How You Learn Activities:
In high school, special education teachers make arrangements for you. However, in college you will have to take the leading role in getting services that you need. This means that you need to know yourself and be able to talk about your needs. Imagine that you are 18 and you will be starting college.
You will need to:
*Go to the office of disability services and prove you have a disability with proper documentation.
* Be able to talk about how the disability limits you in learning.
*Know which accommodations effectively help you.
*Request those accommodations and be willing to discuss
alternatives.
*Work out the logistics of the agreed upon accommodations.
These next few activities will help you understand in greater detail how you learn and prepare you to discuss your needs with others.
You will need to:
*Go to the office of disability services and prove you have a disability with proper documentation.
* Be able to talk about how the disability limits you in learning.
*Know which accommodations effectively help you.
*Request those accommodations and be willing to discuss
alternatives.
*Work out the logistics of the agreed upon accommodations.
These next few activities will help you understand in greater detail how you learn and prepare you to discuss your needs with others.
Activity 1:
We all have different ways in which we like to learn. It is helpful to understand your learning
preferences and to adjust your approach to studying so that you rely on your learning
strengths. Complete the questionnaire that is in the link below. It will help you identify your learning preference. It will also suggest learning strategies based on that preference that will help you to study in a productive manner.
http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=questionnaire
You will receive a statement of your learning preferences based on your answers. The report
will give you links to study skill “Helpsheets”. Read and then print this information. If you have a high score in several learning preferences, read and print these as well. Meet with a teacher or school counselor and discuss your results. Identify study strategies that you think may be helpful and develop a plan to experiment with strategies that are new to you. Be prepared to discuss in class what you found out about your learning preferences and study strategies that you think will be helpful for you to use.
preferences and to adjust your approach to studying so that you rely on your learning
strengths. Complete the questionnaire that is in the link below. It will help you identify your learning preference. It will also suggest learning strategies based on that preference that will help you to study in a productive manner.
http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=questionnaire
You will receive a statement of your learning preferences based on your answers. The report
will give you links to study skill “Helpsheets”. Read and then print this information. If you have a high score in several learning preferences, read and print these as well. Meet with a teacher or school counselor and discuss your results. Identify study strategies that you think may be helpful and develop a plan to experiment with strategies that are new to you. Be prepared to discuss in class what you found out about your learning preferences and study strategies that you think will be helpful for you to use.
Activity 2:
Understanding your disability and how it impacts your learning will help you plan for your future and will put you on the path to self-advocacy. When you request services from an office of disability services, you will have to describe your disability and what your needs are in the classroom. You can better understand your disability and how it affects your learning by reviewing the professional documentation of your disability.
This documentation may be provided by a medical doctor or through testing done by a school psychologist. Make an appointment with your doctor if you have medical reports describing your disability, or with the school psychologist if testing related to your disability was conducted at school. At the time you schedule this appointment, let the doctor or school psychologist know that you would like to review the documentation of your disability at this meeting. You may want to invite a parent or family member. At the meeting asking the following important questions will help you learn about your disability :
• What is my disability? Please describe it in terms I can understand.
• In what specific ways does it affect how I learn?
• What are my learning strengths? (How do I learn best?)
• Which academic accommodations are supported by my documentation?
• What was the date of the last diagnosis of my disability?
Take notes during the meeting and do not leave until you understand the answers to the above questions. If there is something you don't understand, ask about it. Take a copy of these questions with you as a reminder.
After the meeting, organize your notes into an outline or paragraph. Make sure to include the answers to the above questions.
This documentation may be provided by a medical doctor or through testing done by a school psychologist. Make an appointment with your doctor if you have medical reports describing your disability, or with the school psychologist if testing related to your disability was conducted at school. At the time you schedule this appointment, let the doctor or school psychologist know that you would like to review the documentation of your disability at this meeting. You may want to invite a parent or family member. At the meeting asking the following important questions will help you learn about your disability :
• What is my disability? Please describe it in terms I can understand.
• In what specific ways does it affect how I learn?
• What are my learning strengths? (How do I learn best?)
• Which academic accommodations are supported by my documentation?
• What was the date of the last diagnosis of my disability?
Take notes during the meeting and do not leave until you understand the answers to the above questions. If there is something you don't understand, ask about it. Take a copy of these questions with you as a reminder.
After the meeting, organize your notes into an outline or paragraph. Make sure to include the answers to the above questions.
Activity 3:
It is important for you to understand the difference between accommodations and modifications. Modification of classes will not be an option for you in college. A modification fundamentally changes the content of a class and an accommodation is a change in the delivery and assessment but not the content. Both modifications and accommodations are provided in the K-12 system so it can make the distinction between these two confusing. Go to the following website:
www.washington.edu/doit/Brochures/Academics/accomm_ld.html
Read over the information on accommodations that students with learning disabilities might receive and make of list of 10 accommodations that you think might be helpful for you. After you have made the list pick one of the accommodations that you would like to try in high school that is supported by your documentation. Make arrangements with your special education teacher to use it in an appropriate setting.
After using it a few times answer the following questions:
• Was the accommodation helpful?
• If yes, how did the accommodation help you to work around one or more of your
limitations?
• Although you may have done assignments in a different way by using the
accommodation, did you learn the same information as the other students in the
class?
• What did your teacher need to do to provide this accommodation?
• What did your teacher say about providing this accommodation?
• Identify other classes where this accommodation could be helpful.
www.washington.edu/doit/Brochures/Academics/accomm_ld.html
Read over the information on accommodations that students with learning disabilities might receive and make of list of 10 accommodations that you think might be helpful for you. After you have made the list pick one of the accommodations that you would like to try in high school that is supported by your documentation. Make arrangements with your special education teacher to use it in an appropriate setting.
After using it a few times answer the following questions:
• Was the accommodation helpful?
• If yes, how did the accommodation help you to work around one or more of your
limitations?
• Although you may have done assignments in a different way by using the
accommodation, did you learn the same information as the other students in the
class?
• What did your teacher need to do to provide this accommodation?
• What did your teacher say about providing this accommodation?
• Identify other classes where this accommodation could be helpful.
Activity 4:
After completing the first three activities, you are ready to begin to practice advocating your right for your own accommodations. Write the answers to the following questions and statements. You may want to review information from the earlier activities.
• What is your disability?
• Describe how your disability affects how you learn.
• Describe how you learn best.
• What accommodations are supported by your documentation?
Identify a class in which you will need to use accommodations. Discuss with a special education teacher or
counselor which accommodations would help you learn in this class. Keep in mind that in order to receive
accommodations, they must be supported by written documentation. Develop a presentation with the information provided in the above questions that you can use to present to your teacher. Practice your presentation by role playing with a partner. Make a list of what you did well and what you need to work on. Ask for feedback from your partner.
• What is your disability?
• Describe how your disability affects how you learn.
• Describe how you learn best.
• What accommodations are supported by your documentation?
Identify a class in which you will need to use accommodations. Discuss with a special education teacher or
counselor which accommodations would help you learn in this class. Keep in mind that in order to receive
accommodations, they must be supported by written documentation. Develop a presentation with the information provided in the above questions that you can use to present to your teacher. Practice your presentation by role playing with a partner. Make a list of what you did well and what you need to work on. Ask for feedback from your partner.