Abstract
This paper describes a collaborative project involving 13 school districts and a higher education institution in Western New York. The intent of the project was to train master special education teachers to serve as Facilitators of Specialized Intervention and Integration (FSII) for students with learning and behaviour difficulties and disabilities. Two models that reflect the conceptual framework for the project will be examined. They include: l.) Dynamics of Effective Integration; and 2.) The Roles of the Integration Facilitator. In effect, facilitators manage and monitor school-wide decision making pertaining to the selection and implementation of learning and behavioural interventions for students during the pre-referral and/or inclusion processes. The facilitator functions as a catalyst in bringing special education and related services to both students with serious learning and behaviour difficulties and disabilities within inclusive general education classrooms. A program utilizing interactive teaming was developed to train facilitators. This presentation describes the design of the training program, implementation factors, evaluative outcomes, and implications for follow up research.
Background Of Project
Thirteen Western New York public school districts receiving special education services and support from a New York State Regional Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) are redesigning instructional and related service delivery for students with disabilities. Collaboration among general educators, special educators and related service personnel in urban, suburban and rural school districts has been facilitated with modest yet encouraging outcomes.
A survey of school districts receiving special education services from BOCES indicated that student study/teacher assistance models were inefficent, non-functional, or virtually non-existent. Provisions for pre- referral service options, special education student integration and inclusion were viewed as largely insufficient; i.e., the level of mediational support and consultation for teachers and students. Administrators from BOCES and member districts responded to these findings dramatically. Authorization was granted to the Assistant Superintendent for Special Education of BOCES to initiate a professional development project designed to train specialized personnel to facilitate school-wide collaborative intervention, integration/ inclusion service and support assistance for students with learning difficulties and/or identified disabilities.
It should be noted that the FSII Project was conceptualized and planned cooperatively by the BOCES Assistant Superintendent for Special Education and a member of Buffalo State College's Department of Exceptional Education. Over many years both have shared a vision of quality education and equity for students with disabilities. This vision has served as the foundation for many collaborative projects and activities to date. Ongoing discussions and work concerning contemporary issues of school reform and field based problem solving proved timely and contributed to the evolution of this project. The project subsequently planned incorporated "interactive teaming" and "teamwork" principles described by Thousand (1988); Morsink, Thomas & Correa (1991) ; and Dettmer, et al., (1993).
Following discussions with several faculty members of the Departments of Exceptional and Elementary Education at Buffalo State College a team and partnership was formed to conduct additional planning and carry out full implementation of project.
The project's intent was to prepare a highly competent cohort of special educators to serve as facilitators of school-wide collaboration among general and special education teachers, related service personnel, parents, and community stakeholders. In effect, a facilitator assists general and special education teachers providing instructional and management interventions for students with learning and behavior problems or disabilities. The facilitator identifies and procures services and resources that enhance the ability of teachers to utilize instructional and behavioral interventions with students presenting learning and behavioral difficulties or disabilities. Moreover, the "Facilitator of Specialized Intervention and Integration" (FSII) professional development project was a reflection of BOCES' direct response to the problems and needs of constituent school districts.
Essentially, the FSII project provided interactive training activities and experiences for a carefully selected cohort of special education teachers. Workshops were designed to focus on FSIIcompetencies; i.e., knowledge and skills required to function as Facilitators of Specialized Intervention and Integration. The outcomes targeted for project trainees focused on the organization and enhancement of school-wide teacher/student assistance team collaboration and effectiveness. Additionally, FSII trainees would refine and expand their repertoir of adaptive instructional and management strategies for learners either at-risk for referral to the Committee of Special Education, or already receiving services or support within general education settings. Furthermore, trainees would be expected to demonstrate competence in initiating staff development and technical assistance opportunities for general and special educators, paraprofessionals, community members, parents, and peers of learners with special educational needs.
The Role of Facilitator of Specialized Intervention and Integration
In delineating the role of the FSII it is helpful to understand the context within which the FSII is expected to function. What we find are a host of factors that are vital to effective educational integration of students presenting learning and behavioral disabilities ( see Figure 1 ). The Home, School and Community form critical bases which drive the Collaboration, Vision/Mission and Support of the Administrator, Educational staff and Facilitator on behalf of the Student.
The specific functions of the FSII (see Figure 2) include the organi- zation and development of and full participation in school-wide teacher assistance/student study teams. The FSII is expected to function as a leader in designing and implementing instructional programs, transition plans, home-school communication and support strategies, and program evaluation. The FSII knows about and accesses a variety of instructional materials and resources; and initiates staff development and technical assistance opportunities for teachers, aides, peers, community members and parents. Ultimately, this will enhance management and instruction of learners receiving instructional and behavioral intervention at pre-referral or integration stages (Thousand, 1988).
The FSII can be expected to expedite the process of accessing support and services needed by special and general education teachers engaged in collaborative pre-referral intervention and integration. It is, therefore, vitally important to establish a clear role definition and dependable working relationship with building administrators, teachers, and staff members. To this end, consistent and open communication styles are essential for timely attention and response to student problems and teacher concerns.
Accordingly, it is largely the responsibility of the FSII to monitor intervention effects and recommend subsequent action to the student study/ teacher assistance team, and/or the school's Committee on Special Education.
Project Design
The special education teachers who participated in the FSII project took part in a wide variety of interactive activities. Models of school-wide collaborative team building and professional development targeting special and general education teachers, related service personnel, and parents were examined. Specific foci were directed to assessment, management, adaptive instruction, and evaluation strategies. Other activities engaged project trainees in identifying and accessing appropriate instructional and management resources to augment interventions with students experiencing learning and behavioral difficulties; i.e., students at risk for subsequent referral to the school's Committee for Special Education, or students with disabilities receiving services/support in general education classrooms.
Basically, six competency clusters provided the foci for all FSII Project instructional sessions and workshops (Center for Developmental Disabilities, 1990). Project trainees attended 12 three-hour instructional sessions (36 total hours) and participated in approximately 24 hours of field based follow- up activities. While the competencies were organized as discrete instructional units and activities they were addressed as integral to one another. By and large, the workshop sessions and field experiences fostered rich and provocative discourse which contributed to extensive networking and interactive team building among the trainees. Descriptions of the FSII competency clusters addressed in the project include the following:
1. Staff Development
Facilitators prepare others, i.e., members of
building child study or teacher assistance teams, general and special
educators, teacher aides, students without handicaps, parents and family
members, and school and community members, to implement effective instructional
programs for learners with mild, moderate or severe disabilities, to
demonstrate collaborative teaming skills, Inclusion Facilitator 7 and to
articulate an understanding of effective educational practices.
2. Technical Assistance
Facilitators provide technical assistance to
general and special educators, administrators, and community agency personnel
to implement effective educational practices and improve the education of
learners with mild to severe handicaps within their local schools and
communities.
3. Effective Educational Practices and Adaptive Instruction Strategies
Facilitators articulate the benefits of effective educational practices for
learners with mild to severe disabilities. They assist in clarifying issues
associated with least restrictive environment, integrated delivery of
educational and related services, social integration, community-based
instruction, functional curriculum, systematic data-based instruction,
home-school partnership, and program evaluation. Facilitators also model
utilization of adaptive instructional strategies including peer tutoring,
cooperative group learning, outcomes based instruction, activity selection,
computer assisted instruction, multi-aged groupings, and cognitive and
cognitive-behavioral learning application.
4. Consultation, Communication, and Small Group Skills
Facilitators
model the utilization of trust-building strategies and techniques to increase
effective communication, give and receive positive and critical feedback, and
provide appropriate leadership and conflict resolution strategies to
school-wide student study and teacher assistance teams, including others
responsible for managing and instructing learners with mild, moderate, and
severe disabilities.
5. Collaborative Team Building
Facilitators collaborate with
school-wide study and assistance teams of parents, general and special
educators, and administrators to plan, implement, Inclusion Facilitator 8 and
evaluate strategies for educating students within their respective school
settings.
6. Organizational Skills (Self and Others)
Facilitators formulate
and carry out meeting agendas, manage their time, and plan, schedule, and
document their professional activities. They also evaluate their efficiency and
effectiveness in achieving desired goals and objectives.
Project Implementation Factors
Determinating a high quality site for workshop sessions was viewed as most essential. The site obtained for the FSII project was housed in a recently constructed Northern Western New York Regional BOCES educational center which was equidistant for project trainees. Generous support was provided throughout the project. For example, communication was consistent and efficient, alternate meeting sites were readily obtained, instructional resources and materials were abundant, administrators were always available to assist with or participate in workshop sessions, and the overall comfort of project consultants and trainees was enhanced through sufficient nutritional enrichment at each session.
Seven special education teachers were selected to participate in the FSII Professional Development Project. BOCES and participating districts supported half-day releases for participants for each three-hour workshop session. The criteria used to select participants were as follows:
As indicated earlier, the FSII Project consultants were professors at Buffalo State College in Western New York. They included a specialist in elementary education mathematics and science instruction who also held expertise in adapting instruction for students with mild disabilities in integrated in general education settings. Three additional consultants' were special educators with expertise in school leadership and reform, team building, interpersonal communication, program design, educational assessment, curriculum and instructional adaptation, and classroom organization and management.
Project workshop sessions were guided by an agenda that ensured full use of alloted time and maximum interaction among the participants and consultants. Initial sessions clarified the purpose and focus of the project and constructed a foundation for team building and collaborative networking among participants and consultants. Trainee needs were identified through the administration of a survey designed for the FSII Project. This helped to refine the focus of the project and promote ownership of the project by the trainees and consultants. Each workshop session agenda was finalized during regularly scheduled meetings held by the project consultants and BOCES Assistant Superintent of Special Education. Project objectives and expressed needs and interests of the trainees were carefully analyzed in planning and organizing future sessions.
Each workshop session incorporated interactive and hands-on activities. These included creative problem solving exercises, brainstorming, chart building, and contextualized tasks that nurtured group reflection and decision making. Several workshops that proved highly effective were: 1.) A question and answer session with a regional special education supervisor from the New York State Department of Education. This session focused on future special education priorities proposed by the New York State Education Department and implications for the FSII role and function; 2.) Field visits to school sites implementing intervention/integration programs. For example, an elementary school employing the FSII model in a pilot program was visited. Trainees and project consultants observed integrated classrooms and discussed their observations and role functions of the facilitator with administrative staff, a facilitator, assistance team members and teachers; 3.) Technology workshops presented by instructional technology specialists. Trainees examined technology, multi media applications and other resources needed for 'state of the art" technical assistance and planned presentations for teachers, staff, parents and community groups; and 4.) Adaptive instruction and development of a comprehensive FSII reference guide. During workshops trainees examined a variety of adaptive instruction and management strategies and organized source information related to the role and function of the FSII and associated competency clusters.
Project Evaluation and Follow-Up
Several evaluative aproaches were used throughout the project to assess knowledge and skill acquisition of project trainees. As mentioned earlier, a survey was conducted at the outset of the project to assess the knowledge status and needs of project trainees. Written comments reflecting trainee perceptions of each session's value were elicited as a regular activity concluding each session. Written comments also were solicited and submitted anonymously by a secretarial assistant to the project and forwarded to the project consultants.for analysis. Generally, trainee comments reflected continuing and consistent growth in achieving project objectives, content and competencies.
Another approach was designed to assess trainee use of facilitiation strategies. Through scenarios depicting integration and prereferral intervention problems, trainees were required to select or formulate and justify resolution strategies. These were formulated by the trainees and based upon actual school wide realities. This proved effective in providing trainees with the opportunity to demonstrate competence in identifying and analyzing problems as well as applying concepts and principles acquired during previous workshop sessions.
Project trainees also generalized and documented technical assistance strategies, interventions or other FSII functions designed and carried out in their home schools. These included administering a human exceptionality knowledge inventory to general education elementary teachers and surveying general education teacher management and instruction needs for further analysis and professional development. The comprehensive technical assistance guidebook described earlier exhibited the informational expertise of the trainees through the correspondent sections addressing: school-wide assistance team building; communication strategies and conflict resolution; nature and needs of students with exceptionality; student assessment approaches; classroom organization and management strategies; and adaptive instruction principles including the implementation of cooperative classroom learning.
In a culminating final workshop session trainees presented detailed reports to the BOCES Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent of Special Education delineating the the role and functions of the FSII including logistical considerations associated with case loads and placement of a FSII within the school's formal organization. Finally, trainees were awarded certificates of recognition for their achievement and contributions to the project.
In the months since the completion of the project, consultants and former trainees have disemminated information about the FSII Professional Development Project through panel presentations at conferences held by the New York State Association of Vocational Educators and the New York State Council for Exceptional Children. Currently, three former trainees are serving in FSII roles. Two are facilitating elementary and middle school level integration programs. Much of their initial effort has been devoted to shaping the identity of the FSII within their respective school settings; e.g., developing school-wide trust and opening avenues for communication and collaboration among special and general education staff and teachers; forming and strengthening teacher assistance and student study teams at the middle school level; and assisting special and general education teachers and staff in developing guidelines and procedures for further integration of students. The third former trainee is functioning as a facilitator at the secondary education level. Increasing access to vocational education programs and developing a transition articulation agreement with a regional community college for students with emotional disabilities have served as targeted goals. It is genuinely encouraging that students with behavior and learning needs and disabilities are experiencing fundamental educational benefits as a result of the leadership role and collaborative functions acquired by special education teachers who participated in FSII Professional Development Project.
REFERENCES
Center for Developmental Disabilities (1990). Intensive special education program: M.ED. and CAS level integration facilitator training. University of Vermont.
Dettmer, P., Thurston, L.P. & Dyck, N. (1993). Consultation, collaboration, and teamwork for students with special needs. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Morsink, C.; Thomas, C.C. & Correa, V. I. (1991). Interaction teaming: Consultation and collaboration in special programs. New York: Macmillan.
Thousand, J. (Spring, 1988). Integration facilitator: A new job description for special educators. New England INDEX Newsletter: Information on Disabilities Exchange, Community Integration Issue, I.
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