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Self-Determination

Instructional and Assessment Strategies

By: Michael L. Wehmeyer, Sharon L. Field

Give students with disabilities powerful tools for success in school and in life!

Linked to the IDEA requirement for individualized transition plans, this user-friendly resource helps educators instruct students with special needs in making decisions about employment, job skills, further schooling, and independent living. Using detailed strategies within the context of inclusion, standards-based reform, and access to the general curriculum, teachers learn to:

Encourage students to become their own advocates
Use needs-assessment techniques to determine the required level of instruction
Teach effective choice making, problem solving, and goal setting
Support families and fellow educators in teaching self-determination skills

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Product Details

Grade Level: K-12
ISBN: 9781412925747
Published By: Corwin
Year: 2007
Page Count: 208
Publication date: January 05, 2007

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This book is not available as a review copy.

Description

"There is not available a more comprehensive book in the area of self-determination."
—Melinda Pierson, Department of Special Education
California State University, Fullerton

"Unique because it provides direction for teaching and supporting self-determined behavior across all age groups and also within the general education classroom and curricula."
—Marianne Mooney, Senior Research Associate
TransCen, Inc., Post-Secondary Learning and Careers

Give students with disabilities powerful tools for success in school and in life!

Michael Wehmeyer and Sharon Field present research-proven instructional strategies that empower special needs students at all grade levels to make their own decisions.

Self-Determination offers detailed and current practitioner-oriented approaches in combination with extensive teacher reproducibles—all within the context of inclusion, standards-based reform, and access to the general curriculum. Linked to the IDEA requirement for individualized transition plans, this user-friendly resource assists practitioners in teaching the skills necessary for making decisions about employment, job skills, further schooling, and independent living. Educators will discover how to:

Encourage students to become their own advocates by practicing assertive behavior
Use needs-assessment techniques to determine the level of instruction required for each student
Teach effective choice making, problem solving, and goal setting
Support both families and fellow educators in their efforts to teach self-determination skills

Special education teachers, general educators, and administrators will find this handbook an invaluable guide for helping students establish their own goals and plan for a strong and healthy future!

Key features

Extensive reproducibles, forms, and related materials for immediate teacher use
Easily implemented assessment techniques
Top research and practice knowledge brought together for classroom use

Author(s)

Michael L. Wehmeyer

Michael L. Wehmeyer, Ph.D. is Professor of Special Education; Director, Kansas University Center on Developmental Disabilities; and Associate Director, Beach Center on Disability, all at the University of Kansas. Dr. Wehmeyer is engaged in teacher personnel preparation in the area of severe, multiple disabilities and directs multiple federally funded projects conducting research and model development in the education of students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. He is the author of more than 180 articles or book chapters and has authored, co-authored or co-edited 19 books on disability and education-related issues, including issues pertaining to self-determination, transition, universal design for learning and access to the general curriculum for students with significant disabilities, and technology use by people with cognitive disabilities. He is a Fellow of the American Association on Mental Retardation, a past president of the Council for Exceptional Children’s Division on Career Development and Transition, and is Editor-in-Chief for the journal Remedial and Special Education. In 1999 Dr. Wehmeyer was the inaugural recipient of the Distinguished Early Career Research Award from the Council for Exceptional Children’s Division for Research. In May, 2003 he was awarded the American Association on Mental Retardation’s National Education award. Dr. Wehmeyer holds undergraduate and Masters degrees in special education from the University of Tulsa and a Masters degree in experimental psychology from the University of Sussex in Brighton, England, where he was a Rotary International Teacher of the Handicapped Fellow. He earned his Ph.D. in Human Development and Communication Sciences from the University of Texas at Dallas.

Sharon L. Field

Sharon Field, Ed.D., is Professor (Research) and Co-director of the Center for Self-Determination and Transition in the College of Education at Wayne State University. Her areas of specialization include self-determination, transition and life skills, and applied positive psychological practices. She has directed several federally funded transition and self-determination projects. Through these projects she developed, with Dr. Alan Hoffman, a model of self-determination and the Steps to Self-Determination curriculum and, with Drs. Alan Hoffman and Shlomo Sawilowsky, a self-determination assessment battery. She has written extensively on self-determination for persons with and without disabilities. Her work has included development of materials and strategies to promote self-determination at the early childhood, elementary, secondary and post-secondary levels. She is also the lead author of The Self-Determined Educator, a set of instructional modules for use in initial preparation and staff development settings designed to promote self-determination for teachers and Self-Determined Parenting , an instructional support program for parents. She has direct service experience in schools as a special education teacher, job placement specialist and administrator. Dr. Field earned her Master’s degree in Special Education from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and her Ed.D. in Educational Policy, Governance and Administration from the University of Washington.

Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgements

About the Authors

1. Self-Determination: What Is It and Why Is It Important to Students With Disabilities?

Self-Determination: What Is It?

A Functional Model of Self-Determination

A Five-Step Model of Self-Determination

Self-Determination: Why Is It Important to Students With Disabilities?

Impact of Promoting Component Elements of Self-Determined Behavior

Impact of Promoting Self-Determination

2. Self-Determination in the Era of Standards-Based Reform

Promoting Self-Determination in the General Education Curriculum

Self-Determination Content in General Education Standards

Self-Determination and Curriculum Modifications

Infusing Instruction Into the General Education Curriculum Planning

Curriculum Content

3. Educational Planning and Student Involvement

IEP Planning, Access to the General Education Curriculum, and Self-Determination

Supplementary Aids and Services

Specially Designed Instruction

Other Educational Needs

Self-Advocacy and Student Involvement in Educational Planning

Promoting Self-Advocacy

Student Involvement in Educational Planning

4. Schoolwide and Classroom Ecological Interventions

Quality Indicators of Programmatic Efforts

Quality Indicator #1: Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes for Self-Determination Are Addressed in the Curriculum, in Family Support Programs, and in Staff Development

Quality Indicator #2: Students, Parents, and Staff Are Involved Participants in Individualized Educational Decision Making and Planning

Quality Indicator #3: Students, Families, Faculty, and Staff Are Provided With Opportunities for Choice

Quality Indicator #4: Students, Families, Faculty and Staff Are Encouraged to Take Appropriate Risks

Quality Indicator #5: Supportive Relationsips Are Encouraged

Quality Indicator #6: Accommodations and Supports for Individual Needs Are Provided

Quality Indicator #7: Students, Families, and Staff Have the Opportunity to Express Themselves and Be Understood

Quality Indicator #8: Consequences for Actions Are Predictable

Quality Indicator #9: Self-Determination Is Modeled Throughout the School Environment

5. Teacher-Directed Instructional Strategies

Learning Process Strategies

Modeling and Mentors

Cooperative Learning Groups

Coaching

Behavioral Strategies

Teaching Component Elements of Self-Determined Behavior

Teaching Goal Setting and Attainment

Teaching Problem Solving

Teaching Decision Making

Fostering Self-Awareness and Self-Knowledge

Promoting Choice Making

Attribution Retraining

Curricular Materials

6. Student-Directed Learning and Peer-Mediated Instructional Strategies

Student-Directed Learning Strategies

Antecedent Cue Regulation

Self-Monitoring, Self-Evaluation, and Self-Reinforcement

Self-Instruction

Multiple Strategy Use

The Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction

Peer-Mediated Learning Strategies

7. Assessing Student Needs and and Evaluation Program

Assessing Instructional Needs in Self-Determination

The Arc's Self-Determination Scale

Self-Determination Assessment Battery

The AIR Self-Determination Scale

Program Evaluation

Empowerment Evaluation

8. Family Support for Self-Determination

How Families Impact Student Self-Determination

Strategies and Resouces to Help Family Members Learn About Self-Determination

Family Support for Self-Determination: Tips and Tools

Sharing Stories About Self-Determination

Making the Most of Teachable Moments

Providing a Positive Role Model of Self-Determination

9. Nurturing the Self-Determination of Teachers

What Do Educators Need to Know to Be Self-Determined in Their Work?

What Can Teachers Do to Build and Nurture Their Self-Determination?

Resource A. Self Determination Quality Indicators Assessment Tool

Resource B. The Arc's Self-Determination Scale

References

Index

Reviews

"There is not available a more comprehensive book in the area of self-determination."

Melinda Pierson, Professor of Special Education
California State University, Fullerton

"Unique because it provides direction for teaching and supporting self-determined behavior across all age groups and also within the general education classroom and curricula."

Marianne Mooney, Senior Research Associate
TransCen, Inc.

Other Titles in: Inclusive Education | Transitioning | Learning Styles

Select Format:

Review Copies

This book is not available as a review copy.