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ESE645: LESSON DESIGN FOR STUDENTS WITH MILD TO MODERATE DISABILITIES

Instructor Guidance

Week 2

 

“You’ve got to think about the ‘big things’ while doing small things so that all the

small things go in the right direction.”

 

Alvin Toffler

American Writer and Futurist

(Author of Future Shock and the Third Wave)

Welcome to Week Two of ESE645:  Lesson Design for Students with Mild to Moderate Disabilities.  Please be sure to review the Week Two homepage for this course to see:

· The specific learning outcomes for the week

· The schedule overview

· The required and recommended resources

· The introduction to the week

· A listing of the assessments

Next, be sure to read this entire Instructor Guidance page.

Overview

Recall that in Week One you explored key concepts such as the importance of ongoing informal assessment for student performance, Common Core State Standards and accommodations and modifications. You also had your first experience in developing a lesson using the lesson plan template.  This week, you will begin to practice making evidence-based recommendations for students with mild to moderate disabilities.  You will also learn about writing individualized education program (IEP) goals and what requirements there are to individualizing these goals for students.   As part of the Week One Instructor Guidance, you were encouraged to review the weekly homepages for the course and take note of the assessments each week. Now is an appropriate time to revisit the Week Six Final Project instructions and Grading Rubric to be sure you understand the scope of what you will do in that assessment and how your participation in each of the weeks supports your success.

Intellectual Elaboration

Bianca Henderson Bianca Henderson is a fictional student who attends Mr. Franklin and Mrs. Mill’s classes on a daily basis.  She is a student who has previously been identified as having a moderate disability.  Through the IEP team process, she has been found to be eligible for special education and related services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).   As you have learned by your review of each week’s assessments, you have multiple opportunities to practice applying up-to-date special education principles and strategies toward the development of lesson plans that incorporate Common Core State Standards (CCSS), individualized education plan (IEP) goals, effective assessment practices, and evidence-based strategies for promoting self-determination skills for a variety of classroom settings with students with mild to moderate disabilities.  In order to do this beginning in Week Two, you must have a clearer idea of Bianca’s needs, interests, strengths and weaknesses that have been identified and agreed upon by her IEP team.  Like another fictitious student in which you have previously worked with, Manual, Bianca has a different profile. Please review  Bianca's present levels of academic achievement and functional performance (PLAAFP)

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 to familiarize yourself with her profile. Evidence-Based Instructional Strategies “The best teaching practices for general education students are often best teaching practices for students with mild disabilities” (Henley, Ramsey, & Algozzine, 2009, p. 256).  What is important to note is that the opposite of this statement is often true as well. The key to providing the most effective instruction is to identify, plan, and successfully implement instructional strategies that can change school failure to school success. Cohen and Spenciner (2013) explain research-based practices which is also know as evidence-based practices as referring to “a body of research that support the effectiveness of teaching methods, strategies, therapies, supplemental aids, and services in the classroom” (p. 4).    IDEA also requires that schools use programs, curricula, and practices that are based on “scientifically-based research” as much as possible.  (Evidence-Based Practices at School: A Guide for Parents | Reading Rockets, n.d.).  The following  website (Links to an external site.) can be a useful tool as you progress through this week’s activities. Writing SMART goals After the IEP team has drafted and agreed upon the student’s present level of performance (PLOP), the team is charged with developing measurable goals that are related to each identified area of need. The student’s previous IEP will also be a source of information for the new goals.  These new goals will drive the instruction because they are based on the individualized needs of the student and are connected to state standards and the general curriculum.

Figure 3.  The IEP process in special education.  This visual shows the steps involved in developing an IEP.  Source:  http://mast.ecu.edu/modules/siep/concept/ (Links to an external site.)

Since IEPs are required to be revised at least once per year, the goals that are written must also comply with this timeline.  Annual goals are related to needs resulting from the student’s disability that directly affect their involvement and progress in the general education curriculum (Training on Writing IEP Based on State Standards: Services & Resources (CA Dept of Education), n.d.). Annual goals are goal statements that:

· Describe an improvement from the measurable current level of performance.

· Reflect an area of need that is related to progress in the general education curriculum.

· Include a measurable level of attainment.

· Describe conditions under which the student will perform.

In other words, measurable annual goals are statements that describe what a student can reasonably be expected to accomplish within a 12-month period of time.  Objectives, also known as benchmarks, are smaller portions, or steps, of the goal. They provide the scaffolding for the student to meet the goal as projected at the end of the one-year period of time.   Measurable annual goals should include the following:  

· The student (WHO)

· Will do what (BEHAVIOR)

· To what level or degree (CRITERION)

· Under what conditions/timeframe  (CONDITIONS)

SMART is an acronym to help you develop goals that meet these

Figure 5.  SMART goals chart.  This visual provides an easy way to understand the component parts of an IEP goal. Source: http://studentsuccess.unc.edu/setting-goals/

· SPECIFIC:  The goal includes clear descriptions of the knowledge and skills that will be taught.  

· MEASURABLE:  This means that the skill can be counted and will allow parent and teachers to know how much progress the child has made over a specific period of time.

· ATTAINABLE:  The goals must be a reasonable estimate of the child’s ability to attain.

· RELEVANT:  The relevant goals must address the child’s identified needs that result from the disability and are not based on the curriculum or other tests.

· TIME-BOUND:  The goals must be limited by time. Most often, the 12-month period is used.  This allows you to monitor progress at regular intervals of time.

Here are several examples of properly formatted annual goals:

Annual Goal Examples

Given 100 high frequency grade level vocabulary words, Charlie will correctly spell a minimum of 75/100 on four out of five times tested on weekly quizzes by December 15, 2015.

By March 8, 2017, Curtis, given a literary passage will be able to complete a graphic organizer and identify format, text, structure and main idea with 85% accuracy.

During unstructured play-time, Sarah will interact with peers in an appropriate manner through maintaining personal space and a respectful voice for an average of 80% of intervals, measured over a two week period no later than February 14, 2017.

By the annual date of October 26, 2016, given a penny, nickel, dime, and a quarter, Alan will math coins to their corresponding value on eight out of ten attempts as measured by teacher data sheet.

When becoming agitated or upset with a peer, Nicole will identify personal behaviors that may contribute to a conflict on 80% of opportunities across three consecutive days as measured by personal charting, teacher observation and counselor data collection by November 12, 2017.

 

Wellner, L. (2015) Annual Goal Examples. Bridgepoint Education, CA.

Assessment Guidance

This section includes additional specific assistance for excelling in the discussions for Week Two beyond what is given with the instructions for the discussions. If you have questions about what is expected on any discussion for Week Two, contact your instructor using the Ask Your Instructor discussion before the due date. Discussion 1:  Providing Accurate and Evidence-Based Recommendations This discussion is an opportunity for you to demonstrate your mastery of Course Learning Outcome 3: Integrate evidence-based strategies for teaching students with mild to moderate disabilities in various classroom settings. For this discussion you will again refer to Bianca’s profile above in order to make evidence-based recommendations for Mr. Franklin and Mrs. Mills.  You will also consider teaching routines and environmental factors that will positively affect Bianca’s learning.  Providing a justification for your recommendation is also required where you will use the multiple resources available to you in your course, this week’s Instructor Guidance, previous course websites or resources and others that you have found as part of your own self study. Your Guided Response allows you the chance to agree and also to disagree with others in this course.  As educators, we have our own style of planning, designing, and implementing instruction.  What might work for one professional may not work for another, although collaborating and being open to new ideas is part of engaging in teamwork.

References

Cohen, L. G., & Spenciner, L. J. (2013). Teaching students with mild and moderate disabilities: Research-based practices. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall. Evidence-Based Practices at School: A Guide for Parents | Reading Rockets (Links to an external site.). (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.readingrockets.org/article/evidence-based-practices-school-guide-parents Henley, M., Ramsey, R. S., & Algozzine, R. (2009). Characteristics of and strategies for teaching students with mild disabilities. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson No Child Left Behind: Research-Based Instruction - Wrightslaw (Links to an external site.). (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.wrightslaw.com/nclb/rbi.htm Training on Writing IEP Based on State Standards - Services & Resources (CA Dept of Education) (Links to an external site.). (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/se/sr/ieptraining.asp Wellner, L. (2015) Annual Goal Examples. Bridgepoint Education, CA.