Collaboration and
Team Models
In Relation to
Creating Individualized Education Programs
Robin
Crim
EDSP
5013
This
paper will address using collaboration and Team Models to create Individualized
Education Programs (IEP) in special education, school settings. I will cover what an IEP is and why they are
needed. I will discuss how an IEP Team
is set up and who should be involved in an IEP and how conflicting or differing
information and ideas should be approached.
I will discuss how goals for an IEP are decided. Finally, I will show how Teams can submit
their findings and communicate with Team members, administration, and families.
An
IEP is a legal document that sets forth the “learning needs, the services the
school will provide and how the progress will be measured” for a student who is
receiving special education services (Stanberry, 2014).
Federal law called
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires that
public schools
create an IEP for every child’s unique learning issues and include
specific
educational goals. The IEP is a legal
binding document. The school
must provide
everything it promises in the IEP.
By law IEPs must include where the
student is currently in his level of performance, what the annual goals for him
will be, a list of supports and services, accommodations and modifications
provided by the special education department of his school. The IEP must set a time for assessment and
evaluation of the student’s progress and a plan for transitioning him for life
after high school (if applicable). IEPs
are an important way for student’s strengths and weaknesses to be
discussed. IEPs give an opportunity for
staff and parents to see how a student is progressing or where he might need
more assistance.
The
first task of an IEP is to create an IEP Team.
Due to the nature of the IEP, several people should be involved with its
creation. Students should be represented
by their parent or guardian, the Special Education Teacher, the General
Education Teacher, a School Administrator (Principal, Assistant Principal, or Special
Education Director), any Therapist (Occupational or Physical), Speech
Pathologist, and if possible the School Counselor. “Each team member comes to a meeting with a
particular set of knowledge about the students as well as institutional
knowledge” that will help facilitate and move the meeting and the student
towards success (Ruppar and Gaffney, 2011).
Because the decisions made at an IEP meeting are made on behalf of a
student, it is imperative that the guardian or parent be in attendance. Parents who are informed and involved tend to
be the catalyst for successful educational experiences for their child. Parents with children with special needs want
to let the Team know what is going on in the life of their child outside of the
classroom, they want the Team to understand that their child is an individual
and they desire to be informed and included in their child’s education and
success (Hebel and Persitz, 2014). It is
important that the Team take into consideration the background, culture,
knowledge, and language when working with parents. Friend and Cook (2013) point out in their
book Interactions that professionals
should provide clear, jargon-free information and should communicate regularly
with parents. That communication breaks
down when educators and other professionals use “specialized terminology” or
they view the IEP meeting as simply a way for parents to sign off on paperwork
(Rupar and Gaffney, 2011). Using a wide
range of professional Team members creates a group that brings together
knowledge and experience, which opens up the possibilities for resolution
and/or promotion of educational decisions for the special needs student. When professional collaborate effectively then
the student succeeds. It is important
that the IEP Team Members communicate within their group as well as with the
family, they should assign roles such as time keeper, secretary and so forth
giving each person a responsibility, they should be sure to prepare their
information in advance of the meeting and make sure that their data is
up-to-date, and procedures should be established “that ensure all members have
opportunities to participate and establish expectations that support team
members’ expression of divergent opinions” (Ruppar and Gaffney, 2011). When conflict or misunderstanding occurs then
it is in the best interest of the student and the Team to resolve their
differences quickly. Professionals
involved in an IEP Team should keep in mind that they are not competing with
the other professionals in the group and that they should come with an open
mind about services and accommodations and not use the IEP meeting to push
their own agenda.
Once
an IEP Team has been set up and a meeting time established, then it is time to
think about how to set the goals for the student. There are several things to take into
consideration when setting goals for an IEP.
What are the parental concerns?
Are the goals reflective of engagement in tasks or play which were
developmentally appropriate? Is there
are behavior modification or appropriate motivational systems in place? Do they address motor skills, both fine and
gross? Do they cover academic standards
and basic cognitive skills? Is there
behavioral problems that should be considered?
And, should the student be placed in an extended school year setting or
is he eligible for transition/postsecondary goals? (Ruble and McGrew, 2013). Peterson et al, (2013) wrote that goals
should be triangulated.
The triangulated
annual goal should consist, at a minimum, of an
observable
behavior (action), a condition, and a criteria (measurement).
Triangulating
these three components helps the team write a goal that
provides
a maximized outcome for students with disabilities.
Goals that are set in this manner
create a “student-focused, compliant, legally defensible and relevant IEP”
(Peterson et al., 2013). Once the goals
are set it is important that the General Education teacher and the Special
Education teacher are willing to adhere to the goals. If the teachers do not buy in to the
modifications, accommodations and IEP goals then the IEP was useless. The IEP goals cannot be met if the teachers
do not adhere to the goals, initiate change in behavior or educational outcomes
of student, or are not responsive to the student and their needs (Ruble and
McGrew, 2013). The IEP Team should be
flexible and continually reevaluate the IEP goals so that they are meeting the
needs of the student and when the IEP Team creates realistic goals, “then every
component of the plan should assist the student in reaching those goals”
(Peterson et al., 2013).
Once
the IEP Team has been chosen and the goals have been set, then it is time to
think about how to communicate the outcome to IEP Team members, administration,
and family. In today’s society as well
as in education settings there is a move towards technology. By
using a technology based system for IEP delivery IEP Team members can be
assured that multiple IEP team members and service providers can access the
IEP, they can be made aware of upcoming meetings or other IEP goal oriented
dates, and they can “generate reports of student progress and help school
districts maintain compliance with laws and regulations” (More and Hart,
2013). Another feature of using
electronic IEP programs is that schools would have a better view of caseloads
and staffing needs (More and Hart, 2013).
Also, it is an ideal way to communicate with parents. Drafts of IEP goals can be sent to parents
ahead of an IEP meeting, in this way the parents can review the information and
be ready with questions or changes that they may feel are needed and in the IEP
meeting the data can be projected for all to see which creates an air of
inclusion and might help generate new ideas (More and Hart, 2013).
In
conclusion, IEPs are an integral part of every special needs child’s
educational career. It is mandated by
federal law and is required in all public schools for children who receive
special education services. In order for
the IEP to be successful, then the IEP Team members must include
multidisciplinary staff members and most importantly, the family of the
student. Communication is the key to a
successful IEP meeting and it is important that every member is informed and is
allowed to speak. IEP goals should fit
the child and his individual needs and staff members must be willing to adhere
and follow through with all goals and recommendations of the IEP Team. Finally, once goals are set and an IEP is in
place it is imperative that the staff, administration, and family stay in
communication with each other about the IEPs success in order to evaluate its
success along with the success of the student.
Above all, the child is the one who benefits from an IEP and it is most
important that the IEP Team Members and family to think of them first and
foremost.
References
Friend, M., Cook, L. (2013). Interactions: Collaboration skills for
school professionals.
Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Hebel,
O., Persitz, S. (2014). Parental
involvement in the individual educational program for
Israeli students with disabilities. International Journal of Special Education,
29 (3), pages 58 – 68. http://ezproxy.twu.edu:2339/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5&sid
=8115a89c-b7f2-499d-a757-3f242854e943%40sessionmgr4004&hid=4207
Peterson, L. Y., Burden, J. P.,
Sedaghat, J. M., Gothberg, J. E., Kohler, P. D., Coyle, J. L. (2013).
Triangulated
iep transition goals. Teaching
Exceptional Children, 45 (6), pages 46 – 47. http://ezproxy.twu.edu:2339/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=8115a89c-b7f2-499d-a757-3f242854e943%40sessionmgr4004&vid=12&hid=4207
Ruppar, A. L., Gaffney, J. S.
(2011). Individualized education program
team decisions: A
preliminary
study of conversations, negotiations, and power. Research
and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 36 (1-2), pages 11 – 22.
https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/special-services/ieps/understanding-individualized-education-programs#top
Ruble, L., McGrew, J. H. (2013).
Teacher and child predicators of achieving iep goals of
children
with autism. Journal of Autism and
Development Disorders. DOI 10.1007/s10803-013-1884-x or http://ezproxy.twu.edu:2339/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?
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Stanberry, K. (2014). Understanding
individualized education programs. Understood:
for
learning and attention issues. Retrieved
on July 3, 2015 from https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/special-services/ieps/understanding-individualized-education-programs#top
