Self-determination can support student mental health, particularly related to internalizing behaviors, because self-determined actions enable self-motivating consequences (i.e., self-efficacy). Self-regulation--a subset of self-determination--is often utilized by interventionists to improve self-determination and student behavior. Self-regulation…

Students' language skills are a foundational component to their overall success, indicating the importance of rich language environments in classrooms. It is critical for teachers to understand how to create an environment aimed at maximizing language as they're likely to have students with language disorders in their classroom. Typically,…

Physical activity (PA) promotion for children with disabilities tends to be less of a priority in physical education teacher education programs when compared with a focus on motor and sport-specific skills and strategies. As a result, physical education teachers tend to have less competence in promoting PA of students with disabilities, leaving…

Being self-determined means acting or causing things to happen by setting and taking the steps necessary to achieve one's goals. Teaching self-determination skills has been linked to enhanced academic outcomes, improved transition knowledge and skills, employment, and increased community access. Almost every state or local education agency has…

Delivering high-quality instruction grounded in evidence-based practices is one of the most important responsibilities of special education teachers. However, simply implementing effective evidence-based practices is not enough to ensure positive results; the practices must be implemented with fidelity (Cook & Odom, 2013). Although there are…

Educators continually encounter new challenges that require different tools or ways to utilize current tools in novel ways. Common challenges when working with students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may include addressing interfering behavior, developing communication systems, increasing social opportunities for students, and addressing…

During the first years of teaching, new special education teachers (SETs) face many unique challenges as they work to establish themselves as professionals. Upon entering the classroom on the first day of instruction, SETs are expected to be prepared, and they are presented with a daunting list of responsibilities and expectations, including the…

Self-management is a set of procedures that students can be taught to apply to their own behaviors to change them. In self-management, students are taught to observe, assess, and modify their own behavior. These procedures include such things as self-identifying and observing a target behavior and setting a goal to change it. Self-management…

Assessment for learning provides feedback to improve teaching and learning in the classroom. However, many teachers focus on measuring what students have learned at the end of a unit of instruction and fail to allow opportunities for feedback and revision during instruction. As Bransford, Brown, and Cocking (2000) explained, "Feedback is…

When you see someone in a wheelchair, what do you see first: the wheelchair, the physical disability, or the person? Do you find yourself using phrases such as "wheelchair bound," "confined to a wheelchair," "handicapped," or even terms such as "blind as a bat" or "crippled?" If so, you may need to…

This article offers guidelines for developing and using countoons as recording strategies with young children in special education and inclusion classrooms to help them monitor and change problem behaviors. Countoons are simple cartoon representations of appropriate and inappropriate behaviors, a contingency for meeting criteria, and counting…

This article identifies questions and strategies to help teachers become more self-aware regarding their interactions with students with behavioral and emotional disorders. Strategies address: (1) identifying and defusing emotional triggers; (2) shifting focus; (3) reducing burnout and nurturing teacher mental health; (4) assessing ability to use…

This article describes the development of a self-perception survey intended for use with gifted students. The article summarizes the scale's theoretical base, characteristics, and scoring. Suggestions are offered for developing appropriate interventions based on assessment results. The survey instrument is included. (DB)

Presents two self-correction spelling methods involving either letter-by-letter proofing or whole-word proofing. These methods are seen to be effective and offer benefits to students (faster learning), teachers (ease of implementation), and parents (who can implement the method at home). An insert summarizes methods in spelling instruction. (DB)

This article discusses procedures that have been developed to empower students with disabilities to take responsibility for graphing data reflecting their own academic performance. It discusses training methods for teaching students self-graphing and the benefits of self-monitoring. Examples are provided of different types of computer graphs.…