How Much Progress is Sufficient?
Location
Group Two Sessions: Room 106
Start Date
23-2-2024 11:00 AM
End Date
23-2-2024 11:50 AM
First Presenter's Brief Biography
Assistant Professor of Special Education Georgia College and State University Program Co-coordinator - Special Education Advanced Programs. August 2000-present Texas A&M University - Ph.D. Educational Psychology University of St. Thomas - M.Ed. Education and Special Education Salem College -B.A. Major: Psychology Research Interests - Instructional Differentiation, Data Based Decision Making, Special Education Teacher Retention and Mentoring.
Presentation Type
Concurrent Session
yes
Panel Session, Roundtable Discussion
Abstract
Data based individualization is a research-based process that includes continuous measurement of progress to inform instructional decisions. This presentation will address how to use your data to determine sufficiency of progress as well as when and how to intensify instruction to meet the unique needs of your learners.
Conference Strands
Evidence-Based Practices
Description
The data has been collected, now what do I do with it? This is a question that is often posed by special education teachers. A critical component of the Data Based Individualization framework presented by the National Center on Intensive Intervention is a continuous process of progress monitoring of the effectiveness of the interventions being provided to a student (NCII, 2013). Typically, teachers will administer a progress monitoring measure with students every one or two weeks to determine the effectiveness of the intervention being provided. How does a teacher use the data to determine the effectiveness of the instruction and the sufficiency of the progress being made by the student?
There are several critical components to an effective data based individualization process that drives instructional decisions including: the implementation of a validated progress monitoring tool, the graphing and interpretation of the data, and the adjustments to instruction based on the sufficiency of progress demonstrated by the student. Each of these critical components will be addressed in this presentation.
Special educators understand the key role that progress monitoring plays in documenting student progress, yet many do not use the data collected to make instructional adjustments based on the data collected. After the collection of data for several weeks, it is time to examine the data collected to determine how the student is progressing. Various methods for determining sufficiency of progress will be presented graphically to show special education teachers how to determine if the student is making sufficient progress and how to make adjustments to the instruction provided based of the measured progress. Various ways to determine sufficiency of progress will be shared during the presentation including the dual discrepancy method, rate of growth, and trendline performance compared to a goal based on benchmark data.
If the data demonstrates that the student is not making sufficient progress, then an adjustment must be made to the instruction provided. It is important for special education teachers to begin by examining their own implementation of instruction. Evidence-based programs are designed to be implemented with fidelity to be effective (Powell et al., 2022). If key components of an evidenced based program or intervention are missing or not provided for the recommended duration and intensity, then student growth may be negatively impacted. This should be the first consideration when a student is not making sufficient progress. If the instruction is being presented with fidelity, then there are many possible adaptations that special educators can make to intensify their instruction (Fuchs et al., 2017). The presentation will address various means to intensify or change the instruction provided based on the data based individualization framework.
Fuchs L. S., Fuchs D., Malone A. S. (2017). The taxonomy of intervention intensity. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 50(1), 35–43.
National Center on Intensive Intervention. (2013). Data-based individualization: A framework for intensive intervention. Washington, DC: Office of Special Education Programs.
Powell, S. R., Bos, S. E., King, S. G., Ketterlin-Geller, L., & Lembke, E. S. (2022). Using the Data-Based Individualization Framework in Math Intervention. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 0(0).
Creative Commons License
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How Much Progress is Sufficient?
Group Two Sessions: Room 106
Data based individualization is a research-based process that includes continuous measurement of progress to inform instructional decisions. This presentation will address how to use your data to determine sufficiency of progress as well as when and how to intensify instruction to meet the unique needs of your learners.
