Creating an ISELP Individual Education Plan
Note: An alternative page (page 4) for students who are identified as Exceptional Intellectual - Gifted is to be a 'Gifted Plan' page.
An alternative page (page 4) for students who are receiving non-identified Special Education supports is to be an 'Enhanced Learning Plan' page.
Gifted students require programming that is tailored to their unique needs and as such require an Individualized Education Plan (IEP).
Tailoring the IEP to the student portrait
The Student Portrait Map (opens in a new tab) template promotes a more holistic view of the student. It assists teachers to focus and to program for the student’s strengths, consider ways of motivating the student and supporting their learning by drawing on strengths that the student has demonstrated in other subjects. It is also essential to acknowledge all other needs, identifications, or diagnoses (e.g., social-emotional, ELL, etc.), highlight prior knowledge in various subjects, learning style or preference, and interests outside school. ( Learning for All, p. 44)
A detailed Student Portrait includes current levels of achievement and progress in developing learning skills and work habits (from the most recent provincial report card and EQAO data), including:
- readiness to learn, particularly in relation to specific subject areas and/or curriculum expectations (e.g., from classroom observations, surveys, pretests);
- learning strengths, styles, and preferences;
- motivational needs and interests (from interest inventories, questionnaires, classroom discussions);
- learning needs, and any additional support, accommodations, and/or types of challenges that motivate and enable the student to learn and to demonstrate learning;
- social and emotional strengths and needs (e.g., self-management, getting along with others, social responsibility), including the capacity to adjust to transitions;
- available resources and supports that help meet the student’s needs;
- other relevant information, such as the kind of activities the student pursues outside the school.
For more information on developing a comprehensive student portrait:
Summary and Highlights
The learning process for students engaged in ISELP requires planning supports that will motivate and engage in order to further enhance the learning experience. As such, programming for these learners is instrumental to developing their fullest potential and to support growth. Developing the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is the first step for schools to identify the learner’s needs and to maximize the learner’s abilities.
Researchers have identified that Gifted students require a faster pace, work that is appropriately challenging, and the opportunity to engage in tasks that do not have a straightforward solution (Gomez-Arizaga et al, 2020). Students engaged in ISELP will not simply gain benefit from exploring a curriculum that is new to them. The greater cognitive skills demonstrated by these students will create ongoing demands on the need to provide programming suitable to their needs as a learner.
Areas of an IEP that are applicable to learners engaged in ISELP:
- Transition Goals and Actions (individualized to the student and their short, medium, and long-term goals)
- Accommodations (specific to the needs of the student and purposefully structured to provide supports as they are needed)
- Alternative programming - Page 4 (focused on skill-development in areas that match the student's goals and areas for further development)
Accommodations as part of an ISELP IEP:
Students may not demonstrate the same degree of advancement in all subject areas and their abilities may develop asynchronously. This also means that these students may be able to understand complex ideas they are not developmentally or emotionally ready for which can be a cause of anxiety.
It is reasonable to assume that some students may require accommodations, built into their IEP, as a means of providing an additional level of support and ISELP programming.
Students who are engaged in ISELP may also present with other identified (and sometimes not identified) exceptionalities. When developing an IEP for these students, the needs of all of these areas must be taken into account.
The Gifted Plan/Enhanced Learning Plan:
Annual Goals within the Gifted or Enhanced Learning Plan should be broad to allow students to focus on a skill they can develop throughout the curriculum in all subject areas.
The student’s work toward the goals outlined in the Gifted/Enhanced Learning Plan should be primarily completed as part of their work in the classroom. Opportunities for withdrawal can also be included as part of the student’s ISELP work to complement the programming in the Gifted/Enhanced Learning Plan; however, the majority of the work toward ISELP goals should be part of the teaching and learning process in the student’s main classroom. To put it simply, students who require ISELP support need it on an ongoing basis, not for discrete blocks of time throughout the week.
Students engaged in ISELP are most successful when they view their goals as meaningful, valuable, and relevant. It is important that the goals are individualized to the student, and created collaboratively with the student, the family/caregiver(s), and the teaching staff that work with the student.
In-Depth
Adjustments to the learning as part of an ISELP IEP
As with any student with an Individual Education Plan (IEP), Students who are part of ISELP require changes in the process of learning (through differentiation, accommodations, and alternative programming, including a Gifted/Enhanced Learning Plan, as appropriate - see Figure 1, below) to maintain motivation and engagement in that learning. Giftedness should be addressed in the subjects of greatest interest or strength (Ministry of Education). This programming is not limited to the core subject areas, but can be applied to any area that matches the student’s portrait.
Researchers have identified that Gifted students require a faster pace, work that is appropriately challenging, and the opportunity to engage in tasks that do not have a straightforward solution (Gomez-Arizaga et al, 2020). Students engaged in ISELP will not simply gain benefit from exploring a curriculum that is new to them. The greater cognitive skills demonstrated by these students will create ongoing demands on the need to provide programming suitable to their needs as a learner.
The below figure shows the overlapping terms that can be used to describe the changes in the process of learning required to adequately program for the needs of students engaged in ISELP.
Figure 1 - Adapted from https://www.abcontario.ca/images/pdfs/iep_guide_rev_april_20.pdf (opens in a new tab), p. 15
ABC Ontario (2008) suggests two criteria for determining what changes to the learning process should be implemented via the student’s IEP:
- All stakeholders (the student, the family/caregiver(s), the educators involved with the student, etc.) should share an understanding of the programming and be held accountable for its implementation. The IEP should clearly state the unique learning expectations for the student and how to implement them.
- Learning experiences that are enriched should be described with enough detail that subsequent teachers, and those in other subject areas, would know where to begin with the programming in their classes. The programming needs to be tracked with sufficient detail so as to avoid unnecessary repetition.
Differentiation and program development
In order to maximize success, students engaged in ISELP frequently require an individualized program that differs in content, processes, teaching and learning strategies, and evaluation methods. The ISELP Individual Education Plan is the starting point and the accommodations and alternative skills listed on the Gifted (for Identified students) or Enhanced Learning Plan (for Non-Identified students) page (opens in a new tab) are an essential part of the programming to meet the needs of the student.
The IEP can be tailored to the needs of the student engaged in ISELP to:
- develop an alternative skills Gifted or Enhanced Learning Plan page that outlines programming related to curricular areas;
- provide instructional, environmental, and assessment accommodations matched to the learning needs of the student;
- develop transition planning goals and actions that are matched to the student’s needs and aspirations (short, medium, and long-term goals);
- develop other alternative skills pages to further outline and provide programming for skills development in other non-curricular areas (e.g., social skills, learning skills, etc.).
Developing a comprehensive understanding of the student engaged in ISELP
A variety of tools can be helpful during this consultation process, in order to develop a comprehensive picture of the student’s learning portrait, their goals, and other underlying factors that may require attention during the IEP development process. A Student Portrait Map (opens in a new tab) is a helpful tool which can be used to develop an understanding of the full portrait in collaboration with all stakeholders.
Examples of helpful tools for gathering information about various areas of a student’s learning portrait are:
Kids’ guide to overexcitabilities (self assessment tool for Gifted students) (opens in a new tab)
Abbreviated math anxiety rating scale (opens in a new tab)
Academic anxiety inventory (opens in a new tab)
Grit Scale (opens in a new tab)
The collaborative consultation approach
The consultation actions listed below are taken from the Special Education in Ontario (2017) (opens in a new tab) guide, listing steps that should be taken to ensure the development of the IEP takes into consideration the complete portrait of the student’s strengths, needs, and interests. The examples listed are not exhaustive, but provide a starting point for each of the steps in the consultation process.
| Collaborative Action | Examples of Consultations for a Student taking part in ISELP |
|---|---|
| Share information and observations about the student’s behaviour and learning in a variety of settings |
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| Develop a common understanding of the student’s strengths and needs as they affect the student’s ability to learn and demonstrate learning, and the student’s educational goals |
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| Discuss possible accommodations that can help the student learn and demonstrate learning |
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| Discuss the type and level of support required from support services personnel |
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| Plan and outline how the student’s learning will be assessed and evaluated so that the connection between the IEP and the report card will be readily apparent to both the student and the parents |
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Accommodations as part of the ISELP IEP
Students may not demonstrate the same degree of advancement in all subject areas and their abilities may develop asynchronously. This also means that these students may be able to understand complex ideas they are not developmentally or emotionally ready for which can be a cause of anxiety (e.g., death anxiety). Additionally, overexcitabilities are more common in the Gifted population (Silverman, 2016; Gassear, 2018); therefore it is reasonable to assume that some students may require accommodations, built into their IEP, as a means of providing an additional level of support and ISELP programming.
Students who are engaged in ISELP may also present with other identified (and sometimes not identified) exceptionalities. When developing an IEP for these students, the needs of all of these areas must be taken into account.
Accommodations Examples
“The goal of applying interventions and making accommodations is to enable the student to learn successfully...The needs of the individual student, the resources available, and parent and student preferences must all be considered in determining the nature and extent of the interventions and accommodations recommended and provided.” (Special Education in Ontario, Kindergarten to Grade 12: Policy and Resource Guide (opens in a new tab), C25). The following sections provide examples of possible accommodations that can be included within the student’s IEP.
Alternative skills pages
Per the Special Education in Ontario (opens in a new tab) guide, Alternative Skills can be recorded in the IEP in order to develop programming to complement the curricular learning. These skill areas should be designed to provide an appropriate level of challenge for the student to develop their cognitive skills, and should be achievable (in terms of mastery) with reasonable effort on the student’s part.
Learning goal orientation
Kulkin (2016) describes the difference between the two learning goal orientations: performance and mastery. “Performance goals are often met in a climate of competition that prizes speed, memorization of facts, and acquisition of specific skills. In contrast, mastery goals emphasize real-world application and problem solving” (p.29). Mastery goals are connected to intrinsic motivation, academic efficacy, persistence, help-seeking behaviour, and is negatively correlated to test anxiety (Furner & Gonzalez-DeHass, 2011, p. 231).
- Performance Goals:
- What Students Focus On: Students with performance goals care a lot about their grades and proving their abilities. They are focused on academic performance.
- How They Approach Learning: They want to be fast, memorize facts, and acquire specific skills.
- Impact: This mindset can make them anxious about getting things wrong and can exacerbate issues associated with self-concept and self-identity common among Gifted learners.
- Mastery Goals:
- What Students Focus On: Students with mastery goals are more interested in learning and improving their skills. They are more willing to investigate mistakes and understand their errors.
- How They Approach Learning: They focus on real-world application and problem-solving. Mastery-focused learning emphasizes developing healthy learning habits, such as asking questions and seeking support when needed.
- Impact: This approach reduces anxiety because they seek help and understand their mistakes.
In a mastery classroom, students should feel comfortable to ask questions and view questioning as evidence of a strong learner. Students are encouraged to use their peers as “helpful resources in the pursuit of learning” (Furner & Gonzalez-DeHass, 2011, p.237).
In a mastery classroom environment, there is a heavy focus on the process of learning, students' feelings towards learning are important, and evaluation is a private critique of the work rather than a confirmation of a student’s ability.