SPED Partnership Program

[Optional] As part of your program of study you are required to take two optional courses. This course will meet one of the elective courses.

Traditional/Accelerated/Alternate Route Candidates

Complete this assignment following the directions outlined by your course instructor. Choose your course instructor as the evaluator for your final assignment.

The purpose of this assignment is for candidates to monitor the progress of a student to whom they are delivering explicit instruction in reading and to make instructional decisions based on the data collected on the target skills. The target student and target skill will be identified by the candidate and cooperating teacher, and should be approved by the instructor.  This assignment is to be completed at the SPED 4435 site with a student participating in small group instruction led by the candidate.

This assignment should include the following components:

• Title page
• 12 point font
• Double line spacing (tables and graphs do not need to be double spaced)
• 1-inch margins
• Student-first language
• Obvious pseudonym to protect confidentiality of the student

Note:  The paper you write for this assignment is a professional, scholarly paper.  Therefore, you should observe the following professional writing conventions:

1. Correct spelling and sentence structure
2. Avoid superlatives (very, extremely, etc.)
3. Consistent verb tense within a paragraph
4. Logical organization –section headers are suggested
5. Clarity and conciseness
6. DO NOT use first-person language (I, me, my, you, we, etc.)
7. ALWAYS use student-first language

Assignment Components:

1. The candidate will conduct 16 one-minute probes on the target skills with one student, over a period of 8 - 10 weeks. The student will be chosen from among a small group the candidate is working with in the practicum setting.  The cooperating teacher should be consulted in the selection of a target student.
2. Candidates will work with the cooperating teacher to choose a target student and target skill. Candidates will work with the cooperating teacher to identify an appropriate curriculum based measure (CBM) for collecting data. The target skills and CBM must be approved by the instructor.
3. Progress monitoring graph, including the following components:

• Title of the graph (ex. Progress Monitoring Graph of Reading Fluency for Rhett Butler)
• X-axis with at least 19 data points (three of which will be baseline data points), with title
• Y-axis ranging from 5 – 10 points below the student’s baseline to 5 – 10 points above the target point, with title
• Chart legend identifying the coding conventions for each type of data – aim line, target skill, and errors
• Three baseline data points for the target skill
• Aim line, starting with baseline point (either the average or the middle point –if using three baseline points) at session 1 and ending at the target point at session 16
• 16 progress monitoring data points for the target skill
• Trend lines for each type of data collected – target skill and errors
• Intervention lines with titles (Intervention 1, Intervention 2, etc.) – the first intervention should appear directly after the baseline points and at each phase change
• Note: Trend lines should start anew at each phase change.  If you are unable to get your graphing program to restart the trend line at each phase change, your assignment should include multiple copies of the graph.  The first graph would include the full x- and y-axis with titles, baseline data points, aim line, intervention line and data points with trend lines up to the phase change.  Subsequent graphs would include all data up to the next phase change.  Each graph should have a separate title.  An example will be posted with these guidelines in Moodle.

4. Error summary table, including the following components:

• Title (ex. Summary Table of Errors for Danger Mouse)
• Types of errors
• Number of each type of error by intervention
• Total number of each type of error

5. Copies all running records or other CMB data collection sheets should be submitted with the final assignment (paper or electronic copies will be acceptable).
6. Written report, including the following

1. Description of student, including the following:

• Obvious respectful pseudo name (examples: Rhett Butler, Scarlett O’Hara, Kevin Bacon; as opposed to Dumbo, Mickey Mouse, etc.)
• Age
• Gender
• Race/ethnicity – if available
• Current reading level
• Description of reading problems

2. Summary of reading program, including the following:

• Title of program
• Frequency and duration of intervention sessions – both with the candidate and the teacher
• Describe the student’s level of engagement and participation during intervention
• Describe any student behaviors or extenuating circumstances that may have influenced the student’s performance during individual data collection sessions, interventions sessions, or throughout the program

3. Summary of data collection, including the following:

• Type of data collected
• Frequency of data collection
• Description of data collection sessions
• Description of student’s behavior during data collection sessions

4. Interpretation of graph, including the following:

• Description of the target skill
• Describe the aim line and why/how the target point was chosen
• Discuss the trend of the student’s performance on the target skill in relationship to the aim line
• Discuss the trend of the student’s errors
• Discuss the need for a change in intervention(s), as indicated by the data
• Describe any changes to the intervention(s) at each phase, if appropriate
• Discuss the student’s performance after any phase changes, including trends
• Analyze the student’s overall performance, as to whether or not he/she met the target point, or will reach it shortly, in terms of what the data indicate

5. Interpretation of table, including the following:

• Discuss and analyze the nature of the student’s errors
• Describe any patterns seen in the student’s errors
• Describe how the type or pattern of errors may have indicated the need for a change in intervention
• Be sure to include a discussion of student’s errors, in relation to the target skill and overall performance, for example, “As the student’s performance on the target skill improved, the number or errors decreased”

6. Recommendations for future intervention related to the target skill.
7. Personal reflection, including the following:

• Level of confidence and how it may have changed during the course of the assignment
• Your ability to implement the intervention and collect data with fidelity
• Overall impressions of the experience
• What you learned from this experience
• How this experience will influence your future practice
• Note:  Unlike the rest of this assignment, the personal reflection section of this assignment may be written in the first person.