Teacher Planning for Students with Learning Disabilities: Differences between General and Special Educators

Abstract

This study compared teacher planning and adaptation for students with learning disabilities along two dimensions–-setting/teacher type (general vs. special education) and method of monitoring student growth (use of curriculum-based measurement vs. conventional monitoring). Participants were general (n = 25) and special education teachers (n = 37), each of whom taught at least one student with an identified learning disability in his or her classroom on a daily basis. As part of another project, the special educators were assigned to two subgroups; 25 employed curriculum-based measurement (CBM) to monitor student progress and 12 used their standard methods for monitoring student growth. The general educators employed conventional monitoring methods. Analyses of variance and chi-square analyses were conducted on teacher responses to the Teacher Planning Questionnaire, which asked questions about planning and adaptation in math for one specific learning disabled student to whom the teacher provided instruction. Results indicated that CBM special education teachers tended to adapt their students' programs more frequently and to rely on more objective databases than the non-CBM special educators or the general educators. However, reliable patterns differentiating both groups of special educators from the general educators also emerged. Implications for teacher training and practice are discussed.