COMPARING TRADITIONAL SPECIAL EDUCATION TO 21ST CENTURY SPECIAL EDUCATIONDifferences between short term planning in Traditional annual reviews versus continuous planning in 21st century learning plans for students with disabilities

Focus of 21st Century Special Education is 50% on current year and 50% on the future. Each goal needs to be not only working on learning skills for that school year but also working towards ultimate vocational goal

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The future is the starting line

While changes and corrections will need to be made depending on the student’s progress, all goals in 21st century special education need to be written with the end goal in mind. Focus on the student’s strengths and build from there (Rowe, Mazzotti, Hirano, & Alverson, 2015). This prepares the student for life after school in a more effective way than traditional goal setting.

Finish one goal before starting the nextAnnual ARD’s should

have goals that start and finish within the year and build upon previous goal depending on progress. Strengths are that it gives focus to each year’s growth and progress. Weakness is that the end result may not be where the parents and students expect.

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Steps and skills of traditional special education moving from kindergarten through twelfth grade

While students in 21st century special education still need to learn basic skills they also need to learn skills to prepare them for life outside of school

For students with severe special needs the focus throughout school is on teaching them basic skills and behaviors

The finish line is the starting point for planning and goal development

Both approaches to special education seek what is best for the student, but the 21st century style focuses on more long term

planning and preparation.