The Role of Special Education in a Multi-tiered System of Supports

The multi-tiered system of supports is an organizational system that was developed to ensure all students receive the required individualized academic and behavioral services. It is a proactive process that enables educators to determine the specific deficiencies experienced by students. This early warning system identifies students who do not make adequate progress and matches student needs with the appropriate interventions. If the specific interventions used do not meet student needs, other interventions are attempted. Students are less likely to be prematurely identified as eligible for special education as their needs may be met by specific intervention (Colorado Department of Education, 2012).

In my capacity as Special Education Coordinator, my job is to ensure that the multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) is in place and all team members, from teachers to parents, are aware of their roles in support of the students. It is the responsibility of each team member to know their part in the process and to ensure that students’ needs are met. This ensures that only students with true special needs are identified for staffing into the appropriate special education eligibility area (Bufum, 2012).

Colorado Department of Education (2012). Creating the conditions for success: A case study of three Thompson schools’ RtI and PBIS frameworks. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Bufum, A., mattos, M., & Weber, C. (2012). Simplifying response to intervention: Four essential guiding principles. Bloomington, IA: Solution Tree Press.

Writing Instruction for Students with Disabilities, Part 2

Several years ago I discovered a great way to help students with learning disabilities to practice their written language skills in a way that will keep them motivated to write. Another teacher in the county that I worked for actually initiated the project that my students came to love. The teacher called my principal and requested that she ask her teachers if they were interested in starting a pen pal writing project with her. When I was approached with the idea, I knew right away that it was something I wanted to do. I had been an advocate for exposing students to as much writing experiences as possible since my college days. I believe that with ample practice in elementary and secondary school, students will be more likely to succeed in college. All teachers at all levels need to incorporate lots of writing into every subject.

The project started with the teacher sending me a large envelope filled with friendly letters from her students to mine. When we received the letters, we immediately began working on responses. We had previously begun practicing with mini-lessons that prepared my students for the task within our writing process time. The pen pal writing project started in January. By May, all of my students were solid writers, using all of the correct elements that make for effective written communication. I have also led the project as an inter-classroom project by separating the class into two groups and having them write to a pal from the opposite group anonymously. The students had lots of fun in both formats of the project.

Look for the book, The Interesting Pen Pal, to read more about what happened during our pen pal project and to get some of the lessons and materials that were used. The book is available on www.amazon.com and www.teacherspayteachers.com. This book is great reading for both teachers and students.

Common Research Elements

Some common elements of educational research methodology include the focusing on a research problem, making a hypothesis, identifying the variables, locating and reviewing related literature, and the use of educational measures.

Research questions, sampling and levels of measurement can be applied to special education research to identify effective instructional methods and program practices. This can be done by finding a problem or instructional method to address then developing a broad question to guide the research Rumrill, Cook, and Wiley, 2011). Sampling is used to represent the population to which the findings will be generalized. In special education this enables the researcher to work with a manageable amount of subjects. Levels of measurement are used to identify where the dependent variables lie. For example, the levels of achievement in the intervention and the amount of time administered are documented and used to determine the effects and outcomes.

In the classroom setting, teachers  can use this information to determine the benefits of an intervention that is being used. This can be done by documenting the levels of achievement acquired by students who are in the intervention group with those in a group not using it. This is called  the control group. This information can then be used to make changes in the intervention program as needed.

Rumrill, P, Cook, B., & Wiley, A. (2011). Research in special education: designs, methods, and applications. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas Publisher, LTD.

What is “Evidence-Based Practice”?

            “Evidence-based practice” (EBP) consists of strategies and processes that are proven to be effective with the population for which they are tested. The interpretation of EBP can vary according to the disability category because of the variability of student limitations and abilities. According to Burns and Ysseldyke (2009), most conversations regarding EBP relates to education in general. Not enough is being done to close the research-to-practice gap in special education.

Research to determine the effectiveness of educational practices for Students with Disabilities may be lack reliability because the need for specific methodologies that require large amounts of participants. Since the prevalence of certain disabilities may be low, it would be difficult to conduct the study effectively (Odom, Brantlinger, Gersten, Horner, Thompson, and Marris, 2005).

The questions asked in research studies to determine the effectiveness of special education practices cannot be simple (Odom, et al. 2005). There are specific considerations to include. The individual or group’s disabilities, age group, grade level, limitations, interests, language abilities and other factors such as the context must be considered in order to determine if the educational practice is effective. For example, a Varied Exceptionalities (VE) resource classroom may contain students with Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD), and Emotional and Behavioral Disability EBD). A particular program may have a different degree of effectiveness for one student than for the other. Therefore, the specialized instructional practices may be evidence-based, but should be evaluated differently according to the students it is meant to support.

Burns, M. K., & Ysseldyke, J. E. (2009). Reported Prevalence of Evidence-Based Instructional Practices in Special Education. Journal of Special Education, 43(1), 3–11.

Odom, S., Brantlinger, E., Gersten, R., Horner, R., Thompson, B., and Harris, K. (2005). Research in Special Education: Scientific Methods and Evidence-Based Practices. Council for Exceptional Children, 71(2), 137–148

Receptive Communication Skills

Students with difficulties in the area of receptive language reveal the need for extensive supports. It is important that he is taught strategies that will help him to be successful in following school behavior requirements reach academic expectations, and have positive social relationships.

The student needs assistance with his difficulty understanding the daily schedule. He will benefit from the use of a Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) daily schedule formatted for his specific needs. Cihak (2010) describes an important benefit of PECS as he compared it to another form of visual communication support in his experimental study. As a result of a structured environment, the student’s academic progress may also be positively affected. This is an evidence based strategy as there have been numerous studies done to investigate its effectiveness with students who have receptive language deficits. It was developed by Dr. Andy Bondy, a Speech/Language Pathologist in 1985 and is based on B. F. Skinner’s publication on Verbal Behavior.

Another type of communication support for individuals with language impairments is called Social Stories. If tshe student lacks compliance in the area of classroom expectations this reveals his need for this type of support. According to Schneider & Goldstein (2009), Social Stories supports students by teaching them the expected behaviors and supporting them as they work to develop positive habits.

Both of the above mentioned strategies have been used with adolescent individuals with language deficiencies, therefore would be effective in supporting students with receptive communication skill deficits as they gain effective communication skills.

Cihak, D. (2010). Comparing pictorial and video modeling activity schedules during transistions for students with autism spectrum disorders. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 5, 433-441. Retrieved from www.library.waldenu.edu

 Schneider, N. & Goldstein, H. (2009). Social stories improve the on-task behavior of children with language impairment. Journal of Early Intervention, 31, 250-264.Retrieved from www.library.waldenu.edu

Teaching Beginning Reading Skill vs. Teaching Reading Comprehension

There are significant differences between teaching beginning reading skills and teaching reading for comprehension. Beginning reading skills include the basic skills needed in order to learn how to read. Students need to learn that letters represent sounds, sounds are blended to make words, and words come together to make sentences. Reading comprehension skills include the more complex strategies that lead to understanding what is read. Students need to learn that the ultimate reason for reading is comprehension and it takes development of specific strategies to successfully interact with text.

In teaching beginning reading skills to students with disabilities our ultimate goal is to equip them with the prerequisites that are necessary to engage and succeed in reading comprehension. It is important to be guided by the essential big ideas and match the students’ learning needs with the instruction. Coyne, Kame’enui, and Carnine (2011) reported that learning to read in the primary grades carry significant benefits for cognitive development and school success. The groundwork is laid for successfully engaging in a variety of texts. The big ideas that need to be taught are phonological awareness, alphabetic principle, and fluency. Deliberate and conspicuous strategies must be taught to help students become independent readers. This begins with choosing or developing adjusting the resources needed for teaching the specific skills. Scaffolding, connecting known skills with more complex skills, and providing ample review are also essential parts of the teaching process.

Teaching reading for content requires that the beginning reading skills be used to facilitate comprehension. Once students master the basic reading skills, they can be taught specialized strategies that will strengthen their reading comprehension abilities. Strategies should be taught to support readers before, during, and after reading. Some of the strategies that should be taught for use before reading are to review vocabulary words using mind mapping, identifying text structure, and making predictions about the theme after previewing the text. Some strategies for use during reading are questioning, identifying main ideas of paragraphs, and gauging comprehension to fix as needed (Berkeley, Scruggs, and Mastropieri, 2009). Finally, students should be taught strategies to use after reading as a part of good reading habits. These strategies include summarizing, retelling, and evaluating.

Each strategy should be taught explicitly by introducing the steps and scaffolding for retention. Offering opportunities for judicious review will solidify the strategies and help develop them as part of a repertoire of good reading habits. These reading instructional strategies were outlined in the study conducted by Graves, Brandon, Duesbery, McIntosh, and Pyle (2011), Using the criteria for research-based practices, it was determined that the strategies detailed in this study work to support students in becoming strategic, successful readers.

Coyne, M., Kame’enui, E., and Carnine, D. (2011). Effective teaching strategies that accommodate diverse learners. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Berkeley, S., Scruggs, T., and Mastropieri, M. (2010). Reading comprehension instruction for students with learning disabilities, 1995 – 2006: A meta-analysis. Hammill Institute on Disabilities. Retrieved from http://rse.sagepub.com/content/31/6/423

Graves, A., Brandon, R., Duesbery, L., McIntosh, A., and Pyle, N. (2011). The effects of tier 2 literacy instruction in sixth grade: Toward the development of a response-to-intervention model in middle school. Learning Disability Quarterly. 34(1), 73-86. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org

Leading Effective Specialized Instruction

To implement and maintain effective specialized instruction at the school and district levels leaders must develop and organizational system of information dissemination and supports for educators and the community. This system should include a multidisciplinary team of professionals with expertise in their fields. Initial and ongoing training should be provided for teachers and the community (Renshaw, T., Young, K, Caldarlla, P, and Christensen, L., 2008).

At the school level training should be provided for teachers and other personnel who are in contact with the students. Professional development opportunities should be planned and executed on an ongoing basis. For example, if specific students require the use of incidental teaching, specific training in this method should be given to personnel who will interact with the student. Procedures should also be in place for the school as a whole in order to promote uniformity. This supports students in their compliance efforts. Data-based decision making, student monitoring, the referral system and dissemination of information are some examples of procedures to be developed (Sugai, G., and Horner, R., 2008).

At the district level, administrators should develop and manage dissemination of information to schools and training initiatives which include monitoring and reporting procedures.

Renshaw, T., Young, K, Caldarlla, P, and Christensen, L.  (2008). Can school-wide positive behavior support be an evidence-based practice? Retrieved from www.library.waldenu.edu

Sugai, G., and Horner, R. (2008). What we know and need to know about preventing problem behavior in schools. 16 (2), 76-77. Retrieved from www.library.waldenu.edu