Precision Teaching by USU School of the Future

Precision teaching is a teaching strategy that keeps students engaged in responding--which research confirms improved learning. The application of the strategy results in:

Decreases student learning transitions;

Reduces teacher learning and increases time spent by teachers monitoring student responses;

Increases average percentile 19 to 40 points

Special Education/Resource Children Learning Techniques

This demonstration project will serve the 7% to 10% of our children who are designated as having a learning disability and are usually assigned to a special education program.

Students are removed from their regular or special education class for about 30 minutes each school day for 7 to 9 months where a trained teacher's aide supervises them in a series of brain based activities that correct the neurological problem that is blocking their learning.

Traditional special education classes return less than 10% of the youth to the regular classroom over their k -12 history. This intervention, called the Intercept Program , will permanently exit over 50% of the students from special education by the end of the first year.

Students in the study will gain an average of 33 percentile points in the year of the study as determined by pre and post Stanford Achievement tests and will maintain that level or higher in subsequent years.

If adopted state wide, this Intercept Program could save the state of Utah over 200 million dollars over five years , as projected in an independent study conducted by the CPA firm Lake, Hill & Myers.

No changes are anticipated in regular or special education classrooms. Intervention will be provided by a trained teacher's aide and the youth will then be returned to the classroom with no special attention required.

English as a Second Language - Accelerated Learning

This demonstration project removes youth from the normal classroom who have few or no English speaking skills.

Following a 6 month immersion program in English, American Heritage and Public Speaking these students emerge with sufficient English skills to succeed in an English speaking classroom and quickly catch up with their class. This compares to a minimum 2 to 3 years to achieve this goal in our current programs.

This project is being successfully used in a large Texas school district, staff from which will come to Utah and train Utah teachers in the use of this model.

The use of this intervention will help Utah schools meet the requirements of the No Child Left Behind standards.

The intervention model was developed at the University of Houston from an international model developed by Dr. Lozano who received a United Nations award for his contributions to education.

Teachers trained in Accelerated Learning will find that the use of these skills also improves their teaching in other subjects.

The regular classroom will not be changed since ESL youth will be in a separate class during the demonstration project.

It is anticipated that class size will be reduced sufficiently to allow one or two of the teachers to specialize in delivering this program.

Special training will be provided to the selected teachers over the summer.

Students at Risk - Brain, Behavior & Improvement

This demonstration project serves youth at risk, usually already placed in an alternative school environment.

The project employees a substance abuse intervention model that has been used successfully in Utah with delinquent youth. Half of these youth were still crime free for at least 2 years following the intervention.

The project also deals with the nutritional issues that inhibit learning, especially with substance abusers.

This project saves considerable future costs for these youth, many of whom would otherwise end up in expensive youth or adult correctional institutions.

It also directly addresses a problem that consumes 11.7% of Utah 's total state budget (over 500 million dollars) each year. Shoveling up after the impact of substance abuse.*

Our sub-contractor in this area is a leader in environmental medicine who has successfully used a similar program with patients contaminated by their environment.

We are also looking at other environmental issues that impact learning in our schools.

This demonstration project will not impact the regular classroom since all interventions are external to classroom operation.

* Shoveling Up: The Impact of Substance Abuse on State Budgets, A 2001 study by the National Center on Addiction & Substance Abuse, Columbia University , http://www.casacolumbia.org

The Electronic School - Study Technology

This demonstration model is implemented through Utah 's Electronic High School that currently enrolls over 15,000 students.

The model uses a study methodology that is the foundation of the school in Utah that consistently has the highest SAT scores in the State, above the 90 th percentile.

Obtaining these skills allows a student to become an independent learner who can tackle any subject.

Making it available through the Electronic High School makes it accessible to all of Utah 's students.

The speedy expansion of other classes offered through the Electronic High School can help Utah meet some of the challenges it faces from the rapidly increasing enrollments projected over the next 10 years.

It costs less than $25 per class per student through the Electronic High School compared with $500 for a traditional class.

No direct impact on the traditional classroom except that a student's study ability will improve and learning will accelerate.

As additional youth take advantage of classes available through the Electronic High School , enrollment growth can partially be absorbed.

Improved student performance tends to improve overall behavior, reducing time consuming disruptive activity.

Reading and Math Remidiation -
IndiVisual Learning

This demonstration project serves youth who are falling behind in math and reading but who are not in special education classes. The 20 to 50 percentile group that are usually overlooked.

Very creative computer programs, developed by a Minnesota firm, are used to bring these students up to speed after 40 lessons.

Results are guaranteed or there is no cost.

Actual cost for math are $30 per student, $100 per student for reading, a fraction of the costs of traditional remedial tutoring which usually exceeds $500 per student.

The software fits easily on existing school computer platforms and is easy to learn. No additional hardware is needed.

Initially serves youth from 4 th through 8 th grades where Utah 's reading and math scores traditionally fall furthest behind nationally.

Little impact on the traditional classroom since youth can take the lessons in computer labs or at home on the internet without significant supervision and teacher and student can learn the software in 30 minutes.

A CBE operated classroom accelerates the rate of learning for all students. The unique method allows teachers to lighten their workload as they spend more of their time working with individual students or small groups of students. Each student can master competencies at his or her own optimal speed. The time saved by accelerating the education of the students can be used to assist other students or provide enrichment learning experiences.

CBE joins with Learning Support Systems (explained below) to create an excellent learning situation for each student.

LSS is built to support competency based education (explained above). LSS allows the teacher to more closely track, assess, and evaluate each student's progress. It links the teacher, student, parent (plus any mentor) and provides each with helpful feedback. The LSS creates a paperless classroom, decreasing administrative requirements and costs. The results shown in LSS evaluates the effectiveness of other intervention programs being used and it guides continues improvement of all educational components. It also provides a cost-benefit analysis.

In addition, LSS provides a learning map to guide students and keep them organized and on task. It provides variety for each student, in learning materials, sources, and mediums. The results of the learning are immediatly tracked and available for analysis.

Conclusion

Each of these demonstration projects helps remove the blockages that deter students who are not responding in the normal class room. Each project:

Has the potential to save money both in the short and long term.

Solves one or more of the vexing problems faced by public educators.

Brings Utah closer to meeting the requirements of the No Child Left Behind standards.

Renders a student better able to achieve their maximum learning potential using our Competency Based Education - Learning Support System Centerpiece.

Has minimal impact on the existing classroom and most do not require extensive training of professional staff.

Existing computer hardware in the average Utah school should be able to absorb the requirements of the three demonstration projects that require electronic resources.

Will be demonstrated in a district or school that is selected because of their desire to participate and will be directed by a local steering committee composed of parents, students, teachers, principals, and district staff.