EDUC 521 Discussion Board Forum 2
Education has expanded and grown significantly throughout the course of history. Not
only has education grown, but so has the population. The growth of population comes from
culturally vast and diverse backgrounds. It is due to this that Barrio et al., 2017 suggest that
“developing culturally responsive and relevant IEPs is becoming increasingly more important as
the student population becomes more diverse” (p.114). It is this very concept that supports the
necessity of differentiated instruction so that every student is able to learn effectively.
Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) are designed to support students with special needs by
creating a plan that will best help the students learn and succeed.
One pro to the formation of an IEP is that a signification amount of time is necessary to
collect and analyze data, evidence, and assessments that will ultimately set a successful
foundation for each individual student to achieve in the general education curriculum (Claxton,
2018, p. 42). The more time that is spent researching and clarifying, the more likely an effective
plan can be set into motion. An additional pro to the IEP is the element of a team, including
parents, who are present to support the student and include any input that might further benefit
the student’s growth (Barrio et al. 2017, p. 117). When parents are including and participative in
their own child’s learning, positive results will most likely occur. This is one element that I have
been able to observe in my currently school setting, where there is quite a lack of parental
involvement. Those students who have the blessing of parents involved in their education have
demonstrated better grades, as well as better behavior.
While a great deal of time being spent on the creation and attention to an IEP can be
perceived as a pro, the implementation in the classroom can be perceived as a con. This
especially rings true when a classroom has several students with an IEP. The educator is then
expected to differentiate instruction based on each individual student’s IEP. In the specials
classroom setting, this particular element can seem quite daunting, especially when there are
several students with IEP’s in the classroom. Students with IEPs are given various extras in the
curriculum to assist them, which may detract from the students without learning disabilities. This
particular element is quite apparent in my personal classroom.
Personally, I have had very little interaction with regards to IEP’s. I have taught in the
public education system for about five years, now. In that time, I have had access to viewing the
IEP’s of each student that has one implemented and is on my roster each marking period. A lot of
times, an instructional assistant comes to my class with the student(s), helping me in any
capacity, making any necessary modification recommendations if asked. I have been to a few IEP
meetings; however, I have not been able to see the complete process. The IEP team, with an
attending parent, typically only asked for observations of the student in my classroom.
Afterward, I get sent back to teach my regular class, and the meeting resumes without me. As a
current specialist teacher, I see just about every student with an IEP in my school; however, I
only see them for one marking period out of the school year, every other day (this totals to about
22 days).
I am unsure of what my role in the future will be, in regards to IEP’s. I do know that I
intend to continue teaching music after completion of my master’s degree. My primary person of
this degree is to further my understanding with elements that are more heavily involved in the
regular classrooms, as I believe this will better my approach as a teacher in the specials area.
Based on past experience, it is safe to assume that I will continue partaking in IEP meetings, as I
previously have.
Barrio, B. L., Miller, D., Hsiao, Y., Dunn, M., Petersen, S., Hollingshead, A., & Banks, S. (2017).
Designing Culturally Responsive and Relevant Individualized Educational
Programs. Intervention in School and Clinic,53(2), 114-119.
doi:10.1177/1053451217693364
Claxton, B. L. (2018). Planning, writing, and implementing IEPs: A Christian approach.
Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt
