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"No matter what your student needs, it is important that the general education teachers and specials teachers are aware of any accommodations or modifications that need to take place for the student...This is the best way to set our students up for success!"
Accommodations vs modifications. They are two words that are frequently tossed around the world of special education, and sometimes used interchangeably. However, it is important that we differentiate between the two terms, because they mean two very different things!
Legally, we need to use the correct terminology on IEPs and other documents, so let’s take a look at the difference between these two types of services.
Classroom accommodations are things that are used in the classroom in order for a student with special needs to be able to access the general education curriculum. Accommodations do not change the content, vigor, standards, or grade level of the material that is being accessed. Accommodations are intended to be supports for students so they can understand the material being taught, and enable students with IEPs to remain in the general education classroom, learning the same things as their non-disabled peers.
Not sure what accommodations or modifications are? Or what type may be appropriate? Check out this brochure you can grab when you become a member of The Intentional IEP.
Examples of accommodations include, but are not limited to:
Check out this snippet from a live training in The Intentional IEP about clarifying accommodations and modifications.
If you’re looking for more specifics on IEP like general education collaboration, functional behavior assessments, and AAC – you’re in the right place! Click the image to check it out!
Modifications change the content, vigor, standards, of grade level of the general education curriculum. The decision to make modifications to the general education curriculum is not a decision to be taken lightly. Choosing to modify the curriculum or assessments may be necessary for a student, but this also means that the student is not truly accessing the general education curriculum. Accommodations should be tried and exhausted before making the decision to modify.
Examples of modifications vary widely depending on the needs of the student and may include:
No matter what your student needs, it is important that the general education teachers and specials teachers are aware of any accommodations or modifications that need to take place for the student. Talk to them, and make sure that everyone is on the same page. This is the best way to set our students up for succe
Quoted content from Edutopia:
Some students develop anxiety about assignments, but there are ways teachers can help them cope with these feelings.
“The three most important aspects of learning—attention, focus, and memory—are all controlled by our emotions, not cognition.” —Marc Brackett
When students are overwhelmed by cognitive tasks, their stress response systems will move into survival states (fight, flight, or shut down) where they are literally unable to access the prefrontal cortex. The prefrontal cortex is the area of the brain where our executive functions live and can be activated.
These executive functions are a set of cognitive or mental tasks that allow us to problem-solve, make decisions, plan, prepare, emotionally regulate, hold strong attention, and access working memory. This region is activated when we are feeling emotionally safe and connected in our environment, but we also need to feel competent or capable in how our unique style of learning or academic performance is being seen, understood, and evaluated.
When assignments, projects, and academic tasks feel overwhelming, this can create anxiety, frustration, angry outbursts, or a shutdown in behavior where assignments are not even attempted alongside behaviors that we often label as apathetic, unmotivated, disrespectful, oppositional, or entitled.
Many of the behavioral challenges we encounter in our classrooms are rooted in cognitive overload. This is especially true for our neurodivergent learners whose brain functioning is different. These differences show up in how we process information, pay attention, self-start, or organize. These are not deficits, but distinct differences in learning profiles. Many of our neurodivergent learners cannot learn well through traditional teaching practices. They need to move, share stories, use hands-on strategies, or use technology, and at times they require the direction, pacing, chunking of assignments, and transitions with a trusted adult.
Co-regulation through cognitive tasks is a supportive, affirming, and validating practice that can ease the dysregulation of assessments, writing assignments, and longer projects that may activate sensory overload, social anxiety, and academic burnout. Below are some ideas to integrate into our teaching practices mitigating the survival states that prohibit access to the prefrontal cortex where learning occurs.
1. Check in frequently and predictably. When we share a hand on the shoulder, a warm smile, quick questions such as “What do you need? How can we work through this together?” or even intentional proximity and a tone of voice that says, “I am here, and we will get through this together,” we are providing a classroom culture that validates collaboration, celebrates effort and differences, and shares our presence through a strength-based lens.
2. Highlight confusing or difficult assignments. This practice has been a game changer in my classroom teaching. I will distribute personal highlighters, and when students observe my personal highlighter and how I am reading through difficult sections of an assignment and focus on concepts that I do not understand well, they are more likely to pick up their highlighter and begin doing this with me. I also will sit beside students who need more support and suggestions as we scan different parts of the learning that might create a clearer path with color.
3. Chunk assignments. Chunking is taking small sections or steps of learning and only focusing on these segments. It might be an opening paragraph, the first two or three pages of a text, three vocabulary reads, or the first two steps of a long-division equation. We rework through these chunks until the students feel more comfortable to move on. It’s an empowering practice that encodes new learning with more ease.
4. Create summative assessments together. This is one of my favorite practices for deeper learning and student input or voice. At the end of a segment of learning, I will invite students to share their ideas for assessments. We have created a sign-up sheet for this practice because it has been popular in the past.
I have given prompts for this co-regulatory activity such as these: What do you think is important to remember from this chapter? Which concepts will you need to remember in the future? What would be a just way we could help each other with the steps we have learned? What types of prompts seem helpful? What was hard for you to remember? How could we create a fair assessment from what we have learned and need to remember?
5. Role-play “I am the administrator.” In this practice, I am the taker of thoughts or notes. This is a wonderful way to invite students to begin a writing assignment when they are staring at a blank sheet of paper. In this practice, I tell the students that they have all these brilliant ideas and thoughts in their head, and maybe we can work together to place these on paper or in our Chromebooks.
I begin with the writing as students tell me what they want to write about. I will type or write out their thoughts as they dictate to me. This lessens the fear and anxiety of staring at a blank Microsoft Word or Google document or sheet of paper. I remind them that I am only the recorder of their thoughts.
6. Map it out. Through a daily, weekly, or monthly timeline, the students and I can decide which parts of assignments and tasks we should be focusing upon. We can create this timeline with colors, symbols, and shapes as we check off the times of day or days of the week as we are nearing completion or completion.
7. Make it relatable. Most of us learn best when taught through ways that emphasize our unique interests. We can understand a concept if it is related to sports, video games, shopping, holidays, storytelling, movies, or our passions and hobbies. When we learn about our students’ interests and observe how they integrate the learning, we can incorporate those interests into what feels familiar and relatable to the students. I love this article that shares how math is taught in different cultures.
Connection drives nervous system development. When we provide the felt safety through co-regulation that our brains require in order to access the thinking and reasoning (executive function) areas of the brain, we are an active participant in our students’ learning.
Quoted content:
"Since the explosion of generative AI, a whole new vocabulary is quickly becoming household language. As teachers and educators, we often find ourselves caught in the middle of this rapidly evolving tech landscape. Understanding terms like "Artificial Intelligence," "Generative AI," or "Prompt Engineering" isn't just for tech experts anymore, it's essential for all of us shaping the future of learning. In this visual, I’ve captured some of the key AI terms and acronyms I believe as educators and teachers should know. From "fine tuning" to "deep learning," this resource simplifies the jargon and helps you navigate the world of AI, hopefully, with confidence."
Download this free visual here:
https://www.educatorstechnology.com/.../AI-terminology.png