SPED 779 Assignment 2b Approaches to Learning and Teaching

For this assignment, you will create/describe a child with a learning

challenge and describe the method that you would use to address the
problem.
There are four approaches that are discussed in Chapter 2:
Applied Behavior Analysis
Cognitive Strategy Instruction
Sociocultural Theory
Schema Theory
Directions:
Describe a student with a specific learning challenge, select one of
these approaches and describe the way that approach would be
implemented to meet that challenge in the context of a single lesson.
Finally, justify your choice.
Student Name:
Sam
Present level of performance in (select one) reading, math, or social
skills.
Math- Sam does not like to do math, he is often touching the people
around him, talking out of turn or getting up and doing other things
during math time. Sam loves playing on the computers.
Learning Approach:
Applied Behavior Analysis
Implementation of your chosen approach (If I were observing you teach
a lesson to your target student using this technique, what would I see?)
:
During Math time Sam has 5 tokens on his desk. Each token represents
2mins of computer time. Every time Sam is off task he gets a token
taken away from him. Off task behaviors are described as any time
Sam touches the people around him, talks out of turn or gets up and
does other things during math time. At the end of Math time and Sam
has finished any work given to him during Math time he gets to turn in
his tokens for time on the computer.
Justification of your choice (why did you choose this one instead of the
other three):

I choice Applied Behavior Analysis because this is the area in which I

have my first degree. I really believe that this method is effective in
teaching children with learning disabilities, behavioral issues, working
with children who have any type of disabilities, and even when working
with typically developing children. I choice to use a response cost
method because while at KU one of the grad-students I worked with at
KU when I was a research assistant did his study on response cost vs.
token systems. He found that the children showed a preference to the
response cost system.

Tip:
The passage about Ms. Neal and her students on p. 40 of your
text is a good description of how the teacher used cognitive
strategy instruction with a group of students. For this
assignment you will be addressing the need of only one
student for only one lesson.