take short cuts that avoid unnecessary detours, especially for culturally and linguistically diverse students. They will finish the session by introducing a new diagnostic and screening instrument that reduces the time todestination (i.e., learning success) by precisely and validly measuring learning at the core of dyslexia and DLD.Session 2: Accelerate Learning with Multi-tiered, Explicit, and Systematic Language Instruction (Tuesday 2nd September)Skilled reading (i.e., reading comprehension) is the product of word reading and language comprehension. There has been a renewed interest in and application of structured literacy for word reading in classrooms across the globe. Although that gets reading instruction out of neutral, to truly accelerate academic achievement among students with diverse learning needs, language comprehension also needs to be addressed explicitly and systematically. Since the diversity among students is tremendous, it would be inappropriate to put all of them on the same slow bus (low intensity instruction). This one-vehicle-fits-all approach delays students with learning difficulties from achieving academically or closes the road altogether. In this session, Spencer and Petersen will explicate an example (with research findings) of structured literacy for language comprehension that ensures intensity of instruction is delivered based on individual need. For those who need to take an agile sedan (targeted intervention) or a speedy motorcycle (individualized support), this means getting on the expressway of learning so they can meet up with their peers at the destination.
Session 3: Follow the Compass with Progress Monitoring (Tuesday 9th September)When landscapes are unfamiliar or obscured, orienting tools are needed to keep you on course. Progress monitoring is the educational compass that makes sure students are learning. Along the intervention route, checking the compass regularly helps educators recognize when progress is made and when it isn’t. In this session, Petersen and Spencer will emphasize how the data from regular progress monitoring of both word reading and language comprehension can inform intervention planning and ongoing course corrections (when necessary). They will spotlight a comprehensive suite of assessments that is free to download, easy to use, and addresses all aspects of language and literacy for students as young as 3-years-old and into 8th grade.
Cost
LDA Member: $245
LDA Student Member - $185
Non-Member - $285
About the Speakers
Trina D. Spencer, PhD, BCBA-DDr. Spencer is a senior scientist and director of the Juniper Gardens Children’s Project at University of Kansas and holds faculty appointments in the Departments of Applied Behavioral Sciences, Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences, and Special Education.Drawing from speech-language pathology, applied linguistics, education, and behavior analysis, she concentrates her efforts on the oral academic language that serves as a foundation to the reading and writing of preK to 3 rd grade students, with and without disabilities. She maintains a spirited research agenda that has yielded 73 peer review publications, 161 invited presentations, $15M in external funding, and several commercialized curricula, interventions, professional development systems, and assessment tools. Her multi-tiered interventions and assessment tools are used broadly in the United States, but also internationally. Dr. Spencer values researcher-practitioner partnerships, community engagement, and cross disciplinary collaborations to accomplish high-impact and innovative applied research.
Douglas B. Petersen, PhD, CCC-SLP, BCS-CLDouglas Petersen is a professor, the Maggie and Dick Scarlett Chair in Speech-Language Pathology, and the director of the Dynamic Language and Learning Lab at the University of Wyoming. Dr. Petersen conducts research across the world onlanguage and literacy. Specifically, Dr. Petersen researches the measurement of language and reading learning-potential in school-age students, focusing on the development and validation of dynamic assessments and curriculum-based universalscreening and progress monitoring assessments that mitigate cultural, linguistic, and environmental bias. He also examines the extent to which data-driven, multi-tiered contextualized language intervention leads to meaningful language and literacyoutcomes. His co-authored multi-tiered, systematic and explicit language program and language and literacy assessments are some of the most widely used tools for structured literacy across the world.