Teachers have the ability to give students opportunities to produce alternative, artistic responses to concepts they learn in school. When a student writes a poem for a character in an assigned story or engage in other activities, the classroom becomes a more interesting space, and students think in new ways. For gifted children, such…

School counselors provide a variety of services to students with disabilities, and becoming involved in the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process is an opportunity through which school counselors can demonstrate their unique contributions. The authors highlight specific skills (e.g., group facilitation, consultation) and developmental…

The key to a well-written, well-reasoned Individualized Education Program (IEP) is clearly identifying and writing measurable goals and objectives. The single most important part of that process is identifying and understanding a student's needs. This essential first step is the best way to prepare for the search that will produce the most…

All teachers want their students to become independent learners, but even motivated students are reluctant to take responsibility for their own learning. So what every teacher needs is this book's tried-and-true method for gradually enabling students to take on more of the "work" of classroom learning. Two experienced teachers describe a…

Most teachers are still failing to fully integrate technologies in their classrooms to improve student achievement. If certain conditions exist, however, they are more likely to accept and use appropriate technologies in significant instructional ways. Relevant professional development and continuous access to needed resources are two significant…

Teachers today must meet the needs of a variety of learners. In addition to the broad array of cultural differences and varying disabilities teachers encounter, their classrooms reflect a wide range of abilities among the "typical" students. Regardless of the reasons, teachers today find that the large-group "one-size-fits-all" lesson is not…

Promoting self-determination has been identified as a means to both promote access to the general education curriculum and focus on transition-related skills. In particular, the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI) has been found to be effective in producing successful transition and academic outcomes for students with cognitive…

In many U.S. prisons an overuse of individualized instruction silences literacy learners and reinforces oppressive notions about what knowledge is and whose knowledge counts. In these classrooms, methods that invite learners to tap their background knowledge, reflect on their worlds, and dialogue with others to construct meaning--commonplace in…

Social cognitive theory emphasizes a dynamic interactive process to explain human functioning. This theory ascribes a central role to cognitive processes in which the individual can observe others and the environment, reflect on that in combination with his or her own thoughts and behaviors, and alter his or her own self-regulatory functions…

All students are entitled to a respectful and meaningful education in this decade of No Child Left Behind, and yet attention to the gifted wanes with the emphasis on standards-based education and testing. Educators of the gifted have wrestled with this dilemma for many decades, even as early as the 1920s when Leta S. Hollingsworth, noted…

Tiering and scaffolding are two differentiation strategies that teachers use to support access to a high-quality mathematics curriculum for all students. This article provides examples demonstrating a thinking process for planning tiered activities that focus on important mathematical understandings. Also described are possible scaffolds that can…

Student retention has remained, over many decades, a strong area of concern in postsecondary education, for good reason. Retaining students is a key factor in an institution's maintenance of its stability and reputation, and it helps students and society to avoid the all-too-common consequences associated with a lack of education, including…

Mathematics teachers need to provide explicit language instruction for students learning English. By differentiating instruction in mathematics, teachers can plan and provide instruction in mathematics with the goal of providing access to all students. (Contains 1 table and 4 figures.)

Reading difficulties and disabilities present serious and potentially lifelong challenges. Children who do not read well are more likely to be retained a grade in school, drop out of high school, become a teen parent, or enter the juvenile justice system. Building on the extant research and seminal studies, including the National Reading Panel and…

The assimilation and synthesis of knowledge is essential for students to be successful in chemistry, yet not all students synthesize knowledge as intended. The study used the Learning Preference Checklist to classify students into one of three learning modalities--visual, auditory, or kinesthetic (VAK). It also used the Kolb Learning Style…