Transition Action Plan

Mackenzie Magner
University of Colorado Denver
 The student chose for this transition action plan will go by the pseudonym of Ashley

Diaz. Ashley is currently a 19- year- old, 11th grader at Mapleton Expeditionary School of the

Arts (MESA). Ashley is a very quiet but determined student. From a student interview conducted

Ashley enjoys playing violin and socializing with her peers. In 2015 Ashley transferred from

York International in Mapleton School District MESA. When she transferred to MESA she

quickly began getting her grades up and was eventually able to get all passing grades. She works

very hard in all of her class and is very determined to pass her classes. She is the older sister of

two brothers who both attend schools in Mapleton School District. Her older of the two brothers

is currently a 9th grader at Mapleton School of the Arts.

Her current IEP services include 72% of her day spent in the general education

classroom. This includes 5 hours per week outside of the general education classroom. She

receives services in math for her math credit but this is the only service she receives outside of

the general education classroom because she does not have an English class on her schedule. Her

primary provider, which is currently her math teacher, will consult weekly with her teachers to

support her academically in her general education classes. If needed a paraprofessional will be

available to support her in her classes. Over the past year at MESA she demonstrated that she is

able to access the general education classroom instruction if she has the proper supports from the

special education team. If she continues to make progress on state and district standards her

Individualized Education Plan will remain the same. For the transition plan I was only able to

access two IEPs. The oldest one on current record is dated for 2014 while she was still attending

York International. This was an annual review of her IEP and had goals in the area of access

skills.

These goals included:

 In order to be successful in her post-secondary education and in her adult life, Ashley will

increase her self-advocacy and organizational skills by mastering:

o When given a data to remember, Ashley will write it down immediately in her

planner with 75% accuracy.

o When she is having trouble with an assignment, Ashley will see the teacher for

extra help at least once a week.

From the assessments I was able to learn much more about Ashley in order to begin

creating the lessons for her transition plan. The assessments that were given taught me much

about Ashleys self-determination, learning styles, and career interests. The AIR Self-

Determination Scale Educator Form I was able to see that her transitions math teacher scored her

as 75% determined. When filling out the scale the assessment showed me that in the areas of

opportunity she was rated the lowest. This area includes opportunity to perform self-

determination behaviors at home. Many of these areas were ranked as sometimes. This

included, student has opportunities at home to explore, express, and feel good about own needs,

interests, and abilities. See Appendix for more examples. Her ability to perform self-

determination behaviors was ranked the highest. She was rank a 5 or Always in the area of

student expresses own interests, needs, and abilities. This scale was able to tell me how Ashley

is seen as, demonstrating traits of self-determination and the degree to which the people

influencing your student provides opportunities that foster self-determination (AIR Self-

Determination Scale). When looking at the AIR Self-Determination Scale Student form I was

able to see that Ashley also scored herself as 75% determined. Once again in the area of what

happens at home her score was the lowest. When asked, do you have someone at home who

can tell me if I am meeting my goals she rated that answer as a 1 or never. When asking her

more about this score she stated that her friends and teachers hold her more accountable than her
parents and brothers do. Passed on this assessment it was clear to me to see that she has strong

goals and strong determination in reaching these goals.

The next assessment done was the CITE Inventory Assessment which, helps teachers

determine the learning styles preferred by their students. (Babich et al, 1976). This assessment

gathers information in the areas of auditory language, visual language, auditory numerical, visual

numerical, and auditory-visual language, auditory numerical, visual numerical, and auditory-

visual-kinesthetic combination. It also measures how a student works (group vs independent) and

how they express themselves better (Babich et. Al, 1976). This assessment showed me that

Ashleys Major Learning Styles included Visual Numerical, Tactile Kinesthetic, and Social-

Group. According to the CITE Learning Styles Instrument (Babich et al., 1976) Ashley would

benefit from a variety of written materials and ample amount of time to study this material in

order to satisfy her visual-numerical learning style. For her Tactile-Kinesthetic learning style she

may benefit from self-involvement and using manipulatives. Her final learning style being

social-group means she would benefit from studying in a group setting.

Howard Gardners MI Model Multiple-Intelligence test measures what intelligences

Ashley may be and how these can support her learning in the classroom. From this test I was

able to see that Ashley scored highest in the areas of spatial-visual and interpersonal. Her

assessment stated, You are happiest and most successful when you learn, develop, and work in

ways that make best use of your natural intelligences (our strengths and style and brain-type in

other words). From this assessment I am able to see that Ashley may be good at remembering

things such as images and fine details. She may benefit from using note cards or looking at

pictures in textbooks when studying. Her other intelligence, interpersonal, gives her a strong

ability to communicate with others. This connects to the scores from the CITE assessment where
it showed that she worked well in a social-group setting. In this assessment case she may also

benefit from working in a group setting.

The final assessment conducted was a Career Clusters Interest Survey. This survey had

Ashley circle sentences that best describe her. These areas included personal qualities and school

subjects that she enjoys. From this assessment I was able to conclude that Ashleys top three

career interests were in the areas of Human Services, Arts, Technology, and Education, and

Hospitality and Tourism. This assessment stated that Ashley may be interested in a career where

she may be caring for peoples needs, designing, marketing, or working with people in the food

or travel industry (Guidance Division Survey, 2005). All of these areas were related to careers

Ashley said she may be interested in the future.

Based on the assessment results I was able to create post-secondary goals for Ashley.

These goals were in the areas of education and training and career and employment. The first

goal in the area of education and training states, after high school Ashley will attend the

University of Northern Colorado to pursue a degree in art, design, or photography. For career and

employment her goal stated, after high school Ashley will be employed in the area of

photography.

Throughout this transition planned I learned that every student is going to be very

different during the transition planning process. The assessments that our students take and the

lessons that are completed should be individualized for each student. These assessments also

made me realize how little Ashley really knew about what she wanted to do after high school.

When working with her it seemed that the assessment scores did not surprise her but when it

came to discussing what these test scores meant she could not explain it to me. From the

assessment scores we gather I think it is very important to explain to the students what they mean
and how they can use their learning styles to support themselves in the classroom. Assessment

scores should be from a variety of tests and results and in a way that the student can be seen in

many different perspectives.

The lessons that were chosen for Ashleys transition plan were all chosen for different

reason. The first lesson was called Dropping Out Doesnt Pay. This lesson helps students develop

reading comprehension skills by using two-column notes. The article used for this lesson

discusses why students drop out of school and the student then makes predictions within the

article. I chose this lesson because Ashley currently struggles with keeping organized with her

classes. One of her accommodations within the general education class is receiving notes so she

is able to follow along and comprehend the material better. This lesson may provide her with the

opportunity to begin taking notes on her own. Her current IEP states she has difficulty with

comprehension when reading complex text due to her lack of note taking. This lesson plan is

designed to help her obtain the skill of creating two column notes which is a skill she will be able

to transfer into post-secondary school. The article topic also seems relevant to her because she

has transferred schools one time due to failing grades. I ended up needing to modify this lesson

because two hours are needed to complete the lesson and this time was not available. Refer to the

appendix for the work that was completed. If I were to change anything during this lesson it

would have been to allow for more time. I knew that this lesson was expected to take two hours

but this is definitely a lesson that needs to be incorporated into a transitions class rather than just

a 1 on 1 meeting with a student. The link to the lesson is,

http://studentservices.dadeschools.net/transition/pdfs/ts_Teacher.pdf.

The second lesson that was worked on was How to Build a College List. This lesson

allows students to think about where they would like to go to school and if they want to go to
school. They are then able to create a list of the schools they would like to go to and see the

application deadlines and different aspects about each school. I chose this lesson for Ashley

because based off an interview she was still very unsure of where she wanted to go to school and

what she wanted to do after high school. She expressed interest in three different schools so this

lesson would be beneficial to her. She was able to begin creating a list of schools she is interested

in and see when an application would be due. This is a free resource so in the future she is able to

continue looking for schools. This lesson was one she was very excited in because she began

making her list and found University of Northern Colorado to have exactly what she wanted. A

few weeks after we did this lesson her grade actually went to do a college visit at UNC. Since

she already had the background knowledge of the school she was very excited to make this visit.

The link to this site is https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/find-colleges. This lesson allowed her to

become much better self-advocate for herself because it does not appear that this is the kind of

support she receives at home. Her parents do not seem to be very involved in what she decides to

do after high school so this gave her the opportunity to explore on her own.

The third lesson chosen for Ashley was, A Job Id Like to Have which allows students to

research jobs and careers they are interested in. They are able to list the name of the job, what

they would do on the job, what skills they may need, and anything else that the job requires. I

chose this lesson because Ashley has a few career options she is interested in but does not know

what is required of each job. I thought this lesson would help her develop a list of career interests

and what jobs she may have the skills to do. This also correlates well with the college list lesson

because she can then see if the colleges she is interested in has the majors she would need for her

career interests. This lesson asks many questions she may not have thought about yet such as

schedule or the work environment. During this lesson Ashley researched becoming a
photographer which is something she has become very interested in the past few years. This

lesson allowed her to become more self-determined because I feel that up until she transferred to

MESA she was not very determined to graduate high school. Now that she has found something

that really interests her she is very determined to get good grades and get into the school of her

choice. Work that was done during this lesson has been added to the appendix. If I were to do

this lesson again I would have her discuss what some of the information that we could on being a

photographer meant. She stated she would like to begin by working for someone else rather than

owning her own business but this could have many lessons within such as discussing whether or

not this company has benefits, what holidays she would receive, etc. See appendix for worksheet

that went along with the lesson.

The forth lesson was called, Financial Aid Choices Game which introduces students to

financial aid and how they can receive assistance for attending college. This lesson was chosen

because I felt that students are often intimidated by the cost of going to college. I thought that

this lesson would help Ashley understand that she can receive help for paying for school and how

she is able to receive this help. Many students believe that they are unable to go to college

because of the cost so this gives them the chance to find ways to receive support. This lesson in

particular would give Ashley a good understanding and strong development of both self-

determination and self-advocacy. With these skills she can understand what it takes to go to

college and even what it takes to be able to pay for college on her own. The link for this lesson

is, http://collegetools.berkeley.edu/documents/cat_113-125/Financial_Aid_Choices_Game.pdf.

Another lesson, How Do I Learn is a lesson that allows students to recognize their

preferred learning style and develop ways to use these to enhance their learning. The link for this

lesson is, http://studentservices.dadeschools.net/transition/pdfs/ts_Teacher.pdf.

I chose this lesson for Ashley because I had already completed the CITE learning style

assessment with Ashley and I believe this would take that assessment to the next step. If Ashley

is able to see how she can utilize her preferred learning style in the classroom she may be able to

begin using better note taking strategies. This lesson came from the curriculum called Me! For

this lesson Ashley and I discussed what kind of learner and how she could use these in class. This

lesson brought about a different kind of self-awareness that she did not have before working on

this. We also looked over the suggestions for each learner and talked about how she could use

these in her classes to take notes. She seemed very excited to learn how to actually use these in

the classroom.

The final lesson chosen was Working at Gaining Employment Skills which helps students

work on employment skills. It is designed for students with emotional and behavioral disabilities

but can also be used for other students as well (Johnson). This lesson was modified from the

curriculum of W.A.G.E.S Working at Gaining Employment Skills Book by Michael D. Johnson.

The curriculum covers working as a team, communication, problem solving, as well as taking

personal responsibility. I chose this lesson because Ashley is still deciding what she wants to do

after high school and it seems like a confusing subject for her. Based on her Career Clusters

Interest Survey there were some clear clusters that she may be interested in but may not know

what skills she will need for those specific careers. I thought this lesson would really help her

focus on what skills she may need for life after high school. Two self-determination scale

assessments were conducted as well. From these I saw that she was 75% self-determined

according to bother her self-assessment as well as the one done by her teacher. This lesson may

help her strengthen areas such as self-determination at home.

 The portfolio overall is important because it is something tangible that Ashley will be

able to take with her beyond high school. The student is also able to see how their grades change

and how they themselves had change in terms of their strengths and weaknesses. For Ashleys

portfolio she and I worked on creating a PowerPoint that she can present during her IEP

meetings. This presentation discussed some of her interests, dislikes, what she wanted to do after

high school, and the goals she is currently working toward. Ashley really seemed to enjoy

working on this portfolio however, when I was taking her from class she did not always enjoy

this. However, once she completed the final project I think she was much more excited to see the

finished product. She said she was very excited to actually show her family this and let them

know what she is planning on doing next year when she graduates.

Transition Action Plans and Student Portfolios are important for many reasons other than

transition plans being required by law. IDEA 2004 states, Secondary transition requirements in

the IEP begin not later than the first IEP be in effect when the child turns 16, or younger if

determined appropriate by the IEP Team, and updated annually thereafter. Students need to

be a part of this planning and should know and understand the goals that are put in place with

their transition portfolio. The student must understand their IEP such as the process and what

goes into their IEP. CDE states, the basic purpose of including transition components in the

legislation is to better prepare students with disabilities to gain access to the supports and

services necessary to reach their desired outcomes and become as independent as possible.

Transition portfolios allow students to really get to know themselves and understand their

strengths and how to use these strengths after high school.

Transition coalition states, Its critical that students know who they are and what they

want for their futures. Its also important for them to be able to know the accommodations they
need. Self-determination and self-advocacy allow our students to really understand who they

are and learn how to use their strengths after high school. Self-determination also allows are

students to become more engaged in school life (Transition Coalition). There is much research

that shows that self-determination increases increased engagement, employment experiences,

participation in IEP planning, enhanced skills, and quality of life (Transition Coalition). When

students feel they are able to control their future they are more engaged in their education.

Pacer.org states, practicing self-determination also means one experiences the consequences of

making choices. Out students need to learn what consequences can also come from making

decision. This could be not getting into the school of their choice or not getting a grade they

wanted. In the future it is especially important for our students to understand their

accommodations. With this being said they must be prepared to advocate for themselves when

they are no longer in high school and have the support of their IEP or special education team.

Throughout this process I learned the importance of transition planning for students.

Many students do not know what their strengths are and throughout their lives have only heard

what their weaknesses are. It is important for students to recognize their strengths and understand

where and how they can use these strengths. Another thing I learned throughout the process of

this plan was that every student is going to be unique in the transition process. When finding

assessments and lessons I should be sure that they are appropriate for each particular student.

While working at Mapleton Expeditionary School of the Arts I will be implementing a

transitions class into my English room once a week. Next quarter I will begin using many of the

lessons and resources we received throughout the semester. For each of my students in my

English class I would like a transition portfolio to be their final project. They will work

individually on this and take many different kinds of assessments. I am very excited to begin
working with my students and helping them build self-advocacy and self-determination skills. I

feel that giving my students the opportunity to build these skills or build on to the skills they

already have really be very beneficial to them and their families.

 Resources

AIR Self-Determination Scale. December 1994. John C. Flanagan Research Center.

C.I.T.E. Learning Styles Inventory. 1976. Babich.

Colorado Department of Education. Exceptional Student Services Unit. 2014.

Indicator 13 Transition Guidelines. Delaware Department of Education.

Johnson, M.D. (2004). W.A.G.E.S. Working at gaining employment skills: A job-related social

skills curriculum for adolescent. Longmont, CO. Sopris West.

Preparing Students for Senior High School and Beyond.

http://studentservices.dadeschools.net/transitions/pdfs/ts_Teacher.pdf

Transition Coalition.2016.http://transitioncoalisiton.org