Revised 11/07

Handouts•Analyzing for Bridges and Gaps Packet•Separate Gap Analysis Chart on 11x 17Materials Needed•Chart pack•Markers/highlighters•Copies of the CT Frameworks for various subjects or a local district curriculum•Copies of the CT Frameworks for various subjects or a local district curriculumOrganization of Training•Teams of 3 to 7-representing administrators (required), general education (required), special education, related services, paraprofessionals, and students/families (optional)•Process takes approximately 2 to 3 hours to complete •Participants must bring an IEPs on a selected student and any supporting evaluations/assessmentsevaluations/assessmentsSuggestions for record selection•Students who have been in the district for three years or more•Should be a general representation of the kinds of IEPs that the district or school develops (the Goldilocks Rule: not the most complicated, not too small-just right)Resources for further background for Consultants:

SERC 1

•Giangreco, M. F. (2001). Guidelines for making decision about IEP services. [Electronic Version], 1-70. Retrieved 1/5/06 from http://www.uvm.edu/~mgiangre/.•IEP Manual and Forms: State of Connecticut. (2006). Retrieved. from http://www.state.ct.us/sde/deps/special/IEPManual.pdf.•Moll, A. M. (2003). Differentiated Instruction Guide for Inclusive Teaching. New York: Dude Publishing.Nolet V & McLaughlin M J (2000) Accessing the General Curriculum: Including

Revised 11/07

Provide a general overview of the content Bold = “Power Standards”(Refer to page 2 in the handouts)

Analyze the gap between the expected performance of ALL students and an individual student’s present level of academic achievement and functional performance in general education curriculum to design IEP goals that increase the student’s access, participation, and progress in general education curriculum and settings (Moll, 2003)

• Establish the general education curriculum and setting demands for ALL students. (Moll, 2003; Nolet & McLaughlin, 2000)

• Determine the unique needs of an individual student in terms of access, participation and progress in general education curriculum (Moll 2003)participation, and progress in general education curriculum. (Moll, 2003)

• Compare the curriculum and setting demands to the student’s needs and characteristics to determine the bridges and gaps. (Moll, 2003)

SERC 2

Revised 11/07

Review the questions- keep the big ideas in mind to hit major q p g jpoints as they develop in the training

Big Idea• All IEP development begins with general education

Essential Questions• What is the starting point for all IEP development?• How can an individual student’s strengths and gaps be determined with a

general education focus?

SERC 3

Revised 11/07

Show the sequence of the content and isolate the area that will be covered this morning.

SERC 4

Revised 11/07

Have participants select a facilitator and a recorder

SERC 5

Revised 11/07

Review the two major processes/tools from last time

SERC 6

Educational Benefit Review Process Revised 11/07

Review the purpose and highlights of the Educational Benefit Review Process

SERC-LRE 7

Educational Benefit Review Process Revised 11/07

This is how the chart looked when complete.

SERC-LRE 8

Review how they used a word bank tool to reflect on their IEPs.Remind them that today we will go deeper with the different parts of this tool and revise theirs along the way.

9

Review how they started with selecting a power standard (within a subject)

10

Across subjects

11

Highlight the section of the word bank where participants recorded their standard or standards.

12

11/02

Remind participants how they unwrapped the standard to locate concepts and skills

SERC 13

Show participants where they recorded the unwrapped standard on their work bank.

14

11/02

Remind participants how they then determined the benchmarks for the standard.

SERC 15

Demonstrate where participants recorded benchmarks.

16

Revised 11/07

Have participants review their work from last time just for these sections.They can make changes accordingly if they discover their work needs adjustments.

SERC 17

Revised 11/07

Let participants know that we are now going to learn a new tool that allows us to go deeper with setting demands and gap analysis.

SERC 18

Show participants were the gap analysis tool connects with the word bank.Remind them that today we will go deeper with the different parts of this tool and revise theirs along the way.

19

Revised 11/07

Highlight to participants this is the big ideaPoint out to participants that to being any IEP development, one needs to start with general education curriculum and setting demands. There needs to be shared meaning what the general education curriculum and settings demands of each and every student.

SERC 20

Revised 11/07

Refer to page 20 in handoutsProvide a working definition of setting demands for participants. Setting demands are comprised of the instructional and environmental conditions that support learning. These setting demands are driven by the general education curriculum. Several questions can be used to guide the assessment of the expectations or setting demands in the classroom setting.

SERC 21

Revised 11/07

For example: Instructional methods are define by how the teacher delivers information and organizes the learning activities/opportunities.

SERC 22

Revised 11/07

For example: Environmental conditions are the actual ways that both physical space and the climate of the classroom are organized. It can be as simple as where to write your name on the paper.

SERC 23

Revised 11/07

For example: Social interactions relate to how students are grouped, how adults interact with students, and the types of behavioral expectations are established.

SERC 24

Revised 11/07

For example: Learning is built on prior knowledge…what is the knowledge needed for this learning?

SERC 25

Revised 11/07

For example: The types of materials that are used in instruction.

SERC 26

Revised 11/07

For example: How is the learning assessed-both formally and informally??? Including teacher observations, homework, etc. (Frequently assessments are seen as modifications – they are actually a part of setting demands)

SERC 27

Revised 11/07

For Example: Students explore multiple responses to literatureActivity/Lesson/Unit: Reading and responding to various forms of text (novels, poems, short stories) for both fiction and non-fiction Typical Setting Demands•What is the sequence and pacing for this instruction?

•Students need to discuss and share insights into various elements of stories; Stories are read at a conversational pacestories; Stories are read at a conversational pace

•What background knowledge and experiences are important for this content?•Depending on the content of the story, needs basic life experiences and common knowledge of the topic

•What topic and process vocabulary terms are used in this content?•Story elements (character, setting, events, theme, etc.), genre,Story elements (character, setting, events, theme, etc.), genre, audience, critical stance, elaboration, inference, interpretation, point of view, retell, style, summary, synthesize, tone

•What reading and writing skills or concepts are necessary for this learning?

•Need phonemic awareness, vocabulary, alphabetic principle, comprehension, fluency; need to respond in writing for short

SERC 28

comprehension, fluency; need to respond in writing for short responses, a single paragraph, and a 5 paragraph essay

•What physical, motor, and sensory skills will students need for this learning?•Need to be able to turn a single page and hold a book, attending to and participating in oral discussion, attending to visual information on overhead, holding a pencil and writing

What learning strategies are used to teach this content?

Revised 11/07

Refer to page 21 in handoutsHave participants refer to the example in their packet. Then have them unwrap the setting demands for their standard on the chart.

SERC 29

Revised 11/07

Refer to page 22 in handoutsPoint out to participants that Gap analysis includes an examination of the unique instructional, behavioral, and physical needs of a student that impact access, participation, and progress in general education curriculum and typical general education activities.•Determine what the student knows and can do relative to the general education standards and the setting demands for a given activity•Use the information from the student’s present level of academic and functional performance to help determine what the student knows and can do•Determine what the student needs to access and participate in general education curriculum and activities by responding to the prompting questions Refer to the example in the handouts to show how this can be done.

SERC 30

Revised 11/07

Point out to participants: Gap analysis compares the relationship between the curricular and setting demands of general education to the unique needs of an individual student. By definition there needs to be a change to the curriculum or setting demands to close a gap.

SERC 31

Revised 11/07

Show participants:A visual demonstration of a gap by pointing out the difference between what is expected with the currently level of performance.

SERC 32

Revised 11/07

Refer to page 23 in handoutsTell participants that they will be using both previous activities to conduct a gap analysis. They will use the same questions in the form of a matrix. Have participants use the information gathered on the student’s current level of performance and the analysis of the general education curricular and setting demands to complete the matrix.

SERC 33

Revised 11/07

Refer to page 23 in handoutsDefine the terms for the participants. Explain that no student already knows or can do the items on the matrix (or why teach it). The purpose of the gap analysis is to determine what areas the student can do or learn with no additional supports than already designed (bridge) and which areas will require changes to support learning (gap). Use the metaphor that a student will sometimes come with a bridge ready to cross over for learning, therefore no changes to the instructional or environmental d i i i d Oth ti th t d t d t ith b id ddesign is required. Other times the student does not come with a bridge and a gap exists, therefore we need to build a bridge for the student (or make changes to the instruction or environmental conditions).

SERC 34

Revised 11/07

Refer to page 24 in handoutsFor example this is a bridge…the student can perform this as the instruction is currently designed.

SERC 35

Revised 11/07

Refer to page 24 in handoutsFor example this is a gap…the student cannot perform this as the instruction is currently designed and will require some level of change.

SERC 36

Revised 11/07

Have participants review each area and determine if it is a “Bridge,” which is a match between what the curriculum and instructional demands and what the student is ready to learn or do with no additional supports needed. Have them highlight the Bridges.

SERC 37

Revised 11/07

Have participants review the items that have not been highlighted. Verify that these items are “gaps,” which are when the curriculum and/or instructional demands call for something the student is not ready for without some level of change.

SERC 38

Revised 11/07

Refer to page 25 in handoutsHave participants determine the overall themes that emerge from the highlighted “bridges.” These themes become the components of the student’s instruction that can be met through general education curriculum and instruction “as designed.”

SERC 39

Revised 11/07

Refer to page 25 in handoutsHave participants determine the overall themes that emerge from the gaps. These themes become the focus for establishing interventions and specially designed instruction.

Please note that not all gaps rise to the level of requiring specially designed instruction Some gaps can be addressed through interventions provided in generalinstruction. Some gaps can be addressed through interventions provided in general education settings. Refer to page 8 in the Connecticut’s IEP Manual for guidance.

SERC 40

1/30/2008

To develop a hypothesis, we need to have a good understanding of symptoms vs. causes.

Symptoms are outcomes of a concern. They are observable in nature. They are similar to things like, fever, rash, “feeling tired”, etc.

Causes are the actual reasons for the symptoms They are not observable but areCauses are the actual reasons for the symptoms. They are not observable, but are inferred from the symptoms. The cause needs to be identified in order to align the right strategy and support. However, it is not an exact science, so one caution is that causes are developed from carefully analyzing objective, observable evidence, not based on perceptions. For example, the above symptoms could be a result of any number of causes. Further probing and investigating is needed to narrow to the most likely cause. It becomes on educated guess in lieu of the provable “blood-y gtest”.

41

1/30/2008

Optional Activity:An example of an academic concern.Have participants hypothesize a cause. Have them share out.Potential causes can be:DecodingPhonemic awarenessELL/ESLOral language Auditory processing disorderDeafVision –needs glasses

42

1/30/2008

Optional Activity:An example of a behavior concern.Have participants hypothesize a cause. Have them share out.Potential causes can be:Attention levelCulture differences (not honored)Reading level (too high or too low)Learning style (mismatch)Fine motorVision (needs glasses)Needs peer attentionSensory overload

43

Revised 11/07

Have participants look at their themes. Have them highlight the root causes.

SERC 44

Revised 11/07

Have them compare back to their IEPs given this new way of looking at a student. Have them determine how they compare to the gap analysis.

SERC 45

Show participants where to check on the word bank.

46

Let participants know that eventually the word bank will be used to write goals and objectives.Demonstrate how it will be important the word bank reflects the words that will be eventually used.

47

Show participants where to changes have been made

48

Revised 11/07

SERC 49

Revised 11/07

Have participants go back to their word bank to check their work compared to their work on the gap analysis. Tell participants this is the chance to go deeper with their initial work as a result of their new conversations. Have them revise as needed to show their new thinking and developments.

SERC 50

Revised 11/07

Have participants reflect on the process that was just used.

SERC 51