Module 4: A Student’s Journey Through the Special Education Process
Module 4 Outcomes
- MLO 4.1: Recognize the role that classroom teachers play in the special education process. (CLO IV, InTASC 7p)
- MLO 4.2: Describe the process of determining student eligibility for special education services. (CLO IV, InTASC 1f)
- MLO 4.3: Practice developing the components of an example Individualized Education Program (IEP). (CLO IV, InTASC 2b, 2h, )
- MLO 4.4: Identify common accommodations, modifications, and services within IEPs. (CLO IV, InTASC 2h, 6u, 7m)
Have you ever observed a bustling classroom where students possess an excitement and energy that is almost tangible? What did it look like? Sound like? Feel like? Seeing learning take place is nothing short of magical. The powerful energy resulting from learning can be seen, heard, and felt. What if learning is not taking place? Can you see it? Hear it? Feel it? The students that fill your future classroom will possess areas of strengths, talents, and needs, varying from student to student. Therefore, it is important to be in touch with each student and recognize when they are thriving and struggling.
Just as there are differences between individuals, there are differences within an individual, often referred to as intraindividual differences. Unlike interindividual differences, which compare one child to another, intraindividual differences compare “the child’s abilities in one area with the child’s abilities in other areas” (Britannica). Often, these differences alert teachers to students who may be at risk and need additional support. Students who are struggling often exhibit signs that may not appear to be a red flag. However, it is important to be aware of these common signs exhibited by students who may need extra support. It is when these struggles become frequent and consistent over time that taking steps toward disability eligibility may need to be enacted.
Some indications that a student might be struggling include:
- lacking motivation,
- becoming easily frustrated,
- frequently making careless errors,
- having difficulty following directions,
- not completing work or homework,
- difficulty remembering or retaining learned skills,
- struggling with basic reading, writing, math, or spelling skills.
These intraindividual differences are unique patterns of strengths and needs. To better understand how intraindividual differences show up in a student, let’s return to our students introduced in Module 1: Laws, Ethics, and Policies.
-
- Mai Lam, a six year old kindergartener from Wisconsin, is struggling with early literacy skills.
-
- Rueben Washington, an eleven year old fifth grader in Pennsylvania, is having conflicts with teachers and other students.
-
- Aiden Gonzalez-Jones, a sixteen year old junior from Arizona, is facing big decisions about life after high school.
Example 1: Mai Lam, a kindergartener from Wisconsin, is an excellent communicator but struggles with her ABCs.
Example 2: Rueben Washington, a fifth-grade student from Pennsylvania, has strong mathematical computational and reasoning skills but is reading almost three years below grade level.
Example 3: Aiden Gonzalez-Jones, an eleventh-grade student from Arizona, excels at writing, especially creative writing, but is challenged by basic algebra.
In these three examples, all of the students have strengths that they bring to their education; however, they also have academic needs and could benefit from additional support to address them. In these scenarios, a teacher’s knowledge of their students’ intraindividual differences (e.g., strengths and needs) allows for optimal lesson planning, allowing the teacher to meet a student’s unique learning needs. Utilizing the intraindividual differences of each student results in maximized student learning. This is best illustrated by Universal Design for Learning (UDL), a proactive rather than reactive approach to teaching that accommodates the unique needs and abilities of all learners while eliminating unnecessary hurdles in the learning process. Knowing each of your students well is important to catch learning or behavioral needs early so proper interventions can be implemented.
References
Explain intervention and assessment procedures for prospective special education students.
Disposition. The teacher takes professional responsibility to use short- and long-term planning as a means of assuring student learning.
Knowledge. The teacher identifies readiness for learning, and understands how development in any one area may affect performance in others.
Performance. The teacher makes appropriate and timely provisions (e.g., pacing for individual rates of growth, task demands, communication, assessment, and response modes) for individual students with particular learning differences or needs.
Knowledge. The teacher understands students with exceptional needs, including those associated with disabilities and giftedness, and knows how to use strategies and resources to address these needs.
Disposition. The teacher is committed to making accommodations in assessments and testing conditions, especially for learners with disabilities and language learning needs.
Knowledge. The teacher knows when and how to access resources and collaborate with others to support student learning (e.g., special educators, related service providers, language learner specialists, librarians, media specialists, community organizations).
Variations within an individual; unique patterns of strengths and needs (variations in intelligence).
focuses on planning instruction in such a way to meet the varied needs of students at the point of first best instruction, thereby reducing the amount of follow-up and alternative instruction necessary
