Special Needs - 1 - Developing an Individualized Plan

Special Needs - 1 - Developing an Individualized Plan

Reflect on the types of plans presented in this lesson and the best practices for writing individualized plans for the online environment Review and compare the two sample individualized student plans provided below. Both sample plans are written for the same student. Keeping in mind the best practices discussed in this lesson, consider the strengths and weaknesses of each plan and decide which you find to be the preferred option for the online environment.

Post in your Blog: Your responses should consist of at least four well-developed paragraphs and address each of the following points:

1. Which plan do you believe is the better option for the online environment (Plan A or Plan B) and why?
2. Using specific examples, discuss the strengths of the plan which you believe make it better suited to the online environment. I believe that Plan B is a better choice over Plan A. Plan B provides more details about the accommodations. It outlines exactly what the teacher and student is responsible for.  There are are many specific examples of the strengths found in Plan B.
1. Description of Accommodations/Services. In plan A the accommodation was listed with little description or guidance. In Plan B, there is guidance with what specifically the teachers should do. For example, Plan A said “Reduce coursework,” while Plan B was specific and stated “Reduce coursework – reduce the number of assignments or the length of assignments. The teacher will determine coursework to be reduced and Sally must be assessed on and demonstrate mastery of standards.” These are specific details in what the teacher should do to help meet these 504 accommodation.
2. Accommodations Geared Toward Online Learning. Plan B seems to be better suited for online learning than Plan A. Plan A states that one accommodation should be  “Preferential seating.” Since there are no seats in an online environment, these accommodations seem pointless. In Plan B there are few accommodations that seem tailored for online learning which include: “Make Sally aware of additional resources, review opportunities/activities and study guides in the course sidebars” and “Check in with Sally at least one time per week via email, phone, synchronous session or other mutually agreed upon communication method to initiate contact relating to her progress and understanding of the material”. While both of these are best practices for all students, with a student like Sally, these two accommodations could really help her be successful and ensure she is getting what she needs to be successful in class.
3. Are there any aspects of your preferred plan you would change to be better suited for the online environment? Please explain.  There are two things about plan B that I would change in order to make it better. First I would take this paragraph out of the “Information Relating to the Disability” section Sally’s teachers report she is a hardworking student and is determined to overcome challenges she faces as a result of her disabilities. Sally is shy and at times may be hesitant to reach out for assistance if she does not have a strong familiarity with her teacher. She is a strong student in the area of math and reading and tests above grade level in these areas. While this information is nice and might provide insight on the student it does not go in this section. This paragraph is talking about the student and their personality and not about the disability. This section should be describing the specific impairment that teh student has that is serving the basis of the disability. The second thing I would change is to update the 504. 504 Plans along with IEPs should be updated every year. This ensures that the accommodations in place are being used and are working. Plan B was last updated in 2017, it is now 2019. Sally’s needs might have changed in the past two years.
4. What are the issues and weaknesses of the plan you decided was not the best choice for the online environment? Even though Plan A was more up to date than Plan B, I did not think that Plan A was the best choice for a couple of reasons. First, it was not as detailed as Plan B. While accommodations were listed, there was no specific guidance on how to implement those accommodations or what they meant. Plan A only called for Sally to have extended time - but not how much time. Should it be 125%, 150% 166%? It was vague, while plan B clearly stated “Extended time on timed assessments - 100% extended time, or double the original amount of time.” Plan A also the student responsibilities was not as clear as it was in Plan B. Plan A Stated “If Sally needs an extension beyond what is outlined in this plan, Sally will communicate with her teacher(s).” But no direction was given as to when that should happen. Whereas Plan B clearly stated that it needed to happen before the due date. Plan A did not seem like it was written for an online environment. It made note of preferential seating which cannot happen in an online environment. There is no way a teacher could put that accommodation into place.

Special Needs - 1- Accommodations in an Online Environment

Lesson 3 - Special Needs - Accommodations in an Online Environment

Assignment: Reflect on your experiences with your students. Think of a situation in
which online education may have been a preferable option for one of your special
needs students or a student with an extenuating circumstance.

Describe student’s disability, special need and/or the extenuating circumstance.

This year I had a student, we will identify him by M,  in my advisement class who was absent
for a period of 6 weeks. Upon his return to school, we were told that he was out for medical
reasons. M shared with me that he was absent because he attempted suicide and was placed
in a residential facility. In his absence, he was not able to fully keep up with assignments
(even though there were tutors and ‘school’ at the facility). M has worked hard to catch up while
still working on his recovery, though he still misses on average two days of school due to anxiety,
lack of sleep the previous night, or just a general not ‘feeling like it.”

Identify at least three specific aspects of the online environment you feel would be beneficial forthis student’s situation or disability. Explain why each aspect of the online environment
you identified above would be advantageous to your student, using specific examples.

In this specific instance, I feel that an online situation would have been beneficial
M for the following reasons:

Access 24/7

Since his return to traditional school, M has stated that it is hard for him to sleep at night and
that is when he feels most productive. As a result, he sleeps during the day - or is tired when
he is attending face to face school. If he was taking classes online he would have access to
everything he needs for learning, content, help desk, assignments, etc whenever he wanted.
M could ‘attend too school’ during the hours that he feels he is most productive instead of the
country mandated hours.

Accountability

While students do not have to worry about ‘seat time’ as mandated by the state or attendance
issues - there is still accountability with online learning. Logging into the LMS would track M’s
progress. This would help keep track of M’s progress and access to the course no matter
where he was. In the residential facility, he would not have to wait for work to be transported
from our face to face school and he could have

No Surprises

In my discussions with M over the course of the semester, he has indicated that he is suffering
from depression and anxiety. If he was in an online program, there would be no surprises in the
course - possibly reducing the anxiety school might be giving him. In a face to face environment,
students often complain they do not know when things are due when exams are, etc.  In an online
environment, the entire syllabus is laid out for the semester. There are no surprises that could
make a student reel with anxiety. Plus knowing that assignments are due on a certain day at a
certain time, can help a student plan their week around times they are feeling up to working and not.
Along the same line, he would be able to access his grades at all times to know where he stands
in the class.

What challenges do you suspect your student may encounter in the online environment?

Lack of Motivation -

One thing M has indicated in our conversations is his lack of motivation to do his work at home
or in school. This is probably brought on by his depression. In turn, it causes his anxiety to be
worse because he could be getting further behind. On an online environment, being a self-motivator
/starter is an important characteristic. You do not have a teacher ‘standing’ over you to ensure you
are completing your work. Often it takes students new to online learning to adjust to this. Students
need to look at their syllabus and be diligent about staying on track. They need to understand what
is being asked of them in their assignments and be willing to ask if they do not.

Feeling Disconnected

While there are many benefits to online learning - it is not necessarily for everyone. In M’s case,
he might feel disconnected from his peers and teachers. In an online environment, you can limit
your social interaction with people a great deal. When students are suffering from depression, lack
of connection can be hard and actually worsening the depression. To be successful would ensure
that M attended the synchronous sessions to have the connection that they might miss in an online
environment.

Special Needs - 1- Applying Strategies and Best Practices

Lesson 2 - Special Needs - 1- Applying Strategies and Best Practices

Reflect: Consider the general best practices and specific strategies presented in this lesson.

Choose two of the student scenarios below. First, identify at least two difficulties each student may be experiencing in their online class. Then, discuss two best practices or specific strategies that might be helpful to each student

Scenario 1

Dustin has an IEP with accommodations for hearing impairment; he is completely deaf. He is not currently doing well in your class, and you are unsure why. He has not asked for help or attended live sessions since the class began. When you leave assignment feedback for him, he does not respond, even if you specifically ask him to respond.  What will you do to address this?

Two difficulties Dustin may be experiencing:

I am unsure if Dustin wears hearing aids or bot. If he does wear them, it still may be challenging to understand live Jigsawsessions/recording, audio feedback, videos in the content, etc.  Though I am not sure why Dustin is not doing well - it could be one or a combination of things, there are probably specific questions that he has. He might feel as though he can not communicate those questions. This can lead to a feeling of despair or frustration.

Two best practices/strategies I would use to help Dustin:

1) I would contact all of the stakeholders - parents, student, facilitator, and special needs specialist at his home school and GaVS- and let them know that Dustin is not doing well in the class. Part of why is that is Dustin not responding to feedback even when asked to. I am hoping that all of the stakeholders can come up with a plan that makes it easier for Dustin to receive communication and respond to it. I would suggest a live chat session in the jigsaw classroom and invite all stakeholders where he can type out questions or concerns. 

2) Part of Dustin's frustration might be from not getting/understanding all of the material. I would ensure that all videos in the content had closed caption or transcripts available for them. If they are not available, I would find videos with closed captions/transcripts and post those for all students in the classroom (because more students could benefit from them), but I would also send them in an email to Dustin to ensure that he got them.  For Jigsaw lessons, I would post the powerpoint notes so that they could be downloaded. These notes would have 'presenters' notes in them so he could 'hear' the extra tidbits that he might be missing. Presenter notes would also be useful to other students as well. Besides putting them in the jigsaw, I would also attach them to a follow-up email a written email summary of the main points. 

Scenario 3

Kali has recently been diagnosed with Lupus. The last few weeks, she has an inconsistent login history for your class due to her medical challenges. Kali is also behind on assignments, and she emailed about making up the work she missed while she was absent. Her medical diagnosis and absences have been verified and her absences have been medically excused. How would you support her?

Two difficulties Kali may be experiencing:

1. With her medical challenges, she might have been in and out of hospitals/doctors etc and have had trouble accessing the course. Even if she is at home, she might be too ill to access the course for periods of time causing her to get behind in her work.

2. Getting recently diagnosed, Kali probably does not have an IEP or a 504 .  plan in place.  Getting behind in any work could be causing her stress, which could be exacerbating her condition (depending on the type of lupus).

Two best practices/strategies I would use to help Kali:

1) I would contact her GaVS  Special Needs Coordinator at GaVS and ask if we could do two things to help Kali. I would explain the situation and that the recent absences and illnesses have been verified and would ask for not only a medical extension but also if we could modify the course work so that Kali could demonstrate mastery of the content with fewer assignments. A reduction in coursework might help relieve the stress of having 'to get it all done.' And offering her extensions as needed will make her feel okay about saying 'I can not do it today.' This could also serve as documentation when if she applies for a 504/IEP as her illness is a relatively new diagnosis.

2) I would keep in weekly communication with all the stakeholders.  Praising Kali when she is doing well and encouraging her participation. I would ensure that she is getting the jigsaw recording and knows what opportunities are available to her in the class. I would avoid sending non-personalized 'You are missing this assignment" emails on Thursday morning - instead of sending an email offering to help with a  plan of action/attack when she was feeling better.