Our blog has been designed to keep our educators, parents and clinicians up-to-date on trending topics in special education.
Educators are always looking for new ideas to capture their students’ attention in fun and engaging ways, and it’s an added bonus when said ways are built on evidence-based practices. Are you trying to brainstorm all of the fun instructional techniques for your students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and/or an intellectual disability that are evidence-based now? Here’s one concept to get you started: VIDEO MODELING!
If you work within a school-based setting, chances are you have heard the chatter about inquiry-based learning. As a hot topic in education, let’s get to the bottom of what all the buzz is about! What is inquiry-based learning? To sum it up, inquiry-based learning is an approach where students participate in their own learning based on curiosity, hands-on experiences and self-reflections.
As educators working alongside students with moderate to severe disabilities, we celebrate every milestone that helps our students gain more independence. The ability to self-regulate is key in fostering independence in and out of the classroom.
When you’re working as an educator within the field of special education, it’s important to implement lesson plans that are grounded in evidence-based practices (EBPs). With EBPs in play, you have consistent evidence from reliable reviews of research showing that the practice produces positive outcomes with students with moderate to severe disabilities (MSDs).
We're approaching a school break soon. While many educators and students feel the excitement of receiving a pause in formal learning, parents and guardians of students with disabilities may feel a bit of apprehension. Loss of learning time, regression, the ability to relearn lessons or tasks are valid concerns that families have when their child is home during a school break.
School breaks are a phenomenal time for your kids to rest, for you to spend some quality time together, and for teachers to recharge – but what happens to the routine and structure your kiddos are used to having at school? Not to worry! As fall, winter and spring breaks approach throughout the school year, reference this quick resource, broken down according to different age brackets, that we put together to ensure your kids are having fun while sticking to age-appropriate learning activities at the same time. Put on some music, try some of these, and have fun!
In most professions, professional development is essential in building your craft, growing your knowledge base and boosting your productivity and performance at work. This holds true for doctors, nurses, chefs, marketing professionals, mechanics, etc. For now though, let’s focus on professional development for educators and why it is so vital to not only your success, but your students, as well.
The first five years of a child’s life are often viewed as the most influential when it comes to learning growth and development. Naturally, every child will develop at a different pace, but if you have questions about your child’s development, it's never too early to schedule an appointment with your local pediatrician or early intervention agency to discuss your concerns.
Just like any other relationship in your life, your professional relationships require effort to maintain and blossom. Without phenomenal communication, compromise and respect, your working relationships may fall flat, ultimately affecting the students you serve. As an educator working with students with moderate to severe disabilities, maintaining a strong relationship with your paraprofessional is key.
As a special education teacher, administrator, paraprofessional, clinician or even parent, those 7.3 million students with disabilities rely on you to be one of the dependable individuals in their lives that can uplift them with constant support, motivation to succeed and endless flexibility to ensure these students can learn and grow into the best possible versions of themselves.
