Inclusive Educational Practices on behalf of: Parents for Inclusive Education (PIE) Dr. Jessica Bacon November 5, 2015 Introductions Opener Accommodations and Modifications Supplementary Aids and Services Barrier discussion Instructional practices Communication with IEP team Action plan Agenda Who am I? Who are you? Introductions In a phrase Opener Think/ write, pair, share about your definition and Norman Kuncs definition What is one important concept to take away? What is inclusion? Inclusive practice offers a new point of view: What needs fixing here? Rethinking barriers Brainstorm: What are common barriers that prohibit your child from being included? Write this on your sheet. Ensuring Inclusive Education LRE Supplementary supports and services Accommodations Modifications What does the law say? LRE * to the maximum extent appropriate, handicapped children, including those children in public and private institutions, are educated with children who are not handicapped, and that special classes, separate schooling, or other removal of handicapped children from the regular education environment occurs only when the nature or severity of the handicap is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily. [PL Section 1412 (5) (B). IDEA ( ) Principles FAPE: special education and related services that have been provided at public expense, under public supervision (20 U.S.C. 1401(9)) Special Education: specifically designed instruction to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability (20 U.S.C. 1401(29)) Not a place, but a form of instruction (Roncker v. Walker, 1993) Supplementary Aides and Services: aids, services, and other supports that are provided in regular or other education settings to enable children to be educated with nondisabled children Any CHANGE in format that helps to a student with a disability to participate in regular education, or helps the entire class. Umbrella term for accommodations & modifications Adaptations An accommodation a allows a student to complete the same assignment or test as other students, but with a change in the timing, formatting, setting, scheduling, response and/or presentation. This accommodation does not alter in any significant way what the test or assignment measures. Accommodations Changing presentation, response format and procedures, instructional strategies, time and scheduling, environment, equipment, and architecture. Test taken orally Large print Extra time Weekly home-school communication log Peer-support for note-taking Highlighted text Outlines and study guides Graph paper Tape recording lectures Using the computer to write Examples of Accommodations Modification: A modification is an adjustment to instruction, an assignment, or a test that changes the standard or what the test or assignment is supposed to measure. Used to provide a student with opportunities to participate meaningfully and productively along with other students. Always aligned to general ed. curriculum Modification * Modifications are not the first choice! A Quiz Only children with disabilities can receive adaptations. It is solely the responsibility of the special education teacher to make adaptations. If the adaptations that need to be made are too great, you should remove a child from the activity. FALSE!! True All children can receive adaptations. It is the responsibility of the whole team to adapt. The need to adapt is not a legally justifiable reason to remove a child. Low Tech (inexpensive) -pencil/ pen with adaptive grip -Adapted paper (raised lines, highlighted) -Highlighting texts -Color coding High tech -Talking calculator -Reading and writing word prediction (i.e. Kurzweil) -Voice recognition software -Communication: i.e. Dynavox -Eye gaze/ nose tracking software Assistive Technology A. evaluation of the needs of a child with a disability B. Purchasing devices deemed necessary for a child C. selecting, designing, repairing, customizing devices D. Coordinating therapies, interventions or services with AT. E. Training or technical assistance to the family F. Training or technical assistance to teachers, related service providers, assistants, etc. Assistive Tech legal rights IDEA 2004 requires IEP teams to consider the assistive technology needs of all children with disabilities. (20 U.S.C. 1414(d)(3)(B)(v)) Evaluation request comes from IEP team Look at the barrier you identify. Work with a partner to brainstorm solutions from the supplementary aids & services/ AT sheet. Barrier to solutions Differentiation One size does not fit all An approach that enables teachers to plan strategically to meet the needs of every student. It is rooted in the belief that there is variability among any group of learners and that the teachers should adjust instruction accordingly (Tomlinson) Consider this When a teacher tries to teach the same thing to the entire class at the same time, chances are 1/3 of the kids already know it 1/3 will get it 1/3 wont So 2/3 of the children are wasting their time Lillian Katz Differentiation is strictly based on ability level Differentiation = Individualization Differentiation means there are 3 simultaneous activities going on, which leads to tracking in the classroom Differentiation myths Effective curriculum and instruction High expectations for all students Flexibility Shared responsibility for learning Sense of community An individual growth orientation Fair assessment Communication and collaboration Differentiation creates Instructional Supports (same content, same objectives, multiple ways to get there) Multilevel (same content, adjust complexity) Alternative (different activity, different, but related goal) Ways to differentiate Large group or whole class format Small group instruction (teacher led) Small group (cooperative) Partner learning/peer tutoring Independent learning One-to-one Differentiating Instructional Arrangements Avoiding the Velcro phenomenon. Increasing independence and fading adult support Designing from the beginning for the maximum diversity of users Foundations in Architecture Universal Design for Learning The Guggenheim, NYC Designing curricula from the beginning for the maximum diversity of learners, including all students with diverse learning needs Universal Design in Education Retrofit Retrofit deals with problems after the fact Retrofit only solves one problem Many individual accommodations and modifications are retrofits. There are times when retrofitting is necessary. Retrofit Vs. UDL UDL UDL is smart from the start UDL typically helps more than one student UDL may eliminate the need for costly or expensive accommodations UDL video How can these be UDL v. Retrofit? Adding these practices into the IEP Writing a parent-statement highlighting childs strengths, interests and needs Bringing a list of ideas Bring a support person Sharing with the IEP team Communication with teachers and sharing resources Finding a receptive educator if there is a team Putting into place (even in the IEP) positive communication procedures like a teacher-parent communication log. Have student take ownership over instructional needs. Work on increasing self-advocacy and independence skills. Finding a school ally Closing: Putting solutions into action Step 1: add any additional solutions Step 2: discuss actions you can take to talk to your child's teacher or to the IEP team. Step 3: Share at your table Whole group share out