Refer to Claxton's IEP text and a Journal Article on IEPs (this journal can be used
for your JA Review) and explain two pros and one potential con of a student's
Individualized Education Plan. Include your own experience with these (have you
written one, been a part of an IEP meeting, read one, never have seen one, etc.),
and explain what you foresee your role to be in the future with IEPs.
Respond to another's post in which you were able to glean insight or were able to
provide information/strategies/tips in this IEP process.
Remember to include at least 400 words in the original thread with an in-text
citation (from the workbook and/or journal article) and at least 250 words in the
response post with an in-text citation (from the workbook and/or journal article).
Include a Reference section with the IEP Workbook and the Journal Article
included.
With the right IEP team an Individualized Educational Plan can be very
helpful for a special education student. We often think of successful students coming
from wealthy schools, but studies show that the most accurate predictor of student
achievement is the extent in which their family is able to create a home environment
that encourages learning, express high and realistic expectations, and involvement
in their child’s education (Claxton, 2018, p. 21). The great thing about a student’s
IEP is that the process actively involves the parents to help make decisions. With
training, parents can become teachers at home to encourage their student to learn
and read. I have personally been able to sit in on a few IEP meetings through work
and can contest that the parents are a very important part of the IEP team and
process. The IEP meetings help parents connect with the school to assess the
student’s needs, address any problems, understand how the plan will be
implemented, and gain knowledge on how to work on the IEP goals at home.
Another great aspect about IEP’s are that they are essentially a thorough
evaluation of a special education student. The IEP takes into account the present
level of academic achievement and functional performance, creates measurable
annual goals, assesses the least restrictive environment, states who is responsible
for what services, used for assessments, and includes a transition plan (Claxton,
2018). Working as a substitute paraprofessional, the IEP is one of the most useful
documents for me because it contains all the information that I need. Often times
when I sub for a student who does not have a sub plan I will look at their IEP goals to
determine what sort of work is realistic and applicable to them.
Although IEP’s can have many benefits some teachers and parents express
that there are downfalls to them. In a study of 426 teachers from suburban school
districts in central New Jersey, results showed that teachers “felt that the IEPs
themselves could be improved if they were shorter with student-specific, critical
information that was more relevant to classroom instruction” (Rotter, 2014). Since
IEP’s are like a thorough evaluation they tend to be lengthy and packed full of
information. From my experience, IEP’s are very long and often redundant. Teachers
in Rotter’s study also expressed that they would like IEP’s to be simplified and
information to be tailored to their classroom (2014). I believe this would be a clever
idea so that more teachers, aids, and other school personnel would be more apt to
using the IEP.
Reference
Claxton, B.L. (2018). Planning, writing, and implementing IEP’s: A Christian approach.
Dubuque, IA. Kendall Hunt. ISBN: 9781524952938.
Rotter, K. (2014). IEP Use by General and Special Education Teachers. SAGE Open,
4(2), 1-8. DOI: 10.1177/2158244014530410
