Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) Guidance Letter

One of the issues often raised by instructors related to Active Learning is that it looks like “play”.  This makes it difficult to explain how the child is actually focused on the same important “work” that engages the time of students without these significant challenges. 

State and federal laws ensure that all children have access to the General Education Curriculum. IEPs should reflect alignment to the same content that their grade level peers are accessing.  This means they should have the same opportunity to study areas of science, social studies, reading, math, and so forth. You may want to check out the November 2016 and January 2017 Active Learning Study Group webinars to learn more about this and some of the resources you may want to reference regarding alignment of skills in the standard curriculum.

Active Learning is an instructional approach for individuals of all ages who are still developmentally in the sensorimotor and pre-operational stages of learning. It can be utilized to teach almost any content at a developmentally appropriate level for these learners.

OSEP Guidance Letter
OSEP Guidance Letter

You may want to download this guidance letter from the US Department of Education – Office of Special Education Programs that was issued in November of 2015 and meant to provide guidance on the development of the IEP. Portions of the letter that are especially important for students who may be using an Active Learning approach are highlighted.