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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

“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 [...]

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 [...]

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, [...]

As I looked at the calendar and considered what I wanted to write about in this blog, I started to reflect on my last few months of work-related travel and my conversations with school leaders throughout the country. I also thought about the countless conversations about education that I’ve had with people in airports and on airplanes. My favorite conversations focused on teachers: what it is really like to be a teacher and how teachers spend their summers—taking classes, teaching summer school, working a second job, etc.; not the months of time off or vacation that most people envision. [...]