2013 Teacher Academy
Presentation
by
Beth Randolph
And
Jennifer Spark
Engaging Students With Learning Differences
Early On
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52sT5Euthg4

Compliance required by law

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Amendments of 1997 and Individuals with Disabilities Education
Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA 2004) and No Child Left Behind
Act of 2001(NCLB)

IDEA and NCLB require that all students with disabilities,
including students with most significant cognitive disabilities,
participate in state and district-wide assessment and have access
to the general curriculum.

One of the most significant changes in the requirements is that
students with disabilities receive access to the general education
curriculum.
Under the law, student with disabilities must:
(1)
Have access to the general education curriculum
(2)
Be involved in the general education curriculum
(3)
Progress in the general education curriculum
The Benefits of Access

Providing opportunities to access a challenging academic
curriculum render positive educational benefits to students with
significant disabilities (Towles-Reeves & Kleinert, 2006; Thurlow
& Case, 2004)

Teachers who incorporated learning standards into their
instruction cite unanticipated gains in students’ performance and
understanding levels (Towles-Reeves & Kleinert, 2006; Thurlow &
Case, 2004)
What does involvement in the general education
curriculum mean?
IDEA ’97 states that students with disabilities must be
involved in the general curriculum, and the law includes
several requirements that help explain this involvement.

(1) ensuring that the student’s IEP goals address how the student
will be involved in the progress in the general curriculum

(2) specifying in the student’s IEP (individual educational plan)
appropriate supplementary aids and services, accommodations,
modifications, or supports that will help the student be involved
in and progress in the general curriculum to the maximum extent
appropriate

(3) explaining in the student’s IEP why he or she will not
participate with children without disabilities in the regular
classroom
A student’s IEP must state how the student’s disability affects his
or her involvement in and progress in the general curriculum and
must contain measureable annual goals (including benchmarks or
short-term objectives) that address how the student will be
involved in and progress in the general curriculum. In order to
help align IEP goals with the general education curriculum also
requires that the student’s regular education teacher as well as
representatives from the district who is knowledgeable about the
general curriculum be a member of the IEP team.
Accommodation is a curricular, environmental, or testing
adaptation that does not fundamentally alter the general
curriculum, lower the standards, or change the construct being
measured on a test.
The purpose of an accommodation is to level the playing field.
Modification is a substantial adaptation that results in a
fundamental alteration.
Decisions as to which supplementary aids and services,
accommodations, modifications, or supports are appropriate for
a particular student are made on an individual basis by the IEP
team.
It is important that these decisions do not substantially lower
curriculum standards and thus deny students access to the
general education curriculum.
The approach should be to create, from the beginning, a
curriculum with built-in supports for diverse learners.
What does “progress” in the general curriculum mean?
It is not enough for students with disabilities to participate in the
general curriculum. The law also requires that the IEP address
progress in the general curriculum. This involves three parts:

(1) measuring the student’s progress in reaching IEP goals

(2) including students with disabilities in State and districtwide assessments, with appropriate accommodations, where
necessary

(3) developing State performance goals and indicators and
providing reports on progress toward meeting these goals and
indicators
Autism NBC Interview
JJ’s Journey
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqv8c3iKFYU
An IEP is a blueprint to specialized instruction that is aligned with the
state standards-providing access to the general education curriculum
with appropriate supports and services.
Starting point for all students: Grade level standards (TEKS)
Specialized instruction is DATA driven
S=Specific-based on the student’s Present Level of Academic Achievement
and Functional Performance (PLAAFP)
M=Measurable-progress is objectively determined at frequent data points
A=Achievable-realistic, related to the most critical needs
R=Results-oriented-developed with a standards’ outcome in mind
T=Time Related-clearly defined beginning and ending dates
The Steps to Accessing the Curriculum

Identify the most basic concept that the content standard defines
(the essence or the intent of the standard)

Define the outcome of Instruction

Identify prioritized outcome for your student.

Focus on what student needs to learn academically and
functionally to be successful

Reduce the complexity level-student may be working on
accessing the pre-requisite or entry-level skills related to the
standard

Identify the supports needed
(Adapted from Clayton, Burdge, M., Denham, A., Kleinert, H., & Kearns, J. 2006)
Instructional Activities
Identify instructional activities that will:

Promote active participation and move student toward achieving
prioritized outcomes

Build on student’s strengths
Remember to:

Be cognizant of student’s current skills and how they are
demonstrated

Adapt the activity and instructional techniques

Select supports to facilitate meaningful participation
(Adapted from Clayton, Burdge, M., Denham, A., Kleinert, H., & Kearns, J. 2006)
Important Questions to Ask

What adaptations and supports are being provided to students
with moderate to severe disabilities to access the general
education curriculum?

How are the adaptations and supports designed to make them
student-specific and activity-specific?

How are they implemented?

What techniques, tools, and technology are being used in the
different content areas?
What Does IDEA Require?
According to Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA),
the use of supplementary aids and services to enable children
with disabilities to be educated with non-disabled children to the
maximum extent appropriate are required.
These include accommodations, assistive technology, electronic
and information technology, Universal Design for Learning (UDL),
and curriculum modifications.
UDL Multiple Means of Representation
Information is presented in various formats, at different levels of
complexity and to address different learning styles.
Examples: representational objects and picture symbols paired
with text; simplified summary of a story or content passage;
interactive documents created with multi-media tools; powerpoint presentations
UDL Multiple Means of Engagement
Various opportunities are provided to engage student’s interests,
offer appropriate challenges, and increase motivation.
Examples include:

Using photos

Using video clips

Providing auditory, visual, and tactile cues

Providing simplified text
(Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST)
http://www.cast.org/research/udl/index.html
Multiple Ways to Respond
Offer multiple ways for the students with the most significant
disabilities to respond
Responses can be indicated through:
Eye gaze
 Eye blinks
 Vocalizations
 Body orientation
 Facial expressions
Fixation on or tracking an object


Acknowledge any and/or all of these ways
The Lesson Framework to Provide Access

Transform instruction using a structured process offered by the
‘Lesson Framework’ incorporating UDL principles

Be cognizant of student’s current skills and how they are
demonstrated in designing instruction
What will the ‘Lesson Framework’ do?

Provide general education curriculum access

Promote active participation and move student toward achieving
prioritized outcomes

Build on student’s current strengths instead of focusing on the
student’s deficits and limitations
The Lesson Framework
Component Elements
1.Student Profile with current capabilities and needs
2.Materials(adapted) and supports needed
3.Designing instructional activity(using UDL)

Delivering instruction in multiple ways
—

Creating multiple opportunities to engage student

Providing a variety of formats for student to respond
—
4.Systematic Instruction
5.Adaptations (teaching techniques )and supports
6.Multiple activities for generalization
7.Linking standards-based IEP objectives
8.Progress monitoring (Re-teach? Modify strategies?)
Standards-based IEP

Standards-based IEP is a newly emerging strategy in developing
IEP goals and objectives.

—he general education standards provide the framework to build
T
the individualized goals and objectives for students with
disabilities.

S—tandards-based IEP will facilitate meeting the legal mandates of
access to general education curriculum and participation in state
and district-wide assessment for students with significant
cognitive disabilities.
Pointers for Instruction and Assessment

Physically guiding a student through the task does not provide
information on student learning

Intensive prompting may be important during early stages of
learning new concepts

Phase out physical guidance gradually

Proceed from least to most intrusive prompting

Focus on student demonstrating independence and problem
solving skills
Monitoring Progress

Maintain regular documentation (data collected 2-3 times a
week) showing evidence of progress with the lesson and the IEP
progress data

Conducting a data probe(refer to book, pg.) will help to check
for student’s understanding and learning of the targeted
objective and if teaching has been effective

Data collection measures could be: Checklists or frequent data
probes on individual skills, photos, video clips, and/or anecdotal
records, etc

Correct and incorrect responses along with the level of prompts
should be noted accurately and immediately
I CAN SOAR: SEAN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0U7m6UtQ1E
TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/
Group Activity
Alan is a 2nd grade student who has been diagnosed as severely dyslexic. His
current independent reading level is comparable to students at the sixth
month of kindergarten. He has a cognitive processing deficit in the area of
Auditory Processing. All other cognitive processing areas are within the
average to above average range. In addition to severe delays in phonological
awareness, he also has difficulty with speech-sound discrimination. He is
easily distracted by noises in his environment. In the classroom, other
students’ whispering affects his ability to concentrate. His difficulty with
phonological awareness also affects his ability to spell words. Writing is very
frustrating because he knows what he wants to say, but cannot figure out how
to spell the words. Spell check device on the computer was tried, but he also
has difficulty visual distortions. Letters do not always stay the same-They
move around. His overall cognitive functioning is above average.
He just started receiving one-on-one and small group instruction from a
reading specialist (45 minutes daily) to address his deficits in reading. The
Neuhaus Reading/Language Arts Program is being used. He also participates in
the general education grade level curriculum for reading/language arts for 1
hour daily. With the right accommodations and supports, he is able to
comprehend information, as well as/ or better than his grade-level peers. He
participates in oral discussions, displaying adequate vocabulary and retention
of information presented, if visuals are used.
Susie is an 8th grader with significant cognitive delays in all areas
of cognitive processing. She is nonverbal and is learning to use an
eight key communication device employing direct select access
mode as part of her augmentative communication system. She
currently has a picture symbol vocabulary of around 50 symbols.
She is able recall information and answer questions, when
provided picture choices using a communication board or eye
gaze. She uses a wheelchair for mobility and has limited use of
her upper extremities, but she is able to point, given enough
time.
Mark is a 10th grader with cerebral palsy. His speech is difficult to
understand and his upper and lower extremities are affected. He
uses a motorized wheelchair, with head buttons, for mobility. He
uses a high tech communication system, through use of eye
gazes, to talk to others and respond to questions. He can read
grade level materials using an e-reader, but prefers for
information to be read to him because of the amount of time it
takes him to read longer selections (has uncontrollable body
movements that affect his processing speed. Mark has average
cognitive functioning in all areas, except processing speed. Until
assistive technology was introduced, Mark’s parents and teachers
thought he was intellectually delayed. His communication
devices and other assistive devices have opened up a whole new
world to him. He participates in the general education
curriculum in all areas. During his P.E. time, he works with the
physical therapist and occupational therapists on adapted
physical activities, two days weekly. On the other three days, he
participates by keeping scores for the games.
Examples of IEP Objectives Aligned to Academic Standards



By the end of first 12 week period, when asked questions about the
story or non-fiction text just read to him, Alan will answer correctly
a minimum of 4 out of 5 questions for 5 stories/text passages as
observed and recorded by staff.
By the end of the 3rd 12 week period, given an array of 3-4 pictures
representing characters in a story and non-story related distracters,
Susie will point to the picture of a story character related to the
story/text just read for eight out of ten consecutive stories/text
passages.
By the end of 36 instructional weeks, using his eye-gaze and
activating an assistive technology device, when asked questions
about the story or non-fiction text just read to him and given an
array of 2-3 representational objects related to the passage along
with non-related distracters, Mark will answer correctly a minimum
of 4 out of 5 questions for 6 stories/text passages as observed and
recorded by staff.
Inclusive Schools
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hPTCDt3iu8
MAKING THINGS BETTER FOR ALL
Acceptance
Create environments of acceptance in the classroom. We may not
be all the same, but we are all deserving of understanding and
acknowledgement of our strengths.
Access
A curriculum that is accessible to all learners. Modifications,
accommodations, and assessment are key components to giving
out students with special needs access to the general curriculum.
High Expectations
Never assume that what we are teaching is over our student’s
heads. We must always presume competence of our students and
give them the support that the need in order to be successful.
Shift your focus away from deficits to strengths. The focus is not
on “in which” instructional activities the student will participate,
but “how”.
Helpful Resources
www.duvalschools.org/newteachers/DI%20Strategies/DI%202012/Interest%20Inventory.PDF
www.sciencenetlinks.com
www.greatmathgames.com
www.kidsnationalgeographic.com
www.coolmath.com
ww.eduplace.com/kids
www.edheads.org/activities
www.tea.state.tx.us