I

have taken part in several IEP meetings for my students, but I want to focus this discussion on
a certain student. I attended a transition plan IEP meeting for one of my accounting students, T,
on November 3rd, 2016. T has been diagnosed with autism and has a learning disability. The
meeting included T, his parents, his special education teacher, the school principal, the ag
teacher, and me. We talked about Ts post-graduation plans and transition from high school.

During the conversation, his parents and special ed. teacher asked about his ability with
accounting, because T had mentioned liking it and that he might want to take some business
classes with the agriculture classes that he planned to take at a local community college. I
stated that he did very well and was earning an A. I explained that T did well, in part, because
he isnt afraid to participate during group instruction or ask questions during independent
work. After some discussion, I learned that he isnt as open in other classes, but he felt
comfortable in my room. I encouraged T to try some business classes in college, and stressed
the importance of asking questions and participation in all classes.

During a parent-teacher conference on February 16th,2017, Ts parents told me that he had just
registered for college. He is currently planning to earn two associates degrees, one in
agricultural and one in business. His parents said that his interest in business is due to his
positive experience in my accounting I & II classroom.

Although T has an IEP, I have not needed to adjust my regular teaching style for him. I attempt
to accommodate all learning styles within lessons, which seems to be working. For example,
accounting lessons begin with a short lecture which introduces new vocabulary and concepts.
Next we go through some example work as a large group, randomly calling on students to
describe each step, and talking through mistakes or misunderstandings until we reach the
correct answer. Finally, I allow enough time for students to complete their independent work in
the classroom, so that I am available to answer questions if they are having trouble. Not only
does this system work well for T and another IEP student, all students have success in the class.