High School Learning Support Department

ILP Writing Workshop

Creating ILPs in the High School

Stephanie Hepner 9/8/2009

Contents
Present Levels of Performance .......................................................................................................... 3 Sample PLOP Sections.................................................................................................................... 3 Sample 1.................................................................................................................................... 3 Sample 2.................................................................................................................................... 4 Sample 3.................................................................................................................................... 5 Sample 4.................................................................................................................................... 6 Sample 5.................................................................................................................................... 7 Purpose of PLOP Section ................................................................................................................ 7 Commonalities .............................................................................................................................. 8 PLOP Framework ........................................................................................................................... 9 Practice ......................................................................................................................................... 9 Accommodations ............................................................................................................................ 10 Allocation .................................................................................................................................... 10 Formatting .................................................................................................................................. 10 External Examinations ................................................................................................................. 10 Modifications .............................................................................................................................. 10 Goals ............................................................................................................................................... 11 Guidelines ................................................................................................................................... 11 Strategies .................................................................................................................................... 11 Assessment ................................................................................................................................. 11

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Present Levels of Performance

Sample PLOP Sections
Sample 1 Peter has been diagnosed with a Specific Learning Disability and ADHD. Peter also has profound hearing loss in his left ear. Peters most recent assessment shows perceptual reasoning and working memory to be strengths, both in the superior range. He struggles with verbal comprehension (lower end of average range) and processing speed (low average range). He struggles with aspects of oral language, both recalling and retelling stories and understanding multistep directions. Peters nonverbal reasoning is significantly more developed than his verbal reasoning. Nonverbal reasoning includes visual perception and organization, simultaneous processing, and visual-motor coordination. This may impact Peters coursework in the following ways: Peter has difficulty processing orally-presented information at the rate it is presented in class. Therefore, he benefits from having information summarized for him and having information re-taught at a slower pace. Due to Peters hearing loss, he should be seated away from distracting noises and with his right side towards the teacher. In order to take advantage of his superior perceptual reasoning ability, Peter should have information presented visually. This means he should have graphic organizers of information and notes should be projected on the screen or provided for him to follow. To avoid overloading his auditory processing ability, Peter should be encouraged to physically manipulate objects to solidify and demonstrate his understanding. Peter may require instructions to be rephrased to ensure understanding. The combination of Peters processing speed difficulties and attention difficulties means that when he cannot process information presented efficiently enough he loses focus and becomes distracted. Peter benefits from regular, respectful reminders to stay on task and repetition of key points and instructions. Peter becomes frustrated when he does not understand a task. He may require instructions to be repeated and rephrased in a variety of ways and an exemplar showing the expectations in order to feel comfortable with the task. Peter may have difficulty hearing instructions or discussions. To assist Peter with maintaining concentration and focus, he benefits from using thinking toys during periods of extended concentration. Likewise, he benefits from opportunities to move around the room to reduce fatigue from auditory processing. Peter seeks out assistance when required. Peter may struggle with complex or abstract reading material. He benefits from graphic organizers and other visual representations of this information. Peter sometimes has difficulties expressing his ideas and benefits from being given extra time to formulate his ideas.

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Sample 2 Patrick is a quiet, hard-working and perceptive student who has recently been diagnosed with ADHD inattentive type. This means that Patrick has particular difficulty attending to tasks that require sustained attention, especially when these are linked with another task (for example taking notes or answering questions). Patricks complete assessment showed a young man with very well developed nonverbal reasoning abilities: his perceptual reasoning was in the superior range. He had a relative weakness with processing speed (average), which may be linked to his difficulties with maintaining attention. Academically, he scored in the average range for reading and writing, with superior oral language abilities and very superior mathematical reasoning. This learning profile may impact Patricks academics in the following ways: Patrick needs to be continually engaged in the lesson in order to sustain attention. This can be done through interactive lessons, seating Patrick near the teacher, or using frequent eye contact. Teachers are encouraged to positively and constructively interrupt his daydreaming or off-task remarks in order to refocus his attention to the task. With Patricks strength in perceptual reasoning, he benefits from seeing complex and abstract ideas drawn in a graphic form. This may include graphic organizers, flow charts, or other diagrams. He also benefits from creating these graphic representations to show his understanding of these concepts. Since Patrick has a relative weakness in processing information, he benefits from having instructions repeated and from being asked to rephrase instructions to ensure his complete understanding of them. When giving complex or multi-step instructions, especially for long-term assignments, Patrick benefits from having the sections chunked into smaller, more manageable pieces. Patricks evaluation indicates that he is capable of keeping up with his academic work. He benefits from being engaged in the lesson and explicitly being encouraged to share his insights with the class. Patrick benefits from auditory reinforcement of read information, for example listening to books on tape or reading instructions or longer reading passages aloud to himself. Patrick benefits from using his hands for physical activity while concentrating. Therefore, he may find it helpful to play with thinking toys with various textures and shapes (ball of clay, stress ball, Koosh ball, etc) while concentrating in class. Patrick benefits from summarizing after reading, listening, observing or participating in extended activities. This will ensure he is practicing sustaining his attention and also work to increase his working memory. Patrick benefits from using graphic organizers (2-dimensional and 3-dimensional) when planning and organizing his ideas in written work. Patrick benefits from highlighting, underlining or coloring to emphasize task instructions or complex ideas as a way to facilitate his attention to detail.

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Sample 3 Percy has been diagnosed with mild Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). His recently completed full evaluation showed a student of average ability with relative strengths in verbal comprehension (high average) and relative weaknesses in attention and working memory (low average). On his academic achievement tests he consistently scored above-grade level (average range). Percy showed relative strengths in reading comprehension and expressing ideas in writing, but showed weaknesses in neatness, punctuation, development and organization of ideas, spelling, and proofreading. Percys greatest areas of weakness have to do with his executive functions, including attention, restlessness, impulsivity, working memory, organization, self-regulation and intrinsic academic motivation. This may impact Percys academics in the following ways: Percy should be encouraged to create a structured outline of his ideas prior to beginning a writing assignment. This outline should include his main argument and the evidence he will use to prove it. This will assist him in the organization and development of his ideas. Percy should be regularly and respectfully reminded to stay on task and maintain concentration. Being seated near the teacher and away from visual and auditory distractions will help him stay focused. Percy should be encouraged to take advantage of his verbal comprehension strengths. Therefore, he benefits from orally presented information and when he can demonstrate his understanding through verbalizing his knowledge. Percy should use thinking toys to help him maintain concentration and alleviate restlessness during extended periods of concentration. To assist Percy with organization, he benefits from structured classes with explicit expectations. In addition, he benefits from having the steps of long-term and complex projects broken down into chunks with separate due dates. Percy should be encouraged and supported in his classes in order to improve his intrinsic academic motivation.

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Sample 4 Preston has a history of concerns with attention, concentration and reading speed. According to Prestons recent full psycho-educational evaluation, Preston scored in the high average range in overall reading skills, however his reading speed was below average. Prestons mathematics and oral language skills are diverse: his numerical operations ability is in the very superior range while his mathematical reasoning is in the average range. Also, his listening comprehension is in the average range, but his oral expression is in the superior range. His written language skills are also in the superior range. Prestons processing speed, when having to read or get things down on paper, is slower than expected given his other abilities. Preston is a hard-working student who is willing to try new strategies to help him be successful in his courses. Prestons unique learning profile may affect his academic coursework in the following ways: Preston has a strong vocabulary Preston may have difficulty fully understanding all instructions presented orally to the level expected. He therefore benefits from teachers checking that he understands directions completely before beginning the task. Preston benefits when instructions are written down Preston may find making inferences, problem solving and forming concepts difficult Preston is very able to hold information in his working memory Preston is less able to perform visual tasks and may lose concentration during these tasks Preston may find it difficult to read and write as quickly as his peers; when others complete a task and begin talking, he may become distracted. Preston may become frustrated if he cannot get all of his ideas down on paper as quickly as he is thinking about them, which could result in lapses in concentration. Prestons rate of work slows when multi-tasking, especially when completing a task which uses visual and motor modalities simultaneously Due to his strength in oral expression, Preston may benefit from talking through questions which assess abstract concepts

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Sample 5 Pamela has a history of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with significant Executive Dysfunction. She takes medication to help her maintain concentration and works with tutors for organization and time management as well as math-specific assistance. She is a hard-working, motivated and conscientious student who has high expectations for herself. Pamelas most recent psycho-educational evaluation shows strong abilities in a number of areas. She has above average vocabulary knowledge and strong abstract and practical reasoning ability. She also has solid visual and spatial analysis abilities. Her working memory is very strong. Pamela has identified weaknesses with executive functioning, especially organizing complex unfamiliar material, time management and organization. Pamelas difficulties with sustained attention can impact her comprehension of complex reading passages and her ability to synthesize information mentally before creating an individual written response. Pamelas learning profile may impact her academics in the following ways: She has well-developed strategies for using her significant strengths to help her when she finds work challenging She benefits when instructions and expectations are stated clearly and simply and when instructions are provided in writing She benefits from having assignments chunked and structured She benefits from highly structured classes with established routines so that she knows what to expect Due to her difficulties with sustained attention, she may need to be redirected, especially during longer activities Last year she made tremendous progress with synthesizing information she had read and then creating a written response. She should be encouraged to continue to develop in this area. She has difficulty with written composition and often works slowly through written tasks. She benefits from structured pre-writing activities to help her organize her ideas on paper. She benefits from hands-on and experiential learning which makes learning part of her experience She benefits from feedback which gives specific suggestions for which changes she needs to make to meet expectations Due to her difficulty organizing complex material, she benefits from structured note-taking practice, including the use of graphic organizers and a note-taking buddy with whom to compare notes

Purpose of PLOP Section

The Present Levels of Performance section of the ILP should provide a snapshot of the student as a learner. This section should clearly state the students disability. This section should be data-based, from information found in the psycho-educational evaluation and supplemented with WoodcockJohnson Brief data when available. Due to the fact that most subject-area teachers do not have experience translating intelligence and achievement test jargon into classroom practice, the Present Levels of Performance should also indicate how a students academic performance may be impacted by their unique learning profile.

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Commonalities
What are some characteristics the sample Present Levels of Performance have in common? What are some reasons that information was included? Commonalities Reasons for Inclusion

Comments:

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PLOP Framework
1. Disability statement and identification of strengths and weaknesses, as identified in current report. Include information about the students personality, especially as it pertains to their learning. This section may be split into various paragraphs, according to the type of information being conveyed. 2. List of how this learning profile impacts the students academic performance. This information comes from: a. Personal interaction with the student b. Student reflection on his/her learning c. Information in the most recent report d. Information we know about how achievement and cognitive ability impact classroom performance The information in this list should be specific to classroom performance and provide ways for teachers to understand and support student learning.

Practice
Take some time to sketch out what you would write for the Present Levels of Performance for one of your students.

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Accommodations
Allocation
Accommodations are listed in the second section of the ILP. Any testing accommodations we indicate on the ILP must be recommended in a recent report. Classroom accommodations should either be explicitly recommended by the report in the recommendations section or should come out of the interpretation of the report. More moderate classroom accommodations like copy of teacher notes or partial outline should be explicitly recommended.

Formatting
When indicated the accommodations which are appropriate for your student, be sure to check the boxes for where/when the accommodation is needed: in class, homework, or on assessments. The accommodations which are not appropriate for your student should be deleted from the ILP form. This means that ultimately, the only accommodations listed are the ones for which the student is eligible.

External Examinations
For the Formal Standardized Testing Accommodations section, we must be careful to only indicate accommodations the student has a good chance of being approved for. Both the IB and College Board have strict standards for when accommodations are warranted; just because a student gets accommodations at ISB does not mean they will get the same accommodations on their external exams. In order to avoid allowing the students to practice under exam conditions which may not be accurate, we do the following: For students in grade 10, indicate that on ISA testing they will be eligible for the testing accommodations listed above. We administer ISA testing in-house and can grant students the same accommodations they are eligible for on in-school tests and exams. For students taking at least one IB course in grade 11, indicate that we will be applying for accommodations from the IB and indicate which accommodations will be applied for. Once students have been approved by the IB or College Board for accommodations, change the wording in that section to reflect that students have been approved for the accommodations indicated below.

Modifications
Curricular modifications are made rarely in the high school and only when students are considered moderate learning support students: at least two grade levels below their peers in achievement. Modifications are made when a student cannot access the regular curricular content. They are a change in what students are expected to learn and produce.

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Goals
GOAL What is the impact on learning?
PERSONS RESPONSIBLE

STRATEGIES How will you get there?

ASSESSMENT How will you measure progress?

LP= LIMITED
PROGRESS

PROGRESS

D= DEVELOPING A=ACHIEVED

Guidelines
Goals on the ILP should be measurable, specific and related to the students identified weakness. Goals should not be: Vague (Student will improve writing skills) Course-related (Student will get a C in science) Strength-related When writing goals with students, think about how you will know that the goal has been achieved. The written goal should include information about measures of success (80% of the time; 4 out of 5 times; etc).

Strategies
Working with the student, identify 2-4 strategies the student can use to achieve the goal. These strategies might be activities, tasks, practice, etc.

Assessment
When writing goals, be thinking about how you will assess the goal. Common assessment measures include: Teacher observation Structured interview Work samples It is important to design the assessment measure when writing the goal to ensure that recordkeeping is aligned with the ILP. For example, if a students social interaction goal will be assessed through a structured interview, the questions should be formulated during the ILP writing process. In addition, if goals will be assessed through teacher observation, a structured observation form should be created to keep records of the progress towards the goal. When we report to parents during Parent-Teacher Conferences and report cards, we report on progress towards goals. Therefore, it is important that the assessment is on-going and welldocumented in order to have data for the reporting process.

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