Speaker
Description
An Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is a specific document, which provides the opportunity for the pupils with development disorders, disabilities, and children from the sensitive groups, regardless of their material status, to have the access to all levels of education1. Preparation and implementation of IEPs in physics teaching for elementary schools are done on the basis of a unique curriculum for physics in Serbia. Using this unique curriculum as a guideline, the inclusive education team has the task of developing an IEP for each student who needs it. Physics provides great opportunities for the development of functional and applied knowledge for students with special needs2,3. The development of an IEP is a very important and delicate task for teachers, which is why it is necessary for them to constantly improve in this area.
Physics teachers have problems in the preparation and implementation of IEPs. The aim of this paper is to research and systematize these problems in order to contribute to overcoming them4. For that purpose, research was done on the application of IEP in some primary schools. Problems are systematized into three groups: problems in preparing classes for work with students on IEP; problems in the organization of working with those students during the physics class; sources of materials used by physics teachers to prepare IEP classes.
The research results show the following percentage of answers: the biggest problem is the lack of literature for teaching preparation (64%), then adjusting the way of teaching to the needs of students working on IEP (52%) and adjusting the content of subjects (46%). Surprisingly, not many teachers point out the lack of time and standard tests to check student achievement as a problem. Most teachers have a problem with the organization of work with students according to the IEP during physics classes (68%), while a smaller number of teachers have a problem with the interaction with students (14%). The existence of more than two students per IEP in the class was a problem for 40% of teachers, while 48% of teachers point out filling out documentation and writing a personalized plan as problem4. Physics teachers need seminars that provide specific information about working with students on IEP, as well as the presence of a pedagogical assistant in class.
References
1. Rulebook on detailed instructions for determining the right to an individual educational plan, its implementation, and evaluation, Education Gazette, Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, 74/18 (2018).
2. G. Nikolić, D.Gačić Bradić, M.Trkulja, Handbook for teachers to work with students with disabilities from 5th to 8th grade of elementary school, (Klett, Beograd, 2019).
3. J. Popović, Lj. Kostić, The adapted Individualized Education Plan in elementary school related to Physics as a school subject, Physics Education, 8 (2019).
4. J. Popović, master thesis, The Individualized Education Plan in elementary school related to Physics as a school subject – examples and problems in the implementation of IEP-1 and IEP-2, (Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics, University of Niš, Niš, 2020).
