Specially Designed Instruction

Increasing Success for Students with Disabilities

Anne M. Beninghof

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781000414646
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Inclusive Education

In engaging, accessible chapters, expert teacher and author Anne M. Beninghof lays out a road map for providing specially designed instruction in any classroom. This book equips you with the answers to the most frequently asked questions around incorporating special education services into the general classroom – What is SDI? Who is responsible? How do we make it happen?

Focused on creating an effective planning process that you and your team can follow to develop specially designed instruction, this toolkit includes dozens of practical examples, worksheets, and prep tools to ensure readers walk away with a thorough understanding and ready-to-use ideas. Whether you have years of experience working with students with disabilities or are new to the profession, this critical guide provides effective strategies for every classroom.

1
Introduction

My favorite pair of shoes were an olive-green pair of pumps with two-inch heels and a bit of bling on the front. Not only did they look great, they felt great. I could stand in them for hours without any distracting aches and pains, until all of a sudden – I couldn’t. One day the ball of my foot complained with a quiet moan, but by the second day it was no longer being shy. Even in my well-worn running shoes, the pain was causing me to limp. After reading several blog posts, I decided that new running shoes would do the trick, so I visited a local shop known for their fitting expertise and walked away with a hefty credit card bill and a new pair of shoes.

No luck. It was time to break down and visit a podiatrist. First it was a cortisone injection, followed by kinesio tape and custom-designed orthotics. While the intensity of the pain diminished over the next few months, I still wasn’t pain free nor was I able to return to running and cycling. Finally, I asked for a referral to a physical therapist specializing in foot injuries in athletes.

Misty did a thorough assessment of my feet, my stance and my walking and running technique. She showed me video of my foot moving through space, landing and lifting off again, all the while instructing me on the mechanics of the movement. She modeled, assisted and coached me through the changes I needed to make, reducing her supports until I was able to be independently successful. She also gave me a full course on shoe selection and fit so that I would not continue to purchase shoes that were a mismatch.

Misty specially designed her therapy so that my unique needs and goals were addressed. Twenty years later, I am still running and have a closet full of shoes that bring me joy!

Whether it is foot problems (like me), career counseling, parenting dilemmas or Marie Kondo decluttering, most of us have had an experience where we know we need help, but the simple strategies or tools that work for others don’t work for us. We’ve read the advice columns, made some attempts and are still struggling, so, with hopes, we turn to the experts.

Students with disabilities need experts in specially designed instruction (SDI). Fortunately, special education teachers are primed to offer them this expertise. Moving beyond simple accommodations, specialists can provide intensive, individualized assessment and instruction that leads to independence and transfer. In the past, SDI may have been incorporated in alternate curricula that special education teachers were trained to implement. With the move to more inclusive settings and an expectation of access to general education curricula and standards, we need to find efficient and effective ways to integrate specially designed instruction into mainstream settings.

This book will provide you with dozens of practical ideas for accomplishing this. Whether you are working by yourself or in partnership with other educators, there are ideas for you. Whether you have abundant planning time or hardly any, there are ideas for you. Whether you have years of experience working with students with disabilities or are new to the profession, there are dozens of ideas that will work for you!

Part I, Envisioning SDI, includes clear examples of SDI and delves deeply into the meaning of the term. It provides a list of guiding elements to help you know when something is or isn’t SDI, with opportunities to practice your analytical skills. It also explores how team members can work together to maximize their talents, with a variety of concrete recommendations.

Part II, Planning for SDI, includes chapters describing the seven-step process for creating SDI. Each chapter will provide examples and application opportunities so that you can build your comfort and skill as you progress through them.

Part III, Fulfilling the Promise of SDI, includes recommendations for implementation and assessment, with time-saving tips on data collection. A chapter on leadership synthesizes all of the previous information into ideas for school or district-wide implementation and sustainability.

Following the conclusion is an appendix filled with even more SDI examples, from various grades and content areas. Be prepared with sticky notes to flag the strategies you want to use right away!

Part I

Envisioning Specially Designed Instruction

Microsoft’s 7000-square-foot Envisioning Center is located in Richmond, Washington. Inside this state-of-the-art facility, their envisioning team designs innovative solutions and prototypes for a wide range of known and unanticipated problems. Central to their process is the use of a “fluid framework” – a way of breaking down larger structures into modular components to make them more manageable. (Think Legos on steroids.) Envisioning teams imagine the future they want and then go about the business of creating it.

In order to have the best specially designed instruction for students with disabilities, we need to begin with imagining it. What does it look like? What is the foundational framework and how might we break this down so that the pieces are manageable? How can individual team members help to build a customized version for each unique student? While educators may not have a 7000-square-foot innovation facility, we have research and expertise that is just as valuable an asset to the process. So, let’s get ready to deliver students to a promising future.

2
Specially Designed Instruction in Action

Mrs. Adams is a veteran general education teacher with a passion for working with students in low-income communities. The population at her school is very diverse, representing a number of cultures and languages, with class sizes that have been growing each year. Although crowded, her classroom is colorful and bursts with creative warmth, welcoming all students to be on the learning journey together. Mrs. Adams believes that students with disabilities should be included in general education classrooms, having a mindset of possibility and success. Her school is headed in an inclusive direction, but not fully there yet.

Mrs. Dominguez has always wanted to be a teacher. As a teenager she volunteered at a summer camp for students with disabilities, decided to pursue a degree in special education and then landed her first professional teaching job at a private school for students with significant disabilities. After a few years she craved a more inclusive philosophy and accepted a job at her neighborhood public elementary school. While the initial assignment was in a special education classroom, she hoped to move toward more inclusive practices. She worked to establish herself as “go-to” for general education teachers who had questions about executive function and reading disorders. Mrs. Adams reached out to Mrs. Dominguez several times, asking to brainstorm teaching ideas for some of her students with more unique needs.

Getting Started

The two teachers developed a conversational chemistry, enjoying the process of creating solutions together. Akin to the rituals of courting, they began to have discussions about how they might work more closely together through co-teaching. Honesty and vulnerability were key elements of their planning. Who would be responsible for behavior? What were their weaknesses and strengths? How would they decide what to do if they disagreed? After several conversations, they approached the building leadership to share their vision of providing special education services within the general education setting. After receiving administrative blessing, they were off and running. They spent the spring semester holding Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meetings, making team decisions about student placements, arranging schedules for the next school year and discussing the details of shared ownership.

Like all marriages or collaborative partnerships, there were some rough patches. Lessons that looked good on paper didn’t always turn out that way. Students who appeared to be comfortable in the classroom had an off day and couldn’t self-regulate. Occasionally, quiz scores showed that most of the students didn’t get “it,” even though they seemed to love the lesson. These rough patches smoothed out as the year progressed and both teachers developed a deeper understanding of how to integrate specially designed instruction into their lessons.

Percolating

One morning, Mrs. Dominguez opened her email to find a message from Mrs. Adams:

“Heads up. I think we need something different for next week’s ELA unit. The learning target in the curriculum is I can use text evidence to support my claim and I’m sure several w...