edtpa module 5: addressing students with special needs

The edTPA: Session 5: Addressing the Needs of Students with Special Needs

Hunter College School of Education

A brief legal history

Educa&on for all Handicapped act 1975

Americans with Disabili&es Act 1990 Provision of supports in the most integrated se@ng

Present day Individuals with Disabili&es in Educa&on Act Least Restric&ve Environment (LRE)

Free and Appropriate Educa&on (FAPE)

Individualized Educa&on Plan

Individualized Education Plan

Provided to students who fall under one of 13 diagnos&c categories

Individualized goals for each student

Related services Occupa&onal Therapy, Physical Therapy, Speech Therapy, Counseling, Para educator…

Supplementary aids and services Examples: Modifica&ons to curriculum, Assis&ve Technology, Copy of class notes, Large print

materials, Exams read aloud…

A little information about 504 plans

Students may have a 504 if they have a disability which does not impact their learning enough to be covered under IDEA, but s&ll requires accommoda&ons

These accommoda&ons might include such things as extended &me, refocusing and redirec&on, ques&ons read and re phrased, and color coded materials

Response to Intervention (RTI)

RTI is a mul& level support system designed to offer degrees of interven&on to all students

RTI process includes universal screening

Struggling students are provided with interven&ons and monitored Tier 1-‐ High quality instruc&on, screening a group interven&ons

Tier 2-‐ Targeted interven&ons

Tier 3-‐ Intensive interven&ons, Comprehensive evalua&on

Be masters of content

Be flexible in delivery of instruc&on

Be willing and able to collaborate

Knowledgeable about human difference

Hold high expecta&ons for all of our students regardless of the label they have been given

To Reach and Teach Students with Disabilities one must:

Having students with disabilities in our classrooms …

Is o]en an eye opening experience as these children o]en force us to be the best teachers we can be

Opens up the classroom to en&rely new perspec&ves within our curriculum

Forces us to find new ways to teach familiar topics

Demands that we consider all the ways we influence each other as human beings

Shows us that intelligence is far from linear

Helpful Perspectives for Planning:

Differen&ated Instruc&on Content

Process

Product

Universal Design A proac&ve stance

Eye on the “big picture”`

A few more perspectives for planning

Blooms Taxonomy Six levels of ques&oning

Simple to complex

Gardner’s Mul&ple Intelligences Everyone possesses varying types of intelligence

Good instruc&on taps on several of these

And for instruction:

Building on student strengths

Use flexible groupings

Gather frequent feedback

Evidence-‐based clearly defined objec&ves for all students

Facilitate meaningful engagement

Assessment should involve:

Forma&ve assessments-‐ ongoing and frequent

Summa&ve assessments-‐ to assess growth over &me

Evidence of differen&a&on

Well designed rubrics

Students with gifts and talents

According to the Federal Government, “Gi]ed and Talented” is described as:

“Students, children, or youth who give evidence of high achievement capability in areas such as intellectual, crea&ve, ar&s&c, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who need services and ac&vi&es not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop those capabili&es.”

Students with gifts and talents

In New York, a mandated learning plan, like an IEP or 504 plan, is not required for gi]ed students

Frequently, you will have students who have been iden&fied as gi]ed and may have already mastered the learning segment and central focus you intended to teach.

Remember, just because a student is iden&fied gi]ed in math, does not necessarily mean he/she is gi]ed in all subject areas.

Likewise, many students with disabili&es can also be considered gi]ed and talented

Some approached to working students identified as gifted and talented

As these students may vary in terms of their speed, depth of engagement, and interest in curriculum topics, they may need specialized approaches to instruc&on—such as providing opportuni&es to

Vary learning ac&vi&es, including choices

Demonstra&on of learning in mul&ple ways

Stories, plays, a video, a booklet and so on

Offer choices through curriculum compac&ng

Pre assessment to assess curriculum mastery

Op&on for addi&onal inves&ga&ons if mastery is present

Develop their academic, ar&s&c, and leadership strengths through

Self directed learning: problem finding and problem solving

Elaborate, complex, and in-‐depth inves&ga&ons into areas of student interest

For more informa&on, please see: The Na&onal Associa&on for the Gi]ed Website at www.nagc.org

Task 1: Planning for Instruction and Assessment

Be clear about instruc&onal objec&ves Align plans with standards and IEP goals Prepare to support with scaffolds

Connect with focus learners’ strengths and needs Prepare graphic organizers Prepare sentence starters Be ready with differen&ated materials

Appeal to different learning styles with a mul&sensory approach

Task 2: Instructing and Engaging Students in Learning

Teacher candidates are required to consider:

Which instruc4onal strategies support the development of a skill

How instruc4on can be differen4ated by readiness, interest and or learning style

Various instruc4on supports communica4on skills

… and how instruc4on builds on strengths to build competence in areas of weakness

Instruc&on builds on strengths to build competence in areas of weakness

Task 3: Assessing Students’Learning

At least one of the students (in your 3 submimed student work samples) must have specific learning needs

1. Iden&fy the area of concern or area of struggle Interpreta&on of text

Crea&on of wrimen document

Computa&onal or procedural

2. Show how you used feedback to shape your approach to this child’s areas of struggle Provide an alternate text

Provide a graphic organizer

Connect skill to area of interest of student

Provide procedural support or alternate approach

3. Demonstrate progress toward curricular goals

Complete the chart below to summarize required or needed supports, accommodations, or modifications for your students that will affect your

instruction in this learning segment

Students with Specific Learning Needs

IEP/504 Plans: Classifica&ons/Needs

Number of Students Supports, Accommoda&ons, Modifica&ons, Per&nent IEP

Goals

Example: Visual Processing 2 Close monitoring, large print text, window card to isolate

text

Example: ADHD 4 Refocusing and redirec&on, preferen&al sea&ng, posi&ve behavior support plan, tes&ng

in separate loca&on

Example: Learning disabled 3 Graphic organizers for wrimen work, extended &me,

ques&ons clarified, direc&ons read aloud

Complete the chart below to summarize required or needed supports, accommodations, or modifications for your students that will affect your instruction in

this learning segment

Students with Specific Learning Needs IEP/504 Plans:

Classifica&ons/Needs Number of Students Supports, Accommoda&ons,

Modifica&ons, Per&nent IEP Goals

Example: Au&sm 1 Posi&ve behavior support plan, test in small group se@ng, allow

for answers to be given via computer, special ligh&ng

Example: ADHD 3 Provide copy of class notes, test in separate loca&ons, ques&ons read, direc&ons clarified, calculator use

Example: Hearing loss 1 Personal hearing device, Personal FM system, Extra &me for processing informa&on,

preferen&al sea&ng, note taker

Spotlighting Adolescent Learners

Strategies we have suggested so far are equally applicable across the grade 1 through 12 curriculum. To state the obvious, each depends upon the context of the classroom and each student’s needs.

That said, it is worthwhile to spotlight adolescent learners—as they face an increasingly complex and demanding curriculum with ach passing grade.

One simple approach is to ask yourself what you may need to change. Is it the rate, the volume, or the complexity?


RATE –

Can you increase or decrease &me demands of the task?

VOLUME –

Can you increase or decrease the number or length of the task?

COMPLEXITY –

Can you increase the complexity of the task?


BE STRATEGIC:

Do you need to provide an ACCOMMODATION or an INTERVENTION?

Accommoda&on = go around a problem area to help the student complete a task

Interven&on = deliberately target a problem area to help the student prac&ce specific skills that he or she needs to build up.

For more informa&on: see “Teaching Every Adolescent Every Day: Learning in Diverse Middle and High School Classrooms” by Deshler, Schumaker, Harris, & Graham.

Resources on Inclusion of Students with Disabilities – page 1 of 3

hmp://arisecoali&on.org/ Coali&on to support inclusion of people with disabili&es

hmp://www.inclusion-‐ny.org/files/nyctaskforce-‐book.pdf Free booklet on Inclusion in New York State

hmp://www.bcatml.org/POT/inclusive.pdf Ar&cle on Inclusive Educa&on

hmp://www.inclusion.com/resliteracy.html Webpage of School Resources on Inclision

hmp://teachingld.org/about/ Teachers of students with learning disabili&es

www.casel.org Social and emo&onal learning for students preschool to high school.

hmp://www.powerof2.org/ Focus on teacher collabora&on. hmp://www.cldinterna&onal.org/ Council for learning disabili&es

Resources on Inclusion of Students with Disabilities 2 of 3

hmp://www.disabilitystudiesforteachers.org/ Disability studies for teachers (curricula and materials)

hmp://www.disabilityisnatural.com/ Disability is natural

hmp://www.inclusion.com/inclusionpress.html Inclusion Press

hmp://www.inclusiondaily.com/ Interna&onal Disability Rights New Service

hmp://idea.ed.gov/ Building the legacy of IDEA hmp://www.museumofdisability.org/ Museum of Disability

Resources on Inclusion of Students with Disabilities: Texts from SPED 308/708

Resources on Inclusion of Students with Disabilities: Documentaries Include…

Final Tips and Take Aways:

Operate from a strengths based perspec&ve

Work on targeted areas where growth is needed

Use strengths to build competence in all areas

Solid interpersonal skills-‐ collabora&ve style

Must be familiar with informa&on in an IEP

Lesson plans must feature possible accommoda&ons

This has been a collaboration between:

Diane Linder Berman, Adjunct Instructor

Dr. Elissa Brown, Dis&nguished Professor, Gi]ed & Talented

Dr. David J. Connor, Professor, Learning Disabili&es

Dr. Laura Baecher, Assistant Professor, TESOL