Special Education/Learning Support

1. Special Education/Learning Support

2. The New Zealand Curriculumand the IEP Special Education/Learning Support

3. The New Zealand Curriculum • What are the elements of the curriculum? • Draw a diagram to show how they fit together. • Compare with another person, and then with page 7 of The New Zealand Curriculum.

4. How do these link to the IEP process? • What would be the major focus areas for an IEP?

5. Some ideas for focus • The following slides show some possible areas of focus for an IEP - under these headings: • Vision • Principles • Effective Pedagogy

6. Vision • Confident • Motivated and reliable • Resilient • Connected • Able to relate well to others • Effective user of communication tools • Actively involved • Participants in a range of life contexts • Lifelong Learners • Literate and numerate

7. Principles • High Expectations • Community engagement • Inclusion

8. Effective PedagogyStrategies for teachers/teacher aides Creating a supportive learning environment • Student is accepted as a group member • Student is an active member of the learning community • Teachers foster positive relationships within learning environments that are inclusive

9. Effective Pedagogy Encouraging reflective thought and action • Relate the learning to what they already know

10. Effective Pedagogy Enhance the relevance of new learning • Explain to student why they are learning • Help student to understand how they will use the new learning

11. Effective Pedagogy Making Connections to prior learning • Build on what student has learned or experienced • Make connections across learning areas and home practices

12. Effective Pedagogy Facilitating shared learning • Have shared activities and conversations with other people, including family members and people in the wider community. • Learning conversations and learning partnerships are encouraged.

13. Effective Pedagogy Providing sufficient opportunities to learn • Encounter new learning lots of times and in a variety of different tasks or concepts • Cover less but cover in greater depth.

14. Effective Pedagogy Teaching as Inquiry • What is important (and therefore worth spending time on) given where the student is at? • What strategies (evidence-based) are most likely to help the student learn this? • What happened as a result of the teaching strategy? • What are the implications for the next teaching?

15. Key Competencies and the IEP These are an important part of the IEP process. Read the following slides. Discuss Do you agree that these are relevant for some students in the IEP process? (Obviously the range is wide) What would you add?

16. Thinking • Ask questions • Reflect on own learning • Making decisions

17. Using language, symbols and texts • Can interpret and use words in a range of contexts • Can interpret and use number in a range of contexts • Can confidently use ICT (including, where appropriate, assistive technology) • Can access information using ICT • Can communicate information using ICT

18. Relating to others • Is able to work effectively in a group • Is aware of how their actions may affect others • Can listen to others • Can share ideas with others

19. Participating and Contributing • To contribute as a group member • Has a sense of belonging to class or group • To be able to participate in contexts outside school • To make a contribution to a social, physical or cultural environment

20. Managing Self • Can manage change in timetable, activities • Can act independently in certain situations • Can look after own equipment • Can manage own hygiene

21. Key Competencies - Evidence • Work in 5 groups. Each group will focus on one of the Key Competencies. • Use the notes you made on the Key Competencies to help you decide what evidence you will use to decide where a student is at in terms of the Key Competency, so that you are able to include it in the IEP and establish next steps. • Share ideas with larger group

22. The Key Competencies Task: Think of a student with whom you work. Identify one thing for each of the Key Competencies that you could include on an IEP. • What can the student do now? • What is the next step? What can they get stronger at/improve? • What help and support do they need to achieve the new goal? • How do the contexts or learning environment help them to demonstrate their competencies?

23. The Exemplar Wheel Graphic – Exemplar Wheel (See slide 25) Reference: Ministry of Education, April 2009. Please note this is a Work in Progress

24. How it all fits together The exemplar wheel was designed to show how the elements of the curriculum fit together. • At the centre of the wheel is the learner. • The innermost ring is the Key Competencies • The middle ring is the Learning Areas • The outermost ring is the features of Effective Pedagogy. • Reference: Ministry of Education, April 2009. Please note this is a Work in Progress