MDE-Executive Functioning Professional Development

Executive Functioning Professional Development for Educators of Students with Low Incidence Disabilities RFP-MDE Special Education Division.
The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) is requesting proposals to provide high quality professional development training and other technical assistance tools and resources designed to support executive functioning skills for educators of students with low incidence disabilities throughout the state of Minnesota. Executive functioning skills are a set of cognitive skills that help students to execute everyday tasks through to completion. These skills include planning, organization, time management, metacognition, working memory, self-control, attention, flexibility, and perseverance. Research demonstrates that increasing executive functioning skills for students with and without disabilities is directly correlated to increased school performance and personal independence. Over the past five years, special educators in Minnesota have identified the need for training and coaching in the area of executive functioning skills to more effectively provide comprehensive instruction to students with low incidence disabilities. The Contractor will work with The Executive Functioning Interagency Leadership Team (hereafter referred to as the EF Leadership Team) which includes members from MDE, BrightWorks, and Minnesota Regional Low Incidence Facilitators to provide professional development training and tools designed specifically to address the needs of educators of students with low incidence disabilities. Low incidence refers to disability areas that occur rarely or in low numbers. In Minnesota the following categories include students with low incidence disabilities:
1. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) 2. Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) 3. DeafBlindness (DB) 4. Developmental Cognitive Disabilities (DCD) 5. Physically Impaired (PI) 6. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) 7. Vision Impairment (VI) 8. Severe Multiple Impairment (SMI) 9. Other Health Disabilities (OHD)
The goal of this project is to provide robust professional development training resources and implementation tools to meet executive functioning skills requirements for special educators of low incidence disabilities students in Minnesota from pre-kindergarten to transition-age (age 22). Educators will build their knowledge and skills to support the learning and success of their students with disabilities. As educators, we must create genuine and effective learning opportunities for all students and recognize that every child has qualities and abilities that must be valued, validated, and supported. This work will support MDE’s mission to ensure every child, no matter their race, zip code or ability, a world-class education, with caring and qualified teachers, in a safe and nurturing environment. The Contractor will provide professional development training and resources that directly align with The Minnesota Framework for Executive Functioning Professional Development which includes the following key components: a. assessment of executive functioning strengths and needs; b. goal setting, service provision (including accommodations and teaching executive functioning skills); c. monitoring student progress through data collection. This framework was designed to address the identified needs of the low incidence disability special education teachers throughout the state of Minnesota. The training and resources should focus on Pre-K through transition-aged (age 22) students and all low incidence disability categories including but not limited to: ASD, DHH, DB, DCD, PI, TBI, VI, SMI, and OHD. 2. Sample Tasks and Deliverables.
Submit a work plan that includes the following tasks and deliverables:
1. Develop a course(s) or provide an existing virtual, asynchronous (self-paced) course(s) to educators associated with the Minnesota Regional Low Incidence Projects and chosen by the Executive Functioning Leadership Team.
1a. Provide access to an online, self-paced course(s) that teaches the importance of building Executive Functioning skills in students with low incidence disabilities.
i. The course(s) curriculum should include: -Instruction on how to design, provide and implement individualized assessments of executive functioning skills for students with low incidence disabilities. -Instruction on how to identify individualized executive functioning goals. -Instruction on how to assess for accommodation needs and provide appropriate and individualized accommodations for students with low incidence disabilities. -Individualized instructional strategies for teaching executive functioning skills to students with low incidence disabilities. -Instruction on how to utilize data collection to monitor student progress and make data-informed instructional decisions. ii. The course module design should include: -Content provided via video lessons -Downloadable and ready to use templates -informal assessments -observation guides -task analysis templates -data sheets -staff training handouts -Rubrics
iii. The course module should include behavior tools, including but not limited to: -visuals -social narratives -worksheets -student schedules
iv. All course materials should be designed and available in a variety of formats including but not limited to: -video format -closed captioned video -audio only -written transcripts 1b. Compile and provide evidence of learning and completion by submitting summative data reports quarterly, including but not limited to: -Quiz results, number of attempts -Number and content of forum discussions -Number of virtual events and number of participants -Number of downloads -Overall number of participants -Participant completion rates
2. Develop or provide existing toolkit of resources to accompany the course. The toolkit should include: i. Generalized tools and instructional activities designed to target all executive function skill areas ii. Differentiated tools and activities that address specific executive function skill areas, including but not limited to: -Calm down visuals, strategies, and choice boards -Daily emotion check-in, flash cards, choice boards -Planning/Sequencing sorts -Waiting visuals, choice boards, and social stories -Following directions worksheets and task cards -Independent Work System setup -Behavior Contracts iii. Toolkit and resources should be designed to address a range of learners to include: -Pre-K through transition-aged (age 22) students -All disability categories
3. Provide one customized online discussion forum for course participants in the state of Minnesota. i. Participants will be able to access this discussion forum, share progress with others, collaborate and network with peers and ask questions and connect with contractor’s team of staff. ii. The online forum should meet State of MN accessibility standards. 4. Provide live question and answer sessions reserved solely for Minnesota educators. i. The live Q & A sessions will be provided virtually and up to weekly throughout the project timeframe and will be open to all Minnesota participants. ii. Q & A sessions should be recorded, made accessible, captioned and available for viewing throughout the course. iii. Within these Q & A sessions, the contractor will provide disability specific case studies highlighting strategies and resources that specifically target students with particular low incidence disabilities.
Refer to the attached RFP and all corresponding attachments.
Responders should read the RFP carefully and in its entirety to ensure all required items are attached to the response in SWIFT.
Please note that responders may not be able to upload files with a file size of more than 25 megabytes through SWIFT.
MDE WILL NOT BE ACCEPTING PROPOSALS OUTSIDE OF SWIFT. RESPONSES MUST BE SUBMITTED TAL OF SWIFT.
RESPONDERS SHOULD CONTACT THE SWIFT HELP DESK AT +1 (555) 000-0000 OPTION #1 FOR ASSISTANCE WITH SWIFT.