Peer Tutor Handbook. a Curriculum for High School Students Serving As Peer Tutors to Students with Special Needs
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 396 464 EC 304 843 AUTHOR Hughes, Carolyn; And Others TITLE Peer Tutor Handbook. A Curriculum for High School Students Serving as Peer Tutors to Students with Special Needs. INSTITUTION Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, TN. Peabody Coll. SPONS AGENCY Tennessee Developmental Disabilities Council. PUB DATE 95 NOTE 142p.; Some pages have small, light print and may not reproduce well. PUB TYPE Guides Classroom Use Teaching Guides (For Teacher) (052) Tests/Evaluation Instruments (160) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC06 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Course Content; *Helping Relat!)nship; High Schools; High School Students; Peer Relationship; *Peer Teaching; Role Models; *Secondary School Curriculum; *Special Needs Students; *Tutorial Programs ABSTRACT This curriculum is designed for a high school course in which nondisabled students receive training and act as peer tutors and role models for peers with special needs for one class period each day. An introductory course description covers peer tutor qualifications and requirements, examples of activities with peers, and benefits to peer tutors. A section on the tutor's role offers guidelines on motivation, the tutorial relationship, techniques of tutoring, setting goals, and suggestions for getting to know the tutee. The next section offers ideas and an activity for training peer tutors. A section of course-related forms includes tutor scheeule forms, the record of tutor experiences, tutor evaluation forms, and observation schedules. The following section introduces special education services and covers such topics as current trends, legislation, definitions of key terms, discipline, and misconceptions about individuals with disabilities. The subsequent six sections each address a specific disability area with a variety of materials which include a general information fact sheet, a list of common misconceptions, a rample case study, and relevant article reprints. The six disabilities include:(1) mental retardation, (2) learning disabilities,(3) visual impairments, (4) hearing impairments, (5) speech and language disorders, and (6) autism. (Contains a total of 70 references.) (DB) *********************************************************************** ReproducLions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** tmtit 1,./k4iDnor(-)t\, A Curriculum for High School Students Serving as Peer Tutors to Students with U.S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Off ce of Edocal.onat Reseatch and Improver leo. EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as Special Needs received from the person or organization originating it O Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy Carolyn Hughes, Ph.D. Sarah Lorden, Carol Guth Stacey Scott, Judith Presley Peabody College of Vanderbilt University PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS B EN GRANTED BY .s%..". , 1995 TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER ;ERIC) This manual was prepared with support from the Project Supporting Inclusion of Students with Disabilities in Public School Classrooms, funded by the Tennessee Developmental Disabilities Council BEST COPY AVAILABLE TUTOR HANDBOOK I. Course Description The Tutor's Role III. Sample Activities andLesson Plans IV. Evaluation Forms V. Introduction to SpecialEducation Services VI. Mental Retardation VII. Learning Disabilities VIII.Visual Impairments IX. Hearing Impairments X. Speech and LanguageDisorders XI. Autism References* Bakke, B. L.(1990).Self-injury: Answers to questions for parents, teachers, and caregivers.[Brochure].Institute for Disabilities Studies, University of Minnesota; Minneapolis. Breen, C., Kennedy, C., & Haring, T. (Eds.) (1991). Social context research project: Methods for facilitating the inclusion of students with disabilities in integrated school and community contexts. Santa Barbara, CA: University of California Fulton, L., & LeRoy, C. (1994). Peer education partners.Project Rise and the San Bernadino Unified School District. San Bernardino, CA: California State University. Hallahan, D. P., & Kauffman, J. M. (1994). Exceptional Children: Introduction to Special Education. Sixth Edition. Allyn & Bacon: Boston, MA. Konner, L. (1986).I couldn't read until I was 18. Redbook, 167W. Morgan, S. B. (1986). Early childhood autism. Changing perspectives. Journal of Child or Adolescent Psychotherapy, 3, 3-9. Reber, M. Autism. 407-417. The Governor's Study Partner Program. Tennessee State Department of Education. Nashville, TN. Wheeler, M., Rirnstidt, S., Gray, S., & DePalma, V. (1991). Facts about Autism. [Brochure].Institute for the Study of Developmental Disabilities, Indiana Resource Center for Autism. Bloomington: Indiana University. Whorton, D., Walker, D., McGrale, J., Rotholz, D., & Locke, P. (1988). Alternative Instructional Strategies for Students with Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities: Peer Tutoring and Group Teaching Procedures. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed. Also included in the handbooks are fact sheets with the following information: General Information About Specific Disabilities, from the National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities; Autism from the Autism Society of America; and Common Misconceptions about Autcsm from W. Stone, Ph.D. * The:, references were used for developing the curriculum for the Peer Tutoring Handbooks. T. Course Description Peer Tutoring Course Description Special Education Class Description 5 Peer lutoring Course Description: course # SST5800Y(F)(S) This course is designed to enable students to develop peer relationships while acting as peer tutors and P. ,/e role models for students witlii special needs at McGavock High School. The tutors will receive instruction a. various types of disabilities and learning problems, instnictional techniques for students with disabilities, and ideas on how to help increase the social skills, interactions, and participation of their peers with special needs n the day to day activities at McGavock High School and beyond. Qualifications: Students must have: an interest in the peer tutoring program To be taken as an elective: . an adequate GPA 1/2 credit per semester good attendance 1 class period per day grade levels 9-12 a recommendation from a teacher or counselor Requirements: Students acting as peer tutors will report daily to an assigned teacher of one of the self-contained classes for students with disabilities. The peer tutor, teacher, and tutee will discuss and decide on an activity in which the tutor and tutee will participate. The tutor will be required to keep a daily or weekly journal, complete a weekly written assignment, and complete several reading assignments. Examples of activities for the peers: o visiting the library to read the paper, magazines, or other books - working on library skills, basic reading skills, and social integration and interaction o eating lunch togetherworking on table manners, eating skills, social integration and interaction o academics in the classroomworking on math, reading, or money skills, social interaction, listening skills, writing skills, conversational skills Peer tutors may benefit from this program in the following ways: o they may develop teaching and study sidlls o they will practice academic and social skills o they become advocates and learn valuable advocacy skills o they are provided with realistic career exploration for education or human service profession, and o they gain an impressive extracurricular activity for college applications or resumes General program information: This program has been approved by the Tennessee Department of Education. McGavock High School will be the first Metro school to participate in the peer tutoring program. The program is designed as a step towards the inclusion and integration of all students into the regular day to day activities of McGavock High School. cipatinFaculty: Cheryl Gentry, Bryan Campbell, & Marilee Dye BEST COPY AVAILABLE Team Leader: Gladys Henderson SPECIAL EDUCATION CLASS DESCRIPTIONS Ms. Henderson's Class: The students in Ms. Henderson's class are workingon a variety of skills including, academic, vocational and social skills.All of the students have good communication skills. Some of the students in Ms. Henderson's clas's take classes outside of her class or are mainstreamed. Many of her students have jobs outside of school. Ms. Dye's Class: The students in Ms. Dye's class work on vocational, academic and social skills. The students in her class have good communication skills and also take classes in the mainstream. Ms. Gentry's Class: The students in Ms. Gentry's class are not as "high functioning" as in Ms. Henderson's and Ms. Dye's classes. The skills that the students in her class focus on are vocational and social. some of the students in her classroom communicate using sign language and by other non-traditional means. Mr. Campbell's Class: The students in Mr. Campbell's class have Autism. The skills that they work on include, social skills, communication skills, and some academic skills. The students in this class use non- traditional means of communication. II. The Tutor's Role o Excerpts from the Governor's Study Partner Program from the Tennessee Department of Education In>> cTEM oVILW2-8 '84Tauv (REnA TUTOR'S MANUAL South Central Bell A BEISOUTH Company Tennessee State Departmentof Education 9