Teachers leave the profession for many reasons, but some reasons are unique to special educators. Turnover is higher and burnout is more acute among special education teachers, in part because they feel stressed in their working conditions and underprepared due to lack of professional learning needed for their job (NCPSSERS).
So what are we to do? How can we support special education teachers so they feel better equipped and able to meet the overwhelming demands of the work?
One way to help improve working conditions and provide job-embedded professional learning is with Goalbook Toolkit, which is a research-based solution that increases the efficiency and effectiveness of educators in developing higher quality and standards-aligned IEPs and implementing them with more effective specially designed instruction.
How Does Goalbook Toolkit Increase Special Educator Efficiency?
Special educators feel overwhelmed due to large caseloads, excessive paperwork, and the pressures of developing personalized, high-quality, compliant, standards-aligned IEPs.
Goalbook Toolkit addresses this by guiding educators to more confidently identify student present levels that are data-driven, and it also saves time in developing meaningful, standards-aligned goals that address a student’s individual needs.
In a recent national annual survey of Goalbook Toolkit users, special educators confirmed the tool helps increase their efficiency:
- 87% Strongly Agree/Agree that Goalbook supports them in writing IEP present levels of performance statements in less time
- 86% Strongly Agree/Agree that Goalbook supports them in writing IEP goals in less time
With Goalbook Toolkit resources, special educators save time in writing quality and more compliant IEPs while returning more time to planning and delivering instruction.
Goalbook Toolkit users who took the survey shared:
“Goalbook saves me time. My most precious resource that I cannot find enough of in one day. I am now able to give back more to my students.”
“Goalbook Toolkit provides me with resources to work directly with students in their identified areas of weakness. It also saves me time and energy so I can be more focused in the classroom.”
“It enables me to find their present levels by using different assessments available. Resources were also available with monitoring forms so it made my life a lot easier. Saves me time to concentrate more on working with students.”
In addition to supporting educators’ efficiency, Goalbook Toolkit supports their effectiveness in creating and delivering individual learning plans.
How Does Goalbook Toolkit Support Special Educator Effectiveness?
According to OSEP, beliefs about inadequate professional learning are linked to higher rates of special education teacher attrition.
Goalbook Toolkit provides job-embedded professional learning for special educators throughout the process of developing and implementing IEPs. Goalbook Toolkit walks special educators through best-practice frameworks, research-based resources, and instructional strategies to help them plan and deliver more specially designed instruction.
In the recent national annual survey of Goalbook Toolkit users, special educators shared how Goalbook Toolkit improves their effectiveness:
- 94% Strongly Agree/Agree that Goalbook supports them in writing IEP present levels of performance statements that articulate needs and strengths of a student
- 97% Strongly Agree/Agree that Goalbook supports them in developing standards-aligned, measurable IEP goals
- 94% Strongly Agree/Agree that Goalbook supports them with effective progress monitoring resources
- 96% Strongly Agree/Agree that Goalbook supports them in planning and delivering specially designed instruction that is aligned with the IEP
As special education teachers develop IEPs and design instruction in real-time with the support of Goalbook Toolkit resources, they are not only more effective, they are also receiving job-embedded professional learning that increases their overall capacity and self-efficacy in that work.
Goalbook Toolkit users who took the survey shared:
“I am much more prepared for IEP meetings. My IEPs sound much more professional and meet state requirements for instructional-appropriate IEP goals. As a result, I am better prepared to discuss where we are, where we are going, and how we get there.”
“I can produce more effective IEP goals and PLAAFP that are standards-based, and measurable, and I can identify instructional strategies that are UDL aligned. I can do all of that faster than without Goalbook.”
“Goalbook Toolkit is a wonderful resource to springboard ideas for goals. I also find the progress monitoring charts extremely helpful. I am ALWAYS SO excited to see progress monitoring probes connected to goals. This makes my job so much easier.”
Summary
Special educators want to focus on providing instruction, but when they are burdened by high caseloads and IEP paperwork, and they do not have adequate access to professional learning, they are often left feeling unsupported, overwhelmed, and burned out. If we return time to instruction and provide support that increases self-efficacy, educators can feel more successful and teacher retention may increase.
As a research-based solution that provides just-in-time resources through the special education process while simultaneously delivering job-embedded professional learning, Goalbook Toolkit helps educators to be more efficient and effective; the combination of these two things is why they love it.
If you want to learn more about Goalbook Toolkit, click on the link here.
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 meets the standards of research and evidence aligned to the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (2015) and What Works Clearinghouse (WWC). Succeeds Act (2015) and What Works Clearinghouse (WWC).
