The two-year institution where I teach first-year composition serves multilingual students who excel, keep pace, or fall behind. In addition to these students, there are one or two whom I identify as "promising but struggling multilinguals." While this small but everpresent contingent attend regularly, submit work somewhat consistently,…

"The Power to Learn: The Benefits and the Promise of Personalized Instruction" advances the notion that personalized instruction is the direction that schools must take if all students are expected to succeed with difficult learning challenges. Based on the premise that all students are capable, this book offers practical information so…

If you are like most educators, you agree with the idea of providing intensive intervention for students with the most intractable academic and behavior problems. The question you may be asking is, how do I find the time? Intensive intervention requires time for planning and delivering individualized instruction, as well as time for collecting and…

This report highlights the following four matters that warrant particular attention as the 2021-2022 school year gets underway: (1) Outreaching and reengaging disconnected students; (2) Improving differentiated instruction; (3) Broadly embedding social emotional learning and development; and (4) Reorganizing student/learning supports. To address…

In this "Equity by Design" brief, we outline the short- and long-term impacts of COVID-19 on student learning and wellness. Next, we critique common narratives and responses to student educational difficulties following the start of the pandemic. Finally, we conclude with key considerations for educational decision-making, prevention,…

Students who demonstrate persistent mathematics difficulties and whose performance is severely below grade level require "intensive intervention". Intensive intervention is an individualized approach to instruction that is more demanding and concentrated than Tier 2 intervention efforts. We present the elements of intensive intervention…

Students tend to comprehend little and lose focus of classroom instruction when their teachers fail to use instructional strategies that match students' learning styles. Differentiated instruction can alleviate or eliminate this disengagement. This article describes a case involving a child having difficulty learning and shows how…

This field report is the third in a series produced by the Center on Innovations in Learning's League of Innovators. The series describes, discusses, and analyzes policies and practices that enable personalization in education. Issues of the series will present either issue briefs or, like this one, field reports on lessons learned by…

The term "intensive intervention" is not commonly understood, and variations abound in the literature regarding both its definition and implementation. This document introduces and describes the data-based individualization (DBI) process, a framework for addressing the needs of students who require intensive intervention in academics…

In French-speaking countries, the word "inclusion" is sometimes used instead of the usual term "integration" to refer to the schooling of pupils with special needs in ordinary schools. This paper proposes an analysis to throw light on the reasons for the emergence of a new term and the advantages of adopting it to denote…

The authors present the cases of two pupils who both show very serious, apparently similar learning difficulties, mainly in mathematics. An analysis beyond appearance of their learning activities revealed remarkable differences between them, in terms of both weaknesses and strengths. The authors point out that when teachers are planning remedial…

Readers are invited to test their abilities first in diagnosing the learning difficulties of a high school senior and then in prescribing the right kind of instructional program for him or her. (Author/MLF)

This article describes the foundations underlying the process of instructional differentiation for students with learning problems in mathematics and illustrates its application using a lesson that emphasizes the five Process Standards highlighted in "Principles and Standards for School Mathematics."

Argues that standardized academic programs are seldom effective with students in detention facilities who have a wide range of academic skills, leaning problems, cultural backgrounds, and languages. Recommends an individualized and self-paced method of instruction that has proven successful in meeting the needs of this diverse group of learners.…

A whole-school approach to meeting special needs is reflected in organizational changes at a girls' comprehensive school in England committed to mixed-ability teaching. The roles of the coordinator for special needs, education psychologist, key teachers in subject departments, and special needs support teachers are described. (JW)