(SERGE) Special Education Resources for General Educators

http://serge.ccsso.org/index.html

It is our responsibility as general educators to ensure that all of our students succeed, including our students with disabilities.  The Special Education Resources for General Educators website (SERGE), is an excellent place for general educators to seek out the information and activities they need to address the classroom needs of students with disabilities.  

The content of SERGE is organized around seven essential questions for classroom educators.  These include questions such as "How can I be sure that my students will succeed in the curriculum I am teaching?" and "What are effective ways to assess what my students are learning?" 

Under each essential question you will find very practical suggestions on how you can improve your instruction.  You will also find several follow up questions which offer factual information, suggestions for classroom activities, advice on successful collaboration, as well as additional resources.  Some of these follow up questions deal with very practical concerns such as "What is my role as a general educator in 'Response to Intervention' (RTI)?"  Other follow up questions address the kinds of puzzling things we've all asked ourselves before, like "Why are certain populations over-represented in special education?"  As an M.A.T. student, I find SERGE to be an invaluable website and I expect to visit it often as I begin my career as a general educator.  

10 Tips for Using Powerpoint in the Classroom

1.  Make your Power-points interesting!  Don't rely on the limited stock templates Microsoft Office provides.  Get creative and find other images on the web for more visually appealing backgrounds.

2.  Don't write long drawn out paragraphs on the slides.  If you do,  half of your students will fall asleep, and the other half will read through it quickly without listening to what you're saying... and then fall asleep.

3.  Write small phrases on your slides and then discuss them in detail during your presentation.

4.  You can number the order in which your bullet points appear.  This is great, whether your presenting  or  creating a Power-point Show.  Your slides will feel less cluttered and viewers won't be able to read ahead while you're talking.

5.  Use at least one interesting image on each slide.  Think outside the box.  Use graphs, charts, pictures, or even embedded video.

6.  Create hyperlinks that allow you to jump around in your presentation.

7.  Use animation sparingly.  Animation is a great way to make your Power-point more engaging, but if you overdo it and you'll end up distracting your viewers.

8.  If you're doing a Power-point show, make sure there are no background noises while you're recording.  Also, don't speak too close to the microphone or your voice will sound distorted.

9.  Speak clearly and enthusiastically while recording your Power-point show.  If you don't sound interested in your material, then why should anyone else?

10.  Don't make it too long.  Students are only capable of focusing on a Power-point show/presentation for 10-15 minutes.  Any longer than that and you've lost them.

Below is a PPT that I created for my Technology & Education class.  HOWEVER, the subject of said PPT involves the creation and of alcoholic beverages.  Probably not appropriate for a classroom.  The point of the assignment (in my mind) was to practice using Power point.  

Mindsteps and Differentiated Instruction

Effective teachers know that differentiated instruction is necessary if they expect to meet the wide range of needs common in most schools.  Teachers need to think carefully about how they are managing their classrooms, how they are grouping students, what kinds of instructional materials are appropriate for students with different needs, and what methods they will use to teach certain skills and content.  Sounds pretty overwhelming, right?

Mindsteps mission is to provide teachers with the professional development they need to improve their teaching skills.  A section of their website deals specifically with helping teachers learn to effectively differentiate instruction according their students' needs.   Please click on the following links to see the various strategies Mindsteps has come up with to help teachers improve:

The Four Types of Students Reference Guide
Blank Differentiated Unit Planning Sheet
Sample English Differentiated Unit Plan

Utah Center for Assistive Technology

The Utah Center for Assistive Technology's (UCAT) mission statement is:  "Helping people with disabilities identify and obtain assistive technology that will enhance the quality of their lives."

Check out the awesome work they've done, like creating a glove-like device to help a miner go back to work after an accident in which he lost nearly half his hand.  

UCAT also spends a lot of time helping make the lives of young people with disabilities more fun!  

Check out this "suck and blow train set" they created with help from a group of engineers in Logan, Utah at Autonomous Solutions.

Another UCAT staff member adapted a bike trailer using an old wheelchair so this young man could go on bike rides with his brother.

Supplementary Aids and Services under IDEA

Here is some really useful information regarding supplementary aids and services for students with disablities.  It's important that everyone involved in the development of a student's IEP understand that the IEP must contain a statement outlining the kind of special education, supplementary aids and services the child will require to meet annual goals.  This includes aids and services required by those who are working on behalf of the child.  It's also important that parents and professionals understand what is meant by 'supplementary aids and services.'

IDEA’s Exact Words

Again, let’s start with IDEA’s full requirement for identifying the supplementary aids and services a child will need and specifying them in his or her IEP. This appears at §300.320(a)(4) and stipulates that each child’s IEP must contain:

(4) A statement of the special education and related services and supplementary aids and services, based on peer-reviewed research to the extent practicable, to be provided to the child, or on behalf of the child, and a statement of the program modifications or supports for school personnel that will be provided to enable the child—

(i) To advance appropriately toward attaining the annual goals;

(ii) To be involved in and make progress in the general education curriculum in accordance with paragraph (a)(1) of this section, and to participate in extracurricular and other nonacademic activities; and

(iii) To be educated and participate with other children with disabilities and nondisabled children in the activities described in this section… [§300.320(a)(4)]

We’ve bolded the part of IDEA’s regulation that specifically mentions supplementary aids and services, because it’s important to see the context in which this term is used. It is that context, and IDEA’s own definition of supplementary aids and services, that will guide how a child’s IEP team considers what services the child needs and the detail with which the team specifies them in the IEP.

The Short Story on Supplementary Aids and Services

Supplementary aids and services are often critical elements in supporting the education of children with disabilities in regular classes and their participation in a range of another school activities. IDEA’s definition of this term (at §300.42)reads:

Supplementary aids and services means aids, services, and other supports that are provided in regular education classes, other education-related settings, and in extracurricular and nonacademic settings, to enable children with disabilities to be educated with nondisabled children to the maximum extent appropriate …

Speaking practically, supplementary aids and services can be accommodations and modifications to the curriculum under study or the manner in which that content is presented or a child’s progress is measured. But that’s not all they are or can be. Supplementary aids and services can also include direct services and supports to the child, as well as support and training for staff who work with that child. That’s why determining what supplementary aids and services are appropriate for a particular child must be done on an individual basis.