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High-Leverage Practices for Students with Disabilities

HLP4: Data Collection and

Comprehensive Learner Profiles

Happy February! The theme for this month is based on the fourth high-leverage practice from the CEEDAR Center and Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)’s High-Leverage Practices in Special Education: Use multiple sources of information to develop a comprehensive understanding of a student’s strengths and needs. Keep reading for resources and more!

Data Collection for Students who are D/HH

The fourth high-leverage practice from High-Leverage Practices in Special Education states, “Use multiple sources of information to develop a comprehensive understanding of a student’s strengths and needs.” What this means for educators is that relying on one test or observation is not enough to get a robust picture of the whole child. McLeskey et al. (2017) conclude that the best way to “develop a deep understanding of a student’s learning needs” (p. 42) is by creating a comprehensive learner profile. 

NASDSE (2018) further drives this point:


Tests alone will not provide a comprehensive picture of how a child performs or what he or she knows or does not know. Only by collecting data through a variety of approaches (e.g., observations, interviews, tests, curriculum-based assessment, self-assessments) and from a variety of sources (parents, teachers, specialists, child) can the team develop a complete picture of the child’s strengths and needs.


A comprehensive learner profile is crucial in understanding the full child, but the need for accessible assessments in order to create the learner profile is absolutely imperative. The IEP team with the input of teachers of the deaf/hard of hearing are responsible for ensuring that the assessments their students take are accessible. This is part of the reason IEPs must indicate which specific assessments will be required (e.g., state or district-mandated) for individual students, so that alternatives can be listed in the cases where tests are not accessible. For more information, please refer to RMTC-D/HH’s FAQ “What are the alternatives to inaccessible assessments?” 


For a deeper understanding of a comprehensive learner profile, watch RMTC-D/HH’s video on HLP4.

Read Captions Across America

Read Captions Across America (RCAA) day, March 2, is a collaboration between Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP) and National Education Association (NEA). This annual event coincides with Dr. Seuss’s birthday and celebrates captioned media as a reading tool for ALL children. Watching captioned media every day builds literacy and boosts learning. This year ASL interpretation has been added to the story Green Eggs and Ham with the ASL Pop-up window. Order your kit today: posters, bookmarks, certificates, and DVD*. 


*A free DCMP membership is required to receive the kit. Teachers with at least one student with a sensory impairment in their class, individuals who are D/HH, VI, or DSI, and families of children who are D/HH, VID, or DSI qualify for a free DCMP membership.


RMTC-D/HH wants to see how you are celebrating. Share your videos and pictures with us on social media. Please ensure a parent media release form is signed before sharing personally identifiable information with us.

News from RMTC-D/HH

TA-Live! HLP4: Data Collection and Comprehensive Learner Profiles

In the 2021-2022 TA-Live! series, RMTC-D/HH is diving deep into the High-Leverage Practices in Special Education.


Before the next scheduled discussion on February 9, 2022 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EST (1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. CST), participants will be encouraged to:

When?

February 9, 2022 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EST (1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. CST)


REMINDER: There will be no TA-Live! or Tech Notes for the month of March.

Register

Thinï»żking on THIRDSdays

RMTC-D/HH is excited to offer Thinking on THIRDSdaysa professional learning community (PLC) for all educators providing instruction and support to Florida students who are D/HH. Led by RMTC-D/HH staff, this PLC allows district personnel the opportunity to pose and respond to peer inquiries about the education, planning, programming, and needs of students who are D/HH.

When?

The next event will be February 17, 2022 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. EST (3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. CST).

Register

Break During Testing Month

Just a reminder... There will be no Tech Notes or TA-Live! for the month of March. We know testing season can be a stressful time. Good luck!

RMTC-D/HH Teacher Spotlight

Know an educator (e.g., teacher, SLP, interpreter, educational audiologist, paraprofessional) who is doing amazing things with students who are D/HH? Fill out the nomination form to nominate someone or even yourself!

For this month’s teacher spotlight, RMTC-D/HH is doing a Throwback! Since the theme for this month is all about data collection and creating a comprehensive learner profile, RMTC-D/HH would like to feature a reprise by Felcia Massie and her wonderful progress monitoring binders. Watch Felicia’s spotlight video now!


Know an educator (e.g., teacher, SLP, interpreter, educational audiologist, paraprofessional) who is doing amazing things with students who are D/HH? Fill out this form to nominate someone or even yourself!

Expanded Skills Spotlight

Tell People What You Need

Standard:

SP.PK12.DH.6.5: Explain support services available in the school, home, and community, such as Florida Relay Service, interpreters, and travel assistance.


Brief description of the lesson:

RMTC-D/HH developed a slide deck to guide teachers and students through the process of self-advocating for accommodations and support a student may need in the school, home, and workplace. Students may need to learn how to access their network and social capital of the deaf community in order to have the self determination to problem solve multiple situations and when they are provided resistance from the community. 

Have an idea or lesson plan for Expanded Skills standards? Submit your idea by filling out the RMTC-D/HH Expanded Skills Lesson Submission form.

Resources:


In order to keep all the resources in one place, RMTC-D/HH has created a LiveBinder that is categorized by the twenty-two “High-Leverage Practices for Students with Disabilities” from the CEEDAR Center and the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). To see the resources available by each category, check out the LiveBinder!

Resources from the RMTC-D/HH Media and Materials Loan Library:


The below resources are from the Media and Materials Loan Library* that have relevance to HLP4: Use multiple sources of information to develop a comprehensive understanding of a student’s strengths and needs.


*Florida stakeholders can borrow these and many other resources from RMTC-D/HH's Media and Materials Loan Library, for FREE. Each material comes with a return label, making even the shipping at no charge to the borrower.


The Data Collection Toolkit (#1932): Collecting data on behavior, academic skills, and IEP goals is an essential step in showing student progress—but it can also be a complicated, time-consuming process. Take the worry and stress out of data collection with this ultra-practical resource, packed with the tools you need to organize, manage, and monitor critical information on your students' progress. You'll discover proven, stress-free data collection techniques used by real teachers, with strategies and shortcuts developed through the author's extensive teaching and consulting work. You'll also get first-person classroom examples, quizzes, definitions of key terms, and a complete package of reproducible forms and tools. An essential resource for special educators, general educators, and paraprofessionals, this toolkit will help you become a "classroom detective" who collects the right data, analyzes it skillfully, and uses it to solve each student's challenges.

 

Steps to Assessment - A Guide to Identifying Educational Needs for D/HH Students (#1943): The focus of this guide is appropriate assessment practices for children from transition to school at age 3 through high school. Categories of assessment are presented, as are ways to tease out information from assessment results to illustrate how to identify needs to support eligibility. A variety of assessments are described for each assessment area. Case studies are provided that show how the teacher can choose appropriate test instruments and interpret the results, including determining possible goal areas. A section describing self-learning application activities helps readers to integrate the information into daily practice and makes this guide the perfect subject of a professional learning community. Teachers who use this guide will have a much better understanding of the vulnerable areas of development due to hearing loss, how the areas interconnect, and ultimately how they are the experts in using the “deaf lens” to contribute to their evaluation teams and service planning. This information will assist educators of the deaf/hard of hearing, educational audiologists and specialist speech language pathologists in being able to advocate with school teams for appropriately tailored assessment and program planning for students who are deaf or hard of hearing.

 

Starting with Assessment: A Developmental Approach to Deaf Children’s Literacy (#1891): “Based on the premise that effective instruction must be geared toward each student's learning needs, this landmark text provides in-depth discussion of research-based principles for assessing deaf children's skills and areas of need. Literacy instruction and planning are discussed. Reproducible checklists and assessment tools in such areas as reading, writing, conversational language competence, student self-assessment, and parental input are included. A must-read manual for administrators, teachers, teachers-in-training, literacy specialists, support staff, and parents.” (Clerc Center, 2021)


C. O. A. C. H. (#1939): “C.O.A.C.H. is a ‘How to’ and “What to do” book for the development of skills for secondary students. The program uses a problem solving model of C.O.A.C.H. – Concern- Observe- Access- Collaborate- make it Happen to address access and communication needs. The book includes: rationale for the instructional model, step-by-step directions, goals and activities, assessments, and reproducible worksheets. Each section addresses specific aspects of advocacy and develops underlying skills to support application. Learn how to guide your students to handle their specific situations and to develop skills they will use for a lifetime.”

RMTC-D/HH Family Corner

Family Corner is a section for professionals that will address how they can help parents to be more involved and be more collaborative. This section will be from the perspective of a parent of a child who is deaf and has other disabilities and who also happens to be an educational professional. Depending on the topic, this section may deal with how to approach parents on the topic or help educators understand the parents’ perspectives.

What families should know about: Using multiple sources of information to develop a comprehensive understanding of a student’s strengths and needs.


Collection of information from multiple sources is critical in developing a comprehensive understanding of a student’s strengths and needs. A child is in different environments and is surrounded by different peers and adults when they are not in school. While a teacher or other school personnel may be best positioned to understand the child’s strengths and needs in the educational environment at school, they may not have a comprehensive understanding of the child’s performance outside of school, such as at home, in day care, or in other non-educational settings. These environments may create differences in language and accessibility, cultural considerations, level of trust by the child of surrounding adults, the difference in noise and distractions in different environments, and more. 


To truly understand the child’s strengths and needs and to prepare them for post-school living or postsecondary education, it is imperative to understand how the child responds in those other settings. This information helps to complete a picture of a child that is different from what may be known at school. This information may influence your approach in educating the child and may provide awareness of different processes that may be able to be positively applied to the education of the child in the school setting. 


How do educators acquire information about a student’s needs outside of school? Collaboration. Collaboration between school staff and parents is essential. Parents can contribute by phone, email, text, conversations in the pick-up line, or meetings. Some districts support the use of home visits, which provide a vast amount of information on the child’s functioning outside of school. 


Other trusted adults from the child’s community may also be valuable sources of strengths and needs. Parent permission for sharing of information is necessary for collaboration with adults who are not guardians. These adults may include faith leaders, scouting group leaders, or sports and activity coaches or teachers. Some educators create Google or Microsoft forms with questions related to a student’s independent functioning outside of school, the responses to which may be varied based on the environment. Having multiple perspectives on a student’s performance goes a long way in identifying a student’s strengths and interests and aids in the development of goals that will not only benefit the child in school, but also in the community - skills that will support them throughout the lifespan.

DID YOU KNOW?

Did you know?


Avenue PM Tools Instructional Strategies is a page dedicated to looking at multiple sources of language and reading assessment data to come up with a comprehensive plan to improve students who are D/HH literacy goals.

Did you know?


National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) Outreach Pre-College Programs has many different programs, competitions, and workshops for students who are DHH and DSI currently in high school. They are being offered spring and summer 2022. Learn about:


Registration is open. Email questions to Jenai McKeen.

Upcoming Events: Save the Date!



Check out the RMTC-D/HH 2021-2022 Calendar for more upcoming events!

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RMTC-D/HH provides Tech Notes as a free resource to teachers, professionals, and parents around the state in order to pass along potentially useful information and expand the knowledge and opportunities available to educators and families of children who are deaf/hard of hearing. This email was funded by the Florida Department of Education Bureau of Exceptional Student Education through federal assistance under the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), Part B funds. The information included does not reflect any specific endorsement by any parties involved.

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References:

McLeskey, J., Barringer, M-D., Billingsley, B., Brownell, M., Jackson, D., Kennedy, M., Lewis, T., Maheady, L., Rodriguez, J., Scheeler, M. C., Winn, J., & Ziegler, D. (2017, January). High-leverage practices in special education. Arlington, VA: Council for Exceptional Children & CEEDAR Center. https://ceedar.education.ufl.edu/hlps/ 

Suggested Citation:

Resource Materials and Technology Center for the Deaf/Hard [RMTC-D/HH]. (2022, February). HLP4: Data collection and comprehensive learner profiles. Tech Notes. https://www.rmtcdhh.org/tech-notes-archive/