EXPRESS TRAIN ONLINE – WINTER EDITION

This is an online publication of SEAHDC Community and Staff Development Services. Feel free to use this information as a part of in-house training for staff and board members.

Editor - Debra Banks, SEAHDC Staff Development Specialist

 

 

  

 

PUTTING THE “INDIVIDUAL” IN INDIVIDUALIZED PROGRAMMING

Part 2 – The Individual Program Plan

 

You’re preparing the individual program plan, and you’re unsure as to what should be a part of this document.  Are there requirements you need to adhere to?  Yes, there are.  DDS Licensure requires that, at a minimum, the IPP should show these things:

1.      Document the individual’s parent/guardian and teams input

2.      Strengths of individual

3.      Least restrictive environment

4.      Barriers

5.      Ways in which current environment facilities or impedes development and obtaining community integration

 

 

Family Profile:

 

1.      Include composition, special characteristics, etc., when change has occurred

 

 

Person-Centered Plan Information- Current Situation

 

1.      Progress

2.      Regression or maintenance relative to attainment of outcomes (goals/objectives)

3.      Major life changes that occurred within prior twelve months

4.      Plans for family reunification when child is in an alternate living situation

5.      How behaviors are addressed when behavior management is an issue

6.      Transition plan when a minor is leaving high school

 

ANYTHING ELSE?

Absolutely.  You need to formulate goals and objectives for your “living” document.  It’s a living document because it should be a flexible document that is changed as needed.  It’s not the ten  commandments – forever set in stone.  Our lives aren’t.  We change, our needs change, and sometimes, even the things we thought we wanted out of life change.  The same is true for the persons to whom we provide services.

OBJECTIVES?

Functional

 

·        Age Appropriate

·        Person centered planning

·        Realistic for individual

·        Use positive language

·        Emphasize competence – not deviancy

·        Behaviorally stated

 

 

Based on Annual Goals of Priority

 

·        Written in observable/measurable terms

·        Understandable

·        Outcome based

·        Allows progress to be measured

·        With criteria for successful outcome

·        Assigned initiation date

·        Assigned target date

·        Assigned completion date

·        Identifies person responsible for delivering services

·        Specific methods/materials for implementation

GOALS?

Formalize Goal Statements Using:

 

·        Strengths and needs

·        Review of previous IPP (Progress and Problems)

·        Personal futures plan/person centered planning

 

 

Long Range Goals:

 

·        Basis of total program

·        Why is the individual here

(addresses least restrictive setting)

·        What will be accomplished in three to five years

·        Provides direction for setting annual goals

 

 

Annual Goals:

 

·        Important to individual, family and staff

·        Functional

·        Realistically accomplishable this year

·        Prioritized

·        Limited to workable number

·        Stated in positive language

GOALS VS. OBJECTIVES

Remember a GOAL is a broad intent of what we want to do.

 

An OBJECTIVE gets us there by specific steps and we are accountable at each step as to performance.

 

HERE ARE SOME GUIDELINES FOR WRITING DIFFERENT TYPES OF OBJECTIVES

GUIDELINES FOR WRITING BEHAVIORAL OBJECTIVES

 

1.      State as behavior or outcome.

              

               Example:   John will dial telephone

                                

                                 John will demonstrate an understanding of the telephone

 

2.      State in observable terms  -  acts that can be seen, heard, and counted.

 

3.      Specify measurable level of mastery criterion and stability measures.

 

               Example:   John will dial the operator correctly 4 out of 5 trails, for 3 consecutive days.

 

                                 John will dial the operator correctly 80% of the time.

 

4.      State concisely  -  include explicit verbs that express the actual behavior that is expected to occur when the objective has been met

 

5.      May include conditions under which behavior is to occur.

 

               Example:   Given a pushbutton telephone, John will dial the operator…..

 

6.      State skills  -  do not state methodology/activities.

 

               Example:   John will practice using the phone 3 times per week.

  

                                 John will dial the operator……

 

7.      Contain a projected completion date (month, day, year).

 

 

GUIDELINES FOR WRITING SERVICE OBJECTIVES

 

 

1.      Assign a projected completion date or a review date (month, day, year).

 

2.      Identify person responsible for the service.

 

3.      Document in the individual habilitation plan.

 

4.      If a guardian or advocate is needed, document the plan to obtain one.

 

5.      Some areas of physical development and health services for developing service objectives.

 

·        Adaptive and other kinds of equipment and devices

·        Mechanical supports

·        Modified diets

·        Maintenance of weight within a specified range

·        Seizure disorder

·        Other conditions requiring treatment

·        Transportation

 

INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES

 

            This instructional objective example includes a description of behavior that is observable (behavior), a statement of the conditions under which the behavior is to observed (conditions), and a statement of the criteria for acceptable performance (criteria).  The three components can be separated as follows:

 

  CONDITIONS                                 BEHAVIOR                                       CRITERIA

 

Given five cards shown one at               the student will correctly            within five seconds of

a time with a different letter                   name the letter                          presentation.  He make no more

different letter on each,                                                                          than one error (90% accuracy) on

                                                                                                            each of three consecutive

                                                                                                            presentations of the five cards in

                                                                                                            random order.  He will complete                                                                                                                                   this objective by August 9, 2000.

 

It is necessary to use observable terms when writing instructional objectives to clearly communicate what you mean.  If instructional objectives are written using ambiguous terms (terms that are not directly observable), then the writer may be the only one who “knows” when the objective is achieved.

 

Instructional Objectives

     Deno and Jenkins (1967) had instructors rate the extent to which various action verbs describe events that are directly observable.  The following words were grouped into three categories on the basis of their study:  action verbs that are directly observable, those that are ambiguous and those that are not directly observable.

 

DIRECTLY OBSERVABLE ACTION VERBS

 

The following list is an example of action verbs that label events, which instructors judged to be directly

observable.

 

            to cover with a mark                             to lever press                            to line draw

 

            to mark                                                to point to                                 to cross out

 

            to underline                                           to walk                                     to circle

 

            to repeat orally                                     to count orally                           to say

 

            to write                                                 to read orally                            to put on

 

            to shade                                               to number                                 to name

 

            to fill in                                                 to label                                     to state

 

            to remove                                             to place                                    to tell what

 

            to draw                                                to take off                                 to tell when

 

When writing instructional objectives, educators should make every effort to use words that describe

 

behaviors like those in the above list.

 

 

AMBIGUOUS ACTION VERBS

 

     The following list of action verbs were thought to be relatively ambiguous when compared to the previous list.  These behaviors may be open to more than one interpretation and require more effort to measure on the part of the educator.

            to identify in writing                               to take away                             to construct

            to match                                               to check                                   to make

            to arrange                                             to finish                         to read

            to play                                                  to locate                                   to connect

            to give                                                  to reject                                    to select

            to chose                                               to partition                                to change

            to use                                                   to subtract                                to perform

            to total                                                  to divide                                   to order

            to measure                                            to add                                      to supply

            to demonstrate                                      to regroup                                to multiply        

            to round off                                          to group                                   to complete

            to respond to                                        to average                                to summarize

            to inquire                                              to utilize                                    to borrow

            to acknowledge                                    to find                                       to identify

ACTION VERBS THAT ARE NOT DIRECTLY OBSERVABLE

            The following words were judged by educators not to be directly observable.  All these words describe actions that must be inferred from other behaviors.  These words should not be used when writing instructional objectives.

            to distinguish                                         to be curious                             to solve

            to conclude                                           to apply                                    to deduce

            to concentrate                                       to determine                             to perceive

            to generate                                           to think                                     to create

            to discriminate                                      to learn                                     to be aware

            to recognize                                          to appreciate                            to discover

            to infer                                                  to know                                    to understand

            to become competent                           to wonder                                 to like

            Instructional objectives can be written for different lengths of time in an individual’s program plan.  Objectives that state that the behavior will be accomplished at the end of several months or longer are usually referred to as long range instructional objectives.  Objectives that state the behavior will occur within shorter periods of time, such as a day to two months, are often called short-range instructional objectives.

 

            Both kinds contain the three criteria specified by Mager (1962):  conditions under which final performance may be observed, a second statement of behavior in observable terms, and a specific criteria by which final performance may be judged.  The only difference between the two kinds is the length of time needed to accomplish the objective.

 

            Short-range instructional objectives must correspond to long range instructional objectives.  Therefore, if a long range instructional objective is written for an individual in the area of reading, the short range instructional objectives that are written for the individuals reading program must lead to the accomplishment of the long range objective.

 

We hope you found this information useful. If you would like to have this information presented in a detailed training session or have any questions or comments, contact Debra Banks, at 870-226-6774 or e-mail debra.banks@mail.state.ar.us.