Consultation Final Paper
Consultation as a strategy to support positive outcomes in students, classrooms, school systems and communities is widely used and implemented throughout the education system. The purpose of this paper is to delineate some commonalities and differences between three widely used consultation models in the education system: Instructional Consultation (IC), Multicultural School Based Consultation (MSC) and Organizational Consultation (OC). This paper will 1) highlight the unique theoretical backgrounds of each consultation method, 2) discuss existing empirical support for each method 3) compare and contrast these methods of consultation and 4) present a concrete example case through the lens of each of the three models.
Theoretical Background
Instructional Consultation
Instructional Consultation is a consultee-centered, school based consultation process developed by Sylvia Rosenfield. IC addresses academic and behavioral problems of students by specifically targeting the teacher’s instruction; maximizing the academic fit or “match” between the student, task, and the instruction. The most prominent influence in IC’s theoretical background is Len Vygotsky’s notion that it is “impossible to evaluate the individual without also considering other significant people and institutions in the community” (Bjorklund, 2012, 77). This sociocultural theory emphasizes the role that adult (or more knowledgeable peer) interaction plays in a child’s development. In particular, Vygotsky posits that adult instruction is most effective when it comports with the child’s zone of proximal development (ZPD), the “potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more co...
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...r each consultation method is how to deal with resistance and consultee buy in. With IC, buy in is supposedly built into the process, because a consultee comes to the IC team for help and is involved in the assessment process. However, this simplifies buy in to a binary “I believe vs. I don’t believe” modality, when in reality buy in can be complex and involve dissonant and paradoxical beliefs (for example, desiring that the intervention to fail so a child can go to special education and get help while simultaneously hoping the IC process can help the child so they won’t need to go to special education). Also, how does IC account for systemic and multi-layered pressure and resistance from schools where IC is a new process or not well understood? What pre-existing method did IC replace at the school and how might this affect resistance and misuse of the IC process?
Peer tutors are put in leadership positions that oftentimes prepares them for life after their educational experience. Additionally, peer tutors lead their tutees to utilize cognitive thinking skills. Finally, peer tutors assist tutees in development (pg. 4). Lipsky cited Arthur Chickering’s seven vectors of development (pg. 4). Each vector highlights areas of effective social, intellectual or personal development (pg. 4-5). She stated, “As a framework explaining college students’ evolving behaviors and attitudes, Chickering’s model is useful in your peer educator role. Note that the seven vectors overlap and are not linear in nature” (pg. 4).
In this case, teachers must employ other resources and feet collaboration from colleagues. This is where the RTI process comes into place. Messmer and Messmer, (2008) explained that the response to intervention serves as a vehicle to identify and serve students with learning difficulties. On the other hand, several steps should be followed to implement correctly RTI. In my opinion, my school possesses a fair understanding of the RTI process and manages the implementation of a consistent approach that positively affects the student.
Baruth, Leroy G., and M. Lee Manning, eds. Multicultural Education of Children and Adolescents. Needham Heights: Allyn and Bacon, 1992.
We all go into zones where we are uncomfortable, unknowing, and a bit lost. This is especially true to children who are growing and learning more about their life, the environment, and the people around them. This is what Vygotsky refers to as the zone of proximal development. The zone of proximal development measures the child’s level of independent problem solving and potential level of problem solving. If a child is in a class where the other kids are of different colors, eat “weird” different foods or speak a language they don’t understand, they can become unsure of how to conclude correct analysis’ of these other kids and may ostracize or put down these kids. Through the zone of proximal development creates a wonderful gap to where others’ input can greatly influence their thinking.
I cannot recall a more rewarding experience than helping facilitate a child’s education while enabling parent participation alike. These experiences have drawn me to my current position as an Educational Assistant where I am constantly interacting and establishing relationships with students, learning about their goals and aspirations. It is that same desire to empower our future students that has steered me towards a career as a school counselor. By enrolling in the Masters in counseling program, I aspire to develop methods and experience to become an effective, experienced, and adaptable school counselor that promotes self-awareness, allowing students to realize their full potential and impetus them towards a promising future. I want to learn skills that facilitate personal and career development, ensuring that our students grow accomplishing their goals and ambitions. To discover techniques that help students improve in all areas of academic achievement, establishing relationships with students and parents alike. By becoming a school counselor, I am determined to become an advocate for underserved youth. I aim to become an effective agent educational reform, providing support for students in the various institutions that may disempower
Manning, L. & Baruth. L. (2009). Multicultural education of children and adolescents (5th Ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
5. Ponteroto J. et al.( 1995) (ed.) Handbook of Multicultural Counselling, Sage Publications Inc.: USA
As a school counselor, it is important to be knowledgeable about children and adolescents developmental level in order to choose the appropriate intervention. Vernon (2009) mentions in the text that "counselors must also consider developmental factors in conceptualizing problems, in designing or selecting age-appropriate assessment instruments, and in developing interventions that take into account the child's developmental capabilities" (p. 5). The effect that the developmental levels have on the choice of internvention is that it depends on children and adolescents situtation in terms of physical, cognitive, social and emotional factors. When it comes to those factors, School counselors need to be mindful that children and adolescents
I observed Mrs. Linscott’s classroom with three year olds at the East Lansing Child Development Laboratory. Along with the children, there were a few adults to help in the class. I focused on seven main things while observing the children. First, I focused on one child for 15 minutes and took note of their motor, language, and social development. The second thing I observed was how the adults in the classroom interacted with the children. Third, I payed attention to the children’s emotional development. Next, I took notes on the children’s communication and language skills. I also observed the children’s behavior from a Piagetian perspective. Then, I observed how the children’s learning could be shaped by the interactions with the adults.
Even though this increasing awareness of the multicultural issues, many supervisors are not being trained how to deal with this issues in the daily practice. As a school administrator it is important to be a motivator for the teachers that are under your supervision, it is necessary to stimulate enthusiasm in all the staff (McNair, 2011). In order to cultivate passion for a change, even when people has the tendencies of not wanting changes (Glickman, et al., 2014). As humans changes are seeing as other’s plans, sometimes feel that they being imposed to someone else’s plans, when communication it is not establish it is perceived as imposition, something that it is imposed on them, feeling threat if they do not realized what they being told. People perceived different when they feel that they are in control and the supervisor is there to collaborate...
Manning, L.M. & Barruth, L.G. (2009). Multicultural education of children and adolescents (5th edition). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
The cultural diversity in society, which is reflected in schools, is forcing schools not to solely rely on content-centered curriculum, but to also incorporate student-centered lesson plans based on critique and inquiry. This requires multicultural education to a dominant part of the school system, not just an extra course or unit. Further, it demands that learning itself no longer be seen as obtaining knowledge but rather, education be seen as creating knowledge. Multicultural education should be seen as affirming the diversity of students and communities, promoting the multicultural ideas of the United States, and building the knowledge and behaviors needed for students to be a positive and contributing member of society and the global community as a whole.
The world is currently undergoing a cultural change, and we live in an increasingly diverse society. This change is not only affect the people in the community but also affect the way education is viewed. Teaching diversity in the classroom and focusing multicultural activities in the programs can help improve positive social behavior in children. There is no question that the education must be prepared to embrace the diversity and to teach an increasingly diverse population of young children.
Manning, L. & Baruth. L. (2009). Multicultural education of children and adolescents (5th Ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
According to David O. McKay (2013), multicultural education is constructed to prepare pupils for citizenship in a democratic society by facilitating them to take into account the needs of all individuals; it shed light on how issues of language, ethnicity, culture, religion race, abilities/disabilities, and gender are entwined with educational content and processes. A multicultural curriculum is needed to accommodate for diverse learning and teaching styles of facilitators and pupils and to expose biases, stereotypes, and policies that can restrict achievement. What is more, a multicultural curriculum is also needed to help pupils, faculty, and staff become advocates for multicultural awareness, to ensure that content is fair, accurate, and inclusive, and to prepare pupils for diverse workplaces and multicultural environments. In writing this paper, the author will describe key issues of culturally diverse students, recommend a curriculum approach to address the issues, and discuss the challenges and benefits expected. In addition, she will describe three key issues of male and female students recommend a curriculum approach to address the issues, and discuss the challenges and benefits expected. In closing, she will describe three key issues of students with disabilities, who are mainstreamed, recommend a curriculum approach to address the issues, and discuss the challenges and benefits expected.