As early childhood programs across the state adopt evidence-based curricula, often designed primarily for four-year-olds, and more programs seek to blend programs and practices in order to provide more inclusive opportunities, the task of determining “who needs to learn what” across the developmental continuum becomes increasingly important, yet more complex. An Instructional Continuum Early ChildhoodRead More Providing Instruction in Early Childhood: A Simple, but Necessary Organizing Framework
Pulse Check: Bringing Life to the Practices at the Heart of Your Learning Environment
When was the last time you did a “health check” on your learning environment? Are you progress monitoring PBIS implementation in your school? Just as we monitor the progress of individual students, it is equally important that we progress monitor the implementation of evidence based practices, and even teams, within our schools. Read more toRead More Pulse Check: Bringing Life to the Practices at the Heart of Your Learning Environment
Spotlight on High-Leverage Practice 14: Teaching Cognitive and Metacognitive Strategies to Support Learning and Independence in Mathematics
Solving problems in context, also known as word problems or practical problems, is a challenge for students, especially students with disabilities. This is often because solving word problems requires students to read and understand the problem, identify relevant information, choose an appropriate strategy, solve the problem correctly, and ensure that the answer makes sense (IrisRead More Spotlight on High-Leverage Practice 14: Teaching Cognitive and Metacognitive Strategies to Support Learning and Independence in Mathematics
Exposing the Truth About On-Task Behavior
Promoting on-task behavior by students with intellectual disabilities may seem like an important skill, but is it really enough? Simply put- No! While definitions of being on-task might vary, the common notion is that students should sit still, make eye contact, and respond to a teacher’s requests. A variety of contemporary research offers various labelsRead More Exposing the Truth About On-Task Behavior
Rekenrek? What the Heck??
The TechKnowledgy Conference in April 2019 introduced many creative technology-based strategies to help students become successful learners. Beth Poss gave a wonderful session, Accessible Mathematics for Early Learners. This session reviewed accessible math manipulatives to help students build a foundation for mathematical thinking. One manipulative resource Beth introduced to the group was the Rekenrek. A Rekenrek is an arithmetic orRead More Rekenrek? What the Heck??
HLPs and EBPs and IEPs, Oh My!
So many acronyms and so little time! When these are all seen as separate or additional things to do, it can become overwhelming or, maybe, even scary (Oh my!). By looking at High Leverage Practices (HLPs) and Evidence Based Practices in Autism (EBPs) as a collection of helpful tools for implementing IEPs, they can become aRead More HLPs and EBPs and IEPs, Oh My!
Leveraging Literacy Instruction for Success
As educators, it’s our business to work toward profitable gains in our students’ learning by being systematic when designing instructional practices. The Council for Exceptional Children (2019) informs us that systematic instruction involves what to teach, as well as, when to teach it. This not only includes a logical sequencing of literacy instruction in terms of buildingRead More Leveraging Literacy Instruction for Success