Our special education supports offer a range of academic, language, social communication and behavioral instruction at each primary school. We focus on a collaborative team approach and a strong general education connection. One of the roles of the special education teacher is to collaborate with the general classroom teacher in areas such as teaching strategy, curriculum material, modified instruction and learning environment. Special education teachers also work directly with students in small groups either in a resource or general education classroom for a portion of the school day.

High leverage strategies include:

·       If at all possible, SDI should be in addition to core instruction in general education

IEP teams make the individual decisions around each student's needs, and when/where specially designed instruction occurs, based on individual data and needs

Emphasis on pre-teaching content for general education instruction

Learning targets should be clearly articulated, linked to standards, embedded in instruction, understood by students, and measurable. The teaching points should be based upon IEP goals in relation to the learning target.

Everyone needs to know the targets and share in the responsibility for reaching them.

Expect substantive intellectual engagement. This means tasks should be of high-quality, and cognitively demanding. Skills instruction should be embedded in meaningful, relevant learning experiences.

Students need multiple opportunities to talk, to respond, to practice, and to synthesize what they are learning.  There should be a focus on student discourse--with support for students learning discipline-specific habits of thinking and ways of communicating.

Instructional materials and methodology should be appropriately challenging and supportive; aligned with the learning targets and standards; and culturally and academically relevant. They must connect with the general education classroom in terms of content, language, and habits of thinking and communicating.

Students should be able to assess their own learning in relation to the learning target. Assessment methods should include a variety of tools and approaches to gather comprehensive and quality information about the student that will inform instruction.

Assessment methods should support the methods of the general education program and provide shared understanding of the student’s needs. 

Even within a constructivist pedagogy, there is an important role for instruction that is explicit and systematic. This includes providing models of proficient problem-solving, verbalization of thought processes, guided practice, corrective feedback and frequent cumulative review.