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Designing from the Ground Floor: Alternate Assessment on Alternate Achievement Standards
Step 2 - Define the outcome of instruction for all
students
Step 2
2. Define the outcome(s) of instruction.
- Outcomes for all students
- Prioritized outcomes for student with IEP
- Supports typically used for student with IEP
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Prioritized Outcomes
- Reduce complexity
- Reduce number of skills/concepts
Should open up opportunities to access content standards vs. limiting participation in instructional activities |
This step specifies the instructional unit and identifies the
learning outcomes specific to that unit – what is it that the teacher
wants all students to learn. Referring
to the unit objectives for all students maintains focus on the desired outcomes
of instruction and may facilitate a prioritization of outcomes for the student
with disabilities. A casual
conversation with the general education teacher will often get at desired
outcomes for an instructional unit that can then be adjusted and prioritized to
meet the needs of the student with disabilities. This step should not be confused with
the identification of the standard(s), but rather represents what the
achievement of the standard will look like.
Once the teacher or educational team has identified what
concepts, skills, and specific knowledge all students are meant to acquire, a prioritized
subset might be selected for the student with disabilities. If the set of outcomes is very complex,
lengthy, or highly specialized, it may be helpful to reduce the complexity of
what is required for the student with disabilities. This may be as simple as prioritizing a reduced
number of skills/concepts to systematically teach the student. This should not serve to limit the
participation in the instructional activities (which open up opportunities to
learn additional skills/concepts/ knowledge), but should serve to focus
instruction and monitoring on the selected skills/concepts.
After selecting the targeted skills/concepts for the
student, it is essential to identify potential barriers and missed
opportunities that may be created by the interaction between the instructional environment
(methods and materials) and student characteristics (strengths, interests and
weaknesses) (CAST, 2002). Potential
barriers may also be found in the physical arrangement of the classroom, the
level of supports available to the student or staff, and inappropriate level of
challenge (Zabala, 1996). These
barriers and possible solutions may be addressed within the student's IEP
through a description of the student's present level of performance and
supports that are typically in place for the student (e.g., instructional,
behavioral, and assistive technology). Both barriers and solutions will be discussed
in more detail (Step 3, Identify the instructional activities) as the
instructional activities designed to teach the grade-level standard are
introduced. Considering both the
supports already identified for the student and the desired learning outcomes
will help in identifying the appropriate supports for the planned instructional
activities. Decisions on specific
assistive technology tools should be made once the learning environment and
tasks are determined (Zabala, 1996).
Activity 2 (after Step 2 introduction)
- Spend 2 minutes in small groups letting participants describe to each other collaboration techniques they have found to work. (3 minutes)
- (1) Have participants in small groups define 1 problem they have had in ensuring effective collaboration. (2) Write this problem on note paper and put in an envelope. (5 minutes) (3) Exchange this envelope with a different table. The receiving table will brainstorm several possible solutions to the problem and write those down on the note paper. (5minutes) (4) The envelope then gets returned to the original table with a review of the possible solutions. (2 minutes) (15 minutes)
- (1) Have participants in small groups number off within their groups. (2) Jigsaw the groups so that all number 1s are together, numbers 2s together, etc. (2 minutes) (3) Within the newly formed groups, have participants discuss collaboration strategies that have worked for them. (4) Each group member writes down all the suggestions. (10 minutes) (5) Re-form the groups back to their original configuration and have group members report out within their group the suggestions they wrote down. (8 minutes) (20 minutes)
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