SUCCESS for ALL LEARNERS!
Online Learning for Students with Disabilities
Lessons from the Front Line -- NCVPS and Students with Disabilities
What is Occupational Course of Study (OCS)?
In North Carolina’s public schools, the Occupational Course of Study (OCS) program is intended to meet the needs of a group of students with learning disabilities who need a modified curriculum that focuses on post-school employment and independent living. The vast majority of students with disabilities will complete the Future-Ready Core Course of Study with the use of accommodations, modifications, supplemental aids and services as needed. The OCS program is a modified standard course of study consisting of fifteen courses in English, mathematics, science, occupational preparation and social studies. Major revisions were made to the curriculum frameworks in 2009 and 2010 to provide closer alignment to the North Carolina Standard Course of Study and the Common Core adopted by the North Carolina State Board of Education.
What Changes Happened in 2009?
In the Fall of 2009, North Carolina’s Occupational Course of Study program underwent many changes. First, OCS courses were not aligned with the Common Core and Essential Standards expected of all course frameworks in North Carolina. Second, the Exceptional Children’s teachers were rarely certified in Math, Science, Social Studies or English (in addition to their Special Education certification) and this presented not only a problem for these teachers in teaching the new standards but also for the state in meeting the required highly qualified designations for all teachers in core subjects.
North Carolina Virtual Public School knew we could help solve this problem!
NCVPS and School Partnership
The NCVPS OCS Blending Learning courses require a true co-teaching experience where the OCS classroom teacher is driving the instructional decisions while working daily with the NCVPS content teacher. The NCVPS teacher helps the classroom teacher individualize and differentiate the instruction for each student but the NCVPS teacher does not deliver the instruction real time to the students. The classroom teacher delivers the instruction, but she will have planned with her NCVPS partner teacher and will use the online content, including recorded teaching session by the NCVPS teacher, her own resources, and the NCVPS teacher to determine the best way to teach the content to the students. From increased student performance to effective teacher collaboration, the NCVPS OCS Blended Learning Program has been a great success.
The Co-Teaching Model
Students use graphing calculators
NCVPS teachers come on through web cams to work with class under the direction of the classroom partner teacher
Partner teacher can pull up interactive games for the class