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“Noticing small changes early helps you adapt to the bigger changes that are to come” (Johnson, 2002, p. 68).

 

In the fable Who Moved My Cheese, Spencer Johnson (2002) tells a tale of two little mice, Scurry and Sniff, and two tiny humans, Hem and Haw, who navigate through a maze each morning in search of their favorite thing in the world, cheese. Once they collect a comfortable amount, a big change occurs; their stockpile goes missing. While the mice quickly adapt and collect more cheese, the tiny humans are fearful and need more time and support to change course.

 

The transition from middle school to high school is similar to the story Who Moved My Cheese. Each character represents various ways our students react to change, and the moral of the story (which is also useful in transition planning) is to prepare for change early. 

 

The focus of this edition of Link Lines is effective strategies to use with students who are transitioning to high school. Within the lesson, you will learn three tactics for transition planning and view tidbits from educators who are experienced in the transition process.

Tactic 1: Teach Self-Determination Skills

In the September Link Lines article, we defined self-determination as “the skills and attitudes that enable [individuals] to make or cause things to happen in their lives” (Shogren et al., 2019, p. 3). Self-determined students exhibit three basic psychological needs: competence, autonomy, and relatedness, and are motivated when they experience a sense of belonging and accomplishment (Center for Self-Determination Theory, 2023). 

 

Educators should provide students with opportunities to practice competence through establishing and achieving individual goals. They can also embed choice-making into everyday routines to reinforce student understanding of autonomy. To support students in building new relationships, educators should help them identify strengths, preferences, and interests, and teach them ways to initiate conversation with others. If these skills are taught consistently in elementary and middle school, students will be more likely to adopt a self-determined mindset. With that mindset, they can tackle a multitude of uncomfortable changes with confidence rather than fear, including the transition to high school.

 

For adolescent perspectives on competence, autonomy, and relatedness, watch this video featuring Youth Leaders from the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) I’m Determined Project.



Tactic 2: Conduct Student-led IEP Meetings

In Virginia, teams are required to develop transition-focused Individualized Education Programs (IEP) for students with disabilities once they turn 14 (VDOE, 2011). At this point, if not before, students are invited to their IEP meetings and encouraged to participate in developing the document. Though such regulations ensure IEP participation compliance, research shows that the average adolescent student only speaks during three percent of the meeting time (Martin et. al., 2006).

 

Students who are self-determined are more prepared to take an active role in their educational decisions (Bross & Craig, 2022). As part of the commitment to include students in IEP discussions and decisions, educators should also provide coaching on the IEP process, vocabulary, and typical meeting etiquette. This enables students to be better prepared for effective participation (I’m Determined, 2021b, slides 13-17). The tools linked in the descriptions below are designed for students to use to plan for student-led IEP meetings.

 

The Student Rubric for IEP Participation is a rating scale for student reflection, created by the VDOE’s I’m Determined Project.. The rubric focuses on levels of student competence and engagement in the IEP process, covering topics such as IEP content, disability awareness, rights and responsibilities, and social skills (I’m Determined, 2021a). Prior to the collaborative development of the annual IEP, educators should introduce this tool to students in order to get a baseline of current practices and use it to set goals for future participation.

 

Three additional I’m Determined tools that students should consider using for IEP development and participation are the One-Pager, which helps identify strength and growth competencies, the Goal Plan, which provides a template for student-identified goals, and the Good-Day Plan, which provides space for students to show autonomy and relatedness. One myth about student-led IEPs is that the student has to facilitate the entire meeting independently. Rather, the student, who is the most important member of the team, should be involved in the planning and implementation process (I’m Determined, 2021b, Slide 2). For additional information on incorporating student tools into the student-led IEP process, view the I’m Determined Video Modules.



Tactic 3: Collaborate with Professionals

Collaboration with stakeholders toward a common goal yields positive outcomes for students with disabilities (Shogren et al., 2015). Not only should educators collaborate within their IEP teams, their school, and at the district level to ensure best practices in transition, it is also important to network with colleagues across regions (Friend & Barron, 2022). Virginia educators from regions 2 and 3 shared effective tidbits for transitioning students from middle school to high school.

 

Transition Tidbits from Secondary Educators:

  • Model a growth mindset for goal-setting.
  • Invite high school teachers to attend student-led IEP transition meetings.
  • Utilize technology to create virtual tours of the high school.
  • Identify student preferences for organization.
  • Develop a transition website to share with students and families.
  • Have high expectations for all students while giving grace during the transition process.
  • Invite rising freshmen to attend a day of school prior to the rest of the population starting.
  • Hold a transition event to get students accustomed to the new school.
  • Ensure students are aware of high school programs and diploma options.


Click here to see a video of teachers expanding on the tidbits listed above. As you listen to the different strategies shared in the video, consider which ideas you currently use, those you are interested in implementing, and additional tidbits to share.

If you have an effective transition tidbit that helps students successfully transition from middle school to high school, please follow this link to record a short video to be shared on the TTAC William & Mary website. Below are some guiding questions to help you brainstorm.

 

  • How have you helped students feel confident about transitioning to a brand-new school?
  • How have you supported students to build new relationships?
  • How have you guided students to be competent and determined with new routines, procedures, and instructional content?

 

In our next edition of Link Lines, we will highlight ways to support students with disabilities as they transition from high school to postsecondary education, careers, and adult life.

 

Additional Resources

 

Center for Self-Determination Theory

 

Virtual Virginia Collaboration 101 (HLP #1) Self-Paced Course


High Leverage Practices for Special Education


I'm Determined Student-Led IEP Presentation Slides


T/TAC ODU How to Make Student-Led IEPs a Reality

References

Bross, L. A. & Craig, S. (2022). Universal design for learning: A viable framework to support student-led IEP meetings. Teaching Exceptional Children. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00400599221074267

 

Center for Self-Determination Theory. (2023). The theory. https://selfdeterminationtheory.org/the-theory/

 

Friend, M. & Barron, T. (2022). Collaborating with colleagues to increase student success. In B. Billingsley, M. T. Brownell, T. J. Lewis, L. Maheady, and J. McLeskey (Eds.), High leverage practices for inclusive classrooms (2nd ed., pp. 11-23). Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003148609-3

 

I’m Determined. (2021a). Resources: IEP Participation.

https://imdetermined.org/resource/iep-participation-student-rubric/

 

I’m Determined. (2021b). Resources: Student-Led IEP.

https://www.imdetermined.org/resource/student-led-iep/

 

Johnson, S. (2002). Who moved my cheese? Penguin Putnam.

 

Martin, J. E., Van Dycke, J. L., Greene, B. A., Gardner, J. E., Christensen, W. R., Woods, L. E., & Lovett, D. L. (2006). Direct observation of teacher-directed IEP meetings: Establishing the need for student IEP meeting instruction. Exceptional Children, 72(2), 187-200. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001440290607200204

 

Shogren, K. A., Wehmeyer, M. L., Palmer, S. B., Forber-Pratt, A. J., Little, T. L., & Lopez, S. (2015). Causal agency theory: Reconceptualizing a functional model of self-determination. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 50(3), 251–263. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24827508?sid=primo#metadata_info_tab_contents

 

Shogren, K. A., Raley, S. K., Burke, K. M., & Wehmeyer, M. L. (2019). The self-determined learning model of instruction teacher’s guide. Kansas University Center on Developmental Disabilities. https://selfdetermination.ku.edu/homepage/resources/

 

Virginia Department of Education. (2011). Regulations for governing special education programs for children with disabilities in Virginia. https://www.doe.virginia.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/894/637945623913600000

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