1. Support For Personalized Learning With Greater Teacher Decision-MakingBy
Pat Homberg - Office of Special Programs
Denise White - Office of Curriculum and Instruction

3. Disabilities Support for Personalized Learning Specific
SPL is not special education…but SPL and SLD are connected.
During this presentation we will clarify the relationship between eligibility and a comprehensive support system for personalized learning.

4. Historical Shifts Shift in Federal Policy Shift in Responsibility
Shift in Specific Learning Disabilities Eligibility
Shift from Early Intervention Model to K-12 Model
Shift from Response to Intervention to Support for Personalized Learning
Shift from our initial, more narrow interpretation of RTI to a broader, more inclusive, scaled out system of support for Personalized Learning.

5. More Historical Shifts …
Shift from Reading to Reading, Math and Written Language
Shift from Academics to Academics and Behavior
Shift from At-Risk to At-Risk and Accelerated Learners
Shift from Special Education Driven to WVDE Driven
Read these without elaboration

6. Shift in Specific Learning Disabilities Eligibility
Evolving Understanding of SLD…
IDEIA 2004 required states to adopt criteria:
Must not require use of severe discrepancy
Must permit LEAs to use process based on child’s response to scientific, research-based intervention
May permit use of other alternative research-based procedures

7. Summary of Eligibility Criteria and Determinations
The multidisciplinary team must determine through a body of evidence:
Level of Learning
Rate of Learning
Exclusionary Factors
SUSAN

8. In Addition…
Underachievement cannot be the result of a lack of appropriate instruction, specifically in the essential components of reading and mathematics.

9. Eligibility is based on final determinations that the student …
Meets the eligibility criteria as Specific Learning Disabilities;
Experiences an adverse effect on educational performance; and
Needs Special Education

10. Incidence: Chart 1 National
Specific Learning Disability Percent of Total Special Education by State in 2009
In 2009, WV had identified a little more than 30% of their special education population as SLD. The national average was a little more than 40%.

11. Incidence West Virginia
Number of identified Students with SLD
Looking at the second month trend data for specific learning disabilities in there was 18,650 SLD students.
In there was 12,100 SLD students.
Around 2004, when the regulations changed, we can see a more significant decline in numbers of SLD students.
In the graph on the right, we see a comparable decline in identification of total students with disabilities in general.

12. Achievement
Achievement gap between students with SLD and students without SLD
Students without SLD, show a steady increase in achievement as they progress through the grades.
Students with SLD show some increase in achievement but then their performance levels off between 3rd and 4th grade and then remains fairly constant.

13. What Is a Multi-Leveled Framework?
Core
Targeted
Intensive

14. Shift in Conceptual Framework
Public Health Prevention Model
Addresses needs of most students through CORE Instruction
Provides TARGETED Instruction for students not meeting certain criteria
Reserves INTENSIVE Instruction for students with most significant needs
PAT

15. Shift in Conceptual Framework continues…
Various models are all based on the same framework
No specific curriculum or program
Provides framework for allocating instructional services and resources in response to students’ needs

16. Support for Personalized Learning Framework
Is a school wide framework
Functions as a multi-level instructional and behavioral system
Identifies students at-risk and who need acceleration or enrichment
Monitors student progress
Provides interventions
Adjusts intensity and nature of interventions

17. The CORE
The Core is every school’s initial instructional practice– the teaching and school experiences every student receives daily.
The Core should meet the educational needs of at least 80% of the students.

18. Characteristics of Effective CORE Instruction
Differentiated instruction
Small group activities
Focusing on most critical standards and objectives
Ongoing analysis and response to assessment data
Ensure quality teaching
Maximizing instructional time
Implementing programs as intended

19. Targeted Instruction Must meet the needs of:
Students who are engaged but still not successful
Resistant learners
Must group students by the cause of their difficulties, not the symptoms

20. Characteristics of Effective TARGETED Instruction… continued
Supports for struggling learners…
Initial pedagogic practices don’t correspond with learning style – lecture vs. visual/tactile
Additional time including extended day
Prerequisite skill review
Smaller groups formed around reasons for not learning

21. Characteristics of Effective TARGETED Instruction
Supports for resistant learners…
Homework help
Frequent progress reports
Study-skills classes
Goal-setting and career planning support
Guided to utilize self-monitoring strategies and tools
Targeted rewards
Additional supports for resistant learners, or those who are disengaged might include…

22. INTENSIVE Instruction
Is designed for students who show low content area skill and/or lack of progress over time when quality CORE and TARGETED instruction have been provided.

23. INTENSIVE Instruction
Refers to the…
Amount of time per day
The number of days per week
The number of weeks of instruction
The number of students receiving the intervention at a given time
Here are the 8 components of SPL

24. SPL - Component # 1 School Climate and Culture
A positive school climate provides the foundation on which instruction will occur and all students will be engaged in learning and depends on four essential elements.
Reference Chart in their folders for all details included in notes
Creating a caring school community;
Teaching appropriate behavior and social problem-solving skills;
Consistent support for use of positive behavior practices; and
Providing rigorous academic instruction.

25. SPL – Component # 2 Leadership
Leadership is critical for effective implementation. Success will be determined, to a great extent, by the degree to which district and school leaders are able to move the focus from philosophical understanding to actual practice.
By…
Understanding and embracing essential components;
Prioritizing resource allocation; and
Guiding the implementation.

26. SPL - Component # 3 Teams and Processes
The purpose of the problem-solving process is to assist educators, parents and service providers in selecting and/or designing strategies that have high probability for success in maximizing the academic and behavioral performance of students.
by:
Providing structure to address individual needs;
Requiring full collaboration between a team of professionals and parents; and
Ensuring interventions are implemented responsively.

27. SPL - Component # 4 Family and Community Partnerships
Central to effective partnership is the recognition of shared responsibility and ownership of student challenges and successes by parents, families, students, community members and educators.
Effective partnerships include:
Sharing information;
Problem solving; and
Celebrating student successes.

28. SPL - Component # 5 Assessments
Effective use of assessments provides data to drive the decision making process at the individual student, classroom and school levels.
Reliable and ongoing information must be available to:
Identify academic and behavioral needs of individual students;
Inform the problem solving process;
Design and modify instruction to meet student needs; and
Evaluate the effectiveness of instruction at different levels of the system.

29. SPL - Component # 6 Core Instruction
…Must be viable, rigorous, relevant, standards-driven and characterized by teachers:
Scaffolding
Immediate response
Multiple strategies
Emphasizing student responsibility
Emphasizing 24/7 learning
and characterized by teachers:
Scaffolding flexibly to include accommodations or modifications;
Using a variety of supports as soon as a student begins to struggle;
Using strategies that may include small groups, differentiated instruction for application of skills, processes and concept formation, re-teaching, enrichment and acceleration;
Emphasizing student responsibility and accountability; and
Emphasizing 24/7 learning

30. SPL - Component # 7 Targeted Instruction
…Is characterized by evidenced-based instructional strategies and strengths-based interventions based on the student’s specific learning and/or behavioral needs. Targeted Instruction serves a two-fold purpose.
It is used to remediate specific deficits of students. For this purpose it needs to be explicitly matched to individual needs and aligned with Core curriculum and instruction.
It is used to enhance the education of students who have demonstrated proficiency relative to benchmarks. This Instruction needs to contain sufficient depth, breadth and complexity to increase individual student skills.

31. SPL - Component # 8 Intensive Instruction
...Is intended for students with significant and/or chronic deficits as well as for students with significant underachievement. Intensive Instruction is used to provide:
Interventions
Enrichment and/or advancement in a specific area of study;
Training on student-specific learning needs.
Intensive Instruction is used to provide:
Interventions for students who have not responded adequately to targeted curriculum and instruction;
Enrichment and/or advancement in a specific area of study;
Training on student-specific learning needs.

32. Evaluate and Retool the Model
Strategy
Create Awareness
Foster Commitment
Build Infrastructure
Implement Model
Evaluate and Retool the Model
Recursive process – cycling back like all early adopters
Endorsement of NRTI
Original vision
Monitoring tools they are supporting have adequate flexibility to accommodate personalization at ALL levels for ALL students

33. Implementation Framework Guidance Document
Specific Learning Disabilities Identification
Professional Development
Tools and Resources
Statewide Training
Web Page
Critical Skills Platform
Online Classes
#8 integration of Critical Skills documentation / NOT in addition to

34. Translate SPL through
the
CONTEXT in
YOUR COUNTY

35. Guiding Questions
Who do we need to be part of the team that will make these decisions in our district?
What do we have that we can use? What is currently serving the personalized needs of our students, now? What is not?
How will we communicate and ensure the shifting that needs to occur?

36. Support for Personalized Learning Through Self-Assessment
Shifting Towards More
Support for Personalized Learning Through Self-Assessment
STEP 1 = What do we have that we can use? What already serves the personalized needs of our students? STEP 2 = Where do we need to focus our enhancements? STEP 3 = What do you have that you need to give up?
Emphasize STEP 3 – determine and give up the things are NOT working, not the things that are…

37. Next Steps...
1. Communicate clarifications Collaboratively redefine how your district will collectively provide personalized learning for all students.
These are the next steps we have been asking leaders to support:
e.g. Special Education and Title I Directors

38. Support Documents Support for Personalized Learning (SPL) chart
LAYERS of Support for Personalized Learning
Essential Components – Required and Suggested
Essential Components of the SPL Framework
What is SPL about?
Elementary Implementation Guides: Reading, Mathematics and Behavior
Participant folder contents
Pat - #1-4
Denise - # 5,6

39. Defining Personalized Learning
Reference triangle chart to compare and contrast individualization – differentiation and personalization
Personalization is the most inclusive term

40. Support for Personalized Learning is...
…about getting the right instruction to each student as quickly as possible for the greatest amount of time.
Use to deepen understanding by considering summary statements.

41. Support for Personalized Learning is...
…about understanding that solutions to problems are context specific.

42. Support for Personalized Learning is...
...about having rich conversations about students that put their performance into a personalized context.

43. Support for Personalized Learning is...
…about determining whether an identified problem exists for one student, a small group of students, or a large group of students and using this knowledge to form the most appropriate response.

44. Support for Personalized Learning is...
...about the individuals closest to each student collecting pertinent data and actively participating in designing the most appropriate response.

45. Support for Personalized Learning is...
…about utilizing a problem-solving process to analyze possible reasons for a student’s academic and/or behavioral needs and providing the most effective configuration of support.

46. Support for Personalized Learning is...
...about envisioning and articulating viable expectations for every student.

47. Support for Personalized Learning is...
… about identifying and manipulating the variables that affect a student’s performance.

48. Support for Personalized Learning is...
…as dynamic as students are, and changes depending on the needs of every individual.

49. SPL as a PROCESS...
... is a broader, more flexible approach that we will use to provide the most appropriate instruction for every student in WV.

50. The Success of SPL...
...will result from all of us; working together to define and responsively redefine what is needed student by student.

51. Every STUDENT in WV is different. Every DISTRICT in WV is different.

52. Not just us Not just you Not just teachers
It will take ALL OF US working together...
Not just us
Not just you
Not just teachers

53. ...the direction we are expected and need to shift towards...
Support for Personalized Learning is...
...the direction we are expected and need to shift towards...