The general educator remains a vital member of the Individualized Education Program team. When a student is operating in a general environment, it is the responsibility of the general educator to bring to the team the progress of the student under individualized education program. Every general educator should know that they are critical in the process as they bring their perspective into the picture, therefore, a very valued opinion needed in the improvement of the student’s progress. New members introduced into the team as general educators need to be given specific roles to know exactly their purpose in the team.
The first stage of the individualized education program is pre-referral where the identification of special students is initiated. The general educator is the one who raises the concern in case a student does not perform or behave like the other students in the class. The referral stage; in this stage the general educator formally notifies the relevant authority in school for them to initiate an investigation of the matter. This is paramount a role of the general educator as without them the special students might never be identified.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The next stage involves identification of the need for a specialized program. The team carries out various assessments to the student in question to form a basis for admitting the student in an individualized education program. Various professionals are involved in the determination process to establish if a student requires specialized attention. Often it is the responsibility of the school’s psychologists or time then teachers may carry out formalized assessments regarding tests and informal tests such as monitoring the social behaviour of the students at home and school. The interpersonal relationships with other students also form the basis of determining the student’s need for the specialized program.
The next stage is either confirming that a student is due for individualized educator program or remains in the general education system. If a student is to be given a specialized attention, then the information gathered in the identification stage is used to identify the special need for the student. Regarding the information provided by the parents, and the general educator, the experts can deduce the kind of special attention needed.
After eligibility is determined, the development of the individualized educator program is initiated. A clear plan is developed, and it remains the responsibility of the general educator to follow on the program developed. Also, implementation of the individualized educator program which is the next step is the role of the team including the general educator. In case of minor changes in the program the parents may not have to be notified, but in the case of significant changes, the parents must approve first for the changes to be implemented.
The last stage is an evaluation of the progress and reviewing of the student under the program. This is a significant role of the general educator teacher to the team as he is the one expected to keep records of the students in regards to interaction with peers. They also participate in the meeting to relay to the team on the progress and even give suggestions on alternative measures that can be included to improve the student’s learning. This means reliable information from the teacher is crucial for an accurate review of the student’s progress. Also, yearly assessments are carried out to determine the progress of the students in individualized educator program with the general educator being among the assessors.
General educator is therefore not expendable in the individualized educator program team as their role is key to the success of this process.
Reference
The IEP Cycle: The General Educator's Role - TeacherVision . (2017). Teachervision.com . Retrieved 30 January 2017, from https://www.teachervision.com/special-needs/iep-cycle-general-educators-role
