School psychologists are responsible for designing, implementing and evaluating evidence-based interventions to improve student’s cognitive and academic skills. Upon evaluating the biological, cultural and social influences on behaviour, psychologists are able to make appropriate recommendations for their student’s program planning. It is also essential that school psychologist be aware of cultural differences in order to make recommendations that reflect the diverse nature of the classroom.

Self-Reflective Statement 

Throughout my formative training in school psychology I have benefited from the training in evaluating the social, emotional and biological causes for children’s behaviour. This is an essential aspect of the psycho-educational assessment process as it involves conceptualizing all the various aspects that make up a child’s development. By the time I have completed my training, I will have completed practicum and internship hours in 3 different locations with a divers population across the varied practicum placements. This has given me the opportunity to be exposed to working with different populations including those from different socio-economic statuses and cultural backgrounds. I feel that while I have made some gains in this domain, the vast majority of my experience as been in a private practice setting. In the context of working with individuals from various backgrounds I will draw on my previous experience as a classroom teacher as I worked in a very low income, high needs school where I experienced working with individuals from all over the world who had many different belief systems, backgrounds, language and cultural differences than me. It was a learning experience to navigate working with such a diverse population, an experience that will serve me in the future working with clients from all different aspects of life.

While this article is referring to specific learning disabilities in reading, it is important to apply this theory to all interventions when you are designing program plans for students. There is not one template for interventions that will fit the mold of every child, and the intervention plan needs to be targeting the individual needs of the child.

Reference

Duff, J., & Clarke, P. (2011). Practitioner Review: Reading disorders: what are the effective interventions and how should they be implemented and evaluated? Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 52 (1), 3-12.

Summary

This article review the most effective forms of intervention for two developmental reading disorders, dyslexia and reading comprehension impairment. Because the different reading disorders are identified by different behavioural characteristics and traced back to different underlying cognitive impairments, the interventions designed to address each of these reading disorders differ in content. There is strong evidence for the effectiveness of phonological-based reading interventions in supporting children with dyslexic difficulties, and a growing understanding of how to meet the needs of children with reading comprehension impairment, with vocabulary instruction offering a promising approach.

How Article has Informed Practice

This article has impacted my practice by encouraging me to tailor my recommendations for interventions and strategies to meet the specific needs of the students, rather than a template for intervention without looking at the root cause of the reading disability. By reading about the most effective interventions for dyslexia in comparison to reading comprehension, the students that I work with will have a greater chance for improvement.

Reference

Hanich, L. (2011). Motivating students who struggle with mathematics: An application of psychological principles. Perspectives on Language and Literacy, The International Dyslexia Association, 41-46, Spring Edition.

Summary

Much research has been done looking into math disorders focusing on the cognitive causes such as deficits in number sense and computational fluency. The article states however that there has been less research on the other factors that contribute to math delays such as motivation and avoidance behaviours have been less documented. The author states that maladaptive motivational profiles might play a large role in children’s functioning in mathematics and interventions targeting maladaptive behaviours such as task-avoidance and learned helplessness demonstrate research-based interventions with positive outcomes.

How Article has Informed Practice