4. Plays and/or gets along well with peers Shares feelings Trusting Gives and takes easily Affectionate Good manners and social skills Shares or cooperates with others Comforts others in need Helpful Liked by others Gentle with animals and/or children Makes and/or keeps friends easily Has some good friends However, by being determined to succeed you can stop small setbacks from impacting your ability to achieve over the long term. Elana will use her skills with a times table to help transition by May 15 to knowing from memory all products of two one-digit numbers with 90% accuracy in four out of five tries. And, its the concept of honesty. In order for student strengths to be effective in developing an iep, they must relate specifically and uniquely to each student. Reasoning: A child who is good at reasoning is often able to understand and think through complex problems. In some sections, IDEA lists the strengths of the child as the first item. Tell us in the comments! You may want to know the answer to the question right away without going through the correct process of solving it. These helpful sentence starters can be best used with the assistance of the student and parents. It is important to identify these weaknesses and work with the student to develop strategies to address them. For example, some students may display a natural ability for competitive sports such as running, jumping, or throwing. Students brainstorm ideas for coping with anger as a first step to forgiveness. Imagine an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that focuses as much on your childs strengths as it does on your childs weaknesses. This blueprint, however, tends to fall short in considering a students strengths and competencies, and more often than not focuses on what a student cannot do. Jenny actively participates in class discussions and engages well in peer-to-peer workgroups. Statement of academic strengths 3. 0 To be successful in academics, it is important to develop good study habits such as keeping up with classes, reading textbooks, taking notes during lectures, organizing material for review purposes, and working on our weaknesses as a student. Given fourth-grade level (4.0) reading material, Nura will write three details from the passage in her own words with 85% accuracy on three out of four consecutive assignments. 5 Examples of Academic Weaknesses 1. Its the ability to connect the dots, as they say. The health and medical related resources on this website are provided solely for informational and educational purposes and are not a substitute for a professional diagnosis or for medical or professional advice. When adding your student strengths in an IEP, a team should approach this much like any other section of the IEP. But again, we often go into IEP meetings with the mindset that the school is going to tell us no and we forget to address strengths or assets. Participates in discussions at home, at school, and with friends; non-speakers can follow along with discussions, Tells stories that have a clear beginning, middle, and end, Uses lots of words and likes learning new words, Can answer who, what, when, where, why, and how questions in conversation (or about a story), Understands the structure of sounds; can do tasks like rhyme, Can remember details and retell stories after reading them, Can make predictions based on whats happened so far in a story, Reads with expression, like the way an actor talks on TV shows, Makes connections between reading material and personal experiences, Ability to focus and concentrate for extended periods, Good listening skills and processing skills. A strengths-based IEP uses student abilities to help work on weaknesses. Examples include being well-liked, cooperative, a problem solver, making friends easily, socializing at appropriate times during the day, having a friend pool to draw from for support, and communicating with others well. Name the goals and strategies you will use to improve the person's communication. The paragraphs in the IEPs present level of performance are likely to be the first things new teachers read about your child. It was self-preservation, and Im an enabler (raised by alcoholics). But if you look for student strengths, you get these options. I prefer the term areas of need. I believe, on a subconscious level, that we too often associate the term weakness with the term fault. Here are some other character strengths that I found on another site, and my commentary behind them. Cognitive Skills or Strengths: In this area, I would include skills such as processing, communication, reasoning and attention. And so, in the spirit of that, you will not find a list of child strengths and weaknesses examples here in this article. The use of strengths-based approaches is not necessarily new, however supporting individuals' needs in a strength-based model has been largely overlooked in special education. THANK YOU for focusing the conversation on strengths and needs vs. weaknesses and deficits!!!! Research with young people has found that character strengths relate to multiple aspects of well-being, including happiness, mental/emotional health, social relationships, and academic achievement. Statement of academic needs/weaknesses 4. A child with a great memory is often able to remember instructions, peoples names, and previous learning experiences easily. Student IEPs. Sign in to save, rate, and comment on your favorite Greater Good in Education practices. Reframe the way the IEP team talks about strengths. willingness to forgive and give people second chances, Persistent in reaching his desired outcome, He has an excellent memory and excels in completing tasks when given clear lists or flowcharts, Is curious about the world around him/her, Fun fashion sense as a means of expression, Sensory/tactile learner, multi-sensory learner, Eager to learn when refocused consistently, When regulated M is a sweet considerate child, Thinks out-of-the-box to find unconventional and creative solutions, exercises great emotional restraint when pushed to his limits, Is empathetic toward the needs of others even if he cannot express, Consistently processes information and responds, even though it is a delayed response, ability to verbalize when he is upset or dysregulated, may appear disinterested in class or not paying attention, but when questioned can regurgitate back the information that was just presented, May be impulsive, but once regulated can usually identify the situation and trigger with great accuracy, Can solve equations in his head, but may show frustration at having to show work, Can adapt to changes in daily schedule with proper warning and notification and explanation, strong desire to do well and please others, is able to set realistic, achievable goals for herself, Is able to and will ask for help when needed, will raise a hand and wait patiently to be called on, recognizes and respects the personal space of others, can do 4/5/6 volleys in a 2-way conversation, can verbalize when being teased/bullied and respond appropriately, will accept unsolicited adult assistance/help without resistance, Learns material best when moving around, gross motor movement, Likes to ride his/her bike, skateboard, and/or other self-powered personal vehicles, Likes to exercise and will initiate independently, Can follow instructions/rules for games such as (give examples), participates in (community activity/sports) and elaborate, Is aware and will be safe in the following setting (elaborate) and will respond appropriately, Can act appropriately around a baby or younger child, Enjoys working independently or in groups, is persistent in carrying out assignments or activities, Understands sarcasm, enjoys telling jokes, Possesses a sense of personal responsibility, Has strong opinions about controversial topics and is able to verbalize them, Marches to the beat of a different drummer, Handles stressful events well (e.g. Academic strengths: Examples of academic strengths are the ability to excel in specific subjects or areas of study, such as math, science, literature, or language. Take an inventory of the students strengths, interests, and preferences. Recognizing these strengths in students is key to helping them reach their full potential. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization. ), Cooperates (an ableist society tells us that the disabled child must always concede to the abled child; rarely is the abled child thought of as non-cooperative if he/she does not want to go along with the disabled child). Both of these questions lead to academic and behavioral success in the classroom. Student strengths examples can also be related to personal character traits such as leadership, responsibility and organization. Students are multifaceted, ever-evolving, and full of potential. Each student has a unique profile of strengths, with some strengths being more developed and others less so, regardless of how they compare to other students. Others may prefer quieter activities such as reading or playing board games with friends. Copyright 2023. Everyone also knows a student's strengths can be leveraged to support self-esteem and growth. Student strength lists can help! I think that because so many IEP teams are worried about and focused on meeting the childs needs, they forget to focus on the strengths portion of an IEP. Is she able to use a calculator? Focusing is an important strength because it means you can work independently and dont need constant supervision to get a task done whether it be school work, writing skills or social skills. The strengths should be identified, either through evaluations or anecdotal information from parents and teachers. Sustained attention: A child who can sustain their attention is able to focus on a task for a long period of time. Check out this guide to see the top 13 student strengths and student weaknesses contributing to academic success! Its the ability to recall knowledge and use it appropriately. Read on to see examples. Fear of Failure 2. 1. We have a variety of different types of student success goals that you can use to help your students shine. Taking a look at specific student strengths in the classroom is a great place to start. The strengths section balances that conversation with the more positive side of things. Strengths vary widely from student to student. 2023 A Day In Our Shoes with Lisa Lightner. It can also give kids a sense of ownership when they get to help make decisions about their IEP. This form includes a checklist (teachers love this option because we are SO busy), and also areas for teachers to note student strengths/weaknesses, current grades, observed skill deficits, and much more. One student may be particularly strong in curiosity, love of learning, and perseverance, while another may be strongest in kindness, humility, and fairness; yet another could have zest, social-emotional intelligence, and teamwork as top strengths. This child may do well in school and remember content for tests easily. Does she prefer to work in groups? This is the list of child strengths categories: creativity, literacy, study skills, communication, hygiene, cognition, language, self-confidence, and courage. Its time for the language used in PLAAFPs and IEPs/ISPs to reflect this understanding. Understood does not provide medical or other professional advice. Apathy is a student weakness because if you cant see the value of study and learning you will struggle to apply the effort necessary to succeed. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. 447 0 obj <> endobj Many teachers, especially new ones, find it challenging to, IEP writing strengths and weaknesses examples. Student strengths are the qualities, talents or capabilities that a student has. Get detailed teacher input regarding students on your IEP caseload. But under stress, we draw a blank. Good academic performance is the result of consistent hard work and dedication to ones studies. Specific conditions. All Rights Reserved. It helps teachers get a better sense of how to help your child move forward. What a powerful way to support a childs progression than to shout their achievements out for the whole educational team to hear! But only the strengths-based goals use the students abilities and interests to help chart a path to progress. %PDF-1.6 % To create a caring learning community where teachers and parents are partners and the strengths and competencies of students are celebrated, a strengths-based framework for curriculum, instruction, assessment, and evaluation is key. Jos follows classroom rules and expectations and actively participates in table groups. hb```g``c`e`XqAb,;i``hq@q%v]yd@H7@Z"Jb:\?8lkd;EqLg/n`Y%S93\ub`6 i*{`PL@ zr And, a childs weaknesses should be determined by IEP evaluations. It involves setting goals, developing a plan for achieving them, and striving for excellence. Use of this website is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. . Others may have difficulty working with different groups of peers due to lack of social skills. Make sure you focus on the w hole child and not just academics. Academic Skills or Strengths: reading skills, writing skills, math or science skills, preferred subject area excellence, or study habits. People Pleasing 12. Using an interpreter is one important way, As students with disabilities approach adult life beyond high school, theyll need critical self-determination skills to identify their dreams and goals and advocate for the future they want. Students should also reach out to mentors or tutors for guidance and advice when needed. Being easily distracted means that you can find it hard to focus on the task at hand. For example, students can lead the part of the meeting where they share what they discovered about themselves when taking the strengths test. Ability to interpret and analyze data and information. But IEP teams can reframe the strengths discussion so it focuses on abilities: What does Elana do well?. Making a note about the strengths of a students family or community supports on the IEP report is not always recognized in the list of student strengths IEP section, but it is worth noting. Write it down! What if instead we leverage students strengths and competencies to improve areas of growth? Being cooperative means working well with others, both your peers and your superiors. Some common types of student strengths include: In this area, I would include skills such as processing, communication, reasoning, and attention. What are strengths that the student has that make them socially adaptable or socially accepted? Thanks again for your support! Taking that question into consideration can help a student make goals or develop skills based on personal strengths and achievements. This student strength list can also be used during the development of student transition goals. Student struggles are not ignoredrather, they are reframed with a strengths-based lens for actionable IEP goals addressing specific student performance expectations. In his/her classroom behavior, he/she demonstrates responsibility by _______________. (iv)the academic, developmental, and functional needs of the child. 3 Steps to Impress, Strengths Based Interview Questions: Top Example Questions, ESFP Strengths and Weaknesses: Top 5 List of ESFP Strengths, 16 Strengths and Weaknesses Examples Job Interview List, Accounting Strengths and Weaknesses: Top 5 Poll Results 2023. Continue with Recommended Cookies, Get to know yourself better with our list of Students Strengths and Weaknesses for Students. (Though literal shouting in an IEP meeting may be frowned upon.). Ask, What does the student do well? Begin each IEP goal with a strength: Teachers should encourage parents to be active participants in the IEP process. Examine each statement for subjective language, and aim to shift to more objective language. Starting with character strengths begins to paint a picture of how the student positively impacts the learning environment. Have them fill out what their best answer is and then compare to find commonalities. 481 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<67C5935B9099344ABEDAEEEBF4E20F8C>]/Index[447 65]/Info 446 0 R/Length 154/Prev 193707/Root 448 0 R/Size 512/Type/XRef/W[1 3 1]>>stream He cant follow the teachers directions. IEP goals are built around what the student can do and how the team can use those abilities. Disruptive students are more interested in following their agenda in class such as talking or making others laugh than completing the work assigned to them by their teacher. Additionally, some students may have difficulty following instructions or staying focused during group activities. Having students actively participate in parts of the IEP meeting can help in many ways. Sydney Thorson, OTR/L, is a new occupational therapist working in school-based therapy.