About collaboration & information sharing – transcript
[on the screen]
The IEP process in secondary schools
About collaboration and information sharing
Students, teachers, parents, and whānau talk about their experiences being part of the IEP team.
Panel of contributors:
- Mary McDonald, Specialist Teacher Garin College, Nelson
- Rachelle Stratton, HOD Learning Needs Tauranga Boys’ College
- Jocelyn Springthorpe, HOD Learning Support (2012) Queens College, Dunedin
What makes the IEP process successful?
[Quote]
"The collaboration of the school team is vital to the success of the IEP process."
[on screen are boxes; each box identifies who makes up the school team]
Student, teachers, families, whānau, school leaders, teachers' aides, specialist support, other agencies
What makes the IEP process successful for students?
- being involved in their own IEPs
- taking lead where appropriate
- understanding the purposes and benefits of IEPs
- being prepared by a team so they can participate.
Jocelyn:
The literature review has some interesting findings about students and how they like to be involved in their self-determination. They like to feel that they are being listened to. They like to know what is expected to and of them. Often they like to focus on socialisation, and being part of a a whole-school community, doing the sorts of things that their peers like to do. They also like to be involved in the direction of their post-school transition, in the making of decisions, and informing plans for when they’re going to leave school.
Some students may need time to prepare for their IEP and discuss their goals with their teacher before they go into their meeting.
[On the screen]
Success for students – Let's meet Stephen
Mary:
Stephen chose to write a letter to his new teachers and classmates when he moved from primary school into a secondary school. He talks about what the world's like for him, and ways that we could help him be successful in his new environment.
[On the screen]
Success for students – Let's meet Tayla
Tayla talks about her involvement in the IEP process and setting goals.
Narrator:
Tayla, how does being part of your IEP help you be successful at school?
Tayla:
I think, because I can, I think because I can talk as well, because in my old school I wasn’t (inaudible) going to IEPs as much.
Narrator:
What advice would you give a year 9 student who might be a bit nervous about being part of their IEP?
Tayla:
I think I would tell them, if like they were in year 9, like one of my friends, if they had their meeting, they I would say, “Have a look at my work”, and then they can think about what they can say in their work.
Narrator:
Is it easier to talk with just one person or is it easier to talk in a group?
Tayla:
It’s easy to ... it doesn’t even mind because I don’t mind talking to one person or in a group. Because then I know what my Dad wants, what Anne wants, what everybody wants, before I say anything.
Narrator:
What advice do you have for students about setting their IEP goals?
Tayla:
I think at school just keep it on what you’re doing, acknowledge all the stuff that your teacher’s giving to you, that your teachers have given to you, and just have fun with it.
[On the the screen]
What makes IEP successful for teachers?
[Quote]
"Collaborative problem-solving and decision-making focused on teaching and learning for students with disabilities have the potential to create fundamental changes in the ways that teachers teach and students learn."
Rachelle:
Teachers will have in their classes a number of students who learn differently and are of different curriculum ability levels. It is the responsibility of the teacher to make sure that all students within their class have their learning needs met.
Teachers need to adopt a differentiated learning style where they teach at a variety of levels to meet the learning needs of students within their classes. Meeting needs of students may mean that as well as delivering instructions verbally, you also write the instructions on the board. Following instructions, you may visit the child and ask them to repeat the instructions to make sure they’ve understood fully what is required of them.
Assessment may also need to be differentiated to meet the needs of students. Some students may be able to give a verbal account of their understanding, while other students have to take a written test.
All assessment needs to be tied back to the learning goals which are outlined in the IEP for that subject area.
[On the screen]
Success for teachers
Let's hear from Cath Donovan – HOD Learning Support (2012), Greymouth College – how important student voice is to the successful IEP process.
Cath:
For us working in the secondary environment, they need their voice – they’re young adults. They don’t stay at school forever, there’s an end, they can see that there is an end to secondary schooling. So they should be driving it. It shouldn’t be about us making decisions about their learning. It’s got to be, what do they need? What do they say they need? What do they want? I find for our students, the want and need is paramount. They’re the ones that are going to be leaving school. If we have that sense of urgency that they can bring to it by having a strong emphasis on their voice, in my experience, it is often that motivating factor which leads towards their personal sense of success.
[On the screen]
What make the IEP process successful for families and whānau?
CEO Anne Wilkinson and Support Parent Rita Harris from Parent to Parent talk about how important family and whānau involvement is for a successful IEP process.
Anne:
The thing about this whole process that I think is the most valuable is the fact that it is a team approach, and we’re all there together, we’re all equals. So that us as a family, it’s our child, and it’s also the school and the other professionals involved. And that just makes it much, much more effective. And it’s really nice to feel that you are part of a well-functioning team. To me that’s been quite an empowering process to be part of that team and to do that. It's definitely about trusting relationships.
Rita Harris:
Having a really trusting ... or a group that you can trust is really important. And also getting feedback at different times. You felt like the whole team were working together rather than it being just something that falls back on the family. It was really quite encouraging.
Ann:
I always think that it’s important for us to remember that because we are part of the team that we have stuff to do, too. We have a responsibility to do our bit at home. Just like we’re expecting the school to be doing their bit at school.
Rita:
I went away feeling quite uplifted because it wasn’t focusing on what she can’t do, it wasn’t focusing on how different she is from everybody else. It was just looking at what she could do and what she was capable of doing with a little bit of work. Because it meant that when I went home, I was going to be a better parent because I had a different energy, whereas if you went in and looked at all the things that she can’t do, why would you want to go back, and why would you even bother.
[On the screen]
Download Documents
The following documents are available for download from the same page as this video presentation:
- Information sheets 'After and between IEP meetings' and 'Co-ordinating information around the IEP meetings'
- Stephen's letter for his teachers