Artifact Three Rational

IEP Case Study

The purpose of the IEP case study was to work collaboratively with the IEP team to
develop a plan for a student who has special education needs. The IEP case study required me to
demonstrate my understanding of the IEP process, identify goals and objectives for the student,
and to work collaboratively with both educators and family members who are directly involved
in the life of the student. The primary CEC standards for the case study are: 1. Learner
Development and Individual Learning Differences, 3. Curricular Content Knowledge, 6.
Professional Learning and Ethical Practice and 7. Collaboration.
One area of development for myself was in curricular content knowledge (CEC Standard
3). While my background is in Language Arts, there were goals and objectives on the IEP that
were not related to English. The student did require goals and objectives in mathematics.
Because of this, I had to have an understanding of what strategies and concepts related to math
would be incorporated into the IEP that would help the student to improve in those areas. While I
didnt have any idea how to interpret his math scores and then develop goals and objectives
based on those scores, I had to learn in order to help create goals that were both measurable and
relevant for the student. Therefore, I had to research the math curriculum for his grade level to
determine what skills and concepts needed to be incorporated into his IEP.
Another area that helped to foster my understanding of the IEP process was CEC
Standard 7: Collaboration. Not only did I have to communicate with my colleagues who taught
the student, I also had to reach out to the family of the student as well. As it relates to my
colleagues, I had to work with both his Language Arts teacher and his math teacher to determine
what strengths and weaknesses the student had. Also, I had to collaborate with all of his teachers
to determine what behavioral issues needed to be addressed. When the draft of the IEP was
developed, the family had to be invited to the meeting in a timely manner. Once the IEP meeting
began, the family was an integral part of the team. We worked to ensure that the parents input
was included in the IEP and that the parents were in agreement with all aspects of the IEP.
When developing the IEP, I took careful consideration into what the areas of needs were
for the student. I made sure that each goal and objective were measurable with the hope that the
student would be able to meet each goal. The student benefited from the IEP because it is a plan
that will allow him to grow both academically and socially. The IEP will allow the student to
utilize strategies, tools and resources to help him to become a better student and to continue to
work to overcome disabilities that impede his progress.