Montour School District, Pennsylvania

The targeted area of need in the school in Montour is improving study skills, specifically those of middle school students with special needs who are served in general education settings. The Linking Agent selected this topic because many middle school students faced challenges with studying and retaining information in preparation for more intense coursework in high school. Her goals for the year included obtaining school and district approval of her plan, because she is attempting to collect the data and conduct training and evaluation in conjunction with her doctoral studies program. She spent much of the summer and fall of 2000 creating an action plan and completing a proposal review from her doctoral advisor. She has been very careful about setting realistic and clear goals for the project. She says, "I think that implementing this study takes time and needs planning." Thus, her goals for this year included selecting the specific interventions, identifying teachers with whom to work, and training teachers to use the interventions. Initially, the intervention will be targeted to those students taking geography, and then perhaps more teachers will find it useful and adapt it to suit their content requirements.

The Linking Agent has explored several strategies to use with textbooks, and she has decided to focus on mnemonic techniques. Her activities have included discussing the various interventions with teachers, getting buy-in from other school and district personnel for the project, and selecting a sample of students. She hopes to meet bi-monthly with the teachers to help them prepare for the new strategies their students would be learning through sessions with her.

back to top