Transition Tidbits

 Career Exploration Video Link  Remember the "Fluff Scale" we shared early this year from the University of Oklahoma's Zarrow Center.  According to this scale, as students get older our transition goals and activities should become more focused and have less "fluff" in them. Our resources this week are great tools to help students focus their career exploration more. For example, a student may be interested in the field of heavy machine operating but using the John Deere resource below they can focus on an actual position as well as a specific company thus moving from fluff to closer to a firm match.  John Deere  John Deere has a dedicated section on their website for students and recent graduates. There is information on internships, part-time student programs, and their development program, and of course, you can search for jobs. There is also a section on tips for professionals. Visitors can also visit the professional careers link and learn more about not on...

 Summary of Performance  Video Link It is hard to believe but we are at that time of the year again. We are preparing for our seniors to graduate and move on to the next phase of their lives. One of the last things we need to do for those seniors with a disability is their Summary of Performance (SOP). Sometimes we may forget about this task but remember it is a required component of transition planning. As you will the Operating Standards, on page 117 (5c), provide some details about what should be included for those students who are exiting by graduation and not by the determination of an evaluation. More than being a requirement, the summary of performance is a great way to allow the students to showcase the self-determination skills they built over time. 

 Success Now and In the Future  This week, we just wanted to share a couple of brief articles instead of resources and our video. We came across these two articles and thought they aligned nicely with the work we do in Postsecondary Transition Planning. Check them out and see if they align with our work.  4 Ways to Boost Students' Self-Efficacy  The opening of this article is really powerful when it talks about us as adults, needing to be intentional in providing our students with evidence of early success in their work. This will allow the students to build confidence that they can be successful in the future. In order to do this the article gives us some suggestions; scaffold assessment sequences, tier assessments, and feedback portfolios. The article describes each of these suggestions in more detail. The article reinforces the point that if we can help our students experience success, and then support them as they learn, it will encourage lifelong learners, which...

 Parents as Partners  We all know the positive impact of having students be engaged in all our work in education. Transition is no different. Outcomes for our SWD can greatly improve if families are truly involved in the process. Below is information from the University of Indiana's Secondary Transition Resource Center that can help us build strong reciprocal and collaborative partnerships with our families to help our students thrive. Consider the following roles for parents during the transition process.  Parents as Transition Team Members           - To truly address the student's needs, all team members need to collaborate and build trusting relationships to last for the rest of the student's career in school.  Parents Provide a Unique Perspective           - Parents provide critical insights into a child's behavior, academic, and personal needs. They also help us understand the critical elements of the...

 Self Determination  We talk a lot about building self-determination in our students, but what exactly is it? We focus our transition plans on students achieving a specific employment or education outcome, which is important, but an even more important outcome is us building self-determination in our students. Our students need to be able to know themselves well enough to discuss what they are good at, what they are interested in, what they struggle with, and so much more. This skill will help students be successful no matter which pathway they pursue after school. So how do we do it? We must expose our students to many jobs, interests, educational opportunities, and more. Once they are exposed, we need to teach them how to reflect on their experience so they can understand themselves. If we focus on self-determination then our employment, education, and independent living goals will take care of themselves.  March 3 Transition Tidbits Agilities K-12 Resources  The D...