Description of Instructional Methodology Adapted to

Individual Student Needs at Pathways Academy

At Pathways Academy, instruction is aligned with the Massachusetts State Curriculum Frameworks for grades 1-12. The curriculum and corresponding lesson plans are then taken and adapted based on each individual student’s IEP, sensory diet, and behavioral/social/emotional/developmental presentation and needs. The instructional methodology, student supports, and low stress-learning environment are developed and implemented using a neurodevelopmental approach. Pathways Academy maintains a staff to student ratio of 1:2 in addition to psychology trainees, specialists, and volunteers.

Students at Pathways Academy struggle with many barriers to learning; remaining in the classroom, accepting instruction, coping with frustration, regulating sensory input, and managing attention. In addition, many students struggle with psychiatric and social-emotional issues. Many students come to Pathways with high rates of absenteeism and school phobia. Most of the students arrive at Pathways with extremely low self esteem, and dislike or even hatred of school due to repeated failure in other school settings. The typical student profile at Pathways Academy (i.e. multiple psychiatric diagnoses, previous school failure, and extended time away from learning) varies a great deal from those within the public school setting as well as from student profiles in other special education schools.

An optimal, low-stress instructional setting, in which students freely access sensory and organizational supports, varies a great deal seem from what most of us know as traditional instruction. Students who come to Pathways with a history of difficulty accessing the curriculum in a traditional setting often require teachers to employ a great deal of creativity and spontaneous problem solving within each class. The resulting instruction is often nontraditional, however; every lesson and activity at Pathways Academy is geared toward developing academic and/or social skills as well as self confidence. The methodology in social pragmatics classes is rarely traditional in nature; role playing, games, and videos are used to engage students in the exploration and development of social pragmatic skills.

Various methods and modalities are utilized and learning is encouraged by incorporating students’ area of interest to facilitate academic work. Common areas of interest include trains, mass transit, anime, Yu-Gi- oh cards, Pokemon cards, music, pipe cleaner crafts, and bottle cap collecting. Every day, teachers at Pathways must take into account the clinical presentation of each student as they teach. Inflexibility, interest levels, preoccupation with a specific area of interest, levels of internal resources for coping and frustration tolerance, and events that happened earlier in the day are just a few of the factors teachers must take into account when teaching, accommodating, and maximizing instruction for each student.

Students may request a preferred staff member, activity, and/or setting for learning. In addition, it is common for students to access instruction most successfully while manipulating a fidget toy or other calming sensory item. The items and activities that help students experience success in the classroom vary widely ranging from fidget toys to game cards to highway maps. Students utilize chewing gum, sitting on a therapy ball, headphones, favorite books, social stories, visualization, and pacing to access curricular information and regulate their sensory and social-emotional needs.

In summary, it is in fact the seemingly atypical nature of our teaching methods that have ensured success for students who have, previous to their placement at Pathways, only experienced failure and defeat.