CMC

Content Mastery Center

Since the passing of House Bill 72 and because of programming needs for the leaning-disabled identified in the literature, consultative teaching models and services have gained much attention recently. The Content Mastery Program is such a model that advocates uniting the expertise of regular and special educators to provide the best education possible for the learning disabled student.

The Content Mastery Program is designed to assist identified learning- disabled students to achieve their maximum potential in the mainstream. There are two underlying principles of the program that are essential to its success: (1) LD students can learn and succeed in the mainstream with appropriate accommodations and support. (2) To be successful in the mainstream, the LD student may need special help in all areas – not just reading and/or math.

The CM model is a problem-solving model, constantly analyzing student performance in the mainstream. The Content Mastery Teacher (CMT) works with the regular education teacher to match the demands of the class with the skills of the student.

The CM program is more than "a little extra help." The CMT is proactive – obtaining lesson plans, materials, etc., ahead of time to plan a quality support system for both the regular education teacher and the student. Increased stimulus variation is offered to students by utilizing as many different strategies as necessary to teach an objective.

The Content Master Teacher (CMT) offers a wide variety of services to the regular classroom teacher which provides the academic support necessary for LD students to master curriculum objectives.

Services include, but are not restricted to, the following:

Taped textbooks.

Highlighted materials (textbooks, worksheets, etc.)

Reading test to students and/or assisting teachers with test adaptation.

Help with a packet, worksheet, written assignment, or anything involving textbooks.

Study group for exams (before and after school).

Discussing individual student’s strengths and weakness with regular teachers.

Monitoring student progress and placement.

Aiding in student organization.

Vocabulary files for mainstreamed courses.

Supplementary materials for courses, such as laminated microscope, maps, etc., to practice labeling.

Modified materials.

Test-taking skills.

Strategies with develop "study skills independence."

Problem-solving between regular and special education teachers.

Developing student responsibility and good study skills.

The student may leave his/her classroom and go to the CMC when independent student work is being done. The student may not use the CMC during the teacher’s direct instruction, class discussion, group work, lab, or a film. Examples of when a student might use the CMC during class would be:

1. When working independently.
2. When the student is assigned to read a chapter in class.
3. When students are studying for a test or a test is being given.

The time spent in the CMC can vary from ten minutes to the entire class period, depending on what the student needs to accomplish.