Role of the Regular Class Teacher in the Development of the IEP. Initiating Change Through Inservice Education: A Topical Instructional Modules Series

This document contains an introductory lecture and materials for conducting a workshop to familiarize regular classroom teachers and school administrators with individualized education programs (IEPs) and their requirements and procedures. The goal of the training is for participants to increase their commitment to and involvement in the IEP process through a sequence of inservice activities. The lecture covers the rationale for including regular classroom teachers in the creation of IEPs, philosophical and theoretical roots of the IEP, court decisions and legislation, steps involved in the IEP process, and benefits of using IEPs. Five workshop sessions are outlined in which the purposes of the activities are: (1) learning about local district forms, policies, and procedures for IEPs; (2) identifying knowledge and tasks required for developing an IEP; (3) identifying problems in implementing IEPs and strategies for resolving them; (4) identifying strategies that will assure effective implementation of IEPs in mainstream classrooms; and (5) exploring commitments and rewards for regular educators in the IEP process. Materials, estimated time needs, and procedures are given for each session. Appendices contain overhead masters, handouts, and activity sheets to be used in lectures and workshops. (FG)