Curriculum Design
The curriculum …show more content…
design is not an approach that will work with all students, as every student learns in different manners. With the diversity of learning, UDL and DI are crucial. Differentiated instruction is a theory that is tailoring instruction to meet individual needs (Tomlinson, 2017). UDL consists of a set of principles for curriculum development that provides students’ equal opportunities to learn while providing a blueprint for creating instructional goals, methods, materials and assessments that will work for everyone. In order for UDL to be successful the administration and the parents need to collaborate and be on the same page. The special education teacher is responsible for planning curriculum design by utilizing UDL. The special education teacher will work together with the general teachers to ensure they understand their goals, provide support through identifying possible barriers towards reaching identified goals and then working together to create and implement different avenues to overcome the barriers. The students will not adjust to the curriculum when the team is working together, instead the general and special education teacher adjust the curriculum to meet the student’s needs.
Instructional Delivery
“The biggest change for educators is in deciding to share the role that has traditionally been individual: to share the goals, decisions, classroom instruction, responsibility for students, assessment of student learning, problem solving, and classroom management.
The teachers must begin to think of it as "our" class”, (Ripley, n.d.). In a collaborative model the general education and special education teachers each bring their skills, training, and perspectives to the team. Resources are combined to strengthen teaching and learning opportunities, methods, and effectiveness. "The one point that clearly developed from this relationship was that both of us had expertise in many areas, and combining these skills made both teachers more effective in meeting the needs of all students" (Dieker & Barnett, 1996, p. …show more content…
7).
Clarity of roles for both the special education teacher and the general education teacher is an important prerequisite to an effective collaborative model (Arguelles, Hughes & Schumm, 2000). A model of instruction where each teacher has a separate but collaborative function can be useful. Instruction where students are convened in small groups and/or common interest groups offers the opportunity for each teacher to take the lead role for the group they are working with. Common goals and objectives are set and the teachers agree to use similar teaching methods. The group convened by the special education teacher can include students identified for special education or remedial services but might also include students who just need extra support. Instruction provided by the special teacher should be supplemental to that provided by the classroom teacher rather than replacing an opportunity for these students to participate in instruction provided by the classroom teacher. With careful coordination of instructional goals, the need for additional planning should be minimized.
Professional Responsibility
The IEP development process is a student centered process. During this process no other agendas, issues or purpose are to interfere with the IEP process. All members of the Committee share the responsibility to contribute meaningfully in the development of a student’s IEP and to make recommendations that are based on the student’s present levels of performance and in consideration of the student’s strengths, needs, interests and preferences, and the concerns of the parents for the education of their child (Bateman & Herr, 2005).
Federal (IDEA) and state laws require that a general education teacher, familiar with the child, be involved as a member of the IEP team. During the IEP meeting the general education teacher is responsible for proving the following information:
• General education curriculum within the regular classroom, possible changed to the educational program that will assist the student in learning
• Strategies attempted to assist the student with behavior, if the behavior is an issue while including positive behavioral interventions
• The types of supports for the school staff that are needed so the student is able to: o Make advancement in their goal o Be involved and progress in general curriculum within reason o Be active in extracurricular activities o Be educated with other students who have or do not have disabilities
The special education teacher contributes important information and experience about how to educate students with disabilities.
As a result of his or her training in special education, this teacher can talk about such issues as:
• how to modify the general curriculum to help the child learn
• the supplementary aids and services that the child may need to be successful in the regular classroom and elsewhere
• how to modify testing so that the student can show what he or she has learned
• other aspects of individualizing instruction to meet the student's unique needs
Other than helping to write the IEP, the special educator has a responsibility for working with the student to carry out the IEP. The special education teacher will work with the student in a resource room or special class devoted to students receiving special education services, team teach with the regular education teacher and work with other school staff, particularly the regular education teacher, to provide expertise about addressing the child's unique needs (Kupper, & Kohanek.
2017).