The Invisible Disability
The Invisible Disability: Understanding Learning Disabilities in the Context of Health and Education, by Padquale Accardo.
Learning disabilities, Accardo notes, are unusual among biological (or organic) disabilities: they have a medical diagnosis but an educational treatment. Accordingly, he stresses the need for collaboration between education and health professionals.
Accardo discusses in detail associated medical problems, medication, the emotional impact, and special cases such as gifted students with learning disabilities. Through many examples, he emphasizes the importance of accurate diagnosis, early school-based interventions, and parental understanding. Accardo also addresses myths and misconceptions about this complex and common disability (learning disabilities affect 5 to 15 percent of the population—both children and adults). His ultimate aim: to ensure that these students are not blamed as being lazy or unmotivated and that they get the help they need to succeed in school. A glossary and statistics are included.
Available from the National Health and Education Consortium, c/o The Institute for Educational Leadership, 1001 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 310, Washington, DC 20036. Phone: (202) 822-8505; Fax: (202) 872-4050. 1996. 52 pp., Paperbound. $7.50.
Assessment and Evaluation in the Multiage Classroom
Assessment and Evaluation in the Multiage Classroom, Special issue of the Oregon School Study Council Bulletin. Joan Gaustad, editor.
Are students in multiage classrooms learning what they need to know? How can we track and document their progress? Which assessment methods shed light on what's important, yet are not overly time-consuming? This report examines these issues and the implications of authentic assessment approaches for administrators and school boards.
Available from: Publication Sales, Oregon School Study Council, 5207 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-5207. Phone: (503) 346-5044, (800) 438-8841. January-February 1996. 70 pp., Paperbound. $10 plus 10 percent (minimum $4) shipping and handling.
A Guide to Helping Students Develop Their IEPs
A Guide to Helping Students Develop Their IEPs (audiocassette); A Student's Guide to the IEP, Marcy McGahee-Kovac, and Helping Students Develop Their IEPs (booklets). National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities.
This audiocassette and accompanying booklets are designed to help students become active participants in developing their Individualized Education Plans (IEPs)—the legally required plan for students identified as having disabilities. Side 1 of the audiocassette (28 minutes) features teachers, administrators, and parents discussing their experiences with student participation. Side 2 (30 minutes) features a group of teenagers discussing the process.
The 12-page student's guide answers, in simple, step-by-step fashion, such questions as Why do I need an IEP? How do I develop it? and What do I do after the IEP meeting? The 24-page technical assistance guide tells parents and teachers how involve students with disabilities in the IEP meeting and plan. It includes a glossary and a list of resources.
Available from: The National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities, P.O. Box 1492, Washington, DC 20013-1492. Phone: (800) 695-0285. December 1995. $5 for package of two guides and audiocassette, $4 for each guide alone, $2 for audiocassette. The Center also lists its products on the Internet at http://www.aed.org/nichcy.
R&R for American Schools
R&R for American Schools: Reform and Revitalization Transform Education, Washington State ASCD.
"While efforts to privatize the school system have attracted national publicity and media attention, significant changes in some public schools have gone largely unnoticed and unheralded," observes Rick Schulte in his introduction to this practical sourcebook. ASCD named it the most outstanding special publication by an affiliate in 1994.
Produced at a time of intense reform activity in the state by the Washington State ASCD Critical Issues Institute, this book addresses eight issues with three or four detailed case studies and annotated resources for each: outcome assurances, governance, collaborative research, curriculum integration, nongraded and multiaged schools, modified school calenders, inclusion models, and lifelong learning. The book has a three-hole punch format.
Available from: Washington State ASCD, P.O. Box 23700, Federal Way, WA 98093. Phone: (206) 925-1610, (e-mail: Ness@aa.net). 1993. 172 pp., Paperbound. $18.95 plus 8 percent sales tax in Washington state.
Teachers Guide to Cyberspace
Teachers Guide to Cyberspace, IMPACT II—The Teachers Network.
In this handbook and two accompanying disks, dozens of teachers describe innovative classroom projects involving the Internet. Teachers offer advice on everything from fundraising and grantsmanship to good World Wide Web sites for each subject and grade. There is also an Internet "workshop" for teacher training, and there are interviews.
A special section explains how to access IMPACT II's own new Web site, TeachNet (http://www.teachnet.org), which includes information on more than 500 curriculum projects. (IMPACT II, a network of some 30,000 teachers, was founded 16 years ago.)
Available from: IMPACT II—The Teachers Network, P.O. Box 577, Canal Street Station, NY, NY 10013-0577. Phone: (212) 966-5582; Fax: (212) 941-1787. 1996. 86pp., Paperbound. (Comes with two interactive disks in Mac and Windows versions.) $19.95 per copy for 1-9 copies; $17.95 each for 10-24 copies; $16.95 each for 25-49 copies; and $14.95 per copy for 50 or more.
