National Toolkit User Survey: A Snapshot of Transforming Special Education Practice

Part 3: Transforming Instruction

We began this three-part series with this simple reminder:

“ A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” ~ Chinese proverb

Throughout this three-part series, we endeavored to highlight how and in what ways Goalbook Toolkit resources empower and support educators in weaving The Golden Thread.

The Golden Thread supports fundamental best practices of the special education craft by addressing the following questions:

Connecting these three critical questions to each piece of the Golden Thread weaves the roadmap to equitable access and student success.

In Part 1, we visited the first step of the journey — identifying present levels — as the cornerstone of student success. We also explored the data showing how educators’ perception of Goalbook Toolkit supports their practice in crafting meaningful, data-driven present levels, and identifying student strengths and needs with increased efficiency.

In Part 2, we explored the next step of the journey — developing measurable, standards-aligned IEP goals — that support students in making meaningful progress with increased efficiency despite the challenges special educators confront.

In this part — Part 3 — we address how and in what ways Goalbook Toolkit resources empower and support educators in transforming instructional practice.

Elevating Educator Voice

Much of our work at Goalbook focuses on transforming instruction so that ALL students succeed. As a research-based product, user voice is a crucial component within our learning cycle, product development, and impact. As part of this work, we conducted a user survey from December 2020 to January 2021 to explore how and in what ways special education teachers and service providers perceive Goalbook Toolkit usage impacts their daily practice, effectiveness, and efficiencies within the scope of their district’s or school’s goals. Approximately 1,700 Goalbook Toolkit users representing districts from a variety of demographics and Goalbook Toolkit experience participated in the survey.

Increasing the Quality of Instructional Decision-Making

As noted in Part 1 — present levels and Part 2 — IEP goals, the “strongly agree” survey responses increased incrementally as educators’ Goalbook Toolkit usage continued year over year. This pattern of increasing “strongly agree” responses across areas of practice related to present levels and IEP goals is mirrored in the area of instructional practice as seen in the data below.

The survey data and qualitative responses shared suggested that most Goalbook Toolkit users affirm Goalbook Toolkit resources support instructional decision-making based on three key findings. The three key findings include:

Finding 1: Goalbook supports planning and delivery of specially designed instruction aligned with the IEP.

Educators shared the following qualitative responses, reflecting how Goalbook has supported their practice in planning and delivering specially designed instruction.

Goalbook has allowed me to cut my time significantly in writing goals for IEPs, and allows me more time in delivering SDI instruction to students to close learning gaps.

Goalbook is essential in my planning and delivery of specifically designed instruction, creating data driven goals, present levels and IEP plans.

Using Goalbook has made it easy to develop defensible IEP goals that are appropriate and aligned with state standards. It has also helped give me the resources I need to plan for instruction and track goals.

Finding 2: Goalbook supports developing scaffolded instruction to meet the varied needs of students.

The voice of educators is represented below based on qualitative data that provide further insights into how Goalbook resources have supported educator practice in developing scaffolded instruction based on student needs.

The scaffolds and resources Goalbook provides have been useful to find ideas to support students with varied needs during this distance learning period. Finding and adapting resources for students with these needs has been difficult, and Goalbook has been very helpful in supporting my students.

[Goalbook] provided me with standards-based goals and tools that help me implement instruction more effectively. It helps me target specific needs and provides me with the resources.

Helps to clearly write goals and objectives with appropriate scaffolds and strategies to help all teachers.

Providing a variety of strategies, resources, assessments, and data tracking tools to support my students’ instructional needs.

Finding 3: Goalbook supports co-planning/ collaboration between special and general educators in implementing IEPs in the general education classroom.

Finally, participants shared qualitative responses that support this finding and how Goalbook has supported collaboration and/or co-planning.

Goalbook definitely helps focus instruction more on standards, which helps a great deal in student achievement and implementation of my district’s co-teaching model.

Goalbook has been amazing for me and the teachers I collaborate with especially when it comes to designing lesson plans. The program allows teachers to understand the unique needs of students and how to connect instructional design to both standards and IEP goals.

Goalbook provides a variety of instructional strategies that can be used in Special Education and General education as well.

Goalbook has supported me by giving me ways to work with my students who receive special education services within my co-taught classroom.

The Journey

This three-part series explored how and in what ways Goalbook Toolkit empowers educators to transform practice in identifying present levels, developing learning goals, and designing instruction so that all students succeed. The 2020 Goalbook Toolkit User Survey data affirmed that Goalbook Toolkit supports educator practice across all areas of practice in crafting quality present levels, developing IEP goals, and planning instruction.

Such a change takes commitment, time, and ongoing support year over year as educators increase their ability to embed Goalbook Toolkit into multiple layers of practice. As we continue to seek evidence of Goalbook impact, this data shows positive transformation as educators learn, use, and apply Goalbook Toolkit, igniting hope and promise for a desired future where ALL students succeed!

Goalbook is committed to supporting ongoing research and evaluation to deepen our collective understanding of how to improve instructional outcomes and promote continuous improvement.

Goalbook Toolkit & Pathways meet the standards of research and evidence aligned to the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (2015).