CEP Special Education Fundamentals & Inclusion Strategies 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the role of a paraprofessional during an IEP meeting?
- To serve as the primary decision-maker for the student's educational plan
- To provide input about the student's daily performance and needs when asked (Correct answer)
- To present the student's evaluation results to the team
- To veto decisions made by the general education teacher
Correct answer: To provide input about the student's daily performance and needs when asked
Paraprofessionals contribute valuable observational information about student performance but are not decision-makers in IEP development.
Question 2: Which disability category under IDEA covers students who have significant difficulty with reading, writing, or math despite average intelligence?
- Emotional disturbance
- Specific learning disability (Correct answer)
- Other health impairment
- Intellectual disability
Correct answer: Specific learning disability
Specific learning disability (SLD) refers to disorders in psychological processes affecting reading, writing, listening, speaking, or math.
Question 3: A student with ADHD frequently leaves their seat during class. Which evidence-based strategy would BEST support this student in an inclusive setting?
- Assign the student to a separate room for all instruction
- Provide scheduled movement breaks and flexible seating options (Correct answer)
- Ignore the behavior to avoid reinforcing it
- Reduce all academic expectations for the student
Correct answer: Provide scheduled movement breaks and flexible seating options
Scheduled movement breaks and flexible seating address the neurological need for movement in students with ADHD while keeping them in the inclusive environment.
Question 4: When supporting a student with an intellectual disability in a general education class, a paraprofessional should PRIMARILY focus on:
- Completing the student's work to keep pace with the class
- Facilitating peer interactions and providing prompts to support participation (Correct answer)
- Keeping the student separate from peers to avoid distractions
- Modifying all tasks so they require no academic effort
Correct answer: Facilitating peer interactions and providing prompts to support participation
Facilitating peer interactions and using prompting hierarchies promotes inclusion, independence, and social-emotional growth.
Question 5: What does 'universal design for learning' (UDL) emphasize?
- Designing separate curricula for students with disabilities
- Proactively designing flexible learning experiences accessible to all students (Correct answer)
- Using the same instructional methods for every student
- Providing accommodations only after a student fails
Correct answer: Proactively designing flexible learning experiences accessible to all students
UDL proactively builds in flexibility through multiple means of representation, engagement, and expression to support all learners.
Question 6: A student's IEP includes a goal to increase on-task behavior from 40% to 80% of observed intervals. What type of data collection method would a paraprofessional MOST likely use to track this goal?
- Anecdotal narrative notes
- Momentary time sampling or interval recording (Correct answer)
- Portfolio collection of student work samples
- Parent survey responses
Correct answer: Momentary time sampling or interval recording
Momentary time sampling or interval recording systematically measures the percentage of intervals in which the target behavior occurs.
Question 7: Which of the following BEST describes 'co-teaching' in an inclusive classroom?
- A general education teacher and a paraprofessional dividing the class into two groups
- Two licensed educators jointly planning and delivering instruction to a diverse group of students (Correct answer)
- A special education teacher taking over the class while the general teacher prepares materials
- A paraprofessional leading instruction while the teacher handles behavior management
Correct answer: Two licensed educators jointly planning and delivering instruction to a diverse group of students
Co-teaching involves two licensed educators sharing instructional responsibility for all students, including those with and without disabilities.
CEP Special Education Fundamentals & Inclusion Strategies 3
What is the role of a paraprofessional during an IEP meeting?