Special Education

Special Education

Instruction Success • WHAT/WHERE/WHEN/WHY? • All classrooms (reg. ed., collaboration, resource); • On all assignments (classwork, cooperative groups, tests/quizzes, homework, SOLs) • Beyond the classroom; • Across all domains (physical, cognitive, social/emotional, communication, and adaptive); • Self-Esteem, develop strengths, develop a sense of purpose, gain skills for real world challenges, What? Where? When? Why?

Strategies for Success Opportunity • Provide Opportunities for Success; • Provide a variety of differentiated activities and assignments; • Activities/Assignments must start at a level where success can be achieved; • Activities/Assignments need to be challenging but achievable; • Help must be woven into learning; • Build on student’s strengths • Give opportunities for students to use their talents Challenging Achievable Differentiated Variety

Strategies for Success Cont… Motivating • Give opportunities for students to use their talents; • Make learning relevant to their lives; • Encourage students to take academic risks (if at once you don’t success, try, try again); • Set realistic expectations; • Convey positive and high expectations (this work is important, I know you can do it; I won’t give up on you); • If students experience failure (we all do) encourage, help, and guide them to success Confidence Purpose Meaningful Assistance

Strategies for Success Cont… Encourage • Set clear expectations geared towards success; • Set High standards that are realistic; • Evaluate the student’s progress; • Help student develop personal goals; • Students need to believe that success (achievement) is possible; • Help students believe that they are in control of their success, not fate or luck or home environment; • Help students build positive self-images; Guide Evaluate Reinforce Realistic

Strategies for Success Cont… IEP • Use accommodations developed for each student; • Evaluate the success of those accommodations; • Change accommodations as needed; • Modify the assignments (not content) as needed; • Assess why and where success isn’t occurring; 504 Plan Accommodations Modifications Intervention

Success Killers Cont… Negativity • Negative class atmospheres; • Negative feedback; • Identifying students weaknesses in front of the class; • Offhand remarks; • Demeaning comments; • Robbing students of the chance to think for themselves; • Ignoring Success; • Punishing the student for failure; • Refusing to acknowledge that a student’s disability does affect his performance; Inadequacy Failure Giving In Struggling

Collaboration Definition • An effective team that works together; • Equal partners in planning, teaching, and assessment; • Combined resources that strengthens teaching, learning opportunities, methods, and effectiveness; • Goal is to provide students with appropriate instruction, classwork, homework, and assessments so that each student is learning and participating in the classroom process Team Sharing Integragted Effective

Collaboration Roles • WHAT DOES EACH TEACHER BRING TO THE TABLE? • General Education Teacher: • Content Specialization; • Teaching Techniques; • Knowledge of the Learning Process; • Resources; • Expertise in Many areas; Responsibility General Ed. Special Ed. Seamless Integration

Collaboration Roles • WHAT DOES EACH TEACHER BRING TO THE TABLE? • Special Education Teacher: • Assessment and Adaptation Specializations; • Teaching Techniques; • Knowledge of the Learning Process; • Resources; • Expertise in Many areas; Responsibility General Ed. Special Ed. Seamless Integration

Collaboration Effective • WHAT IS NEEDED FOR EFFECTIVE COLLABORATION? • Teachers need to work together – willingness to share responsibility and resources; • Equal partners; • Administrative support – staff developments, motivation, and guidance in setting goals; • Joint and On-going Planning; • Combined Resources; • Commitment by teachers, principals, central office, and the community; Successful Challenging Commitment Seamless Integration

Collaboration Models 1Teach – 1Observe • One individual (generally the stronger of the two teachers in the content or subject being taught) handles all instruction while the other teacher floats or observes the class. • This model can be useful when completing student observations for IEPs or Functional Behavioral Analysis (FBA), but does not really allow both teachers to add to the classroom. • Pros – Minimal coordination or collaboration is needed when planning; Allows the stronger teacher to 1Teach-1Assist Station/Rotation Parallel Alternative Co-Teaching

Collaboration Models 1Teach – 1Observe • Pros: • Minimal coordination or collaboration is needed when planning; • Allows the stronger teacher to deliver quality instruction without interruption; • Can conceal weaknesses on behalf of a weaker partner in general or on a particular subject • Cons: • Does not fully utilize each instructional specialist; • Can create behavior/authority issues; • Can create frustration or contempt issues among peers 1Teach-1Assist Station/Rotation Parallel Alternative Co-Teaching

Collaboration Models 1Teach – 1Observe • One teacher instructs the class while the other teacher manages behavior or assists individual students as needed. • Pros: Allows a teacher who may be instructionally strong to deliver instruction without interruption • Cons: Does not make full use of two instructional specialists; can establish one teacher as the ‘bad cop’ resulting in negative feeling towards the behavior manager • Example: While one teacher delivers the lesson, the other teacher walks around rewarding, prompting, redirecting, helping 1Teach-1Assist Station/Rotation Parallel Alternative Co-Teaching

Collaboration Models 1Teach – 1Observe • Each teacher plans and is responsible for a different aspect of the lesson, or for a different lesson entirely. • There may also be independent work provided for the students. Students are divided into two or more groups depending on how many 'stations' are available, and either students travel from center to center or students stay in one position and a teacher or work travels to them. 1Teach-1Assist Station/Rotation Parallel Alternative Co-Teaching

Collaboration Models 1Teach – 1Observe • Pros: • Each teacher can independently plan for an area or lesson of strength; • Each student is exposed to similar material, but groups can be differentiated by level; • Makes good use of two teachers for management purposes; • Cons: • Requires excellent timing, which takes practice; • Requires management of students working independently; • May be logistically difficult depending on your classroom space 1Teach-1Assist Station/Rotation Parallel Alternative Co-Teaching

Collaboration Models • The class is split in half and each teacher takes a half of the class to teach the same lesson. Students all receive the same material.. • Pros: • Provides a smaller group and thus more individual attention • Can provide control for socially-based behavior problems between students • Cons: • Requires excellent timing, which can take practice; • Requires collaborative planning • Can be difficult to invisibly differentiate in a smaller group • Requires that each teacher be equally strong in the material to be presented 1Teach – 1Observe 1Teach-1Assist Station/Rotation Parallel Alternative Co-Teaching

Collaboration Models 1Teach – 1Observe • One teacher teaches the main lesson to a larger group of students while the other teacher works with the smaller group of students on an • entirely different lesson. • Pros: • Provides excellent differentiation opportunities; • Provides a chance for remediation or enrichment for students who need it; • Can provide behavior control in the smaller group 1Teach-1Assist Station/Rotation Parallel Alternative Co-Teaching

Collaboration Models 1Teach – 1Observe • One teacher teaches the main lesson to a larger group of students while the other teacher works with the smaller group of students on an • entirely different lesson. • Cons: • Must not 'pigeonhole' one group of students by consistently pulling them together • May reduce the efficacy of inclusion by separating students with special needs • May reduce students' exposure to the general education curriculum 1Teach-1Assist Station/Rotation Parallel Alternative Co-Teaching

Collaboration Models 1Teach – 1Observe • Both teachers plan and deliver instruction together, with each teacher equally responsible for the material in the lesson. This can be scripted or spontaneous. • Pros: • Models an excellent respectful working relationship between adults; • Allows both teachers to provide perspective on a topic; • Can allow teaching of two strategies or ideas simultaneously; • Promotes respect for both teachers; 1Teach-1Assist Station/Rotation Parallel Alternative Co-Teaching

Collaboration Models 1Teach – 1Observe • Cons: • Requires a rapport that cannot be rushed or faked; • Requires meticulous planning together, which can be time-consuming 1Teach-1Assist Station/Rotation Parallel Alternative Co-Teaching

Reasons For: Content Delivery • We are required to provide students with LRE; • We are required by VDOE to have teachers at the MS and HS to be endorsed in the content they are teaching (very few are); • Combined resources that strengthens teaching, learning opportunities, methods, and effectiveness; • We need to increase the number of special education students passing SOLs (modified diploma is being eliminated); • Disabled students have the same right to quality content instruction as nondisabled students LRE Quality Instruction Consistency SOLs VDOE

BRAINSTORMING Increase • - Ideas Generated Scheduling Models Limitations

RECOMMENDATIONS Flexibility • Changes: Service times for collaboration services on IEPs will no longer be for the entire class period but will be cut in half or less depending on the IEP team; • Ideas to Ponder: • One teacher can rotate between 2 classes during one class period to provide needed services; • Most K-2 students can be in the general ed setting with minimal pull out services; • If assignments are modified, some students can be in gen. ed. Classrooms without collaboration; Scheduling Blend Models Limitations

RECOMMENDATIONS Flexibility • Ideas to Ponder: • Consider staggering scheduling times regarding content areas between grades; • Brainstorm with specialists Scheduling Blend Models Limitations

Special Education