Chapter 6: A Curriculum Framework for Transition

Deborah Bauder, Thomas Simmons, and Robert W. Flexer

Learning Objectives

1. Describe what is meant by the general education curriculum

2. Identify how the IDEA supports participation of students with disabilities in the general curriculum

3. Understand how standards-based reforms can benefit students with disabilities

4. Understand how standards-based reforms can be reconciled with the individualized education programs of students with disabilities

5. Understand how to develop a high school course of study for a student with a disability

6. Identify various curriculum access strategies

7. Describe universal design curriculum approach to education and its importance to student participation in the general curriculum

Detailed Chapter Outline

Introduction

· Curriculum – master plan for selecting content and organizing learning experiences for the purpose of changing and developing learners’ behaviors and insights (Armstrong).

The General Curriculum and Standards-Based Reform

· A Nation At Risk (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983)

- Reform based on the development of standards-based curricula.

- Focus on outcomes of education in relation to standards of achievement.

- Student achievement and instructional programs were likely to improve.

· No Child Left Behind Act

- All states to enact accountability systems to set academic standards for all students in content areas.

· IDEA (1997)

- Supported inclusion into the general curriculum by requiring all students be involved in district/statewide testing, or alternative standards-based testing.

A Model for Standards-Based Education

· Push for both standards-based and quality of life outcome-oriented curricula (functional, community-based)

· IDEA supported both views by requiring participation in general curriculum and the development of an “appropriate education” based on student needs, interests, and preferences.

· American curriculum falls into 3 categories – academic, career and technical, and general and life skills.

· Academic programs

- Largest program area – 70% of all students.

- Important for students with disabilities interested in postsecondary education because high school requirements mirror college entrance requirements.

· Career and technical programs

- Once known as vocational programs – serves 25% of all students.

- Vocational programs focused on specific occupations and during the 1970s changed to career education approach with a broad focus.

· Life skills programs

- Approximately 5% of all students participate with the focus on linking students’ education to their present and future living environments.

Universal Design and Access to the General Curriculum

· Universal design - designing instructional materials and activities in a way that allows learning goals to be attainable by individuals with diverse abilities.

- Examples include – large print, Braille, auto summarization of text, etc…

· Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is based on the premise that “curricular content should be provided in multiple representations or in a transformable format (i.e., digital/electronic) such that multiple means are built into each learning activity for student expression, control or engagement” (Hitchcock, 2001, p.8).

· Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) – three ways in which UDL can be applied to education

- Recognition networks – alternative formats for presenting information

- Strategic networks – multiple means for student expression

- Affective networks – multiple means for student engagement

Standards Designed to Promote Access to the General Curriculum

· Many states have academic standards to promote student access to the general education curriculum.

· Kentucky developed standards and imbedded transition goals in its overall framework.

- Six categories for learner objectives under Kentucky standards - basic communication and math, core concepts and principles, self-sufficiency, responsible group membership, thinking and problem solving, and integration of knowledge.

Helping the Student Select a High School Course of Study

· The global economy is requiring “high performance” work environments with emphasis on decentralization and flexibility – students will need to possess multiple skills and perform a variety of tasks.

· Courses of study usually combine academic and career components of the general curriculum.

· High schools are oversupplying students in college prep curricula – 70% trained in college prep with 30-40% actually attending college and half graduating with degrees.

· Postschool study (Baer, et al., 2003)

- Best predictor of full-time employment was courses of study related to vocational education and work study programs

- Best predictor of postsecondary education was course of study related to academic track in high school.

· IDEA 1997 required that students with disabilities choose a course of study, by the age of 14, to meet their interests and needs – due to the fact that they were not participating in courses to support their postsecondary goals.

· IEP team had to identify course of study and how the student would gain access to general curriculum.

Individualized Approaches to Accessing the General Curriculum

· Students often need individualized accommodations to access the general curriculum due to their various disabilities

- Student preferences and least restrictive environment need to be considered when accessing the general curriculum

· When considering transition needs, a less restrictive to more restrictive process should be considered (e.g., assistive technology, curriculum adaptations, curriculum augmentation, and curriculum alteration).

· Assistive technology – tools that provide access to universally designed curricula.

- Includes devices designed to help communicate more effectively, have more control over the environment, and achieve greater mobility.

- Functional areas of need include: existence; communication; travel and mobility; body support, protection, and positioning; environmental interactions; education and transition; and sports, fitness, and recreation.

- Assessment models for assistive technology consider the environmental demands placed on the individual; the individual’s needs, abilities, and preferences; and the technology characteristics.

· Curriculum adaptations – modifying the representation or presentation of the content in some manner.

- The presentation of concepts can be modified in various manners including: supplement materials with concept teaching procedures (i.e., Venn diagrams or concept maps); present concepts one at a time; provide visual supplements (transparencies); use modeling/demonstration for clarification of concepts; use games, manipulative, and hands-on activities; and use of cultural backgrounds and experiences to make concepts meaningful.

- Curricula can be adapted through partial participation (adapting in sequences through which a student learns, adapting rules, using personal assistance, and using materials and technology).

- Cognitive approaches can be used to adapt curricula to the needs of students, including; activating background knowledge, generating questions, and summarizing/imaging.

· Curriculum augmentation – enhancement or expansion of curriculum (include additional content to improve in-school outcomes or additional content to improve post-school outcomes).

- Learning Strategies – techniques used by students to understand and learn new material or skills, integrate this new information with what is already known, and recall the information or skill later, even in a different situation or place.

- Technology Training – the use of technology is a tool that can be used by educators to address curricular needs of students. Technology is used to effectively meet the demands of the environment and play the role for one’s convenience, efficiency, or increased effectiveness.

- The Life Centered Career Education Model (Brolin, 1966) – focuses on elementary to high school levels and provides a model for competencies across four interrelated stages of career; key environments of community, family, and school; and three domains with 22 competencies and 97 sub competencies.

- Career Development and Transition Education Model (Clark and Kolstoe, 1995) – this model incorporates age levels and programs to denote services and environments at the elementary, secondary, and postsecondary levels and stages of development.

- Transition Pathways (Greene and Kochhar-Bryant, 2003) – this model splits the emphasis across differing levels of inclusive settings and projected student outcomes and can be modified or expanded based on varying abilities and academic skills.

· Curriculum Alteration – the need to change the content of the curriculum – examples can include abridged curricula, providing alternative tasks to help students comprehend the material, or teaching “foundational” content.

- Functional modifications – approach supports the training of life skills because it’s designed to support student learning that leads to success in various environments including home, work, and community.

Critical Points

· The three typical courses of study in American high schools are: (1) academics, (2) career and technical, and (3) general and life skills.

· Academic programs represent the largest of the three curricular areas. This is important for students with disabilities interested in postsecondary education because high school requirements have changed to mirror college entrance requirements.

· The focus of career and technical programs (renamed in the 1990s from vocational education) is to provide specialized training, based on the local labor market, that will lead to postsecondary training programs and employment.

· The purpose of life skills programs is to provide a direct and functional link to a student’s current and future environments (e.g. independent living, leisure activities, career advancement.

· Universal design, as applied to the general curriculum, creates access to instructional materials and activities and allows learning goals to be attainable by students of varying ability levels.

· Most states have developed academic standards. Kentucky’s standards, for all students, were organized into six categories with transition-related goals embedded in the overall framework.

· Due to the fact that many students with disabilities were not participating in courses that would link them to their postsecondary goals, the IDEA of 1997 stressed the importance of identifying a course of study, and updating it annually, at the age of 14.

· The basic question one must ask, of course, is “does a child need any type of modification to the general curriculum?” If the student needs some type of modification, then the school personnel need to determine what type of modification must be made that will provide the student with access. There are four general types of access strategies to be considered: assistive technology, adaptation, augmentation, and alteration.

· Assistive technology devices are categorized into seven functional areas including: (1) existence; (2) communication; (3) travel and mobility; (4) body support, protection, and positioning; (5) environmental interaction; (6) education and transition; and (7) sports, fitness, and recreation.

· It is important to understand that merely adapting the curriculum does not guarantee improved student outcomes. Teachers need to continually evaluate the changes that they make to determine if adaptations provided students with greater access to the curriculum.