W5d5

Transition Planning

All Sections

Greetings, 

As we are discussing daily living skills and transition planning this week, I wanted to provide some additional information.   A transition plan is legally mandated by IDEA (2004) and targets the transition from high school to post-secondary school activities.  A transition plan is generally discussed by age 14 and must be implemented and a critical aspect of the IEP by age 16.  Here is a great resource (bookmark worthy) that highlights the value of "Post-Secondary Goals" and options for transitional planning 

Postsecondary Goals

These goals state what your child wants to do or achieve after high school. Goals can be in four areas:

· Vocational training (e.g., learning a trade) 

· Postsecondary education( e.g., college or other schooling)

· Jobs and employment 

· Independent living (depending on student need)

https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/special-services/ieps/iep-transition-planning-preparing-for-young-adulthood

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ESE634: EDUCATION-BASED COLLABORATIVE RELATIONSHIPS

Instructor Guidance

Week 5

Welcome to Week 5 of ESE634: Education-Based Collaborative Relationships!  Please be sure to review the Week 5 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.

It is important to note that the Instructor Guidance has been developed to directly compliment the learning outcomes in each week of this course.  Supplemental resources are also included in the Instructor Guidance. You are encouraged to consider using these resources to support your completion of the weekly assessments beyond using the required and recommended resources provided on the weekly unit homepages and in the consolidated list of resources on the Course Materials page. Thus, you are strongly encouraged to review the Instructor Guidance each week as part of your study plan. Not only does the Instructor Guidance offer you insights and assistance with the weekly topics and activities, it models effective academic writing, which is expected of you in all of your coursework in this graduate-level course.

Overview

In Week 4 we investigated the different service delivery models, noting the strengths and weaknesses, and the variety of roles for team members who provide collaborative academic support for students with disabilities. After this broad investigation, you focused on the role of co-teaching, which is one of the most common forms of collaborative service delivery models. This week you will be introduced to transition services for students who are moving from school-based instruction to that of the workplace or adulthood.

Intellectual Elaboration

Transition This week we will delve into the topic of transition.  Transition, according to Cohen and Spenciner (2009), is “a process that enables children and youth with disabilities to move easily, efficiently, and successfully from one school grade to another and from school to work and the community,” (p. 500).  Transition is especially important as children move from one school to the next, such as preschool to elementary school or middle school to high school.  The term “transition services” is typically used to refer to the services that are built into a student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) no later than age 16. These services and supports are meant to transition the student from high school to work, postsecondary education, and/or the community. The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) of 2004 defines transition services as a “coordinated set of activities for a students designed with an outcome-oriented process, that promotes movement from school to post-school activities, including postsecondary education, vocational training, integrated employment, continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living, and community participation” (Sec. 300.18).  As a professional with the field of education, you may be wondering what the “coordinated set of activities” mentioned above means. Cohen and Speciner (2009), state that these activities must:

1. be based upon the individual student’s needs, taking into account the student’s preferences and interests; and

2. include

a. instruction

b. community experiences

c. the development of employment and other post-school adult living objectives, and

d. if appropriate, acquisition of daily living skills and functional vocational evaluation (p. 470).

The transition team is typically made up of IEP team members, the parent(s)/guardian(s), and the student.  Other members, according to the National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (1999), may include:

· transition specialists

· vocational rehabilitation counselors

· job coaches

· social workers

· college counselors

· community recreation professionals

· technology specialists

· potential employers

· professionals who provide services that support independent or residential living

Transition efforts should be centered on the needs, interests, and preferences of the student. It is important that students have self-determination and self-advocacy skills so that they can play an active role in their own transition from school. These concepts will be explored in greater depth in ESE 645- Lesson Design for Students with Mild to Moderate Disabilities. For a strong example of the potential success of a strong transition program, view the following video.  https://youtu.be/qxO3p_VeiGo

Assessment Guidance

This section includes additional specific assistance for excelling in the assessments for Week 5 beyond what is given with the instructions for the week. If you have questions about what is expected on any assessment for Week 5, contact your instructor before the due date. Discussion: Within this discussion, you are asked to assume the role of a member of a transition team: general education teacher, special education teacher, vocational educator, administrator, or job coach. If you are currently a general or special education teacher, it would behoove you to take on a different role so that you can gain the understanding of a different point of view. Once you have identified your role, you will choose one of the Life Centered Career Education (LCCE) transition categories. For a more in depth description of the LCCE categories, please see the supplemental document.  In your initial post, be sure to respond based on your character and remember that you are explaining the LCCE category and resources to Kara, the special education student, and her mother. Your language should be easy to understand and you should avoid education lingo with which they may not be familiar. For each of the resources that you identify, you need to cite and annotate each one. For help writing an annotation, see the APA Guidance section located within the Learning Resources tab of our course. You may also reference the following example: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/614/01/ (Links to an external site.)  . For your guided response, you must choose the role of Kara, her mother, or a different member of the team. You will respond from the perspective of your character.  

Looking Ahead

The assigned work for this week was intentionally decreased as compared to Weeks 1 through 4 so that you would be allocated time to work on your Final Project. Please take the time to continue crafting your final your final project.  

Recommendation

The MASE program provides the opportunity for you to create an online portfolio that can be used in your career development and professional practice. Throughout the program you will have various assessments that can be included in this e-portfolio and these will be finalized in the last course of the MASE program, Capstone course, ESE699. You may select this assignment and subsequent coursework to include as artifacts. Therefore, it is strongly encouraged you save your coursework on a flash-drive (e.g., a USB removable drive) or store in a cloud-based option such as Dropbox, Google Drive, or other similar applications.

References

Brolin, D. E. (1997). Life-centered career education: A competency-based approach. Reston, VA: Council for Exceptional Children.

Cohen, L. G., & Spenciner, L. J. (2009). Teaching students with mild and moderate disabilities: Research-based practices. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. 

Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, Pub. L. No. 108-446, 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq. (2004).

National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (1999). Transition planning: A team effort. Washington, DC: NICHCY.