Teacher's Guide to Peer Tutoring

A successful peer tutoring program in special education classrooms depends on teachers recruiting dedicated and dependable students who have positive attitudes and the desire to help others. Once peer tutors are selected, teachers must then provide training, monitor progress, manage schedules, address challenges, and evaluate the peer tutors' efforts. This guide together with the Peer Tutor Student Handbook (purchased separately) are designed to help teachers develop and maintain a successful and mutually rewarding peer tutor program. "I had the pleasure of observing the Peer Tutoring program developed by Dr. Styer and Suzanne Fitzgerald. This is an amazing program that promotes awareness of individuals with disabilities as well as provides peers the skills needed to support and develop friendships. The way this program is structured allows for these skills to generalize across the school environment and models friendships and the acceptance of others." Dr. Nicole Bain, Psychologist and Autism Expert Together, Candice and Suzanne have over 40 years of teaching experience in special education and have developed peer tutor programs in every classroom they've worked in. Their peer tutoring model of reverse inclusion maximizes peer interaction in natural and appropriate ways. They were inspired to share their experiences recruiting and training peer tutors knowing the positive effects that these programs have on both special education students and the general education students who work as peer tutors. "I became a peer tutor because I want to be a special education teacher when I grow up. My favorite part of the job was getting to know the kids. Having this experience made me grow as a person." Chrissy, Peer Tutor This manual contains a teacher's copy of the Peer Tutor Student Handbook, a companion book available for purchase for each peer tutor. The Teacher's Guide to Peer Tutoring belongs to Styer-Fitzgerald Publishing's line of outstanding educational products, including the Styer-Fitzgerald Program for Functional Academics. Unique among special education curricula, the Styer-Fitzgerald Program provides a comprehensive approach to teaching functional skills to students with mild, moderate, and severe disabilities, including autism. For more information about the entire line of Styer-Fitzgerald products, visit the website at www.styer-fitzgerald.com.

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Notă biografică

Candice Styer, Ph.D. and Suzanne Fitzgerald, M.Ed. Candice Styer has worked in special education for over 30 years. She received her teaching certification, M.Ed., and Ph.D. at the University of Oregon. Dr. Styer has developed the content in The Styer-Fitzgerald Program for Functional Academics throughout her career with an emphasis on the vital mix of research-supported best practices and classroom practitioner experience-based wisdom. She developed the life skills assessment and curriculum over the last 30 years while teaching middle school and high school students with moderate and severe disabilities. She currently trains school districts to administer the assessment and implement the curriculum. She has trained teachers and paraprofessionals in the areas of Transition Planning, Behavior Management, and Curriculum Development. She has been an adjunct faculty member in teacher training programs at the University of Oregon, Western Washington University, and Seattle Pacific University. In addition to her years in the classroom, she has worked as a consultant/trainer for the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (CARD) at the University of South Florida. She was the Special Education Director for Lopez Island School District and has worked as a case manager for the Developmental Disabilities Department. Suzanne Fitzgerald has worked with children and adults with developmental, physical, emotional, and behavioral disabilities in classroom, vocational, residential, and recreational settings for the past 21 years. She received her BA in Human Services from Western Washington University and her Teaching Certification and M.Ed. from the University of Washington. She was a middle and high school special education teacher for the Snohomish School District. Suzanne began collaborating with Candice on the Styer-Fitzgerald Program for Functional Academics as she entered the special education program at the University of Washington. Recognizing the unique value of the material, she worked with Candice to standardize and refine the content and structure and has added complementary material from her own work in the field. Suzanne is co-owner of Specially Designed Education Services (SDES) where she specializes in providing training/consultation related to programming for students with multiple disabilities. She serves as a Project Partner with Washington Sensory Disability Services, assisting children with significant disabilities including deaf-blindness.