Special Education Assessment and IDEA Principles
Assessment Terminology
Basal: Set of consecutive items answered correctly.
Ceiling: Set of consecutive items answered incorrectly.
Norm-Referenced: A test that compares a student’s performance to others at the same grade or level.
Test Administration Fidelity: Record yourself administering the two tasks to an adult who will respond like an elementary-aged student.
Principles of Screening and Progress Monitoring
Screening: Assessments used to determine if students are at risk of failing. Provides predictive
Read MoreUnderstanding Genetic Theory: Mendel’s Laws and Inheritance
Understanding Genetic Theory
The initial genetic theory suggested that offspring characteristics were a blend of their parents’ traits. The goal was to create individuals with the combined advantages of each parent through artificial selection, repeated until pure traits were achieved.
Mendel’s Experiments with Peas
Mendel, interested in understanding how traits are transmitted between generations, began experimenting with peas in 1856. He focused on crosses involving pure lines, each with a single
Read MoreVocabulary Expansion: Uncommon Words and Definitions
Uncommon Words and Their Definitions
- Singular – Exceptional; unique; unusual
- Skirmish – A fight between small numbers of troops; a brief conflict
- Skittish – Nervous; easily startled; jumpy
- Slake – To quench; to satisfy; to assuage
- Solace – Consolation; comfort
- Solidarity – Sense of unity; a sense of sharing a common goal or attitude
- Sophomoric – Juvenile; childishly goofy
- Sordid – Morally vile; filthy; squalid
- Sovereign – Supreme ruler; monarch
- Spate – A sudden outpouring
- Specious – Something that seems correct
Engaging Children with Action Stories and Storytelling
Action Stories and TPR Techniques
Action Stories or TPR Stories: Children can participate in stories using TPR (Total Physical Response) with a few simple techniques. They can:
- Mime the story as it is read/played on an audio device.
- Perform pre-arranged actions when they hear key words read out.
- Listen and stand up when a character speaks or acts.
- Look and point to key illustrations/frames of the story.
These actions will make the story come to life and help the children internalize the language.
Action
Read MoreMiguel Hernández: Imagery, Themes, and Social Commitment
Image and Symbol in the Poetry of Miguel Hernández
Miguel Hernández’s poems in his formative years (1924-1931) showcase images taken directly from his environment in Orihuela. In the words of José Luis Ferris, these include the lemon and the well. He speaks of erotic desire in the guise of pastoral poetry. In Perito en lunas (1933), symbols include the bull, representing sacrifice, and the palm, an element of the Mediterranean landscape. In El rayo que no cesa (1936), the main theme is love, and
Read MoreUnderstanding Morality: Life, Ethics, and Values
The Moral Life and Thought
Experienced morality is what people and societies do daily. Ethics is the reflection on moral concerns that philosophers undertake. Morality is life, while ethics is moral philosophy.
What Does It Mean to Be Moral?
Morality is not a science, but a dimension of individuals and societies. This moral dimension involves action and purpose:
- Acquiring good manners.
- Forging a character from which to devise and plan one’s life.
- Being trained to respond appropriately to any challenge.
Socrates and Plato: Influences, Ideas, and Society
Socrates and Plato: Intellectual and Moral Foundations
Socrates / Plato: Apart from intellectual influences, Socrates is the model of a man who is just, good, and places morality above all circumstances. The Seventh Letter says that Socrates was, the fairest of men. Although Socrates was not the only philosopher that influenced Plato, he is the most important and the star of all dialogues except the last (The Laws). Before Plato was a pupil of Socrates, he was influenced by the sophist Cratylus,
Read MoreDemand Management and Forecasting: Key Concepts and Applications
Demand Management vs. Forecasting
The primary difference between demand management and forecasting: Demand management is proactive, while forecasting attempts to predict.
Economic Order Quantity (EOQ)
Alpha Company places 10 orders per year with its supplier. Each order is for an amount exactly equal to the EOQ: $500
Strategic Demand Planning
Strategic demand planning would best be utilized: To decide whether or not to close a manufacturing plant.
Forecasting Model Performance
Zanda Corp. has been testing
Read MoreAccounting Principles: Fixed Assets, VAT, and Financial Instruments
Accounting Principles: Key Concepts
Here’s a breakdown of key accounting principles related to fixed assets, VAT, and financial instruments:
Depreciation of Fixed Assets
The function of depreciation for a fixed asset is to systematically and irreversibly allocate the initial expenditure over its useful life.
Intangible vs. Tangible Fixed Assets
False Statement: Only tangible fixed assets are involved in the company’s production process.
Costs Incurred and Tangible Asset Value
Costs incurred on tangible
Human Identity, Genetics, and Evolution: A Scientific Perspective
The Problem of Human Biological Nature
The question of human identity leads to questions about our nature and origin. These questions have been raised repeatedly for over 150 years without a satisfactory answer. Today, human identity and origin remain a mystery. Until the nineteenth century, answers were religious and scientific, however, they had remained unchanged since they were based on tradition and dogmatism. Since then, modern science has taken up the solution to these issues, revealing the
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