Standard 2.7 Individualized Learning in the Classroom
Standard 2.7: Instruction is monitored and adjusted to meet individual learners’ needs and the institution’s learning expectations.
Common Assessments and PLCs
At Payson High School teachers work within their PLC to use data from common assessments to monitor and adjust instruction to ensure that learning expectations are met. The PLC 4 guiding questions (What do we want students to know? How will we know if they have learned it? What will we do if they have not learned it? What will we do if they have learned it?) are designed to be used by individual teachers as well as teacher teams to guide decision making in reference to classroom instruction.
Each year, teachers, working individually or in teams, create a Student Learning Objective (SLO) plan. The plans are standards-driven and include a plan for pre-assessment, formative assessment, and summative assessment. The teachers then collect and analyze data gathered while enacting their plans. Analyzing the data allows for teachers to meet the needs of individual students.
Least Restrictive Environment
PHS offers various levels of special education (SpEd) services in order to provide the least restrictive environment to meet each SpEd students' individualized needs.
For students with disabilities, we have a wide range of intervention and instructional settings available to them based on their individual needs. For any student with an IEP, the goal is always to get them into the least restrictive environment possible, based on the nature and impact of their disability. The following is a brief description of classroom environments available to our students with disabilities.
We have two self-contained special education units here at PHS. The first is taught by Lexi McWherter. This class serves students with severe and profound disabilities. Some of her students are nonverbal while others need help with basic self-care.
The second self-contained unit serves students who are a little higher functioning and is taught by Makenzie Simons. Many of these students will participate in general education classes, with varying degrees of support. Supports include having a special ed teacher in an inclusion class, having a technician in class, having a peer tutor accompany them to class, as well as a modified curriculum in some cases.
For students with mild/moderate disabilities, we offer co-taught inclusion classes in math, Language Arts, science, and social studies. Inclusion classes are co-taught by a regular education teacher, highly qualified in the content area, and a special education teacher. Inclusion classes have approximately 20-30 students with 8-15 of them having IEPs.
For students requiring a higher level of intervention and modification, we offer pull-out resource classes which typically have between 6 and 12 students. These pullout classes offer students access to the core curriculum, but at a modified pace, where students receive instruction based on their individual needs, as identified in their IEP.
eProve Teacher Survey Results
Individual Learning Goals
When asked how often their learning goals are different for each student in my class/course, only 57% of teachers responded with "Almost always" or "Often." As a school, we feel that this is an area where we can improve.
Data-driven Modification of Lessons
When asked how often they use student achievement data to modify and adjust materials and lessons for students, 85% responded with "almost always (33%) or "often (52%). While this is relatively high, when taken together, we would like to shift the balance from "often" to "almost always."
