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Choosing a Hands-on Transition Curriculum

Catherine Moss Vocational Adjustment Coordinator for Mt. Pleasant ISD cmoss@mpisd.net. Born and raised in Mt. Pleasant, Texas

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Choosing a Hands-on Transition Curriculum

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    1. Choosing a “Hands-on Transition Curriculum” The Selection Process

    2. Catherine Moss Vocational Adjustment Coordinator for Mt. Pleasant ISD cmoss@mpisd.net Born and raised in Mt. Pleasant, Texas – about 2 hours east of Dallas Married for 12 years to high school sweetheart – no kids yet, 5 fur babies 1999 graduate of Mt. Pleasant High School, 2010 graduate of Stephen F Austin State University - BCIS Certifications: EC-6 General, EC-12 SpEd, VAC through TAVAC Served as Special Education Paraprofessional for 5 years, SpEd Bus Driver for 6 years, and currently as VAC for Mt. Pleasant ISD/ Titus County Shared Services Arrangement in Mt. Pleasant Hobbies: reading, playing the piano, teaching Sunday school, going to the gym

    3. Transition at MPISD Prior to the 2010-11 school year, student’s transition progress was monitored via regular ARD meetings and follow up by diagnosticians. Due to lack of programs, curriculum was not specifically tied to the students transition plan as much as it was TEKS and TAKS It was agreed upon by staff and administrators that there was a great need for a multi-faceted curriculum for students’ progress, goals and transition, thus a committee was formed to oversee this task.

    4. Forming A Committee

    5. Key Criteria

    6. Must be highly researched and validated by the US Dept of Education The curriculum selected was researched for 2 years at 50 different sites before being approved and validated by the US Department of Education

    7. Hands-on to reach students of all ability levels instead of “one size fits most” computer programs The curriculum we selected consists of a wide variety of topics that contain a minimum of 10 hands-on activities per title with additional adapted activities and support for lower level learners that can be taught over a 2-3 week period or 5-6 week period depending on the level of the students participating. Included are a variety of reading levels to reach the maximum number of students. For nonreaders the stories can be read to them; for emergent readers there are picture stories with accompanying words; 3rd-4th grade for lower level readers; and 6th grade level for high level readers.

    8. User friendly to students as well as teachers Our curriculum contains a wide variety of hands-on activities that can be tailored to our students’ ability levels with realistic materials and manipulatives as well as real world scenarios. Each unit contains a CD with lesson plans, worksheets, objectives, flash cards, vocabulary, pre/post assessment tests, data collection sheets and follow-up suggestions that can be easily manipulated to meet our needs as teachers or our students needs. Multiple implentation strategies Aesthetically appealing Provides a consistency for what the teachers are teaching

    9. Mobility of curriculum for use by all district SpEd teachers/classrooms Our curriculum is organized in a way that allows it to be interchangeable between campuses and teachers with rapid ease, as well as being easily stored. Curriculum can be executed as whole class instruction, broken into small group instruction or even as a lab or center/station activity with or without direct teacher instruction, depending on ability level of students.

    10. “FIRST LOOK” Each unit has a First Look page similar to a Table of Contents with detailed explanations of the activities, pre/post tests, supporting activities, community resources and additional suggestions for follow up activities. Activities are grouped in suggested order with available adapted versions’ activities correlated to each sub-topic.

    11. Special Curriculum for learners with an IQ of < 55 Adapted versions of units are also available for lower level learners. I.E. I have used several of these with Life Skills and Total Communication Classroom (Austism Unit) students as vocational activities while silmultaneously reinforcing academic subjects.

    12. Companion to Hands-on Units for Higher Level Students Also included in the curriculum we chose was a multimedia set of instructional booklets and videos aimed specifically for employed or employment seeking students.

    13. Academic Integration Each unit easily integrates Math, Science, Social Studies and Reading into the content and activities. An activity may be used primarily for one academic subject while reinforcing others OR may be used as a vocational training while reinforcing academic subjects, all the while successfully fulfilling student IEP and transition goals. By being able to teach several subjects in the same activity, teachers save time and can focus more on student progress instead of planning multiple lessons.

    14. Ability to correlate to TEKS, TAKS, TAKS-Alt & IEP’S Each piece of the curriculum we use is aligned with TEKS. We were provided a precise list of which TEKS are covered by which activities. Being aligned with TEKS helps teach our students objectives covered by TAKS and/or TAKS Alt. Since the activities in the curriculum integrate the different academic subjects, some can be also be used as TAKS-Alt activities, saving teachers countless hours of time in not having to personalize each and every activity. The activities/instruction of the curriculum should coincide with students’ IEP goals/objectives. Due to the curriculum having multiple integrated academic subjects, many areas can be used for completion of IEP goals/objectives.

    15. training, support and upgrades Included with the purchase of the curriculum is on-site training, provided by qualified trainers, to all staff who will be using the materials.* Company customer support includes knowledgeable, accessible staff willing to answer any questions you may have. If a newer or adapted version of a unit is produced, you are provided that addition to your existing curriculum at no additional charge.

    16. Must be cost effective and sustainable Unlike computer programs that require licensure per computer/student, the curriculum we selected can be used multiple times, by multiple teachers, over and over. Materials rarely need replacing; materials that must be replaced are easily attainable and affordable. No monthly upkeep or maintenance fees – bottom line pricing.

    17. Choice of products purchased

    18. Comparison Chart

    19. Comparison Chart

    20. Our Success 12 out of 16 of my high school students using the curriculum were employed at the end of the 2010-11 school year. Introduced vocational learning/training to junior high students who had not previously had this exposure. Through the use of this curriculum, helped students explore their vocational interests and which courses they could take in secondary or post secondary education to foster their interests.

    21. What I personally love about the curriculum Variety Attention to detail and organization of the curriculum Ability to dress the curriculum up or down according to my students’ needs Chance to help students towards a successful transition while reinforcing their core subjects in a way that is interesting and meaningful to them Support from the company

    22. What we chose Project Discovery Series with available Adapted Versions and Multimedia Binders kit through Education Associates

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