By Sara Finegan

Sara and Richard Finegan

There’s a misconception among many in the field of education about special education.  To many, “learning disabled” means “unable to learn” or “limited learning capacity.”  The focus is on the “dis” part of “disability” instead of the ability part.  They ask the wrong questions:  “how smart is he?” rather than “how is he smart?”

We’re all guilty of this to some extent, and the result is that in more cases than not, the special education classroom is one where the learning is “dumbed down” and expectations are too low to inspire growth.

When this happens, our students become dependent on us for learning and information rather than independent thinkers.  When we lower our expectations because of assumptions about learning capacity or processing strengths, the kids learn not to think hard, think deeply, or use their strengths.

When kids aren’t taught to rigorous standards and to use and master important skills, they begin to abdicate responsibility for learning.  We cripple them  by modifying our expectations when what we should really be doing is  strengthening them by modifying our instruction to move them forward.

Over the course of the last decade, I’ve taught all kinds of students, from those with emotional disabilities to language deficits, cognitive and processing deficits, autism, and everything in between.  My long-time aide, whose three children are in  general education classes, informs me regularly that our classroom goes deeper and works kids harder than many general education classes in our district.  Certainly, we don’t require less than they do in terms of the quality and quantity of work from our students.

My students work hard, and I expect them to meet the State standards in every subject area.  My job is to figure out for each student how to get them there.

When I talk about having a demanding classroom, I’m not referring to the students.  I’m referring to my teaching.

This blog is intended to share the instructional strategies and practices that we use in our classroom, and to demonstrate how running a demanding classroom promotes the kind of intellectual growth and development of skills that students with mild to moderate learning disabilities need in order to be successful independent learners.

Your comments and questions are welcome as we embark on this journey.

demanding classroom · high expectations · learning disabled · rigor · rigorous instruction · Sara Finegan · special education · standards

By Sara Finegan  

To my way of thinking, there are two kinds of IEP goals:  remedial ones, and compensatory ones.  They are equally good; it is their purposes that differ.  A good IEP may contain some of both.

Remedial goals

A remedial goal is one which is intended to teach a student a skill which he has missed somewhere along the line.  I think of it as filling in a hole in the foundation of a child’s learning:  without this particular skill, progress in on grade-level standards is not achievable.

It’s important when considering remedial goals to choose ones which are reasonable and which are possible.  

I’ve written before about goals related to learning multiplication facts.  After fifth grade, I don’t think that should be a part of IEPs.   Knowing multiplication facts requires memory skills and sequencing.  Many kids really struggle with this – it may be a developmental thing and they’ll catch up later, or they may never get it.  

If parents really want the child to learn the multiplication tables, they can work on it at home.  Memorizing facts should not be an IEP goal.

Reasonable and possible remedial goals are ones which we believe a child can achieve with support and precise interventions.  

For example, we may discover that a sixth grade student doesn’t know what synonyms and antonyms are, and cannot use them in writing or to make meaning in reading.  This is something that has been taught in prior years, and is essential to progress in reading and writing. 

The student hasn’t “gotten it” in the general ed class,  so obviously a more direct and scaffolded approach is necessary.   Small group instruction or even a quick mini-lesson followed by 5-minute daily practice sessions could do the trick.  

Compensatory goals

Compensatory goals are ones which are designed to help a child perform a grade level standard with the necessary supports.  The goal is related to an academic standard, and it, as well as the benchmarks, specifies the types of supports that will be provided. 

Generally, we like to move from more to less.  

Lots of students have writing goals.  If the grade level standard requires that a child produce multi-paragraph essays (introductory paragraph with thesis statement, transition phrases, body paragraphs each with main idea and 3-5 supporting facts as well as a conclusion, and summary concluding paragraph, etc.) then that is the basic goal.  

Does the child need graphic organizers and visual prompts?  Checklists and rubrics?   A writing buddy?   Word banks and spellcheck?  

A goal might look like this:

“Given a topic, checklist of required assignment components, graphic organizer with word bank and rehearsal, Diana will produce a five-paragraph essay (introductory paragraph, 3 body paragraphs, conclusion) using compound sentences, rich vocabulary and proper spelling/punctuation, on 3 occasions with 80% accuracy as measured by checklist or rubric.”

If the child’s deficits are greater than Diana’s, perhaps the goal will read as follows: 

“Given a topic, checklist of required assignment components, and graphic organizer, Sam will use Dragon Speak or similar software to dictate 3 paragraphs, each with a main idea and 3-5 supporting details, on 3 occasions with 80% accuracy as measured by checklist or rubric.”

How about math?  Well, if Josh doesn’t know his multiplication facts in the fifth grade, he’s still going to have to be able to solve big multiplication problems.   As I said, Josh doesn’t need to learn to memorize.  He needs to learn strategies that will bridge the gap between his inability to memorize and fifth grade math problems.  Take a grade level standard and modify it.  How about one of these?

“Given 5 three-digit multiplication problems, a partial products template and a multiplication chart, Josh will show his work for each step in correctly solving them on 4/5 occasions with 80% accuracy.” 

Here, Josh is using compensatory strategies (multiplication chart and a partial products template) to do the same work as his grade-level peers.

Or

“Given 10 two-digit multiplication problems requiring knowledge of 8s facts and 9s facts, Josh will use compensatory strategies such as using the sum of the digits to write down his 9s facts and repeated addition to correctly solve them on 4/5 occasions with 80% accuracy as measured by student work.” 

If Josh can quickly jot down the 9s multiplication facts by writing 1 through 9 down the side of a page and then writing 1 through 9  up in the next space, he doesn’t need to have the nines memorized.  Similarly, if he can count on his fingers and write down the 8s through addition, he’s good to go!
 
Not every IEP needs both kinds of goals. 

Some kids are so close to grade level that they just need minimal supports in order to do the work that is required in their class.  Remedial goals might not be necessary.   Use your best judgment.

What I can say is that…

Only in IEPs for kids who are so severely disabled that the team decides they cannot access general education curriculum at all should you consider you omitting compensatory goals. 

Yes, a non-verbal child with autism who struggles with sensory issues can do some activity to demonstrate a component of a grade-level science standard.  It might be something simple, like correctly labeling the parts of a plant, or something more complex, such as growing a bean and making a chart of daily measurements.  

In a Special Day Class or a general ed class, our kids with IEPs are supposed to be accessing the gen ed curriculum.  They must have compensatory goals.

autism · benchmarks · case manager · compensatory · example · IEP goals · IEPs · math goals · multiplication · non-verbal · possible · reasonable · remedial · severe disability · support · writing goals · writing IEP goals

By Sara Finegan

A really good IEP goal requires some thinking and reviewing of student work.  It also requires that you really know the standards for the subject area and grade level the student is in now, or will be in the coming year.  

GOAL!!!

It helps to identify what the baseline is for the student and to state it explicitly with as  much precision as possible.   

• Does Betsy write a paragraph that has a topic sentence and supporting details but no conclusion? 
• Does Joe write short, choppy sentences without detail?  How often?   70% of the time?   6/10 times?  
• Does Abby successfully solve three-step math problems using a “how-to” chart 60% of the time?  
• Can you say that Bobby correctly answers comprehension questions with 65% accuracy after reading a second grade text?

Looking at that baseline and comparing it to the grade-level standard will show you exactly what to write in  the goal.  

 If the grade-level standard states that a student will use both compound and simple sentences in written work, and Josh uses simple sentences 90% of the time in independent writing, or will write compound sentences 60% of the time with maximum prompts, then the goal will be that Josh write using a combination of some sort (be specific) on 4/5 occasions, with 85% accuracy. 

Once you have the baseline and the goal, you need to start backwards planning.  What specific things does the student need to be able to do, with what kinds of support, on the way to achieve what goal?  If Josh needs maximum prompts to write compound sentences, what benchmarks are appropriate?  Here are a few:

1. How about starting out by having him combine simple sentences using prepositions and conjunctions?   A benchmark might be  “Given 10 simple sentences, a rehearsal and prompts as needed, Amy will use prepositions and/or conjunctions to make 5 compound sentences, on 4/5 occasions with 80% accuracy as measured by student work.”
2. Can Josh already combine sentences but only with maximum support?  Reduce the number of prompts.  Maybe “Given a student-written text, a rehearsal and no more than 2 prompts, Josh will revise two paragraphs by combining simple sentences into compound ones, on 4/5 occasions with 80% accuracy.”
3. Perhaps a later benchmark might read “Given a topic, graphic organizer and word bank, rehearsal and a visual prompt, Josh will write 3 compound sentences containing appositive or prepositional phrases, on 4/5 occasions with 80% accuracy as measured by student work.”

I like to have at least three measurable, data-based benchmarks for each goal.  Sometimes I write as many  as five–it just depends on the complexity of the goal.   As for the spacing intervals, the norm is to schedule them around the end of marking periods.  This is ok most of the time, but there are times when you need to set dates closer together.  

Recently, a colleague asked me not to write so many benchmarks, because it creates too much work; we have to write progress reports for each benchmark interval.     I replied that perhaps it creates more work for me, since I’m the one who will have to write the progress notes, but that’s not likely. 

A really good case manager is constantly collecting data, reviewing it and planning from it.  It takes me 3-4 minutes to write a progress note for a benchmark, because I have a notebook or folder with the data I need right at hand. 

I’m not afraid of hard work or more work; I’m afraid of what will happen if I start cutting corners on IEPs because I don’t want to work as hard as I do.

(Photo by popofatticus, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0)

backwards planning · baseline · benchmarks · collecting data · customized goals · generic goals · grade-level standards · IEP goals · IEPs · individualized · measurable · Sara Finegan · specific · standards-based · tips · writing IEP goals

By Sara Finegan

One of the coolest things about writing IEPs is that you get to create customized goals for the student.  

Once you know and understand a student’s learning style and deficits, you pinpoint the specific needs of the student and design measurable goals with objectives or benchmarks spaced at reasonable intervals throughout the year.    

This creates a roadmap for all of the support providers and teachers who are working with the student.

One of the most awful things I’ve discovered in  my consultations with parents and districts from around the country is how generic and inappropriate many goals are.    

• They aren’t measurable.   What the hell does “will improve in-class attitude by 50% ” mean?
• They aren’t standards-based.   There is no reason why a 14-year old should have a goal to learn the multiplication facts.   If he doesn’t know them by heart yet, he needs to use other strategies.   Any math goals should be related to the standards for his grade level, not third grade.
• They aren’t specific.    If I never again see a goal like “given a topic Danny will write a 5-paragraph essay that fulfils 70% of the requirements for the assignment” , I will be a happy woman.   Really?   Which 70%?   What can he already do, and what does he need to learn how to do?
• They aren’t customized to student needs and learning styles.   Many districts have an IEP system online, and in many cases there’s a drop-down menu of goals available.  The thing that most teachers don’t know is that these goals were never intended to be used as-is and the district administrators assumed we’d use them only in a pinch.   Generic goals have to be revised to match the student.  

We special ed teachers and case managers simply cannot allow ourselves to take shortcuts and use drop-down menus on this part of an IEP.  

There is absolutely no excuse for generic, mushy goals.   None.    

There’s a reason that special ed teachers have a smaller class or caseload size than general ed teachers:   we have more complicated work to do to create and fulfill individual education plans.   Not “group” education plans.

customized goals · generic goals · IEP goals · IEPs · individualized · measurable · specific · standards-based

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Photo copyright Richard Finegan, Paraeducator Central

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By Sara Finegan

When we’re working with kids who struggle to learn, there are several things at play within us:

• Compassion – who doesn’t remember times when we were trying to learn something and found it hard?  And when we remember, don’t those awful feelings of frustration and panic come right back up?
• Desire to nurture – you don’t have to be a parent to feel that primal urge to take care of, to coddle and to make things easy and lovely for someone.
• Urgency – whether you’re in a separate classroom or in the middle of a group of gen. ed kids, there are deadlines and we can’t spend 6 hours learning how to carry and borrow right this minute.
• Curiosity and interest – I don’t know about you, but I’m fascinated by how my students’ minds process information and learn new things.  When I’m working directly with a child, I am utterly absorbed with what I’m seeing and hearing from them – even if what I’m hearing is silence.  I’m watching and noting the smallest details, and putting those details together with others and reframing my picture of the kiddo.
• Jumping ahead – There’s a part of me that is always looking forward to the desired outcome, the longterm one.  As I observe and show a child what to do now, I am thinking about how to release the responsibility fully back to him or her, and what I want to see him/her do. 

Many of these factors war with one another, and I think it’s a learned skill to master them sufficiently to be able to give just the proper support to an individual or small group of kids.  I often have to deal with the “urgency” factor by mentally chunking what we’re doing into smaller increments and focusing on just getting one tiny step done now, with the rest to come later. 

I frequently have to remind myself that I’m not the one who is struggling right now, so get over it.  And it is absolutely essential that I control my mothering instinct, because if I didn’t, I’d be an enabler or a crutch, not a teacher.

More damage is done to kids by helping them than by not.   That may sound far-fetched, but I believe it to be so.   We’re often so busy sheltering and scaffolding and supporting kids that we forget to release responsibility back to them, and as a result, kids are dependent on us.     

Who hasn’t worked with a child who quite obviously doesn’t know how to persevere and try a bunch of different ways to solve a problem?  Who hasn’t encountered a kiddo who says “I dunno” within 2 seconds of realizing he doesn’t know the answer?  What about those kids we see, in every school, who are passive learners, expecting everything to come to them, rather than reaching out and grabbing at knowledge? 

On my caseload over the years, I’ve seen quite a few.  In some years, they have approached the majority of my students; in others, about a third.

It’s not the kids’ fault.  It’s ours.  We’ve helped too much in the wrong way.

This doesn’t mean that we need to stop providing support .  It means that we need to change the manner in which we support, and be ever-vigilant about the effects of our help.  

Watch yourself.  Catch yourself if you:

• Find yourself giving the answer when the child should be finding it himself.
• Are jumping in to a silence instead of giving a child extra time to think and respond.
• Are cutting corners to get through a task with a child faster than he or she can process or work
• Are feeling frustrated and impatient – maybe you’ve taken on too much with the child
• Think, even subconsciously, that getting it right is more important than learning it. 

We are all susceptible to lapses, of course.  But the more we let the child do the thinking , reasoning, puzzling and work, the more he will be learning.

chunking · high expectations · independence · role · Sara Finegan · support · supports · teaching strategies · tips

 By Richard Finegan 

1.  Personal attention.  Children who are independent and self-motivated are a joy in the classroom, but they are the exception.  Most need prompting and pep talks to stay on task and do their best work.

2. Encouragement.  Most kids need to know that someone cares if they do the work, finish the assignment, understand the lesson.

3. Reassurance.  Being shown  that they can do it, get it, learn it.  Kids who have struggled and become accustomed to low grades easily internalize the idea that they just aren’t capable.

4. Focus.  So many kids struggle with attention deficits, some simply can’t stay on task without someone to redirect them frequently.

5. Repetition.  The para can repeat, in a variety of ways as necessary, what the teacher is explaining in the lesson.  This addresses the various learning styles of the students, and gives them more opportunities to “get it.”

6. Illustration.  Children, especially if they have auditory processing deficits, can’t visualize what is being described.  I use my white board to draw pictures, especially in math class, or in social studies.

7. Demonstration.  If they see something right in front of them, not all the way across the room where the teacher is, it is more likely to be remembered.

8. Motivation.  Exactly what motivates a particular child, or causes him to be unmotivated, can differ.  But if they like you they will want to please you.

9. Reward.  If the teacher agrees, some kids really respond well to the positive reinforcement of some sort of reward for doing their best.   I usually use cheap prizes that they earn with stickers.

10. Independence.  Never forget that what you are working toward is not a child who does well when attached to the umbilical cord of an aide, but a kid who continues to do well when the aide steps away to help another student.

(Reposted by the author from Paraeducator Central.)

10 ways · attention deficit · auditory processing · classroom aides · classroom assistants · demonstrate · demonstration · educational assistants · encourage · encouragement · focus · illustrate · illustration · independence · independent · instructional strategies · learning disabilities · learning styles · motivate · motivation · off task · on task · one-on-one · paraeducator resources · Paraeducators · paraprofessionals · personal attention · positive reinforcement · prizes · prompt · prompting · reassurance · reassure · redirect · redirection · repeat · repetition · repitition · reward · Richard Finegan · role · self-motivated · small group work · special education assistants · stickers · support · teacher assistants · ten ways · visualization · visualize · white board

All aboard!  We now host a new blog by, for, and about paraeducators:  Paraeducator Central.

We only slowly came to recognize the amount of interest there has been on posts about topics relating to those non-teacher personnel who serve our special needs kids, whether we call them special education assistants, paraprofessionals, classroom aides, educational assistants, or paraeducators.

We hope and believe that this new blog will serve a needed niche,  where paraeducators can speak for and among themselves.  Take a look and let us hear from you.

classroom aides · paraeducator · Paraeducators · paraprofessionals

By Richard Finegan 

There seems to be lots of interest on the web in information about paraeducators and our work with special needs kids.  Plenty is written about us by teachers, administrators, union professionals or college professors who’ve never actually done our jobs.   Not much out here is written by paraprofessionals ourselves.  That is a shame.

Sara and Richard Finegan

Some, even some of our coworkers, may have the impression that we are little more than day care workers in the public schools.  Most of us have been asked by a general ed teacher to leave the classroom (and the kids we are there to help) to go run some menial errand.  Many of us are not even consulted about or included in IEPs relating to the kids we work with, as if our observations or insights are of no consequence.

If we are going to be taken seriously, as professionals, we need to support efforts to make our jobs more professional.  Continuing education classes should be required for us, in my opinion.  Certification by the state might be appropriate where that is not already done. 

But I’ve drifted from my point:  We need to speak for ourselves.  We need to assert ourselves as intelligent, articulate professionals capable of worthwhile contribution to the discussion of our own jobs and role in the special education system.

With the expansion of full inclusion, where kids with special needs are distributed among the general ed population ad not segregated in special classes, more of us than ever before will be working in general ed classrooms without the constant presence of a special ed teacher.  Many of the general ed teachers will turn to us for guidance in dealing with issues relating to our kids.  If you’ve worked as a one-on-one to an included child you know this to be true.

We need to be prepared to step up to the plate.  Don’t wait for the general ed teacher to identify problems to you; bring things to his or her attention.  Suggest solutions or consultations with the special ed case manager.  Be an advocate for your kids.  Be an advocate for yourself as a knowledgeable coworker in the classroom, more than just a warm-bodied adult.

We contribute to this acceptance of us as professionals when we stop letting the conversation, both in the schools and on the web, be ABOUT us and start being WITH us.

We need to speak for ourselves. 

So here is my invitation to all paraeducators with something to say to the world:  contact me.  I have no desire to be a lonely voice in the wilderness of the internet .  I can see that appropriate posts get published and, more importantly, FOUND by search engines like Google, bing, Yahoo, AOL. Together we can be stronger.

If there is enough interest in this, I am considering setting  up a separate blog that can serve as a forum and sounding board for paraeducators.  What do you think?

I am cross-posting this on The Demanding Classroom and Readers With Autism.  Each blog already contains earlier posts for and about us as paraeducators.  You can look for the category “Paraeducators” on either blog to find my posts, which are mostly different on each site.

advocate · blog · classroom aides · continuing education · forum · general education · Inclusion · one-on-one · paraeducator · Paraeducators · paraprofessionals · professional · Richard Finegan · special education