IEP Research
Abstract
Finally, there is a great degree of diversity in IEP. It is the responsibility of the teacher to come up with strategies that can be used to accommodate this kind of diversity. IEP is program that is intended to attain or rather meet the exceptional needs of one child who is disabled according to the federal regulations. In some cases, in order to meet the objectives of IEP a school may be forced to change or rather modify its curriculum. Notably, modification of curriculum occurs within the “related services” class on the form of IEP. Irrefutably, there is a great degree of diversity in IEP. It is the responsibility of the teacher to come up with strategies that can be used to accommodate this kind of diversity.
Introduction
Undisputedly, kids have different abilities when it comes to learning. In order to cater for children who are disabled in one way or another, various regulations have been made to ensure such children get special attention. In the context of the United States, Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is a legal document that states what special services a child is entitled to and why. Precisely, this is a program that is intended to attain or rather meet the exceptional needs of one child who is disabled based on the federal regulations, (Lawrence, 2011). This program basically aims at helping children to attain educational targets more easily than otherwise would be the case. Arguably, the IEP must be modified to meet the individual student needs which are determined by the IEP assessment process and teachers should be able to use it to comprehend or rather appreciate the disability of the student and how this disability influences the process of learning.
Modifying Curriculum (Differentiated Instruction)
In some cases, in order to meet the objectives of IEP a school may be forced to change or rather modify its curriculum. Notably, modification of curriculum occurs within the “related services” class on the form of IEP. Regrettably, most parents and a good number of educators are not well informed with curriculum modification due to the fact that a good number of students based in special education rooms that have been isolated. In this case, curriculum modifications are rarely exploited because the student is unable to have they way in to the general education curriculum, and instead of academic goals functional goals are written.
Coming up with a suitable curriculum modification is a vital element of IEP for disabled students in a regular education classrooms, (Edward, 2006). Instead of focusing on writing several goals, attention should be directed to curriculum modification to make certain that the goals will be achieved by the child. Arguably, parents have a role to play during this process by being working together with the IEP team and sharing with them how curriculum modification can assist a child in taking part in the ordinary education curriculum. Additionally, it is also advisable to involve the child in this process because he/she is the affected party. It is important to note that, before embarking on curriculum modification, the present needs and abilities of the student as well as the curriculum must be considered.
Perhaps, the best strategy that can be used in this case is by both the parent and the teacher reviewing the lesson plan of the teacher in advance. This will be helpful in establishing or rather determining the general goal of the lesson. Where necessary, modifications can be made in order to enable the student to attain the “general academic” goal. Thus, with curriculum modifications disabled students can achieve great success in the universal learning environment.
Professional Collaboration
In IEP collaboration is very crucial if at all positive results are to be achieved. The major parties that need to work closely with one another are the professionals and the parents. In this case, parents should act as equal partners in the IEP of their child during the planning and assessment process, as well as participating in a wide range of education activities to help their child, (Alison, 2006). Perhaps, the major objectives of this collaboration is to promote express services for professionals and families, recognize formal support, and establishing communities for disabled people that based on dreams, culture, needs, priorities and goals. According to the studies that have been undertaken by various individuals, students increase both in attitude and achievements when parents or rather families take part in education. Additionally, this kind of collaboration has a positive impact on the discipline, attendance as well as ambitions for career and school development.
In order to promote collaboration the concerned parties should always be focused on achieving a common. Besides, communication is a very important factor and it should occur in an open and respectful manner. Another this is that the value attached to the team as well as members should act as a bond among the involved parties, (Lawrence, 2011). However, based on various studies that have been undertaken in the past, parent/professional collaboration, are usually difficult due to various reasons. Some of these reasons include negative past experience of the professionals, conflicting anticipations as well as lack of opportunity and time to collaborate. These problems are usually encountered during the process of developing the IEP and the assessment and evaluation period.
Progress monitoring
Progress monitoring can be defined as the process of gathering and analyzing date to establish or rather verify the progress of a student. It is usually used in coming up with institutional as well as service decisions on the basis of the performance of the student. The rationale behind progress monitoring is based on the Individual With Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) 2004. According to this Act, IEP entails the following: a report on the current levels of functional and academic performance; a report of quantifiable yearly goals; a report of any suitable and essential accommodations on state as well as district-wide assessments, and lastly, a report on the progress of a child toward the yearly goals, (Alison, 2006).
In order for data to be gathered to provide evidence on the progress of the student, Individualized Education Plan must include quantifiable yearly goals and yardsticks. These goals and yardsticks must include: well defined, observable behaviors; the circumstance under which the behavior is achieved; and the performance decisive factor. Notably, giving details on how monitoring of the progress will be undertaken, the IEP team must give clarification how the student will be displaying knowledge and skills. An explanation should also be given on how often the progress of the student will be monitored; frequent and regular monitoring of IEP goals should be undertaken, (Lawrence, 2011).
There are various characteristics that can be used to measure the effectiveness of progress monitoring. To begin with, effective progress monitoring should make it easy for measurement of behavior. Secondly, equal measure should be used each time. Thirdly, there should be frequent and regular collection of data. Lastly, it should allow performance of analysis over time.
Assessment
Various steps are followed in the assessment stage of IEP. If a child seems to have difficulties in education a referral for assessment is made by the teacher or the parent. The first step in assessment is reviewing historical information of the affected student. This is then followed by determining the performance levels in terms of academic, emotional/behavior, social areas of development. The third step is gather information from various parties that are close to the child such as the parents, other students, and teachers, (Elisabeth, 2006). Additionally, informal and formal testing and agency and school records should be reviewed. In case a teacher recognizes an explicit behavior on a referral that they think qualifies a child emotionally disturbed, an assessment on the explicit behavior should be undertaken.
In order to make a decision on this issue, the following tools should be used: frequency; chronicity, which measures the length of time that the behavior has been occurring; duration, which is the period of time that the incident lasts; circumstances, which involves determining the circumstances which explain or contribute to the behavior; appropriateness; comparison of the peers; manageability, which refers to whether the behaviors can be managed; and lastly, is resistance to change, which is basically the responsiveness of the behavior to attempts of change by the teacher.
Diversity
Arguably, there is some considerable degree of diversity in Individualized Education Plan. It is the responsibility to ensure that all the needs individual needs of the students are accommodated in order to promote effective learning among the students. There are various ways in which a teacher can be able to address the issue of diversity, (Kathie, 2002). To begin with, instead of the teacher giving instructions to a large group, this could be done in a small group of students. Precisely, it would be a bit easier to address individual problems and needs in a small group as compared to a large group. Secondly, the teacher can also break assignments into smaller and reachable steps. By so doing, the slow learner students will be able to catch up with others at their own pace. Thirdly, the teacher should design special lessons for each and every student depending on the kind of disability that such students are having. Lastly, the teacher should rate the performance of the students with special needs based on individual progress.
Conclusion
An IEP is a program that is uniquely designed with an objective of meeting the needs of students who may be having disabilities, as per the definition of federal regulations. This program is anticipated to assist children with disabilities to attain educational goals which could have been otherwise difficult to achieve. In all the case, IEP must be modified to address individual needs as outlined by the IEP assessment process, and it must enable the teachers and other parties to understand the disability that the child is facing. It should be noted that, before a child in put on IEP it must be established such a child needs special education services. In some cases, curriculum modification is inevitable in IEP. However, before making this modification the parent must be involved in making decisions concerning the kind of treatment that the child is going to get. It is also important to note that collaboration between the professionals and the parents is needed in IEP. Studies indicate that this kind collaboration not only promotes better academic performance but also changes the attitude of the students. Another important component of IEP is progress monitoring. This should be undertaken on a regular basis in order to evaluate the progress of the child. Finally, there is a great degree of diversity in IEP. It is the responsibility of the teacher to come up with strategies that can be used to accommodate this kind of diversity.
References
Alison, D. (2006). The Individualized Education Plan: Involvement and Satisfaction of the
regular education teacher. Illinois: Eastern Illinois University.
Edward, B. (2006). IEP-2005: Writing and Implementing Individualized Education Programs
(IEPs). New York: Charles C Publisher.
Elisabeth, N. (2006). The IEP: Progress Monitoring Systems. New York: Clermont County
Educational Service Center.
Kathie, S. (2002). Writing Curriculum Modifications in the IEP. Boston: ABC
Lawrence, M.S. (2011). The Complete IEP Guide: How to Advocate for your Special Ed. Child.
New Jersey: Nolo.
