Introduction
When deciding how to support diverse learners during a time of school closure, it is important to consider a variety of factors. Structure and purpose of any task or activity that teachers are asking these students to complete or participate in are paramount. It is also important that these students receive the same (if not more) amount of support and individualized instruction during remote learning as they would when they are at school.
Best Practices
Utilize the Co-Teaching Model
Depending on how your school's special education program is set up, you may or may not have co-teachers. If you do, continue this during remote learning so that your students have all the support they need. If this is new to you, consider trying it out!
Office Hours
Intervention specialists should hold general office hours where students can check in, ask questions, and get general academic support. They should also hold 1:1 office hours so that they can continue individualized and goal-specific instruction for the students on their caseloads.
Intervention Bell
General education teachers and intervention specialists can hold digital intervention bells where they re-teach content and/or teach mini-lessons to break down new content.
Support at Home
Some students may require more support than others to participate in video chats, complete work, or even participate in a fun leisure activity with their class. Establish a schedule and plan so that parents can be available to support when needed.
Resources
Feel free to use any of these resources to help your school/district. Each template, document, or presentation you find below can be copied and used for your own purposes with original credit attributed:
Best Practices for Virtual Calls
Check out these resources for helpful tips on conducting virtual meetings in a distance learning setting. Consider these when conducting IEP, 504, ETR, and class meetings!
Teacher Training
Check out the free training we offer to prepare your staff for distance learning:
Low Tech Tips
Life skills are a great low-tech option during a time of distance learning. Why not give students tasks that have an academic purpose AND help to increase their independence?
Unique Learning System has really great resources.
Math manipulatives are a very common accommodation that a lot of learners benefit from. Manipulatives don't have to be tiles or Unifix cubes, they can be all kinds of things found around the house.
Sensory paths are a great way for students to get up and moving. This gives them a mental break but still provides a structured activity! Here are some ideas on how to make your own at home.
Libby is a free app that can be accessed on most iOS, Android, and Windows 10 devices. Families/students connect their public library card to the app and borrow ebooks and are able to access digital audiobooks from the library .
BookShare is an amazing free resource that is available to students who qualify. This is a free database that has hundreds of thousands of books available in an e-reader format. Once teachers have added students they can then create reading lists for them that they will see when they log in to their account.
Things to Consider
LMS and Co-Teachers
If utilizing the co-teaching model, does the co-teacher have access to the LMS and classroom materials so that they can assign, modify, and create work that meets the needs of the students on their caseloads?
Accommodations and Modifications
How will teachers modify materials remotely? What if a student requires large print materials that previously would have been enlarged on a copier? Will accommodations and modifications be tracked to ensure that the need identified in the student's IEP and 504 are being met?
IEP Minutes
How will teachers keep track of their intervention minutes with each IEP goal? What will happen if teachers cannot get in contact with students virtually? How will minutes be provided if the only option is making contact over the phone?
Meetings
What will IEP, ETR, and 504 meetings look like in a remote learning environment? How will signatures be collected?
Bright Spots
Purcell Marian High School utilizes the co-teaching model and continued this when they had to transition to remote learning. All co-teachers have access to the necessary Schoology courses and Google Classroom classes that were set up by the lead teacher. This helps keep the intervention specialists up to date with what is being taught/reviewed and also gives them access to the resources that are being shared with students.
Intervention specialists at Sayler Park School in the Cincinnati Public School District use Google Meet to hold regular office hours for students to check in and get the academic support they need. Support staff and paraprofessionals also continue to check in with students and families to offer any support they can.
Mrs. Becky Smith, a reading intervention specialist in the Mason City School District, uses Google Meet to engage with a small group of students each week to review and support the skills she is targeting with them. Students read two books for the week along with a weekly check list for the 5 sight words / vowel patterns they are studying that week. Finally, Mrs. Smith uses a whiteboard on her end and has students write on their end to engage and work through the lesson with her. All done in 30 minutes. Amazing!