Student agency can be described as “the idea that students have the capacity to take action, craft and carry out plans, and make informed decisions based on a growing base of knowledge (Safir & Dugan, 2021).” Roger Hart’s Ladder of Participation is one conceptual framework which describes the degrees to which students may or may… Read More Student Agency: The Key to Authentic Engagement
Cultivating an Integrated System of Support for Behavior: A 5-Article Series
It’s all about behavior! Student success is the result of many individuals’ behaviors that converge to result in a total school experience. We’ve spent the last month creating a five-article series that focuses on supporting student behavior, which begins with teachers co-creating positive classroom communities for learning where all students experience a sense of belonging… Read More Cultivating an Integrated System of Support for Behavior: A 5-Article Series
Considering Student Needs for Assistive Technology
To assist IEP teams with considering student needs for assistive technology (AT), the Virginia Assistive Technology, Tools, and Strategies (VATTS) Consideration Guide and Resources is now available. These resources will help IEP teams increase consistency and comprehensiveness of AT considerations in your school division by providing a consideration and documentation process. According to the Individuals with Disabilities… Read More Considering Student Needs for Assistive Technology
Testing vs. Teaching Questions
Reading a book with your class should be an engaging and immersive experience. One storybook strategy we often draw attention to is questioning, since it is something that should occur before, during and after reading activities. Traditional questions are often aimed at retrieval of information from a text, whereas the focus of querying is to… Read More Testing vs. Teaching Questions
Improving Early Childhood Inclusion: A Month-by-Month Action Plan for ECSE Leaders
“…even the smallest actions are steps in the right direction.” Author Unknown Embarking on the journey of building high-quality inclusive early childhood programs can be daunting for school division leaders. While the Training and Technical Assistance Center at ODU offers technical assistance to school divisions in the region, the process of implementing these changes can… Read More Improving Early Childhood Inclusion: A Month-by-Month Action Plan for ECSE Leaders
5 Strategies to Build Family Engagement
Family involvement in students’ education has been consistently demonstrated to have a positive impact on student attendance, grades, behavior and social skills. In increasingly diverse communities, building school and classroom environments that are welcoming to all, is of critical importance. Following are some key tips, with resources provided, for creating schools and classrooms where ALL… Read More 5 Strategies to Build Family Engagement
Try These VESOL Lesson Plans that Promote Cross-Content Instruction
If you use the Virginia Essentialized Standards of Learning (VESOL) in your daily instruction, then it is likely that you are tasked with teaching multiple content areas to your class. Perhaps you are responsible for teaching Reading, Writing, Math, Science, and Social Studies to your students. Maybe you are part of a teaching team, where… Read More Try These VESOL Lesson Plans that Promote Cross-Content Instruction
