Children with disabilities from diverse backgrounds sometimes face additional challenges with psychomotor skills (e.g., handwriting, typing), but many are linked to of lack positive experiences generating and organizing ideas (McBride, 2015). Some children do not feel they have ideas at all, and others do not think their ideas will be appreciated…

For Wisconsin schools and districts, implementing an equitable multi-level system of supports means providing equitable services, practices, and resources to every learner based upon responsiveness to effective instruction and intervention. In this system, high quality instruction, strategic use of data, and collaboration interact within a…

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) is committed to the cognitive, linguistic, and socio-emotional development of all children in Illinois. ISBE's Multilingual Department is focused on ensuring that students with diverse linguistic repertoires and those who may benefit from additional support have equitable access to academic instruction…

The role of the special educator has changed. Similar to general educators, special educators are more accountable, more specialized, and more collaborative. To be effective in this new role, special educators need to recommit to the founding principles of the discipline and embrace the tools that allow them to meet the needs of students with…

Although the college and career readiness movement has propelled schools to further include all students into academic-based courses, students with disabilities continue to need instruction in skills needed for a successful life after school. Research has indicated that it is possible to design instruction to help students acquire skills in both…

Contends that the transition to a middle school setting can present special challenges for students with learning disabilities. Describes the seven-step CONNECT process, which can provide general educators with a tool for integrating instruction that meets state, local, and individual education program objectives within the general education…

More stakeholders are turning to technology to advance the professional learning required to support new standards and evaluation systems. Yet how technology is used will determine its potential to influence educator practice and results for students. This brief outlines how technology can enhance professional learning, offers examples of how…

A completely individualized, self-contained, taped orientation tour of the Learning Resource Center of the Thomas Nelson Community College was developed by the library director. To generate the materials, the staff and director cooperated in an analysis of the items of information that were basic to the use of the learning resource center and in…

Despite federal regulations requiring measurable individualized education programs (IEPs), IEPs are often vague and unfocused, making them difficult to use in guiding instructional planning. Although a well-written IEP can be time consuming and labor intensive, a clearly written IEP, based on documented student needs, can and should be a guidepost…

Four research projects were conducted on the improvement of individualized instruction. Two methods of teaching foreign language were examined. In the first, the computer stored a profile of the student's previous performance in German vocabulary, and it developed a strategy to teach the student additional German words. The second project tested…

This report describes research on the portfolio process that the Oceanside (California) Unified School District uses to identify and plan instruction for students in the Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program. The report is based on interviews conducted with educators in two elementary schools that participated in the GATE curriculum,…

This paper identifies projects that have successfully applied the systems approach to instructional design and points to situations where that approach may be inappropriate. A method which relies on strict sequencing of objectives and means may not be easily adaptable for individualized programs in which means and ends emerge from instructional…

This is the story of Lily, a 12-year-old girl with Williams Syndrome (WS). A reading program was developed to meet Lily's specific reading needs while addressing her individual learning style; this includes attending to the unique characteristics of Williams Syndrome. During this school year, Lily showed significant gains in sight word recognition…