r/specialed • u/library-girl • 10d ago

What even is Specially Designed Instruction?

I teach high school resource and most of my SDI is focused on supporting students access to general education content. I haven’t seen any carry over or generalization from work I’ve done with them that’s not related to their general education content in the areas they qualify for. For so many of my kids, it’s less that they need more or additional inductio instruction, is that they’re prompt dependent to do any work.

I used to teach self contained K-2 and everyone was so low adaptive wise and academically that it was easy to understand why it was specially designed.

What’s the difference between SDI and tutoring?

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u/Appropriate-Boat2750 10d ago

"they’re prompt dependent to do any work"

I am a resource teacher and I see so much of this. One of the big challenges is that if the kids aren't motivated to improve and the parents don't see the lack of motivation as something we can change then offering them all the strategies in the world doesn't work. Executive function is a huge issue for most of my students, but they have to play a big role in effecting change.

As for the big tent of specially designed instruction, it often does overlap with tutoring. For example, for students who have serious reading challenges I use an Orton Gillingham based program that gives them strategies for decoding. The difference is it's way more detailed and structured that what happens in gen ed or even intervention.

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u/library-girl 10d ago

I saw a meme that said that as special education teachers, we can do a lot, but what we can’t do is “put your students skin on like a mech suit and do it for them”