Context

This concept piece involves a large public high school in Manhattan that enrolls over 1,600 students, 25% of those whom have mild to moderate disabilities and receive special education services. The population of students with disabilities (SWD) has grown significantly over the past five years, and that trend is expected to continue into the future.

Problem

General education teachers at this school are responsible for teaching students with disabilities.  Approximately 90% of teachers on staff have students with IEPs on their current caseload, but lack training specific to this population.  As a result, they often fail to engage with IEPs in a meaningful way and take a passive role in the annual review process of these documents.

The special education department identified two pain points affecting the school:

1. Many general education teachers are not fluent in navigating IEPs, resulting in a lack of engagement with the needs of SWD.

2. General education science and social studies teachers struggle to provide meaningful feedback because all IEP goals must be aligned to CCLS Math or ELA standards. This results in additional work for the IEP team.

3. Data collection is outdated, relying primarily on a standardized handwritten form. As a result, response rates to inquiries about student performance are low and the data is not always useable.

Action Mapping

I consulted with a team of four SMEs—all special education teachers across content areas—to better assess the needs of the department. Using Cathy Moore’s action mapping approach, we worked out from the overall goal of increasing the engagement of general education teachers with the special education process. From there we isolated three specific pain points that faced the department, and identified what actions would need to be taken in order to meet the goal.

Solution

The school did not provide a designated time or venue for a full-staff training, and because teachers cannot be contractually obligated to complete an e-learning course, the special education department and I determined the best course of action was a suite of resources that could be quickly and easily rolled out during weekly departmental meetings.

Resource 1: An Introduction to Individualized Education Plans: Navigating IEPs Efficiently & Effectively

This project, developed in Articulate Storyline 360 features information on the most crucial sections of the IEP, as determined by the special education department.  This will allow general education teachers to become more familiar with the structure and content of an IEP without getting bogged down by sections that are jargon-heavy and less relevant to their instruction.

Supplement: QR Reference Card

This supplement, developed in Adobe Illustrator, is a postcard with a QR code that provides easy access to the tab function. Teachers will be asked to post it behind their desks or near their computers, so they can continue using the resource long after they’ve lost the link to their inbox.

Resource 2: Job Aid: Writing Quality IEP Goals in Science & Social Studies

This job aid, also developed in Adobe Illustrator provides the steps for science and social studies teachers to follow when writing IEP goals.  This job aid will help ensure that the data is eligible for inclusion in the IEP, and that it can be used to craft a SMART goal. All science and social studies teachers in the school will receive a copy.

Resource 3: Digital Data Collection Form

This form, developed using the school’s preferred Google Forms, will be delivered to teachers in the weeks preceding an IEP’s annual review. Teachers will be asked to provide information that pertains directly to the development to the IEP, and questions are tailored specifically to the department in which a teacher works.

QR Reference Card

Job Aid

Data Collection Form

Reflection

My biggest takeaway from this project is the understanding that a course or workshop is not always the best solution for an organization's needs. In this instance, a course would not work for a number of reasons:

• The administration was not willing to provide the time to conduct a full-scale training;

• Teachers cannot be contractually obligated to complete training on their own time;

• Many of the behaviors that need changing don't require extensive training or coursework. I

In some cases, a job aid, an online tool, or a new piece of technology can better meet an organization's needs than a fully-fleshed out e-learning course could. By action mapping this project and heeding Cathy Moore’s advice (“A ‘course’ is rarely the solution.”), I believe I came up with a more effective solution for this school’s problem.