During this case, I learned the importance of creating inclusion in the classroom. It has a number of benefits to learning outcomes such as positive academic learning, greater social competence, less rejection and more social interactions. Additionally, the BC Ministry of Education has a policy of inclusion which states all students should have equal access to education and learning. Consequently, teachers have a responsibility to support students with differing needs and abilities. For students with special needs, teachers may support them through an Individual Education Plan (IEP) or a Student Learning Plan (SLP) which outlines goals and plans for special education. IEP are plans that must have demographic information, present level of functioning, goals and objectives, adaptations and review dates. It specifies the accommodations/modifications a student will relieve and how it plans to achieve its goals.
In this case, we were assigned to the different roles of the many people involved in creating an IEP/SLP. I was assigned to the role of Special Education Teacher who has many responsibilities including conducting assessment, collecting data, providing support and being an advocate for the student. There were a number of assessments that could be conducted by the special education teacher such as a Woodcock Johnson test, a SHAW-HIEHLE and a Functional Behavioural Assessment test. With a student such as George, a functional behavioural assessment could provide important information on what behaviour is exhibited, the function of said behaviour (which serve to either escape or obtain something) and the typical consequences that occur as a result. Keeping records and conducting assessment prior to creating an IEP was important to determine their present functioning and what goals would be realistic to achieve.
Through the process of creating an IEP, I realized how it is truly a collaborative effort among school staff, parents and other professionals. Each individual provided important feedback that helped create goals that were relevant, attainable and specific to the student. Acting in our roles, my group realized the importance of communication and creating measurable goals that are attainable. If students do not believe they can carry out the goal, they will not be motivated to try and feel discouraged when they don’t succeed.