In preparation for the workshop, you should look over the following websites and be familiar with the information on them. During the workshop, we will be in a computer lab so you will have access to the sites at that time.
http://www.studentprogress.org/families.asp - This is a link to an article entitled “What is Curriculum-Based Measurement and What Does it Mean to my Child?” This is a very reader-friendly explanation of CBM and contains an example graph. Be sure to click on the link to the article at the end of the page for more information.
http://www.specialconnections.ku.edu/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/specconn/main.php?cat=assessment§ion=cbm/main - This site is from Kansas University. The article provides a nice overview of CBM and should serve as a good introduction.
The Nitty-Gritty: You will use these sites to help you build your probes. Just look at them for now and we will look at them again during the workshop.
http://www.interventioncentral.org/htmdocs/interventions/cbmwarehouse.shtml - There are many links here to both information and tools for probes and graphing.
http://www.lefthandlogic.com/htmdocs/tools/cbaprobe/cba.shtml - This is limited in content, but is very user-friendly.
On the Workshop Day:
Your group will be given a description of a student in special education. For the student your group will need to do the following:
1. Describe the academic problem which you will be addressing. There may be multiple problems a student is having, but just pick one for this exercise. For example, a student may have problems with both multiplication and subtraction, but just choose one of them for your intervention plan. Write a brief paragraph describing the problem.
2. Determine an intervention that you will use for the student. For example, if you are working on single-digit multiplication, perhaps you will choose to use Napier's Rods to teach it. Write a brief description of the intervention.
3. Create a set of at least three equivalent CBM probes to use to monitor progress. You may use the tools provided on the websites I have given you, or you may create your own if you are confident that they are equivalent.
4. Draw a chart that you would use to monitor progress and label where you would take baseline, when you intervene, and how long the intervention would last. Again, there are tools for this on the websites, or you may create your own. YOU WILL NOT HAVE DATA POINTS SINCE YOU DON'T HAVE A STUDENT. However, I would like you to indicate the goal point on the chart. Label everything on the chart and write a paragraph description if you think that would be helpful.
What you will hand in:
Hopefully, this can be completed in one class meeting. If not, I will make an announcement toward the end of class to let you know that you will have until the beginning of the next class period to complete the task. You should hand in the following, making sure that all pages are stapled or paper-clipped, and everyone's name is on the product:
a. Paragraph description of the problem.
b. Paragraph description of the intervention.
c. Three CBM probes.
d. CBM chart, labeled, with explanatory paragraph if needed.
Additionally, I request that each of you write a paragraph or so evaluation/critique of the workshop. This can be anonymous, done individually or as a group, but I would like to know if you feel comfortable with the concepts of CBM, with determining interventions, creating probes and graphs, etc.