discussion 3

WEEK FIVE INSTRUCTOR GUIDANCE

Welcome to Week Five!! You have spent a good amount of time learning about the assessment process so far in this class.  Last week the focus was on the role of the multidisciplinary evaluation team and the various roles you play as a special educator.  This week we are focusing on choosing and interpreting data for educational decision making. You will get a chance to review several kinds of formal assessment instruments and will help to decide which combination of assessments will give you the data you need. You will also learn how to interpret results to determine whether, under the law, a disability exists.  As noted in week one, assessment results should always drive teaching decisions, as it is from assessment results that the goals and strategies derive.  By the end of this week you will be able to explain how the assessment and evaluation process and results drive the development of the IEP and you will have a beginning understanding of how to interpret assessment results to identify students' present level of performance (PLOP), strengths, and areas of need. Please review pp. 17 and 18 of your text for the eligibility criteria for the 13 categories under the IDEA. This is important enough for you to memorize so please stop now, and take a few minutes to review this crucial information.  Ask yourself, "Do I know, from heart, the 13 categories under the IDEA AND do I know the eligibility criteria under these 13 categories?"  If the answer is "No" then you need to stop right now and go back to that part of the text, review it and make it your own by making flash cards, talking about it, writing it down, or whatever it takes to get this information memorized.  It is crucial in your role as a special educator.

Week Five Discussion Guidance

Is Manuel Eligible for Services?  Being a special educator can sometimes feel like being a detective. Like a detective you will need to take information from many sources, look for patterns, and piece the information and patterns together to arrive at a conclusion regarding your students' learning strengths, needs, and current levels of performance. During the past four weeks of this class you have been learning about Manuel, a student in Mr. Franklin and your class.  Last week you read part I of a Comprehensive Report prepared by the school psychologist assessing Manuel's abilities and achievement in several important areas.  Now you will read Part II of that same report in preparation for your discussion posting which is to post a one page Evaluation Summary of the findings of the Multidisciplinary Evaluation Team.  The information in both parts of the Comprehensive Report, the information you have read about Manuel in the past four weeks, and the information you will read in your text this week will prepare you to write this report. As you read your text this week, pay special attention to p. 316 of your text. I n the section titled "Presentation to the EC by the Special Education Teacher as Educational Evaluator" you will find the information you need for what to include in the Evaluation Summary (Pierangelo & Giuliani, 2012).  This summary will not include any recommendations for accommodations or interventions.  The link below will take you to the Comprehensive Report with both Parts I and II.  Part II is the summary of the results of the assessment by the school psychologist. Comprehensive Report Parts I and II For Week Five Please review the discussion board rubric prior to your initial post to ensure you are fully meeting each of the set criteria to earn full credit.  As per the rubric requirements your initial post should include relevant professional, personal, or other real-world experiences in a manner that is rich in thought and provides valuable insight into the topic.

Additionally, all elements of the discussion board prompt should be thoroughly addressed with strong and precise connections to previous and/or current course content, or to real-life situations.  When substantively replying to your peers’ post, be sure to provide a thorough and constructive analysis relating the response to relevant course concepts that incorporates pertinent follow-up thoughts or questions about the topic, and demonstrates respect for the diverse opinions of fellow learners.

Finally, while it may difficult to do for all the responses to your posts, please make an effort to respond back to those who took the time to respond to your initial posts with at least a simple "Thank you for your response to my posting."  It is the courteous and gracious thing to do, and has the potential to make our classroom community discussions more interesting and rich.  In addition, answering questions posed by your peers invites continued learning, meaningful application, and relevant extension of the discussion.