Meeting Arizona College and Career Ready Standards for Special Education Specialists Day 2

1. Meeting Arizona College and Career Ready Standards for Special Education Specialists Day 2 Presenters: Sharen Bertrando Kevin Schaefer sbertra@wested.org kschaef@wested.org WestEd’s Center for Prevention & Early Intervention

2. Objectives for Day 2 – Participants will be able to . . . • Practice developing and writing AZCCRS IEP goals and benchmarks aligned to the student’s PLAAFP • Become familiar with readily available resources, instructional strategies, and evidenced-based strategies to support students with disabilities • Develop an action plan to build capacity within your school/district • Address participant questions and comments to State department and WestEd consultants

3. Review Day Two • K-W-L review and update for “What you have learned • Review Agenda

4. http://www.leadered.com/pdf/Special%20Ed%20&%20CCSS%20white%20paper.pdfhttp://www.leadered.com/pdf/Special%20Ed%20&%20CCSS%20white%20paper.pdf

5. Why the Core? • Read – Fewer, Clearer, Higher Common Core State Standards (McNulty & Gloecker, 2011) • Jigsaw: Read assigned sections and report out: • “I learned _____________” or “I wonder ____________.” • Reflect: Final Reading – Why is it important for individuals with exceptional needs to have access to the general education curriculum? • How might these individuals better access these standards?

6. Why the Core? • Group 1: Common Core State Standards p.3 • Common Core and Special Education p.4 • Group 2: Improving the Performance of Students Receiving Special Education Services p.7 • Ownership and High Expectations for All p.8 • Intervention Systems p.9 • Group 3: Inclusion/Collaborative Teaching p.11 • Organization/PD p.13

7. IDEA – Eligibility Categories

8. Activity • Exercise: How many of the categories include intellectual impairment?

9. If only one percent of the population has significant intellectual impairments… • Cognitive abilities will not preclude the majority of students with disabilities from learning grade level content.

10. Application to Students with Disabilities “Students with disabilities…must be challenged to excel within the general curriculum and be prepared for success in their post-school lives, including college and/or careers….Therefore,howthese high standards are taught and assessed is of the utmost importance in reaching this diverse group of students.” ELA Standards, in section titled “What is not covered”

11. Commitment to Students with Disabilities Evident in Standards “For example, for students with disabilities reading should allow for the use of Braille, screen-reader technology, or other assistive devices, while writing should include the use of a scribe, computer, or speech to text technology. In a similar vein, speaking and listeningshould be interpreted broadly to include sign language.” ELA Standards, in section titled “What is not covered”

12. Legal Basis for Providing Access to General Education IDEA 2004: states must “… ensure access of the child to the general curriculum, so that the child can meet the educational standards… that apply to all children.” [(34 CFR §300.39(b)(3)(i)(ii)]

13. The Law • A statement of the child’s present levels of academic achievement and functional performance, including… • A statement of measurable annual goals including academic and functional goals designed to: • Meet the child’s needs that result from the child’s disability to enable the child to be involved in and make progress in the general education curriculum.

14. National Statistics • Nationwide 40% of all students in special education have reading as their core challenge. • Over 80% of students with a specific learning disability (SLD) struggle with reading. • Approximately four out of five students with a SLD perform significantly below grade level in reading. • Typically, student below reading level will be below grade level in written expression Rosenberg, Westling, & McLeskey, 2008

15. Complex Text

16. Qualitative • Examine the text to see how much of the language is conversational and how much is academic. • Examine the language to see how much is literal and how much is figurative. • When looking at literary texts specifically, you examine whether the text demands singular to multiple themes or themes that are complex. • Examine the text for singular to multiple perspectives. • Consider if the text requires everyday or familiar knowledge and/or cultural knowledge outside of the familiar.

17. Quantitative • No perfect method for examination, rather there are many effective methods. • Methods such as the Flesch-Kincaid and Dale Chall are mentioned as possible measurement standards. • No specific way for teachers to "score" a text independently. • Teachers should consider how these factors mentioned next might create challenge for readers. • Examine the text for syntactic complexity, sentence structure and word length, level of vocabulary and Lexile level.

18. Text Complexity by Grade Band Common Core State Standards Initiative

19. Quantitative Measures of Text Complexity • The terms quantitative dimensions and quantitative factors refer to those aspects of text complexity, such as word length or frequency, sentence length, and text cohesion, that are difficult if not impossible for a human reader to evaluate efficiently, especially in long texts, and are thus today typically measured by computer software. • NGA & CCSSO, 2010, p. 4

20. Flesch-Kincaid Grade-Level Score An Example • After the anthem, the tributes file back into the Training Center lobby and onto the elevators. I make sure to veer a car that does not contain Peeta. The crowd slows out entourages of stylists and mentors and chaperones, so we have only each other for company. No one speaks. My elevator stops to deposit four tributes before I am alone and then find the doors opening on the twelfth floor. Peeta has only just stepped from his car when I slam my palms into his chest. He loses his balance and crashes into an ugly urn filled with fake flowers. • Collins, S. (2008) The Hunger Games http://www.readability-score.com/

21. Reader - Text and Task • Instructional design • Create tasks that are appropriate for the learning objectives. • Scaffold the learning and reading skills needed • Demand high quality, authentic tasks • When appropriate, remove the scaffolding so students can read and perform independently

22. Strategies to Support Learner’s Engagement with Complex Text

23. AZCCRS & Evidence-based Practices & Supports for Specialized Populations • Autism Spectrum Disorders • Intellectual Disabilities • Technology Tools

24. National Professional Development Center on ASD • Take a look at the evidence-based practices for students with ASD http://autismpdc.fpg.unc.edu .

25. EBPs for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) • The teaching practice has been tested and found to be effective in the areas of: • Academics and cognition • Behavior • Communication • Play • Social • Transition

26. EBPs for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) • The teaching practice has been tested and found to be effective in the areas of: • Academics and cognition • Behavior • Communication • Play • Social • Transition WHICH ONES ARE FAMILIAR TO YOU?

27. Choosing an EBP • What is our goal/objective targeting? • What are our options? • What domain does the goal relate to? • What is the age of the student?

28. Make a decision based on: • The IEP teams professional wisdom • The student’s learning style • The supports that are already in place • The history of what has or hasn’t work in the past

30. Activity • Work individually to review one of your student’s assessment information, PLAAFP, and previous IEP • Select an AZCCRS ELA/Literacy strand/standard in area of identified need • Use the template and strategies for individualizing goal/objectives • Share completed written goal/objectives with partner noting feedback (constructive criticism) • Revise • Be prepared to share out

31. Please be back in one hour

32. Activity • Work individually to review one of your student’s assessment information, PLAAFP, and previous IEP • Select an AZCCRS Mathematical Standards in the area of identified need • Use the template and strategies for individualizing goal/objectives • Share completed written goal/objectives with partner noting feedback (constructive criticism) • Revise • Be prepared to share out

33. Take a Break

34. Action Plan At your table • Individually complete the action plan. • Share with your tabletop. • Write down at least one response from a colleague. • Be prepared to share out whole group.

35. Action Plan – As a result of this training . . .

36. Parking Lot Panel Discussions • What additional questions do you have? • What comments to you want to share?

37. Shared Responsibility • Take ownership of all students • Provide opportunities for professional development – general and special education together • Create a culture where all students are general education students first . . . is the first hurdle to meeting the challenge

38. Thank you! • Sharen Bertrando • sbertra@wested.org • Kevin Schaefer • kschaef@wested.org