Catapult Learning EduBlog

Investing in Self-Reflection: A Resolution for the New Year

“Happy New Year!” This time of year, and specifically those words, often lead one through a customary self-reflection of the previous year—personally and professionally—with recollections of the good, the bad, and the indifferent in hopes of setting new goals. January 1st brings optimism for a new beginning, the perspective of a fresh start and, with that, the potential of new and successful outcomes. With the custom of setting new year’s resolutions, the new year makes one stop and commit to acknowledging what he or she would like to do better and/or accomplish in the new year. While it is helpful to [...]

2019-06-14T12:46:45-04:00January 10th, 2018|

Happy New Year! Resolving to be the Very Best We Can Be as We Ring in 2018

Ring in 2018! Hard to believe, but we are beginning yet another new year. And while there may be some question about the real astronomical significance of New Year’s Day, the New Year certainly can signal an opportunity for us to resolve to explore and grow as professionals in areas that have the greatest potential impact on those we serve. I am proud to work at a company committed to delivering the very best professional development designed to improve conditions for students by strengthening the capacity of the school leaders and teachers who support them. Catapult’s professional development team reaches more [...]

2019-06-14T12:48:46-04:00January 4th, 2018|

The Special Education Teacher Identity Crisis: Prescriptive or Pragmatic? Part II

In The Special Education Teacher Identity Crisis: Prescriptive or Pragmatic? Part I, I discussed the special education teacher “identity crisis” as it relates to taking a more diagnostic/prescriptive role to planning instruction versus a more pragmatic role. I also described my observations of two special education teachers at the same school: one a novice and the other a master teacher. There is a great deal the novice teacher can learn from a master teacher across all facets of the school day; however, the greatest gift the master teacher can give to the novice teacher striving to meet the needs [...]

2018-08-18T04:59:44-04:00August 8th, 2016|

Top 10 EduBlogs of 2015−16

As we look back at the blogs posted by our EduExperts over the last eleven months,  we notice several topics popular with our blogs readers throughout the 2015−16 school year. These topics range from the Every Student Succeeds Acts (ESSA) to differentiated instruction to special education and more. Following is a list of our 10 most read blogs of this past year. We hope that some or all of these blogs offer both introspection and inspiration as you reflect on this past year and look ahead to the 2016−17 school year. Have a great summer! 1. A Quick-Start Guide to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) by [...]

2018-08-18T04:59:44-04:00July 5th, 2016|

Creating Authentic Learning Experiences in Your Local Community

Preparing students for the real world is central to current education pedagogy. To do this, educators create problem- and project-based learning assignments, encourage students to work collaboratively, develop engaging lessons, and produce a myriad of learning opportunities and assessments.  Whether we are talking about project-based learning, inquiry learning, or another current methods buzz word, what we are really discussing is authentic learning for students. To prepare student for the real world, educators must provide authentic learning experiences. While usually the least supported or publicized method, creating school community partnerships can increase the quality and—most relevantly—the authenticity of a child’s [...]

2018-08-18T04:59:44-04:00June 29th, 2016|

Support Students’ Summer Learning with Interactive, Web-Based Resources

Ahh . . . summer is here and for most students that means vacation, free time, swimming, and no more school work. For parents and teachers, though, there are concerns that students, while enjoying their summer freedom, will lose some of the academic gains made during the school year. Why should students learn over the summer? According to Cooper, a summer without learning means two months of math computational skills lost. For low income students, two months of reading comprehension skills are also lost. In addition, according to Entwistle and Olson, cumulative summer learning losses have consequences later in [...]

2018-08-18T04:59:45-04:00June 22nd, 2016|

Word Up! Books That Will Accelerate Your Personal Summer Learning

Hard to believe, but yet another school year has come and gone and now it’s time to chart a course for maximizing your summer break. What a tremendous chance to decompress, devour a few good books, and engage in a little personal learning. If you’re like me, you may often wonder where to turn for something new, compelling, and relevant. A great book should challenge you to think, maybe shift your consciousness a bit, and ultimately, change your practice. That being said, let’s dive right in! Let’s begin with a couple of my favorite contemporary thinkers in the field [...]

2018-08-18T04:59:45-04:00June 15th, 2016|

NAEP Results: Less “Bang for Our Buck” (But Plenty of Whimpers)

“Between the idea and the reality . . . falls the shadow.”      —T.S. Eliot A new report from our friends at the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as the “Nation’s Report Card,” provides data on student performance in reading and mathematics across multiple grade levels across the country. This latest report shows us how well American twelfth graders performed in 2015 as compared with the last test administration in 2013. Those were two years of contentious Common Core adoption in many states, or resistance to Common Core and reliance on existing standards in other [...]

2018-08-18T04:59:45-04:00May 24th, 2016|

Using Visual Supports for Students with Developmental Disabilities

It is true, no two learners are alike. Some learn better through reading; others through listening or doing. For students with developmental disabilities, who have difficulty communicating with others and especially difficulty understanding what people in their environment are communicating to them, it is important to present information in ways that matches the student's learning style and optimize their ability to learn. Visual supports—concrete representations of information that is absorbed visually—are one way that educators can help students understand what is being communicated to them. Through visual supports, students can learn to communicate with others and make sense of [...]

2021-06-17T13:56:38-04:00May 17th, 2016|

Engaging Special Needs Students with Experience-Based Learning

Students with special needs have unique strengths, motivators, preferences, and interests in a learning environment. By identifying and addressing these elements, educators can encourage a higher level of engagement. In experience-based learning, facilitators take a step-back approach—allowing for natural discovery of consequences and problem-solving-based learning The result of this hands-on learning environment is an increase in motivation, self-esteem, and self-advocacy in students with autism, Asperger’s syndrome, visual and auditory impairments, learning deficiencies, ADHD, and ADD. Academic Career Transition (ACT) programs explore a hands-on learning model based on a multi-tiered program of life skills, academic skills, in-school employment, external employment, [...]

2018-08-18T04:59:45-04:00May 9th, 2016|
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