Course Syllabus Aiding Students with Learning Disabilities

Course Syllabus
Aiding Students with Learning Disabilities
Instructors: Marilee Sprenger, Donna Walker Tileston and Rosemary Planz,
Length: 90 Hours (self-paced over 3 months)
Dates: Rolling Admissions
Prerequisites: Bachelor Degree
LAUSD Project Number: NA-22-27
Number of credits: 2 Salary Points
Location: Online at www.kdsi.org/lausd
Course Description:
Aiding Students with Learning Disabilities aims to illustrate best practices for teaching students with various learning
differences, difficulties, and disabilities. The course is presented by leaders in the field of brain-based education and it
addresses individuals with diverse learning needs. These learning needs include reading disorders, emotional and
behavioral disorders, attention disorders, and high and low incidence disabilities and autism.
Today’s educators are challenged to meet the needs of diverse learners and students with learning disabilities in an
inclusive classroom setting. In this course, participants are first introduced to the laws and legislation that impact diverse
learners, with historical context to present‐day approaches to special education. They study brain‐based research and
brain compatible teaching strategies for addressing the needs for students with varying learning challenges including
attention and behavior disorders, speech and language disorders, reading and math disorders, lower‐incident disabilities
ranging from mild visual or hearing impairments, physical or health impairments, high functioning autism, and students at
risk for school failure because of poverty, abuse, or neglect. Exploring the methods to teach to ―different brains‖ serves to
introduce teachers to the brain barriers to learning. Armed with this knowledge, participates explore general strategies that
they can use to adapt the findings of that research to their instructional practices and lesson planning.
In addition, participants review brain‐based research that affects reading and math. Teachers learn the five components of
reading, the importance of memory to reading, strategies to help physically prepare the brain for reading, and strategies to
develop phonemic awareness and reading comprehension skills. Participants then turn to math by studying the various
learning styles and how they affect mathematical understanding. Educators will learn classroom strategies they can use to
help students make sense of numbers, such as math using manipulatives and creating patterns. Educators learn to
identify and diagnose students with learning disabilities in math, and they learn instructional practices for meeting the
needs of these students in the classroom.
Finally, strategies for making learning fun and personally meaningful, setting goals and holding students accountable,
using signals to curb excessive activity, setting clear expectations, breaking learning into reasonable chunks, providing
choices, and using organizers effectively assist all students in learning.
The format of this class showcases teacher experiences that involve interaction and practice. The lecturers will model and
provide practical examples of all of the techniques that are presented in the course. Participants will be expected to
contribute to the class to further clarify their understanding of the concepts through collaborative discussion activities. By
the end of the course, teachers will have acquired the skills needed to incorporate these methods in their teaching
practice and to support diverse students in achieving academic success in the classroom.

Objectives:
Participants will apply the following skills:
Understand the workings of a student’s brain and the learning difficulties encountered by students with specific
disabilities
Serve students with formerly ―misunderstood minds‖ in order to encourage enhanced academic performance and
increased confidence and contribution to classroom activities
Analyze learning problems and provide strategies to solve those problems
Differentiate instruction to meet the needs of students with different brains
Use strategies for students with specific needs due to learning disabilities
Analyze student differences and design instruction that will meet the needs of most learners and create specific
strategies for those students who need them
Apply best practices from brain research to engage different learners in the learning process
Understand brain development from early childhood through adolescence
Understand current brain research and have the ability to teach in a brain‐compatible manner
Recognize patterns and behaviors associated with different brains and teach to those patterns and behaviors
Use brain‐compatible methods of assessment appropriate for students with different abilities or disabilities
Understand brain patterns and how to use optimal learning times
Understand and teach to the different brains
Develop and utilize educational strategies for different brains
Augment literacy and math skills to meet state and national standards
Presenter Overview
Marilee Sprenger: An educational neuroscience consultant, Marilee Sprenger has taught pre-kindergarten to graduate
school and now teaches brain-compatible strategies and memory courses as an adjunct professor at Aurora University. A
member of the American Academy of Neurology, the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, and the Learning and Brain
Society, as well as of many education organizations such as Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
and Phi Delta Kappa, she is the author of Learning and Memory: The Brain in Action, Becoming a Wiz at Brain-based
Teaching; Differentiation through Learning Styles and Memory;and How to Teach So Students Remember. Sprenger
assists schools by translating and aiding in the application of current educational neuroscience and memory research.
Donna Walker Tileston: Donna Walker Tileston's ten-book collection, What Every Teacher Should Know, received the
2004 Distinguished Achievement Award for Excellence in Educational Publishing by the Association of Educational
Publishers. She has served education as a leader in teaching, administration, research, writing, software development,
national consulting, curriculum development, management, technology, finance, grants management, public relations, and
drug abuse prevention programs. Dr. Tileston now specializes in brain research and the factors that inhibit learning or
increase the brain's ability to put information into long-term memory. To date Dr. Tileston has made over 500
presentations on her research and materials at state, national, and international conferences, notably at The Hague in
November, 2005, and in Prague in March, 2006.
Rosemary Planz: Rosemary S. Planz has a B.S. and Ed. M. in elementary education from SUNY Buffalo. Certified in
New York in special education and elementary school teaching, as well as school district and educational administration,
she has also pursued additional coursework in computer technology and telecommunications. She served the Hicksville
public school system as a teacher and administrator for over two decades, and has also been an adjunct professor,
assistant superintendent, sales representative, and department director. The winner of three awards from the Hicksville
Counsel of PTA's, Planz specializes in the legal issues surrounding the education of students with educational disabilities,
with a focus on how the student's entire community can collaborate to construct effective learning environments.

Methods of instruction will include
Individual units (20) are arranged as follows:
Step 1: Objective – Each unit starts with an objective which provides and overview, outline and detailed
objectives describing the skills educators will be taking from the lesson. Participants must read the objective
before moving on with their coursework.
Step 2: Critical Thinking: Pre-work – This pre-assessment is in the form of multiple choice and open-ended
questions and is to be completed prior to playing the lecture. The purpose of the pre-assessment is to engage the
participant, provoke thought and measure their knowledge of the unit content as they begin each lesson. This can
later be used for reflection and self assessment. While this step, like all others, is required to receive a passing
grade, an incorrect answer in the pre-assessment will not negatively impact your score. Participants must answer
the questions in a thoughtful manner to the best of their ability. Answers such as ―I don’t know‖ will not be
accepted as participants are not graded on the accuracy of their answer.
Step 3: Video/audio lecture – Participants will watch/listen to lectures with accompanying PowerPoint
presentations. Participants may take and save notes online, download PowerPoint slides and any available
handouts or resources. All lectures must be played in full to receive credit. While a transcript of the lecture is
available online, it is a supplemental tool for studying and following along with the lecture and is not intended as a
replacement for the actual classroom instruction time provided by the lecture. Lectures can be played multiple
times.
Step 4: Critical Thinking: Post-work – This post lecture assessments is in the form of multiple choice and
open-ended questions and is to be completed prior to playing the lecture. The purpose of the pre-assessment is
to gauge the knowledge of the participant and to assess the skills they have taken from the lesson. Unlike the
pre-assessment, participants will be scored and this will be counted as part of their overall courses grade.
Participants must answer the questions in a thoughtful manner to the best of their ability.
Step 5: Journal – Each unit requires a journal entry. Participants will be asked to reflect on the pedagogical
strategies from the lecture and how they apply to your classroom or students, their experience implementing the
strategies or to explain how you plan to integrate the strategies into your classroom. Answers may be brief but
should be at least a 3 to 5 sentences and no more than 7,000 characters
Step 6: Discussion – Participants will engage with their colleagues and forum administrator to discuss the lessons
and exchange ideas. Participants must make 2 posts to the discussion forum for each unit. These posts may
be in the form of responses to topics posted by other participants or may be their own original post or question.
Please refrain from posting technical support or credit redemption questions in the discussion forum as it is
facilitated by curriculum experts and not the customer support team.
All steps listed under each unit must be completed to receive credit for the course. No partial credit will
be given.
Texts and/or Other Materials:
Transcripts
Handouts
PowerPoint presentations

List of Units (20):
1) Brain Structure and Development Marilee Sprenger
In this session, educational neuroscience consultant Marilee Sprenger will cover the biology of the brain as it applies
to education. This session provides information on structure, development, and function of the human brain. From the
cellular level to the hemispheres of the brain, participants will become familiar with the functioning of the normal brain.
Sprenger also covers enrichment, windows of opportunity, and the learning disabled brain.
2) Brain-Compatible Teaching Principles Marilee Sprenger
In this session, author and consultant Marilee Sprenger covers myths and mysteries of the brain as they apply to the
classroom. She then discusses brain compatible teaching principles and provides practical examples. The session will
offer teachers the opportunity to consider their classrooms and teaching styles in regard to how the brain learns.
3) Wiring the Brain for Literacy Marilee Sprenger
In this session, neuroscience consultant Marilee Sprenger discusses literacy in regard to brain structure and function.
She explains and provides examples of the five reading components. She also explores the importance of memory to
reading, and finally she offers strategies to help physically prepare the brain for reading.
4) A Free and Appropriate Education Donna Walker Tileston
In this session, Dr. Tileston presents a comprehensive overview of the laws that govern special education. She begins
by providing some historical context to present-day approaches to special education. In the main portion of the
session she reviews the federal and state laws that govern special education: IDEA, Section 504, the Americans with
Disabilities Act, Titles One, Two, Three, Four, and Five, and the NCLB Act. She discusses the provisions of each of
these acts in detail, with a focus on how they affect the education of children with special needs. Next, she considers
the notion of a "Free and Appropriate Education" and the ideas of Least Restrictive and More Restrictive
Environments as these apply to the types of special education services schools are required to provide. She
concludes by offering suggestions for what schools can do to implement special education programs that meet the
standards set down in federal and state laws.
5) Special Education and the Brain: Part 1 Donna Walker Tileston
In this session, Dr, Tileston discusses how the brain works and how understanding the functioning of the brain can
help teachers and others understand how their students, both special education students and others, learn. She
begins by considering what it means to be "smart" and then contrasts "smart" learners with "slow" learners. The
former can learn using all memory pathways. Slow learners must be taught in their preferred modality if they are to
learn.
6) Special Education and the Brain: Part 2 Donna Walker Tileston
In this session, Dr. Tileston discusses brain research and special education. She focuses on the third of the three
brain systems— the cognitive system. She draws a distinction between declarative knowledge — knowledge that we
recall — and procedural knowledge — what we are able to do with what we know. Her discussion of declarative
knowledge focuses on the use of a variety of organizers — effective tools that can help students increase their ability
to recall and organize pieces of information. In her discussion of procedural knowledge, Dr. Tileston focuses on what
students will be able to do with the information they can recall (their declarative knowledge). Our goal as teachers,
she suggests, should be to help students learn how to construct a variety of mental models — e.g., compare and
contrast, sequence, etc. In her view, the overall goal should be automaticity.

7) Attention Disorders Donna Walker Tileston
In this topic, Dr. Tileston focuses on attention disorders: Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Attention
Deficit Disorder (ADD). She begins by offering a discussion and definition of ADHD. This condition, she suggests, has
three components: inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. She considers the causes and diagnosis of this disorder.
She also offers a brief discussion of ADD and its differences from ADHD. Dr. Tileston considers some of the ways that
schools and teachers contribute to student inability to stay attentive. She asks participants to consider the affect of
particular styles of teaching (lectures), room arrangements, inconsistent rules, tense classroom climates, and the
failure to engage students as contributory factors to the inability of students to stay focused.
8) Attention Solutions Donna Walker Tileston
In this session, Dr. Tileston considers in detail some strategies teachers can use to address student attention
difficulties. She begins by providing a detailed analysis of a sample unit, focusing on how it draws on prior knowledge
of the student and uses strategies that make the learning of the lesson personally relevant. She also discusses how
the sample unit draws on the idea of multiple intelligences and different learning modalities as well as ways to add
complexity to the lesson as it progresses.
9) Emotional and Behavior Disorders Donna Walker Tileston
In this topic, Dr. Tileston addresses the issue of emotional and behavioral disorders. She begins by considering the
power of emotions and the ways that the brain controls emotions. She considers anxiety disorders and explores the
characteristics and causes of each. She then explores depressive disorders and briefly a variety of other emotional
disorders.
10) Autism Donna Walker Tileston
In this topic, Dr. Tileston addresses autism. She begins by providing a basic definition of autism and some facts about
its frequency. She also addresses current thinking about what does and what does not cause autism, and what can
be done to treat this disorder. She then turns her attention to one variety of autism — Asperger's Syndrome, a type of
high functioning autism. She contrasts children (and adolescents) with autism to those with Asperger's and offers
some thoughts on the causes of the latter.
11) Speech and Language Disorders Donna Walker Tileston
In this topic, Dr. Tileston considers the issue of speech and language disorders. She provides an account of the
history of research on language and speech disorders beginning with the work of Paul Broca in the mid-19 th century.
Next, she addresses the current understanding of language development in children the first six years of life. This
section of the presentation presents a very comprehensive overview of the stages of normal language development.
Dr. Tileston considers a number of specific language disorders and concludes by offering some thoughts on what
teachers can do to help students who present language disorders.
12) Reading Disorders Donna Walker Tileston
In this topic, Dr. Tileston considers the issue of reading disorders. She begins by providing an account of research on
reading disorders and the differences between male and female brain development. Next, she addresses the current
understanding of how one learns to read and what can go wrong. Dr. Tileston considers specific reading disorders
such as Phonological Alexia, and the broader term for many language disorders, Dyslexia. She concludes by offering
strategies that educators can use to help students with reading disorders develop phonemic awareness and reading
comprehension skills.

13) Learning Disabilities in Mathematics Donna Walker Tileston
In this topic, Dr. Tileston considers learning disability in mathematics. She begins by providing an overview of the
many deficits that can cause problems with mathematical ability. She then covers current research and how various
learning styles affect mathematical understanding. Next, she addresses how best to diagnose disabilities in
mathematics. She offers classroom strategies educators can use to help students make connections, such as math
manipulatives and creating patterns. She concludes by offering guidelines for educators on how to best meet the
needs of students with learning disabilities in mathematics.
14) Introduction to Inclusive Teaching Rosemary Planz
The goal of this session is to introduce participants to the educational rights of students who have educational
disabilities and to the legal foundations that support students in the schools. Participants will become familiar with the
issues surrounding inclusion and IDEA and the concepts of the least-restrictive environment. Participants will identify
the differences between mainstreaming and full inclusion and some pros and cons surrounding full inclusion of
students in general education classrooms. Discussions of the different types of disabilities and classifications that are
served under IDEA along with the models of service delivery will help participants understand the different levels of
services provided to students along the special education continuum of services.
15) Collaboration: Partnerships and Procedures Rosemary Planz
The goal of this session is to have students understand that the IDEA law provides legal rights, but for the law to be
effective, collaboration and constructive partnerships must be established among parents, teachers, school
specialists, administrators, and community agencies. Both the school and parents must accept certain basic
responsibilities, and to meet these responsibilities, parents and school personnel must engage in problem-solving
strategies, working together to devise procedures necessary for identification, referral, assessment, and placement
processes to accommodate students with special needs and other at-risk students. This session will review the
responsibilities, and procedures that have been set up to facilitate intervention strategies, referral to special education,
and suggestions for working with staff and parents.
16) Teaching Students with High-Incidence Disabilities Rosemary Planz
The goal of this session is to introduce participants to the disability categories that are more frequently found in the
public school setting. Higher-incidence disabilities include a wide variety of abilities and disabilities that may be mild to
severe in intensity. Some are temporary, while others are lifelong conditions. Higher-incidence disabilities include
speech and language impairments, learning disabilities, mild or moderate mental retardation, and emotional or
behavioral disorders. Together these disability areas make up about 90% of the total population of students ages 6 to
21 with disabilities served under IDEA.
17) Teaching Students with Low-Incidence Disabilities Rosemary Planz
In this session participants will learn the characteristics of students with lower-incidence disabilities. These students
are far less commonly represented in schools than students with higher-incidence disabilities. Students with less
common disabilities may have been born with them or acquired them later in life, and they may be mild to severe.
Some may be temporary; others are permanent or even life threatening. Lower-incidence disabilities include visual
impairments, hearing impairments, physical and other health impairments, severe and multiple disabilities, and
autism. Many creative adaptations have been made in general education classrooms in order to accommodate these
students so that they can be educated with non-disabled peers.

18) Individuals with Other Diverse Learning Needs & Effective Instruction for All Students Rosemary Planz
In this session participants will learn the characteristics of students with diverse learning needs. Not all students with
diverse or special learning needs are classified as disabled. Students with other special learning needs represent a
wide range of abilities and include:
Students from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds
Students who may be considered at risk for school failure
Students with attention deficits
Students who may be at risk for school failure because of poverty, abuse or neglect, substance abuse,
truancy, pregnancy, homelessness, or depression
These students belong to an increasing population in schools and are served in general education classes. Rather
than being classified and served under IDEA, some students with diverse learning needs are served under Section
504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
19) Improving Classroom Behavior & Social Skills & Promoting Inclusion with Classroom Rosemary Planz
This session provides participants with strategies to help students learn how to interact with others in group learning
experiences, how to engage in classroom discussions, and how to distinguish between active classroom behavior that
promotes learning and active behavior that disrupts learning. Classrooms are well managed when students stay
on-task academically, feel free to actively participate in classroom activities, take risks, and interact positively with
others. The success of the classroom can be dramatically improved by attending to the social environment which
includes classroom behavior and social skills.
20) Enhancing Motivation and Affect Improving Attention and Memory Rosemary Planz
In this session, participants will learn strategies and activities to address the needs of students with attention,
motivation, and memory problems. Attention and memory are two fundamental psychological processes necessary for
learning to occur. Instruction, however well presented, is of little value if it is not remembered. Conversely, memory is
only possible for those things to which we have paid attention in the first place. In addition ability and motivation are
necessary components for successful learning to occur. Furthermore, students may have the ability or skills
necessary to succeed in school, but may still fail if not properly motivated. If students have ability and general
motivation, but are depressed or anxious, they may not achieve their potential. Participants will learn how to identify
and better address the needs of students by enhancing motivation, improving affect, focusing attention and increasing
memory retention.