Results of the Consortium Partners Survey: Accommodations for Students with Special Needs

• View survey questions online.
• Survey results.

Teachers today face significant challenges. Among them is the pressure to fulfill vigorous state and national standards and at the same time meet the needs of an increasingly diverse student population. The challenge of accommodating students with special needs in today's classrooms is one of tremendous interest to CAST and the Consortium. One of the best roads to understanding the challenges and solutions facing today's teachers is to directly solicit their input. Here we describe what was learned from one of CAST's most recent investigations of classroom practice: an online survey querying Consortium partners' use of curricular adaptations and enhancements.

Investigating Classroom Practice: Curricular Adaptations and Enhancements

One approach to meeting the needs of diverse students, including those with special needs, is to make curriculum adaptations (modifications of curricular materials, accommodations) and enhancements (additions to curricular materials). A recent literature review conducted by CAST (see "An Overview - Enhancements Literature Review") uncovered a good deal of support for the effectiveness of such adaptations and enhancements. To gather perspectives on the use of adaptations and enhancements direct from teachers themselves, the Teaching Practice and Curriculum work groups of the National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum conducted a survey of Boston area teachers (see "NCAC Curriculum Teacher Survey").

Teachers were asked to list the curriculum adaptations they use, the curriculum adaptations provided by publishers that they use, and the curriculum adaptations that they would use if they had more resources. The percentage of students for which teachers reportedly customize varied widely, from 6-100%. The percentages of teachers making various kinds of adaptations ranged from approximately 2% to 22%, and the kinds of adaptations were quite numerous. Perhaps most impressive was the definitive interest in raising the level of customization.

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Consortium Partners Survey

Building on the previous survey, CAST's most recent survey was directed at a different population of teachers, specifically, Consortium members who instruct students with special needs. The survey was offered to Consortium members online and queried their use of adaptations and enhancements by means of the following three questions:

• What adaptations and enhancements do you make to accommodate different students?
• What accommodations/enhancements provided by publishers do you use to accommodate diverse learners?
• What accommodations and enhancements would you recommend if you had more resources?

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Question 1: Teacher-made Curricular Adaptations and Enhancements

The intent of Question 1 was to find out what adaptations and enhancements teachers, themselves, make to accommodate diverse learners. Sizable percentages of the survey respondents (see table) reported making curricular adaptations and enhancements themselves. The five adaptations and enhancements most widely reported to be made are

• hands-on activities (84% of respondents),
• simplified instructions (84%),
• technology (76%),
• visual representation of content (68%), and
• multiple representations of content (65%).

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Question 2: Publisher-Supplied Curricular Accommodations and Enhancements

The intent of Question 2 was to determine what accommodations and enhancements teachers acquired from publishers to accommodate diverse learners. Many respondents (see table) reported using publisher-provided accommodations and enhancements for this purpose. The five publisher-supplied accommodations and enhancements most widely reported to be used are

• hands-on activities/manipulatives (70% of respondents),
• technology (70%),
• visual representations of content (70%),
• multiple representations of content (54%), and
• aural representations of content (54%).

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Question 3: Desired Accommodations and Enhancements

The intent of Question 3 was to determine what accommodations and enhancements teachers would like to use if they had the resources (time, money, etc.). Percentages of respondents (see table) expressing a desire for more extensive use of accommodations and enhancements were also impressive. Of the accommodations and enhancements listed on the questionnaire, the 5 most widely cited are

• technology (89%),
• materials with connection to the outside or real world (84%),
• aural representation of content (70%),
• different assessments on the same topic (59%), and
• materials that appeal to multicultural audiences or address diversity (57%).

Current Teacher Practice and Important Next Steps

The results of this survey provide insight into both where teachers currently are and where they would like to be with respect to meeting students' needs through curricular adaptations and enhancements. Respondents to our survey reported that they presently use a variety of curricular adaptations and enhancements, both self-generated and publisher-supplied, as a means to accommodate diverse students.

The most widely reported adaptations and enhancements were similar - whether self-made or publisher-supplied - and include technology and various types of multiple representations (multiple representations of content, aural representations of content, visual representations of content, and hands-on activities/manipulatives). These particular adaptations and enhancements, which are integral elements of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) approach to curricular flexibility, appear to be widely perceived as effective by the teachers responding to both this survey and the Boston survey (see "NCAC Curriculum Teacher Survey").

Another commonality between this survey and the Boston/Wellesley area survey, are the large percentages of respondents expressing a desire for even greater use of adaptations and enhancements. According to these findings, an important goal at the present stage is to ensure that teachers have the resources to acquire curricular accommodations and enhancements. This involves change at the local level, garnering support for the acquisition and integration of such materials within individual districts and schools, and at the publisher level, influencing publishers to supply ready-made curricular adaptations and enhancements. The desire for technology was particularly widespread in both this and the previous survey, an observation that underlines the need to focus efforts on providing this essential UDL tool.

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