Teaching & Learning
Strategies Intervention Program

The Strategies Intervention Program can provide training in the following areas:

•Learning Strategies
•Content Enhancement Routines

These strategies and routines are from the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning (KU-CRL). Click here to link to the University of Kansas: www.ku-crl.org

LEARNING STRATEGIES

•Strategies related to reading…

• Word Identification Strategy (DISSECT): The Word Identification Strategy teaches students a problem -solving procedure for quickly attacking and decoding unknown words in reading materials, allowing them to move on quickly for the purpose of comprehending the passage.

• Paraphrasing Strategy (RAP): The Paraphrasing Strategy directs students to read a limited section of material, ask themselves the main idea and the details of the section, and put that information in their own words. This strategy is designed to improve comprehension by focusing attention on the important information of a passage and by stimulating active involvement with the passage.

• Self-Questioning Strategy (ASK-IT): The Self-Questioning Strategy aids reading comprehension by having students actively ask questions about key pieces of information in a passage and then read to find the answers for these questions.

• Visual Imagery Strategy (SCENE): The Visual Imagery Strategy is designed to improve students' acquisition, storage, and recall of prose material. Students improve reading comprehension by reading short passages and visualizing the scene that is described, incorporating actors, action, and details.

•Strategies related to storing and remembering information….

• FIRST-Letter Mnemonic (FIRST/LISTS): The FIRST-Letter Mnemonic Strategy is designed to aid students in memorizing lists of information by teaching them to design mnemonics or memorization aids and in finding and making lists of crucial information.

• Paired Associates (PAIRS): The Paired Associates Strategy is designed to aid students in memorizing pairs or small groups of information by using visual imagery, matching pertinent information with familiar objects, coding important dates, and using a first-syllable technique.

• Vocabulary Strategy (LINCS): The LINCS Vocabulary Strategy helps students learn the meaning of new vocabulary words using powerful memory-enhancement techniques. Strategy steps cue students to focus on the critical elements of the concept; to use visual imagery, associations with prior knowledge, and key-word mnemonic devices to create a study card; and to study the card to enhance comprehension and recall of the concept.

•Strategies related to writing….

• Fundamentals in the Sentence Writing Strategy: Fundamentals in the Sentence Writing Strategy focuses on a program for teaching the fundamental concepts and skills associated with writing simple sentences, starting with concepts such as "subject," "verb," "infinitive," and "preposition." The program includes an instructor's manual and a student materials volume.

• Proficiency in the Sentence Writing Strategy (PENS): Proficiency in the Sentence Writing Strategy is designed to teach students how to recognize and generate four types of sentences: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex. The program includes an instructor's manual and a student materials volume.

• Paragraph Writing Strategy (SCRIBE): The Paragraph Writing Strategy is designed to teach students how to write well-organized, complete paragraphs by outlining ideas, selecting a point-of-view and tense for the paragraph, sequencing ideas, and checking their work. The program includes an instructor's manual and a student materials volume.

• Error Monitoring Strategy (WRITER/COPS): The Error Monitoring Strategy is designed to teach students a process for detecting and correcting errors in their writing and for producing a neater written product. Students are taught to find errors in paragraph organization, sentence structure, capitalization, overall editing and appearance, punctuation, and spelling by asking themselves a series of questions. Students correct their errors and rewrite the passage before submitting it to their teacher.

• Theme Writing Strategy (TOWER): is used by students to organize and produce better written products. It focuses on systematic way of collecting information in a graphic organizer and constructing of sentences and paragraphs in clear and logical sequence.
  

• InSPECT Strategy (Spelling): The InSPECT Strategy can be used by students to detect and correct spelling errors in their documents by using a computerized spellchecker or a hand-held spelling device.

•Strategies related to demonstrating competence….

• Assignment Completion (PROJECTS): The Assignment Completion Strategy teaches students to monitor their assignments from the time an assignment is given until it is completed and submitted to the teacher. Students write down assignments; analyze the assignments; schedule various subtasks; complete the subtasks and, ultimately, the entire task; and submit the completed assignment.

• Test-Taking Strategy (PIRATES): The Test-Taking Strategy is designed to be used by the student during a test. The student is taught to allocate time and read instructions and questions carefully. A question is either answered or abandoned for later consideration. The obviously wrong answers are eliminated from the abandoned questions and a reasonable guess is made. The last step is to survey the entire test for unanswered questions.

• Strategic Tutoring describes a new vision of the tutoring process in which the tutor not only helps the student complete and understand the immediate assignment but also teaches the student the strategies required to complete similar tasks independently in the future.
  

•Strategies related to social interaction...

• The Class Participation Strategy (SLANT): Starter Strategy for Class Participation is a simple, easy-to-teach strategy designed to help students participate in class discussions. Students learn how to use appropriate posture, track the talker, activate their thinking, and contribute information.

• Cooperative Social Skills (SCORE and TEAMWORK): Social Skills for Cooperative Groups are social skills that are foundational to effective cooperative groups. Students learn to share ideas, compliment others, offer help or encouragement, recommend changes nicely, and exercise self-control.
  

• Cooperative Thinking Strategies (THINK, LEARN, BUILD)
  The THINK Strategy is a strategy students use to solve problems together.
  The BUILD Strategy is designed for analyzing and resolving controversial issues within a group.
  The LEARN Strategy is used by students to master information together.
  
• Community Building Series: to create safe and supportive learning environments for students with disabilities in inclusive classes. This is done through teaching students about concepts such as respect and tolerance and providing each student a partner who can provide support during the learning process.
  Organizing Together is a program that can be used to provide instruction in some basic strategies associated with keeping notebooks, schedules/calendars, desks, lockers/cubbies, and backpacks organized.
  Taking Notes Together is a program that can be used to teach students a simple strategy for taking notes in response to a variety of stimuli, including lectures, demonstrations, movies/videotapes, and reading assignments
  Talking Together is an instructional program designed for introducing the concept of learning community to students and for teaching them how to participate respectfully in class discussions.
  Following Instructions Together is designed to teach students concepts and strategies associated with following instructions effectively.
  
  
• Self Advocacy Strategy (IPLAN) is designed for students to use when preparing for and participating in any type of conference, including education and transition planning conferences (such as an IEP or ITP conference). Strategy steps provide a way for students to get organized before a conference as well as effective communication techniques to use during the conference.
  
• Possible Selves is designed to increase student motivation by having students examine their futures and think about goals that are important to them. Students think about and describe their hoped-for possible selves, expected possible selves, and feared possible selves. They set goals, create plans, and work toward their goals as part of this program.
  In research studies, students in the Possible Selves condition scored significantly higher than students in the control group on measures of goal identification. In one study, at the end of six years, the students in the Possible Selves group had earned higher grade-point averages than the students in other groups.
  
• Collaborative Problem Solving outlines the communication skills necessary for establishing a cooperative relationship between two parties and then shows how to incorporate these skills within a problem-solving process that can be used to structure meetings between professionals or between professionals and parents or students. This is especially useful for professionals consulting with teachers about problems they are having with their classrooms.
  
  
• Surface Counseling details a set of relationship-building skills necessary for establishing a trusting, cooperative relationship between an adult and a youth and a problem-solving strategy that youths can learn to use by themselves. Materials include study guide questions, model dialogues, and role-playing activities. Useful for any adult who has daily contact with children and adolescents.

•Strategies related to mathematics (click for description)

• Addition (description)
• Subtraction (description)
• Multiplication (description)
• Division (description)
• Place Value

CONTENT ENHANCEMENT ROUTINES

• Course Organizer Routine is used by classroom teachers to effectively launch a course so that all students in an academically diverse class clearly understand the focus, scope, and purpose of the course as it relates to them. Major components of this routine are such things as the course metaphor, critical course questions, a course map, and course rituals (for example, procedures and expectations for cooperation, norms for behavior, procedures for establishing a learning community). The purpose of this routine is to position the course into a larger perspective for students so they have a clear sense of where the course is headed, what the expectations are, how learning will be accomplished, and how support will be provided.
  
  
• Unit Organizer Routine is used by classroom teachers to introduce a new unit to students such that they see the "Big Picture," understand their assignment responsibilities, understand key relationships within the unit, and understand the coming sequence of instruction. This routine shows how to use a graphic to introduce, anchor, and gain closure on a unit of content that takes one or more weeks to complete. The routine demonstrates how to teach a unit in a manner that will benefit a wide range of students.
  
  
• Lesson Organizer Routine is used by classroom teachers to introduce and structure a lesson for students. The routine helps students frame a lesson with the larger unit and students' previous experiences. The routine also helps students focus on the types of content relationships that are important in the lesson and the types of learning strategies that are likely to be used. Self-check questions and learning-related tasks also are identified so that the students become oriented to the critical outcomes at the onset of the lesson. The Lesson Organizer Routine can be used for a daily lesson or for a lesson that lasts several days.
  
  
• Concept Mastery Routine focuses on how teachers can help students understand and master key concepts within curriculum content. The routine shows how to use a graphic, the Concept Diagram, to identify a target concept, place that concept within a larger framework, explore student prior knowledge of the concept, specify salient characteristics, analyze both examples and nonexamples, and construct a definition of the concept. This routine also actively engages the student in testing a new, previously unencountered item to determine whether it belongs to the target concept group and is designed to teach a concept in a manner that will benefit a wide range of students.
  
  
• Concept Anchoring Routine focuses on how teachers help students connect new concepts to previously learned concepts to increase student understanding and retention of new information. The routine shows how to use a graphic, the Anchoring Table, to present a new, difficult concept using a familiar concept selected by the teacher. Similar characteristics possessed by the two concepts are presented and summarized.
  
  
• Concept Comparison Routine focuses on a way for teachers to help students compare and contrast two or more concepts. A graphic is used to specify two or more concepts and to explore salient characteristics that are not common between or among the concepts. It encourages higher-order thinking as students are guided in identifying larger categories into which the similarities and differences can be grouped. This routine actively engages the student in creating a summary statement that demonstrates understanding about the similarities and differences between or among concepts.
  
  
• Clarifying Routine is used by classroom teachers to help students gain a clearer understanding of the meaning associated with terms, events, places, people, or ideas that are included within the curriculum materials presented in the general education classroom. During the instructional process, the teacher names the targeted term and then highlights critical features that are associated with the term and helps to clarify the meaning of the term. Students are encouraged to form a personal connection or association with the term and to practice using it in a variety of formats. The Clarifying Routine can be used as a review routine or early on in a lesson to establish a solid understanding of a key term, idea, event, place, or person.
  
  
• Framing Routine uses the "Frame," a basic hierarchic graphic organizer that can be used in a variety of ways. Because of its simplicity, it is an excellent "first" graphic to use as an enhancement device.
  
  
• Survey Routine is used by the classroom teacher to provide an overview of a new chapter of a textbook that will be used as a resource in a unit of instruction. The teacher leads the students through a step-by-step process of analyzing the content of the new chapter. During this process, students are required to take notes on a specially constructed worksheet. On this worksheet, students are prompted to paraphrase the title of the chapter, identify relationships between the unit and other textbook chapters, paraphrase the introduction and summaries of the chapter, and identify and organize the key sections and vocabulary of the chapter.
  
  
• Quality Assignment Routine is used in general education classes to plan assignments that all students can complete at a high level of quality, to present assignments to students, to evaluate assignment products, and to give feedback to students. The routine also teaches students how to record assignments, use a strategy called "REACT" to ensure they have all the information they need, set goals, and make a plan for completing the assignment.
  
  
• Recall Enhancement Routine focuses on procedures teachers can use to help students remember information. A broad array of memory strategies are employed within this routine, including keywords, first-letter mnemonics, visual imagery, and rhymes.
  
  
• Question Exploration Routine is designed for teaching students how to explore important questions and to use the knowledge in a variety of ways. Teachers can help students think about content being taught and prepare assessments tools or other ways to measure students’ understanding of the content.