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Best of luck to you all as you complete your Praxis testing!

Please keep in touch and let us know how you are doing.

Have a relaxing summer break!

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A passing score is 145

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A passing score is 150

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1) What are the due dates for the coursework assignments during Student Teaching?

the due dates will vary by section and professor. It is best to reach out to your professor directly for clarity.

Congratulations!

We celebrated the successful completion of Praxis testing for one of our group members. She shared her experience with how she prepared for testing, and what test day was like at the testing site.

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Please note: there is no February mentor meeting.  

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Please note: there is no February mentor meeting.  

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See you in March!

Next meeting: March 13th, 2026 at 7:45 AM

Andrea McMenamin is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Andrea McMenamin's Personal Meeting Room

Join Zoom Meeting

https://cciu.zoom.us/j/2738384751

Meeting ID: 273 838 4751

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1) I want to become certified in general education in addition to my special education certification. What do I need to do?

Please check with Dr. Rutt, and read the information on the following link:

https://www.pa.gov/agencies/education/programs-and-services/educators/certification/current-pa-educators/instructional-add-ons

2) Is there a Praxis study group at Alvernia?

Christina Beck will check on that during her next scheduled meeting with Alvernia

3) How else can I prepare for the Praxis tests?

Kathleen Jasper has several videos posted on YouTube that are worth viewing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rQkFOxNWjc

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Pennsylvania educators who hold any Instructional or Experience-Based certificate may add instructional content areas by testing alone with no additional coursework required. A PA instructional educator must take and pass the content area testing for any acceptable subject areas to obtain additional certification areas.

Educators will find complete information on tests and testing at Certification Testing including the Certification Test and Score Requirements chart which lists specific tests, cut scores and live links to register for tests..

After you have passed the appropriate content area test and confirmed it has been received by PDE under View My Test Scores on File from your TIMS dashboard, you must submit an application for the new subject area. Applications must be submitted through the Teacher Information Management System (TIMS) - see How to Submit an Application.
The following excluded areas require the completion of a state approved certification program including testing:

American Sign Language (Hearing Impaired PK-12 (9205) instructional certificate holders who pass the ASL content test may add the subject area to their certificate through testing only.)

Cooperative Education

Health and Physical Education

Reading Specialist

all Special Education areas

An educator holding a Grades PK-4 certificate may teach Grades 5-6 without adding Grades 5-6 through testing. However, educators who currently hold the Grades PK-4 certificate can add-on Grades 5-6 based on testing alone if applying on or before July 1, 2028. This policy pertains to Grades PK-4 only.

Reading Specialists assigned to teach English Language Arts after the 2017-18 school year must obtain an Instructional Add-On for an English Designation Grades 4-8 by taking and passing the Pennsylvania Grades 4-8: Subject Concentration - English Language Arts (5156) Praxis test and applying in TIMS. This designation by testing is available only to those holding a Reading Specialist PK-12 certificate.

Per Act 82, current PA Special Education PK-8 or Special Education 7-12 educators can add the opposite special education grade scope expansion by obtaining a passing score (no GPA option) on the opposite grade scope special education test. This testing option is available ONLY to PA educators who already hold either the Special Education PK-8 or Special Education 7-12 certificate. This testing option does not require that the educator hold a content area certificate in the corresponding grade span. Educators will apply for the special education expansion certificate when applying in TIMS.

Acceptable T​​esting Add-On Instructional Subject Areas

Agriculture PK-12
American Sign Language (can be added to Hearing Impaired PK-12 only)
Art Education PK-12
Biology 7-12
Business, Computer and Information Technology PK-12
Chemistry 7-12
Citizenship Education 7-12
Communications 7-12
Computer Science 7-12
Dance PK-12
Earth and Space Science 7-12
English Designation Grades 4-8 (can be added to Reading Specialist PK-12 subject area only)
English 7-12
Environmental Education PK-12
Family and Consumer Science PK-12
Foreign/World Languages PK-12 (all specific languages)
General Science 7-12
Grades 4-8 (all subjects 4-6, English Language Arts and Reading 7-8)
Grades 4-8 (all subjects 4-6, Mathematics 7-8)
Grades 4-8 (all subjects 4-6, Science 7-8)
Grades 4-8 (all subjects 4-6, Social Studies 7-8)
Grades 5-6 (can be added to Grades PK-4 subject area only)
Grades PK-4
Health Education PK-12
Library Science P K-12
Marketing (Distributive) Education PK-12
Mathematics 7-12
Music Education PK-12
Physics 7-12
Safety/Driver Education 7-12
Social Studies 7-12
Special Education Expansion PK-8 (can be added to Special Education 7-12 subject area only)
Special Education Expansion 7-12 (can be added to Special Education Pk-8 subject area only)
Technology Education PK-12​

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Pennsylvania educators who hold any Instructional or Experience-Based certificate may add instructional content areas by testing alone with no additional coursework required. A PA instructional educat...

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To apply for your PDE Instructional I Certificate to teach Special Education in Pennsylvania, you’ll need passing scores on the following exams:

Praxis 5511 – A general assessment covering Reading, Math, Social Studies, and Science

Praxis 5355 – Focused on Special Education practices and laws

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This session our discussion focused on planning and preparation for Praxis testing.

1. To apply for your PDE Instructional I Certificate to teach Special Education in Pennsylvania, you’ll need passing scores on the following exams:

Praxis 5511 – A general assessment covering Reading, Math, Social Studies, and Science

Praxis 5355 – Focused on Special Education practices and laws

2. You can review current testing information and requirements on the PDE website: HERE

3. When you’re ready, register for your exams through this ETS site: https://praxis.ets.org/. You will be able to see a list of dates, times, and locations to choose from.  You will need to have payment ready at the time of registration.

4. When you register, be sure to save all confirmation information.  We recommend printing everything out and writing down your username and password.  It can be quite difficult to recover or reset your username and password on this ETS site. Your confirmation will include all details about the test (location, arrival time, what to bring with you, etc.).

5. We recommend testing in-person, at one of the ETS testing sites.  The location at West Chester University is convenient.  There is another location in King of Prussia.  We realize there is a test-at-home option, but have heard that this is more complex than attending a testing location.  This is, of course, up to your personal preference.

6. When you register for the test, you should receive access to a practice test.  We recommend selecting the option to use the free practice test.  This practice test mirrors exactly the experience you will have during the actual test.  This way, you will know what types of questions there are, how the timing will work, where the buttons are located for answering the questions, how you advance to the next screen, etc.  You can choose to buy additional practice tests and study guides, but the free practice test should be sufficient to prepare for test day. You have access to the practice test for several trials. Make sure, when you are using the practice test, that you have time to sit and take the whole test in one sitting.  Otherwise, you will forfeit one of your trials.

7. The free practice test will show you what answers you get wrong, and it will also explain why you answered incorrectly.  If you find you are not improving your speed and score after using the practice tests, then you may want to purchase additional study guides.  There are some to choose from on the ETS site.

8. Please remember, should you not pass one or more certification tests, there is a waiting period before you will be permitted to register to try again. Each time you test, you must pay the fee. Please do not wait until the summertime to begin testing. It is recommended that you register and test no later than May, 2026, but please discuss your individual situation with your Alvernia advisor.

Once you have passing Praxis scores AND your coursework is complete, you will want to contact Dr. Shawn Rutt who will verify those two pieces (passing scores and completed coursework) and recommend you for certification to PDE.

Eventually you will need to create an account on TIMS (teacher management system) and that is where you will access your PPID (professional personnel identification number) and all certifications that you accumulate in Pennsylvania.

Congrats!  You are getting closer to certification!

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You can review current testing information and requirements on the PDE website.

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When you’re ready, register for your exams through this ETS site.

Be sure to save all confirmation information.

Please remember, should you not pass one or more certification tests, there is a waiting period before you will be permitted to register to try again. Please do not wait until the summer time to begin testing. It is recommended that you register and test no later than May, 2026, but please discuss your individual situation with your Alvernia advisor.

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The journey to the classroom starts with Praxis.

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Course participants find that taking 1 long course and 2 shorter courses simultaneously is challenging, but manageable.

The feedback from course participants continues to be positive.

The group discussed the Praxis testing process. Please see the Padlet column titled Student Teaching for more information.

1) Will student teaching at a DASD placement start in January for practicum and student teaching? Or will there be a practicum placement and then a different student teaching placement?

It is possible that the practicum placement starting in January will be different than the student teaching placement starting in March. That will be on a case-by-case basis and depends on the districts' needs to support students with PCA services.

2) How many hours is student teaching per day? Is that number different than the house required per day for practicum?

DASD is still working on ensuring PCA coverage for students with PCA services and will communicate placements as soon as possible. The hours per day will be determined.

Course participants are encouraged to check their emails from DASD for practicum and student teaching dates/hours/placements.

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Course participants from Alvernia find the 14-week Literacy course to be particularly relevant to their daily work.

The observation project is challenging, but applicable and achievable.

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1) My coursework due dates are difficult to meet while working full-time: The group discussed coursework with quick turnaround time for assignments - this varies by section/professor. Christina Beck will follow-up with Alvernia to ask for flexibility with due dates (request that major assignments be due on weekends).

2) I need to work with a student who has literacy goals: Some colleagues do not have access to students with literacy goals. The group brainstormed possible solutions.

3) When can I student teach? Student teaching is 4 credits: 671 and 673 in MOD 4. It should be available in the spring. If students are finishing 522 (Practicum), on 10/10/2025, there may be a gap in coursework until the spring.

4) Can I set up my own student teaching placement? All student teaching placements are handled by DASD. CCIU does not place students.

5) Will practicum & student teaching placements expand to include exposure to other grade bands? Probably not; students are employed and assigned to one class for this program.

6) Who can complete my student teaching observations? The cooperating teacher must be a certified special education teacher.

Please try not to take any coursework while enrolled in student teaching. That should be the last set of courses in your personal programming.

Please reach out to an advisor at Alvernia with personal scheduling and enrollment questions.

Check your calendar for registration dates.

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You should have access to a free, premium Canva account with your school email address.

There are lesson plan templates and data collection sheets available here - resources you can use in your coursework.

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Our meetings will occur on the second Friday of each month.

This is a recurring invitation so you should see it in your email calendar.

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Please check your email for a calendar invitation

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1) In response to questions about student teaching placements, Christina Beck thanked everyone for their patience and informed the group that the HR department at DASD, CCIU, and the university are planning now. They are doing their best to consider requests for specific buildings/grade levels. Additionally, they are tasked with filling the vacant PCA positions once student teaching assignments are confirmed. Please, stay tuned for more information.

2) Students are reminded that challenges are to be expected in accelerated courses and that the Alvernia program is designed to be completed in 18 months. A slower pace is possible, but that will change the program completion timeframe since courses cannot be moved. Please check all course offering dates carefully.

*Be sure to stay in touch with Kelly Burr regarding any scheduling or advisory questions/concerns.

3) The group spent time reflecting on the most recent coursework, sharing successes and key takeaways with one another.

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1) Students in MED 544 sought strategies for completing the reading requirements in the course. Students are encouraged to reach out to both professors regarding the workload.

2) Christina Beck offered to contact the professor(s) at Alvernia to inquire about differentiation possibilities (audio notes, in-person/virtual sessions).

3) CCIU mentor team offered an optional work session held via Zoom for those enrolled in MED 544 for help connecting the course content to daily work and to collaborate on the final course assignment.

4) What happens to PCA students during student teaching?

Christina Beck is in communication with DASD HR about scheduling this.

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Please check your email for a calendar invitation and the Zoom link.

Please feel free to post comments on the Padlet, or send questions to the CCIU mentor team or to Christina Beck.

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Teacher essentials - Canva Design School

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1) The students in MED 544 would like support with an assignment (interviews with a special education teacher, student, and/or business owner about the transition section of the IEP)

2) Christina Beck was granted permission from Dr. Rutt for Andrea McMenamin to provide an interview for the group using a redacted IEP

3) Andrea McMenamin facilitated the optional MED 544 work session via Zoom on 3/31 from 4:00-5:30 PM.

*Please reach out to Andrea if you could not attend and would like more information.

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Please check your email for a calendar invitation and the Zoom link.

Please feel free to post question on the Padlet, or send questions to the CCIU mentor team, Christina Beck, Kelly Burr, or Dr. Rutt.

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1. When does registration for fall courses begin? Please check the Alvernia website for registration dates.

2. Is MED 515 offered in the summer? Please contact Dr. Rutt.

3. Can I skip MOD 6 (MED 545) during the summer because I am traveling? When will I be able to get back-on-track? Please reach out to Kelly Burr or Dr. Rutt.

4. Can more courses be offered in the summer? Please contact Dr. Rutt with course questions.

5. Can MED 605 be offered in the summer so I can catch up with my colleagues? Please contact Dr. Rutt or Kelly Burr.

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Tuesday, 2/25/25 at 7:30 AM

Please check your email for a calendar invitation and the Zoom link.

Please do not wait to ask questions or raise concerns. Feel free to post questions on the Padlet, or send questions via email to the CCIU mentor team, Christina Beck, Kelly Burr, or Dr. Rutt.

It is easier to problem-solve sooner rather than later. We are here to support you!

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1. I saw a tuition bill; do I pay Alvernia directly? Kelly Burr stated that students in the cohort may see a tuition bill, but Alvernia has coded DASD cohort members for reimbursement. Reach out with any questions or concerns.

2. I saw that DASD is only paying for 12 credits per year. Is that true and is there a way around that? Most of us will be at that by the end of the school year and then have to pay out of pocket to take summer classes. Christina Beck confirmed that there is no annual cap on tuition reimbursement. DASD will cover all coursework. There is no tuition reimbursement or waiver process for this pathway (Alvernia & DASD). Students must have a B or higher to gain funds from this program. If you receive a grade lower than a B, you will need to work out an agreement with DASD.

3. My clearances are nearly expired. Can I still enroll in courses? Yes. You can still enroll in Alvernia courses with expired clearances, but you will not be permitted to student teach (or maintain your paraprofessional position working directly with students) without current clearances.

4. Can I complete Student Teaching before some of the other coursework? Student teaching should be your last experience, but, please reach out to Alvernia if you have specific questions and they will make every attempt to work with you.

5. Where will my student teaching placement be? You are permitted and encouraged to stay in your current placement. You will continue to be paid as a paraprofessional, but you will gradually take over the primary teaching responsibilities of the classroom. This is the preferred pathway for student teaching.

6. Can I enroll in more than 1 MOD at a time? Dr. Rutt replied maybe, however currently many sections are at maximum capacity with 30 students per section. Please reach out to Alvernia with further questions.

7. I'm in an elementary ed building but I need to complete a secondary ed observation. What do I do? Please try to work with your building first to make arrangements. Contact mentors, work with your professor if need be. Dr. Rutt will collaborate with you for observation ideas if you are stuck.

8. I have an undergrad and a master's degree from another country. What do I do about my transcripts? Dr. Rutt suggested a transcript review to develop an individual plan. Though the academic process may align, a person cannot teach in PA without completing the certification process (including coursework and testing).

9. I had some technical difficulty accessing my course. The course has started and I am still waiting for the tech ticket to resolve. Please be patient; you will see the coursework in Canvas soon. Your professor will work with you to make sure you do not have difficulty catching up.

10. Is it possible to open course syllabi up earlier to view supplies and materials? Kelly Burr shared the link to Alvernia's bookstore and also directed students to using search criteria to look ahead. Please see below.

Here is the link to the online bookstore: https://www.bkstr.com/alverniastore/home

You can search by term and MOD for each class.

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Official Alvernia University Bookstore Apparel, Merchandise & Gifts

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Let’s Go Crusaders! Shop official Alvernia University Apparel, Textbooks, Merchandise and Gear at the Alvernia University Bookstore. Best selection of spirit wear, anywhere.

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Planning instruction for diverse learners

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Planning instruction for diverse learners

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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Wednesday, 1/22/25 at 2:30

Please check your email for a calendar invitation and the Zoom link.

https://cciu.zoom.us/j/2738384751

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75% of the courses in your current pathway will count towards a master's degree in Special Education should you choose to pursue that.

There will be 3-4 additional courses required.

You could potentially seek tuition reimbursement for those courses through your collective bargaining unit once you are working as a certified, contracted teacher.

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1. When is MED605 (Enhancing Literacy for Special Needs Students) offered again? Will students need to wait until next fall?

Kelly will confirm availability of the following courses MED 605, MED 673 MED 671. If the course doesn’t appear in the Spring or Summer MODS course catalog, it will likely be offered in the fall. You can check the self-service portal to view when courses are available for the Spring and Summer MODS.

2. Will MED522 (Practicum), MED671, and MED673 (Student Teaching) be offered in Fall 2025?
Yes, these student teaching courses are only offered in the Fall and Spring MODS and will be available in Fall 2025.

3. Can someone student teach during ESY if they are able to find a cooperating teacher?
No, student teaching cannot take place during ESY, even with a cooperating teacher. Student teaching is only conducted during the Fall and Spring MODS.

The attached version of the suggested course sequence lists December 2026 as the program completion timeline. This timeline allows you to complete the program in 18 months. However, you’re welcome to progress at your own pace and take courses in any order, as long as prerequisites are met. Please remember that your student teaching courses must be the final courses you take.

Additionally, the Special Education Department Chair at Alvernia is aware that many of you would like to move through the program more quickly. Steps are being taken to open additional sections of courses for the Fall and Spring. We appreciate your patience as this requires careful planning and staffing. We’re thrilled to see your enthusiasm and dedication to the program!

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6 Questions to Tackle When Demonstrating Flexibility and Responsiveness in the Classroom

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6 Questions to Tackle When Demonstrating Flexibility and Responsiveness in the Classroom

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Jon Konen
District Superintendent

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Jon Konen
District Superintendent

A teaching lesson bombs...in fact, about 15 minutes into the lesson you realize the students are not engaged or even looking your direction. What do you do? Some teachers may plow through the lesson and have the attitude, "I taught it, so they should know it!" Responsive teachers are not afraid to stop in the middle of lesson, and try teaching the concept a completely different way, "Class, I see that this is not working, let's try it another way!" How can two teachers be so different in their instructional approaches?

Flexibility and responsiveness are qualities that most teachers exude every day in the classroom. The multitude of things that occur without warning effect the way we teach every day. Walking in your classroom could be an abused student from a bad home situation, or an absent teacher requesting you to supervise their classroom, to an unannounced fire drill, educators must respond to situations that interrupt the well-planned instruction. Educators must ask themselves, "Am I being flexible in this situation and how can I be even more flexible?" Likewise, these teachers also know the fine balance of being too flexible when instructional effectiveness can be lost.

The ability for educators to be responsive to individual student needs is an art, as well as a science. While teachers are required to make sure they teach a set of standards for a given grade level, they also must understand each student's ability level, as well as the socio- and emotional challenges each of them possess. This responsiveness to student needs is visible in every day instruction. An observer should be able to find evidence that the teacher incorporates students' interests, adjusts instruction in response to student feedback, and that the teacher is not afraid to alter instruction and go deeper during a "teachable moment."

The following six questions will support your transition from being classified as "proficient," moving up to "exemplary" level according to Charlotte Danielson's Evaluation Model. These six questions pertain to Domain 3 (Instruction), and Component E (Demonstrating Flexibility and Responsiveness).

1 - How Do You Know When to Make Minor and Major Lesson Adjustments Before, During, and After Instruction?

A grant introduced during the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) era, called Reading First, had teachers use prescriptive language required when teaching reading lessons to students. This direct instruction technique was meant for all learners in the classroom. It did not adjust to students unique learning needs. Students with learning needs were taught outside of these lessons requiring additional time for reading support. Many of these students were pulled out of other areas of instruction: science, social studies, or specials that were being taught. Reading took precedent over any other subject area. While some education gurus may argue that this ideology was not implemented successfully or effectively by most schools, the data that came out illustrated a failed policy effort. Reading First did not raise student achievement levels. In fact, it had some reprehensible aftereffects: a generation of readers that could read, but hated to do so...alliterate readers. Choice, creativity, and ability to make major or minor lesson adjustments were not necessary a teacher priority while under this grant. Principals could go from room to room and knew exactly what was happening, what page they were on, and what the teacher should be saying and doing.

What we have come to know after NCLB ended is that teachers need to personalize education. Through differentiation, a teacher needs to be able to adjust curriculum, instruction, and assessment accordingly with the students seated in every classroom. Teachers must do their research even before students step foot in their classrooms in the fall. After reviewing and collecting as much data as possible, adjustments can be made prior to instruction. Here are some questions teachers should tackle before day one of instruction:

What prior data do I have on the students in my classroom?

What patterns do I see in the data?

What socio-emotional situations should I be cognizant about before day one?

What subjects, topics, and other content areas are the students' strengths, who needs more support, or what are the content holes after looking at prior assessment data?

What subjects, topics, and other content areas can I spend less time on due to prior assessment data?

What do my colleagues say about the students in my classroom?

What support do students in my class already receive?

Master teachers understand that their planning for the school year starts before the first day of school. They use all the collected data to make adjustments to content, materials, and instructional time on specific learning goals. After the school year begins, the data collection prior to instruction does not stop. These teachers collect more information to use in order to adjust and differentiate instruction. Here is a list of data that can be collected after the school year begins:

Student Interests - Teacher Created Survey

Student Strengths - Multiple Intelligence Survey

Pre-Assessment Data - Teacher Created Short Assessment

Formative Data - Teacher Created During Lesson

Socio-Emotional, Bullying, or Discipline Referral Data - Last Year and Current Year's Data

While teachers are starting a lesson, the first 5-10 minutes of instruction should give teachers enough information to determine a plan. The teacher then decides if the preplanned lesson will be successful to continue as planned. Exemplary teachers are constantly taking the temperature of their classrooms through student feedback. Feedback such as pre-assessments, active participation, and observation of students can give teachers information to adjust instruction for the remainder of the lesson. Here are some approaches a teacher can use to adjust instruction during a lesson:

Increase or Decrease Active Engagement

Increase or Decrease Learning Structures

Increase or Decrease The Time For Specific Content

Increase or Decrease The Time For Specific Instructional Strategy

Change or Modify Content and Curriculum

Change or Modify Instructional Strategy

Change or Modify Materials

After instruction, exemplary teachers use the collected data to make immediate adjustments for the next lessons or they can decide to continue with the pre-planned instruction. The data can consist of formative and summative data, observational data, and any other extraneous data to create the best learning experiences tailored to the students seated in the classroom. The same adjustments as previously stated can be used post instruction.

2 - How Big Is Your Proverbial Toolbox of Alternate Instructional Strategies?

When a teacher makes a choice to veer away from the original instructional plan, due to seeing a student or classroom need, an alternate instructional strategy might be a solution. Exemplary teachers know when to change their instructional plans, and they have other strategies that fit the given situation. Through experience and student feedback, a teacher builds their toolbox of strategies.

Experienced teachers understand that students come into the classroom in various moods. For example, if a class arrives chatty with high energy, the teacher needs to add some learning structures that involve talking and movement. This may not be in the lesson plans for the day. Quickly, the teacher decides that the learning structure titled, " Inside-Outside Circle" would best get students up and talking. Using the same content, the teacher can now harness the energy and chatty nature of the students...thus, using their powers for good!

Exemplary teachers also understand that when a group of students is have difficulties understanding the content, they must be responsive. For example, if a teacher finds that four students need the content retaught in a different fashion, the teacher pulls them into a small group and begins. The teacher may use manipulatives to make the concept more concrete so students can connect to prior learning.

Another example is the ability for a teacher to use the interests and strengths of the students to connect and teach a new concept. For example, if a student likes basketball, but is having a difficult time understanding the mathematical concept of "average" or "mean." The teacher can pull statistics from a current basketball player to teach this concept.

The more years of experience, added with research and communication with colleagues, support a teacher's transition from proficient to the exemplary level. Exemplary teachers can match current struggling students with successful student scenarios from the past.

3 - How Do You Take Advantage of "Teaching Moments?"

A "teaching moment" can be defined as an instructional segment where there is complete student engagement. What sets it apart from other instructional segments are the questions that students continue to ask, as well as a sense of intrigue that is peaked by students' interest. Developing teachers may not understand when this moment is occurring, and thus do not capitalize on the benefits of this special learning experience.

Beth Lewis from ThoughtCo.com, further defines a teachable moment as,

"...an unplanned opportunity that arises in the classroom where a teacher has an ideal chance to offer insight to his or her students. A teachable moment is not something that you can plan for; rather, it is a fleeting opportunity that must be sensed and seized by the teacher."

Exemplary teachers understand that these moments are rare. Though they would like to have them occur daily, teachers need to be willing to adjust the lesson immediately when a "teachable moment" happens. A teacher can go deeper into a specific area, or maintain a high engagement level in which students do not want to stop learning about a topic. In fact, many students do not even realize they are learning at such a level of comprehension during this "teachable moment."

Exemplary teachers may adjust the time, content, resources and more in order to utilize this complete engagement time. Teachable moments are special learning experiences that students remember for year to year and beyond. We must celebrate them and encourage this to transpire more often during instruction. Being reflective is an exemplary teacher's primary strategy in duplicating these moments. The more they can replicate the prior learning experiences leading up the teachable moment, the more they can predict when they may occur.

4 - How Do Grit, Perseverance, and Commitment Play a Role in Teacher Efforts for All Students to Be Successful?

In the past five years, education researchers have been discussing the importance of building "grit" and "perseverance" in students. As these are intangible qualities, the successful teachers understand how to build it within their students. Exemplary teachers understand that these qualities start with them. They, themselves, exude grit, perseverance, and commitment in making sure all students are learning to their potential. Many educators goal for a minimum of "one year's growth in one year's time." Many school districts surpass this goal (Read the article titled, How Effective Is Your School District? A New Measure Shows Where Students Learn the Most, to learn more about what is happening in Chicago, you can even research your school district).

What does teacher "grit" look like at school? This can be answered in much the same fashion as what we want to see in our students. Teachers should have an unrelenting character trait that does not take failure as an option, only as a learning experience. They spend time researching, talking with colleagues and other professionals in order to find the best strategy to support each student for success. They do not give up. It may take more time, effort, and energy, but the exemplary teacher does not give up.

Angela Duckworth describes "grit" in her recent TED Talk titled, Grit: The Power of Passion and Peservance, as being the number one indicator of student success. If this is true, then it must be stated for teachers as well. The ability to dig deep, have patience and perseverance, can lead to classroom success with the most difficult of students. Angela devised a " Grit Scale" where you can find out your personal "grit" score based on a 5-point scale.

A teacher that can persevere is able to tackle student problems, as well as other situational problems thrown at them. They understand in order to be successful it takes time, problem solving, resources, and communication.

Master teachers are not necessarily in teaching "for the money and prestige;" they are in it because they are committed to supporting students. The level of commitment of these teachers to help students learn is evident in their words and actions. They do not give up easy and they follow through to the end.

5 - How Is the Differentiation of Instruction Integral in Demonstrating Flexibility and Responsiveness?

Differentiation has long been a best practice in education. The ability to differentiate instruction starts small...from the first day of instruction, even for new and inexperienced teachers. With added years of experience, as well as research and collaboration with colleagues, it can be a powerful tool for meeting the needs of all students. In Carol Ann Tomlinson's article on the Reading Rockets web site titled, What is Differentiated Instruction?, she defines differentiation.

"Differentiation means tailoring instruction to meet individual needs. Whether teachers differentiate content, process, products, or the learning environment, the use of ongoing assessment and flexible grouping makes this a successful approach to instruction."

Exemplary teachers have a growth mindset and are continually adding to their tools and strategies. They use these tools to support effective differentiation that is responsive and flexible to student needs. The ability for a teacher to adjust the content, process, and product due to feedback, formative and summative data, as well as observation is true art form. New teachers may find this time-consuming at first, but as they learn how to differentiate more effectively, the time they put into making lesson adjustments is worth it. When the efficiency increases as teachers plan instruction, it becomes easier to meet the needs of individual, groups, and classes of specific students.

The best advice for new or inexperienced teachers is to start small. Allowing students to choose the modality for learning a topic can be an easy first step in differentiating. A more difficult approach is creating a lesson that has scaffolds. The teacher chooses a topic, theme, or standard to address. Then the teacher decides how many different levels of learning abilities they should address. Most teachers start with the following groups: below grade level, on grade level, and above grade level. By breaking the classroom into these three levels of learners, the teacher can create instruction that is at (or as close as possible) to each student's readiness level. All the students are working on the same topic or standard, but at a different level. This allows all students to access the required state standard or district curriculum.

6 - How Can Teachers Seek Support and Resources from Colleagues, Community, and Other Research?

Exemplary teachers have growth mindsets and they are continually seeking information from anyone who can support their educational endeavors. Colleagues may have vital information about the students in their class, as well as possible research, strategies, and ideas that they can use with students. Community members can also play an integral role in supporting teachers. Gone are the days of teachers closing their doors and teaching. We must model how to communicate, collaborate, and use multiple resources to teach students successfully.

Working with a team of teachers that encourage each other and share ideas can be one of the most powerful educational endeavors. Research states that the culture of a school is the number one indicator of a successful school. Dr. Bill Daggett states, " Culture trumps strategy." How well does your school communicate and "team" together? To determine how well your team works together, read this blog, score your team on the rubric, and set goals for your team. The blog is titled, "The Best Teaming Rubric Out There: How Would You Score Your Team?"

The ability to devise your our own PLN, or Personal Learning Network, is becoming more popular in education. These are the go-to people and resources that are used to make themselves better. All of the people and resources are selected with a purpose in mind. Research at the fingertips of social media has never been faster. Exemplary teachers create a PLN to support their growth as a teacher. Their PLN is always changing to meet student needs, as well as the needs of the teacher.

Exemplary teachers go outside of the school to find resources and support from community members. Whether the teacher is bringing in an animal expert from the Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, or bringing a financial advisor from a brokerage into the classroom to discuss how interest accrues over time, exemplary teachers find community members that can further support student learning. Teachers also team with organizations to support student's needs in a number of ways in which a school cannot. For example, a teacher may support a family in finding medical, mental, or dental health providers. The exemplary teacher knows how to connect families with community services, or knows how to connect the families with people who do.

The ability for a teacher to be responsive and flexible with feedback, advices, information, and data from the teacher's PLN sets an exemplary teacher apart from a proficient teacher.
(Charlotte Danielson Model: Domain 3 Component e)
MORE ROCK MY EVALUATION RELATED READINGS:

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Demonstrating Flexibility and Responsiveness in the Classroom | Teacher.org

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Jon Konen District Superintendent A teaching lesson bombs...in fact, about 15 minutes into the lesson you realize the students are not engaged or even looking your direction. What do you do? Some teachers may plow through the lesson and have the attitude, "I taught it, so they should know it!"

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Please check your email for a quick survey. The results will help us determine the preferred time to hold our next meeting during the week of January 20th.

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An introductory guide

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Third Monthly Meeting: Tuesday, 12/17/24

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Third Monthly Meeting: Tuesday, 12/17/24

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The group reviewed the resources available on the Padlet. Access to the Padlet was provided via link and QR code.

We discussed how to add posts and discussions to the Padlet, and how to "follow" the Padlet to receive notifications of new posts.

The CCIU mentor team gathered the following questions from the group and will respond with clarifying information:

1) When is MED605 (Enhancing Literacy for the Special Needs Students) offered again?  Will students need to wait until next fall?

2) Will MED522 (Practicum) and MED671, MED673 (Student Teaching) be offered in the fall of 2025?

3) Can someone student teach during ESY if they are able to find a cooperating teacher?

The mentor team provided a short form to survey the group about the best date and time for a meeting in January.

The mentor team will reach out with a meeting invitation after the winter break - our next meeting will be held during the week of 1/20/2025.

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Tuesday, 12/17/24 at 2:30

Please check your email for a calendar invitation and the Zoom link.

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How do I apply it to my practice?

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Our next meeting: TBD pending a survey to be sent by the CCIU Mentor team

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Our next meeting: TBD pending a survey to be sent by the CCIU Mentor team

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Alvernia will be offering the opportunity to take more than one module class at a time. They are planning to begin offering this in the Summer 2025 session. You will not be required to take more than one class at a time, but you will have the option to do so.

There was also a question about office hours. The professors who are adjunct professors do not hold regular office hours, but they should be available to schedule a meeting with you to discuss any concerns. If you reach out to a professor and do not get a response, please let us know. We don't anticipate this being a concern, but are here to support you.

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Second Monthly Meeting: Monday, 11/18/24

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Second Monthly Meeting: Monday, 11/18/24

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Avernia is adding additional credits that will be available in modules 5 & 6, allowing participants to double up courses in the summer to accelerate the 27-credit program.  Keep in mind that the student teaching courses are not available during the summer term.

When registering, you will complete a financial agreement that is required by Alvernia to be completed by all students, however your bill will be sent directly to DASD.

Books are not reimbursed by DASD.

If you are having any issues with Self-serve, be sure to reach out to the service desk

No courses are available during the winter term.  Spring term begins on 1/21/25.

Mentor team is looking into the best platform for participants to connect with each other.  Stay tuned for more information.

Mentor team will distribute another survey to determine the meeting time that works best for the group.

If you would be willing to share your experience with potential candidates, please reach out to Christina Beck at ChristinaBe@cciu.org

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Resources for new teachers, aligned with the Danielson Framework for Teaching Domains

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Resources for new teachers, aligned with the Danielson Framework for Teaching Domains

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A Starter Pack of Resources for New Teachers

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We’ve gathered some of the best resources for new teachers in one place!

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This resource has multiple search functions for many topics.

There is a video section too.

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Differentiation means tailoring instruction to meet individual needs. Whether teachers differentiate content, process, products, or the learning environment, the use of ongoing assessment and flexible grouping makes this a successful approach to instruction.

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Alvernia University Academic Calendar and Course List  2024-2025

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Our next meeting is scheduled for 11/18/24 at 7:45 am.

https://cciu.zoom.us/j/2738384751

Use the comment section to submit topics you'd like to discuss, any questions you may have, or introduce yourself and provide your contact info if you'd like to connect with others in the program.

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First Monthly Meeting: Monday, 10/14/2024

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First Monthly Meeting: Monday, 10/14/2024

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MED 505: Intro to Special Education, is finished

MED 515: Differentiated Instruction in the Inclusive Classroom is currently open

The group remarked that Canvas feels more comfortable (uploading assignments, finding due dates, etc.)

Course participants should not receive tuition bills from Alvernia; the course fees are paid via DASD & CCIU

DASD policy determines whether or not partial reimbursement will be given

Course participants are permitted to take 2 or 3 courses at a time if they want to work ahead, as long as the courses are offered

Student Teaching will not be offered over the summer

All courses are modules

Course participants asked for bi-weekly (EOW) office hours with Alvernia instructors/professors. CCIU will contact Alvernia with an inquiry and share updated information

Course participants report finding many connections between their daily work and coursework

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Differentiated Instruction

In this collection of tools and advice from Edutopia and the web, find resources to help you adjust instruction in response to diverse learner needs and interests.

Levels of Understanding: Learning That Fits All: Learn how to develop a framework to support creating homework or practice to meet the needs of all learners. (Edutopia, 2015)

Making Failure Harder Work Than Passing: Discover how one chemistry teacher uses incremental learning goals, formative assessments, and differentiation to inspire students to work hard and reach their potential. (Edutopia, 2015)

5 More Ways to "Remove the Walls" From Your Classroom: Explore five ways to rearrange students across the usual groupings and grade levels while differentiating, hitting the standards, ensuring proficiency, and boosting engagement. (Edutopia, 2015)

Students Matter: 3 Steps for Effective Differentiated Instruction: Check out three strategies for differentiated instruction: knowing students' strengths, involving them in planning, and leveraging the strengths of fellow educators. (Edutopia, 2014)

3 Ways to Plan for Diverse Learners: What Teachers Do: To differentiate learning in the classroom, focus on content, process, and product. For more planning tips, also see 15+ Readiness Resources for Driving Student Success, which provides resources to help teachers meet the readiness needs of all students. (Edutopia, 2014)

Understanding Differentiated Instruction

Make Learning Last: How Diverse Learners Can Process Their Understanding: Find out how quick reflections, surveys, and diverse-perspective assessments can help students to process more deeply and check their own understanding. (Edutopia, 2016)

How Learning Profiles Can Strengthen Your Teaching: Explore ways that collecting data about learners can inform differentiation. (Edutopia, 2014)

3 Guidelines to Eliminating Assessment Fog: Break through assessment fog by identifying and communicating clear learning targets, separating logistical guidelines (like following directions) from academic learning targets, and providing students with different ways to demonstrate their learning. (Edutopia, 2014)

Dipsticks: Efficient Ways to Check for Understanding: Within this primer to formative assessment, you'll find a printable list of 53 ways to check for student understanding. For more ideas, you might also want to check out David Wees' community post with 56 Examples of Formative Assessment and Edutopia's formative assessment page. (Edutopia, 2014)

Tools for Teaching: Ditching the Deficit Model: Read about how to gain knowledge of students' strengths, interests, and hidden talents in order to best determine out how to meet their needs. (Edutopia, 2013)

Planning and Implementation Ideas

Equity vs. Equality: 6 Steps Toward Equity: Explore seven steps toward classroom equity: knowing every child, celebrating their potential, recognizing their challenges, becoming flexible, acknowledging inequity, and using culture as a resource. (Edutopia, 2016)

Serving Gifted Students in General Ed Classrooms: Consider do's and don'ts for meeting the needs of gifted students. (Edutopia, 2015)

Bridging the ADHD Gap: To support the needs of children with ADHD, make the learning child-centered, differentiate, integrate movement and mindfulness, create supportive learning environments, and document the process. (Edutopia, 2015)

Integrating ELL Students in General Education Classes: Learn about differentiated-instruction and formative-assessment strategies that can help general-education teachers of English-Language Learners (ELLs).

The Power of Introverts: An Essential Understanding for Teachers: Understand the characteristics of an introvert to better serve shy and quiet students. (Edutopia, 2013)

Knowing and Assessing Students

Integrating Technology and Literacy: Explore digital tools for text and video annotations, teacher feedback, and formative assessment. (Edutopia, 2016)

100+ Tools for Differentiating Instruction Through Social Media: Find out how social media can enhance differentiated instruction if the tools are selected with a careful eye on individual students' readiness, interests, and learning profiles. (Edutopia, Updated 2016)

Mixing it Up With Mangahigh: Using Games to Differentiate Instruction: Learn how one teachers uses the online math game site Mangahigh to better differentiate instruction. (Edutopia, 2014)

Enhancing Learning Through Differentiated Technology: Discover three tech tools -- SAS Curriculum Pathways, Newsela, and EDpuzzle -- that can help differentiate instruction by showing where students are and offering appropriate formative assessment. (Edutopia, 2015)

Teaching Diverse Learners

Tools for Differentiating Instruction in PBL: Differentiate the content, process, and product of your PBL lessons with tools and practices like Learning Profile Cards, narrative feedback, and design thinking. (Edutopia, 2016)

6 Strategies for Differentiated Instruction in Project-Based Learning: Learn about six simple, effective approaches to differentiated instruction in project-based learning. (Edutopia, Updated 2016)

How Does PBL Support Differentiated Instruction?: Understand how PBL can be designed and managed to factor in students' readiness, interests, and learning profiles. (Buck Institute for Education, 2012)

Differentiating With Technology

Differentiation in Project-Based Learning

Examples and Downloads From Schools That Work

Sample Student Exit Tickets -- Download sample exit tickets that Humboldt teachers use as a quick check for comprehension of that day's lesson; these tickets let teachers know who might need additional help in a small group setting.

Edutopia's flagship series highlights practices and case studies from K-12 schools and districts that are improving the way students learn. Below, find downloads used by practitioners at featured schools, and dive into real-world examples of differentiated instruction.

Small Group Work With "I Choose"
When teachers began asking for time to work with students in small groups, Humboldt Elementary in Dewey-Humboldt, Arizona found the time, adjusted the schedule, and empowered students by mixing scaffolded supports with a variety of student-friendly elective enrichments. Watch the video, and download sample exit tickets used by teachers:

Academic Success for All Students: A Multi-Tiered Approach
At P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School in Gainesville, Florida, Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) enables teachers to differentiate and provide each student the right level of instruction to succeed. Learn more, and check out one of this school's tools:

How do you approach differentiated instruction in your classroom? Share tools, resources, experiences, or advice in the comments.

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In this collection of tools and advice from Edutopia and the web, find resources to help you adjust instruction in response to diverse learner needs and interests.

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The Basics of an Individualized Education Program (IEP)

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Understanding the IEP Process: The Basics of an Individualized Education Program (IEP)

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Please contact Kelly Burr if you have questions for her at:

kelly.burr@alvernia.edu

610-796-8296

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Collaborative grouping, the instructional practice of organizing students into teams to complete a task or assignment, empowers students to take ownership of their learning.

Assigning specific roles to each member, such as timekeeper, reporter, or typist, further ensures that everyone contributes to the group's success.

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60 Second-Strategy: Cooperative Learning Roles

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6 Scaffolding Strategies to Use With Your Students

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Support every student by breaking learning up into chunks and providing a concrete structure for each.

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This link has short descriptions of best practices, and there are video examples too.

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Resources & Guidance from The Learning Accelerator

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Context

Educators at West Belden group students based on need - small groups are created when there is a common need among multiple students. These groups are rarely static for a long period of time as needs are constantly changing.

Teacher Does

Uses NWEA, formative, and/or program data to identify student skills and abilities and adjusts groups to match those skills and needs.

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West Belden uses flexible grouping to group students based on need.

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Differentiating Instruction, 6-12: Tiered Assignments and Flexible Grouping

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Differentiating Instruction, 6-12: Tiered Assignments and Flexible Grouping

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Differentiating Instruction, 6-12, Part II: Tiered Assignments and Flexible Grouping

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How can we apply this research to students who receive special education? 

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Which Reading Strategies to Try, and Which to Ditch

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Which Reading Strategies to Try, and Which to Ditch

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Which Reading Strategies to Try, and Which to Ditch

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4 Reading Strategies to Retire This Year (Plus 6 to Try Out!)

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4 Reading Strategies to Retire This Year (Plus 6 to Try Out!)

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This article accompanies the video above.

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It's not uncommon for classroom literacy practices to stick around in spite of, as in the case of round robin, well-established research and readily available resources offering a variety of research-based alternatives for improving reading fluency and deepening comprehension and engagement. In fact, when literacy specialists Gwynne Ellen Ash, Melanie R. Kuhn, and Sharon Walpole surveyed teachers and literacy coaches to more deeply understand "the persistence of Round Robin Reading in public schools in the United States," they found that close to half of the 80 teachers they surveyed admitted to using some variation of round robin, and more than 30 percent "acknowledged that the research said Round Robin Reading was not best practice but they used it anyway."

As students return to school and educators begin to plan for instruction that adequately challenges kids but also catches them up after a year of uneven pandemic learning, there's a valuable opportunity to reconsider-and ultimately retire-some of the stale literacy practices that research suggests aren't the best use of limited instructional time. We combed through our Edutopia archives to find practices that shouldn't make the cut and selected more effective alternatives that come recommended by literacy experts and experienced educators.

4 LITERACY PRACTICES TO RETIRE

Reading logs (and other rote accountability tasks): Like many teachers, Allie Thrower had her fifth-grade students fill out daily reading logs as part of their homework. But after some time, Thrower, now an elementary school continuous improvement coach, noticed that her students' log entries looked the same each day. "It was always 20 [minutes]," Thrower writes. "My students seemed to be reading merely because they had to-not because it opened up windows to the world, because reading about a character who looked like them brought them a sense of belonging and hope, or because they wanted to learn how to change the world for the better."

After discussing the topic with colleagues and digging into the research, she realized that "many parents and educators had strong negative feelings about reading logs," Thrower writes. And a 2012 study of the practice found that "students with mandatory logs expressed declines in both interest and attitudes towards recreational reading in comparison to peers with voluntary logs, and attitudes towards academic reading decreased significantly."

Turn-taking oral reading practices: In this type of practice-round robin reading is probably the most common; similar approaches include popcorn reading, combat reading, and Popsicle stick reading-students "read orally from a common text, one child after another, while the other students follow along in their copies of the text," writes Todd Finley, a professor of English education at East Carolina University. Finley surveyed more than 30 studies and articles about this close-knit family of reading strategies and concluded that oral turn-taking reading practices like round robin stigmatize poor readers, weaken comprehension, and sabotage fluency and pronunciation.

"To be clear, oral reading in other formats does improve students' fluency, comprehension, and word recognition, though silent or independent reading should occur far more frequently as students advance into the later grades," Finley notes.

Awarding prizes for reading: In a well-intentioned effort to motivate students to read more, schools and teachers sometimes offer prizes for meeting reading goals-rewards might range from small items like stickers or bracelets to movie or amusement park tickets, gaming tokens, and fast food coupons. But research shows that extrinsic motivators like these don't do much to build reading habits and, especially among students who already enjoy reading, may actually decrease motivation to read, say literacy experts Barbara A. Marinak and Linda B. Gambrell, authors of No More Reading for Junk: Best Practices for Motivating Readers, in an interview for Education Week. Instead, offer rewards that are closely aligned with reading, like books they can keep and extra reading time, for example.

Overemphasis on reading as a discrete skill: Traditional ELA reading curriculum tends to focus on exposing students to unfamiliar subjects while teaching them ostensibly transferable skills like summarizing and finding the main idea. But a growing group of educators, writes journalist Holly Korbey, are shifting away from this approach, based on research indicating that predominantly skills-based instruction does little to improve overall reading proficiency for many students.

In the landmark baseball study, for example, Donna Recht and Lauren Leslie found that "struggling readers who knew a lot about baseball did better on a reading comprehension test about the topic than strong readers who knew nothing about the sport," Korbey writes. Similarly, high school students who "met a basic knowledge threshold on a dense topic like ecosystems had much stronger performance on a reading test about ecosystems than those who didn't," she notes. "For low-income students and students of color, these disparities were particularly pronounced."

6 READING APPROACHES THAT WORK BETTER

Reading accountability partners: After quitting reading logs, Thrower tried several alternatives before settling on reading accountability partners, a strategy where partners meet daily for 10 minutes to discuss the previous day's reading. "The practice may seem simple, but the results have been impressive," Thrower says, noting that pairings work best with students who will challenge each other academically and encourage each other emotionally.

Via mini-lessons, she helps students understand their roles, discusses how to hold peers accountable and how to be receptive to feedback, sets kids up with guiding questions, and circulates among the groups to make sure everyone's on task.

Choral reading: In this oral reading activity, the teacher and class read a passage aloud together, reducing "struggling readers' public exposure" and extending the length of the passages that kids are exposed to, writes Finley. Or try a variation on choral reading in which "every time the instructor omits a word during oral reading, students say the word all together," Finley suggests. Lowering the stakes for all students in this way allows everyone to practice reading for longer chunks of time and smooths out modeling hiccups and individual fluency issues. The research, meanwhile, shows that the practice results in marked improvements in decoding and fluency.

Scaffolded silent reading: Silent reading is important, but before sending kids off with a book, consider scaffolding the activity by pre-teaching vocabulary, providing a plot overview, and maybe introducing a K-W-L activity.

"Many of us, myself included, are guilty of sending students all alone down the bumpy, muddy path known as Challenging Text-a road booby-trapped with difficult vocabulary," writes Rebecca Alber, an instructor at UCLA's Graduate School of Education. "We send them ill-prepared and then are often shocked when they lose interest, create a ruckus, or fall asleep." When pre-teaching vocabulary, "introduce the words to kids in photos or in context with things they know and are interested in," Alber suggests. "Give time for small-group and whole-class discussion of the words."

Teacher read-aloud and modeling: It's tough to find time in the school day for read-alouds; however, "reading aloud to students each day is not only a productive investment; it also has powerful benefits for learners of all ages," writes educator Christie Rodgers, who routinely alloted five to seven minutes to the task every day with her fourth- and fifth-grade students. It's a practice that's rewarding and beneficial for middle and high school students as well.

"Throughout my 25 years in education, the read-aloud was my way of getting the most stubborn students to fall in love with reading," says Rodgers. Besides being enjoyable-a 2019 report from Scholastic found that 83 percent of students ages 6 all the way to age 17 surveyed said that being read to was something they either loved or liked a lot-it's also a powerful opportunity to model reading strategies, stopping frequently to wonder out loud and thus showing students "what good readers do when they don't know a word, understand a plot twist, or agree with a character in the story," Rodgers writes.

Reading buddies: For this practice, pair upper-grade classes with lower-grade ones-third graders with pre-K students, for example-and plan to set aside at least one 30-minute session per month for students to read together. Kids can work in pairs, but groups of three work too. "Let the younger students pick the books at first so they get hooked with an interesting read," says Ryan Wheeler, a behavior specialist in Houston, Texas.

The practice builds community, but it's also a powerful literacy tool. "Reading buddies allows younger readers to see what being fluent looks like as they have a peer model demonstrating reading skills," notes Wheeler. "For upper elementary students who are struggling with grade-level reading, the opportunity to access easier reading material without stigma or shame while sharing with a novice reader can create a positive experience with an activity that may otherwise be less than enjoyable."

Building background knowledge: Background knowledge-about the topic and about the world in general-"plays an important role in helping students make sense of a text because the things readers already know work like a scaffold on which to build a more complete, and nuanced, mental model of the subject matter," writes Holly Korbey. Try pre-teaching key vocabulary and concepts, and reduce the cognitive load by linking the new, unfamiliar material to material they've already learned.

In order to teach the kind of knowledge-rich lessons that will effectively boost students' reading comprehension, cognitive psychologist Daniel Willingham, author of The Reading Mind: A Cognitive Approach to Understanding How the Mind Reads, tells Korbey, "teachers should emphasize a cohesive, well-sequenced curriculum with lots of background information on different topics embedded within it so that no students are left hanging when they read."

Ultimately, beyond abandoning ineffective practices, the deeper work of motivating kids to read starts with connecting them to books that genuinely reflect their own interests-and giving them some choice in the matter. This may require being flexible about reading levels so kids are exposed to texts that provide them with an abundance of cultural, racial, and socioeconomic perspectives and cater to a wide variety of reading tastes across a broad range of reading levels-from books that are easy to read to ones that pull them into unfamiliar and demanding territory.

When we provide young readers with a rich mix of books, Melanie Hundley, a former English teacher and now professor at Vanderbilt University, tells Korbey, it primes students to feel more engaged and excited to take on tougher texts. "If kids will read and you can build their reading stamina, they can get to a place where they're reading complex texts," says Hundley. "Choice helps develop a willingness to read... [and] I want kids to choose to read."

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4 Reading Strategies to Retire This Year (Plus 6 to Try Out!)

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It's not uncommon for classroom literacy practices to stick around in spite of, as in the case of round robin, well-established research and readily available resources offering a variety of research-based alternatives for improving reading fluency and deepening comprehension and engagement. In fact, when literacy specialists Gwynne Ellen Ash, Melanie R.

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Special education teachers are expected to do quite a lot: Assess students' skills to determine their needs and then develop teaching plans; organize and assign activities that are specific to each student's abilities; teach and mentor students as a class, in small groups, and one-on-one; and write individualized education plans in parent-friendly language.

In addition, they must know and apply the dozens of acronyms used in their field: ADA (American with Disabilities Act), DOR (Department of Rehabilitation), LEA (local education agency), PDD (pervasive developmental disorder), and LRE (least restrictive environment), to name just a few.

As I work with special education teachers, I remain awestruck by their energy, empathy, and excitement. Here's what I've learned from them that has made me a better teacher.

1. Accept every student as they are. Students come to us with packages and baggage. Open and unpack slowly and gently, with kindness, respect, and understanding. Building a relationship with a student takes time and patience-allow it to happen organically. If you push it, shove it, or force it, you'll have to start all over and it may or may not bloom.

2. Active listening is a gift. Every day, every student will have a problem-or something they perceive to be a problem. Stop, make eye contact, and listen. Don't offer a solution until invited to do so. Don't minimize their problem, experience, or situation. Don't take their problem to the principal or other administrator until you've given the student time to think it through. Sometimes all they want is to be heard.

3. Scaffolding a lesson is just good teaching. Be prepared to break down a lesson and create pieces of learning. When each piece is explained, modeled, practiced, and applied, the parts fit together solidly to form a whole of understanding. Too much lecturing, too thick a packet, or too many directions can cause anxiety and disquiet. One small step at a time usually works best.

4. Be specific when sharing information with parents. When talking with parents, offer specific positives and exact concerns about their child's abilities. Be careful of generalizations like always, never, usually, and sometimes. Give explicit examples and partner with parents to create opportunities for growth. Parents want to support teachers-show them how.

5. Eliminate jargon when talking with parents. Remember all those acronyms? If they must be used, use them sparingly and define each one. Acronyms can aid teachers in communicating with each other, but they build a divide with parents because using them is exclusionary-they're a special language for educators. Building a partnership with parents means having a common vocabulary that inspires, not tires.

6. Students want to feel loved. Our students want to believe they're the only ones in our class, on our caseload, or in our hearts. A small token of appreciation-a handwritten note, a quiet teacher-student lunch, or our cell phone number-tells that student we care about them and their academics. The importance of building relationships cannot be overstressed-students need us to show them that love is always possible.

7. Share what we've learned with others. Sharing resources and strategies with other teachers advances our students' learning. Special education teachers are experts in the philosophy of differentiation. They don't simply do differentiation-they employ it as a mindset needed to teach well. Demonstrating for one student how to apply a strategy will benefit all students.

8. Patience is a gift, a virtue, and a necessity. All of our students require patience, but some need a little more than others. Giving extra time for homework or a differentiated assessment could alleviate some of that challenge. Always remember that parents send to us their most precious possessions, hoping we'll be humble, supportive, and empathetic.

9. Ask for help. Do not assume that you can teach, nurture, feed, clothe, and shelter every student on your caseload or in your class. Before you jeopardize your physical, emotional, and mental health, it's important to ask for support. Your colleagues, school social worker, school psychologist, and other support staff are ready to help you help your students.

10. Laugh. There are some days when laughter might be the last thing you're thinking of, but it may just be what you need. Our students come to us from different places-cognitively and logistically-yet a hearty chuckle or shared case of the giggles may help all of us take a step back and start again.

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What I've Learned From Special Ed Teachers

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Special education teachers are expected to do quite a lot: Assess students' skills to determine their needs and then develop teaching plans; organize and assign activities that are specific to each student's abilities; teach and mentor students as a class, in small groups, and one-on-one; and write individualized education plans in parent-friendly language.

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Free or low-cost tools can help all students-with and without learning differences-better access course content.

Teachers put a lot of time and effort into designing classroom activities that encourage students to read, write, communicate, play, move, and socialize. They strive to ensure that all students have opportunities to grow and learn, but children with disabilities can face barriers to their participation in classroom activities. To lower those barriers, teachers can access a set of tools-collectively called assistive technology-that have been designed to help these students participate fully and naturally in inclusive learning environments.

Assistive technology (AT) is "any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities." AT includes a wide variety of no-tech, low-tech, and high-tech tools. Some assistive technology tools cost nothing, and others can be fairly inexpensive. Many teachers are using some tools that function as AT-even if they don't think of them that way.

Simple Ways to Incorporate Assistive Technology

Closed-captioning in videos: Adding or turning on closed-captioning in all videos, including YouTube and GoNoodle, assists students in making connections between text and audio representations of language. Captioning is an assistive technology tool that is free and easy to use: simply push the CC button underneath a video.

Closed-captioning provides missing information for individuals who have difficulty processing speech and auditory components of visual media. It is crucial for students who are hard of hearing and can support students' reading skills.

Graphic organizers: Graphic organizers are a no-tech AT tool that offers a simple, effective way to provide writing support to elementary, middle, and high school students who have dysgraphia, executive function challenges, and other learning challenges.

Students with executive function challenges who struggle with organization, for example, can benefit from the visual organization of their thoughts and ideas, and graphic organizers "clarify implicit relationships contained in the text in a way that text alone may not." Likewise, students with dysgraphia -which affects handwriting and fine motor skills, word spacing, and the general ability to put ideas and thoughts onto paper-can benefit from graphic organizers.

This tool can help struggling writers show what they know and organize their thoughts before they start to write, which can make writing less intimidating. Having printed graphic organizers available in your classroom for all students is an easy way to provide an assistive technology tool to struggling writers of all ages.

Classroom seating: To help students focus their attention in order to learn, it's helpful if teachers are able to provide a variety of seating options in the classroom. Examples of supported seating include beanbag chairs, yoga balls, wobble stools, carpet squares, and wedges for active sitting, which is "seating that naturally encourages us to stay in motion, rather than passively relaxing into a slouch or attempting to rigidly hold a 'correct' pose."

My daughter's fifth-grade classroom has a variety of seating options, and one of her favorite seats looks like an old wooden train bench with pillows. Her third-grade classroom had a reading corner with beach chairs. Metal chairs arranged in rows don't need to be the only seating choice in our classrooms, and involving students in the seating design process-by having them help arrange the room or develop the norms for using the options, for example-can create excitement and engagement.

Visual timers: Time can be abstract for students with executive function challenges or autism. Students may become anxious when a teacher says, "You have 10 minutes left to work on this test." Using a visual timer-a device that makes the concept of time easier to understand and monitor by providing a clear indication of the time remaining and elapsed for tasks-can help students prepare for transitions and ease test anxiety as they are able to see at a glance how much time is left.

Teachers can place a physical visual timer on their desk or elsewhere at the front of the classroom, or project one on their interactive whiteboard during timed class activities, projects, or tests.

Speech-to-text software: Students with print disabilities such as dyslexia can struggle when producing written assignments. However, if your classroom uses Google Docs, all of your students-those with and without disabilities-have access to an important free tool called voice typing, which is found under the Tools tab. (Dragon Dictation and VoiceNote are similar tools that are also worth trying.)

Speech-to-text is a form of assistive technology that allows students-and teachers-to dictate into their computer and watch their words appear as text on the computer screen, without typing. I've found that students with and without disabilities like using this tool.

Teachers may want to create a space for voice typing in a corner of the classroom, where classroom sounds won't be picked up by the computer microphone. If all students have the opportunity to rotate through this area, voice typing should not carry any stigma.

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Easy Ways to Bring Assistive Technology Into Your Classroom

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Free or low-cost tools can help all students-with and without learning differences-better access course content. Teachers put a lot of time and effort into designing classroom activities that encourage students to read, write, communicate, play, move, and socialize.

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7 Zones Every Middle School Classroom Should Have

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Setting up and organizing a classroom environment with more intention can help maximize the space for student engagement—and learning.

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Please access this link to search by MOD for course materials.

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Official Alvernia University Bookstore Apparel, Merchandise & Gifts

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Let’s Go Crusaders! Shop official Alvernia University Apparel, Textbooks, Merchandise and Gear at the Alvernia University Bookstore. Best selection of spirit wear, anywhere.

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Dr. Shawn Rutt, Assistant Professor of Education and Education Department Chair at Alvernia.

shawn.rutt@alvernia.edu

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How to Adapt Your Teaching Strategies to Student Needs

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How to Adapt Your Teaching Strategies to Student Needs

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By:

Kathleen Bulloch

Teachers are often asked to modify instruction to accommodate special needs students. This article takes the mystery out of adapting materials and strategies for curriculum areas.

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How to Adapt Your Teaching Strategies to Student Needs

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Teachers are often asked to modify instruction to accommodate special needs students. In fact, all students will benefit from the following good teaching practices. The following article takes the mystery out of adapting materials and strategies for curriculum areas.

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Pennsylvania offers county-administered programs for people with intellectual/developmental disabilities, and autism (ID/DD/A) to live and thrive in their homes and communities.

What is an intellectual or developmental disability?

An intellectual disability is a permanent condition that affects a person's ability to learn and function in daily life that occurs during the developmental period up to age 22.

Autism is a spectrum disorder that has a wide range of severity and symptoms. Common symptoms include difficulty with communication, difficulty with social interactions, obsessive interests, and repetitive behaviors.

Pennsylvania's intellectual/developmental disability and autism services are based on a flexible and dynamic system of supports that are provided close to a person's home and community. Because each person and their needs are different, this service system is tailored to each individual to provide dignity and choice in how they live their lives. With the support of family and friends, individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities can decide what supports they need, how to manage their budgets, and be responsible for their own decisions and actions.

Who can I contact for help?

Intellectual and developmental disability services are administered through county Mental Health/Intellectual Disabilities (MH/ID) program offices. The county MH/ID offices serve as a referral source and most services are delivered by local agencies under contract with the county office. The county MH/ID office determines a person's eligibility for service funding and if found eligible a person will receive a supports coordinator. The supports coordinator will:

Talk with you about what kinds of supports and services would be helpful.

Offer you an opportunity to complete an application for the Medicaid Home and Community Based Waiver Program.

Enroll you in services that require completing applications.

Help you develop your individual plan.

Help you talk with individuals or agencies in the community that could support you.

Coordinate and monitor supports and services.

The Department of Human Services, the Office of Development Programs toll-free Customer Service Line: 1-888-565-9435. Toll-Free TTY Number (Telephone for Hearing-Impaired Only) 1-866-388-1114. A Customer Service member will answer calls during normal business hours, which are 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Eastern Time), Monday through Friday.

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Pennsylvania offers county-administered programs for people with intellectual/developmental disabilities, and autism (ID/DD/A) to live and thrive in their homes and communities. An intellectual disability is a permanent condition that affects a person's ability to learn and function in daily life that occurs during the developmental period up to age 22.

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Berks County Transition Guide (online version only): https://sites.google.com/view/berkstransition/home/resource-menu

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We are grateful for your donation and support of our organization. If you have made an error in making your donation or change your mind about contributing to our organization please contact us. Refunds are returned using the original method of payment. If you made your donation by credit card, your refund will be credited to that same credit card.

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Student teaching gives you real-world immersion in an actual classroom. As you get the chance to put your education curriculum to work, student teaching is the final stage before becoming a full-fledged teacher. What better way to kickstart your experience with students and lessons than to be in the field? If you're willing to put the work in at the end of your degree program and foster the right skills, student teaching can be a positive learning experience and a great first step of a promising career.

There are ways to maximize the time you spend in student teaching, but it's easy to get mixed up in the challenges that arise. In this guide, you'll learn how to cooperate with other teachers, prepare your classroom, get advice from an expert, and discover resources to help you succeed in your teaching journey. Continue below to know how to make the most of your student teaching experience.

Meet with Your Cooperative Teacher

Cooperative teachers serve as a mentor and model throughout your time in their classroom. As someone with at least a couple years of teaching experience, they can help answer your questions, provide feedback on your classroom techniques, and guide you through the process. Meeting with your cooperative teacher prior to your experience is a great way to set expectations, get a handle on standard processes and procedures, and begin building a mutually beneficial relationship. The following sections go more in-depth on how to make student teaching a helpful experience for all involved.

Setting expectations between you and your cooperative teacher early on can help all parties avoid needless points of stress and offer a clear roadmap for how the experience should go. Sitting down before the semester begins represents an important step in this process, as it's more difficult to set expectations once you're in the swing of things.

While much of the meeting may revolve around expectations the cooperative teacher has for your involvement, it's also good to bring a few expectations of your own - both for yourself and for the teacher. A great place to begin the discussion is to talk about basic responsibilities and how those divide between you and your co-op teacher. List out each one and assign a primary owner. Create a spreadsheet while reviewing these so you can save the document and share with your teacher.

Another important component is looking at university requirements for your student teaching experience and how to ensure all of them get checked off throughout the semester. You should provide your teacher with a list of these requirements and review them together throughout the experience to make sure none are forgotten.

As any seasoned teacher knows, having the right processes and procedures in place can make or break your year of teaching. By setting up standardized ways of doing things before the year starts, teachers can both get themselves organized and set expectations for students.

Your co-op teacher should already have established processes and procedures in place before your arrival, making it important that you go over these with the teacher and understand them fully. Now is the time to ask questions and seek clarity rather than waiting until the school year begins. A few things to make sure you understand include:

Daily routines, schedules, and duties of both teachers and students

Policies around substitute teachers and student teacher absences

Contact information for your teacher, grade chair, and any other relevant staff

Procedures around receiving feedback, including how often this happens and what form it will take (e.g., verbal, written, etc.)

General policies governing both the individual school and the larger district

Details on how you enter the school building and where you keep your items

Lesson plans and learning standards serve as the backbone of the school year. All student teachers need to understand the goals of lesson plans and how they contribute to meeting educational standards. When looking at a lesson plan, you should be able to identify seven clear components, including materials, objectives, background information, instruction, practice, closer, and assessment. As you review lesson plans for the upcoming week, identify each of these components and ensure you understand each on thoroughly. If not, make contact with your cooperative teacher and ask for clarification.

You can also compare each lesson plan with the stated educational standards to understand how it contributes to outcomes. Completing this type of exercise regularly will not only help you write stronger lesson plans, but also provide you with the skills needed to connect materials to testing standards.

When reviewing these components, be sure your cooperative teacher clearly outlines his or her expectations for your participation. A few questions to ask include:

Will I teach full lessons or mostly take on smaller components?

Will I develop lesson plans for the classroom? If so, how will they be reviewed?

How long before a lesson plan is taught do I need to turn it in?

Testing and grading are important components of the K-12 system. They help evaluate student comprehension of lessons and allow teachers to assess and fill informational gaps as needed. Most school districts set policies around how grading is done, with mastery-based grading being a common option. All student teachers should be well versed in multiple testing and grading methodologies before entering the classroom. When you sit down with your cooperative teacher before the term, make sure you know the testing and grading methods he or she uses, and how you'll factor into the processes.

It's also essential to know which testing modes will be used in your classroom. Some schools may still rely on paper-based assessments, while others use digital tools to administer exams and grade assignments. Your cooperative teacher should review procedures around both prior to the school year starting, but don't be afraid to ask questions and clarify what needs to be done. You should also be able to find information either in the student handbook or on the school's website.

Steps to Prep for the Classroom

Stepping foot in the classroom for the first time as a student teacher can seem overwhelming. You'll be speaking to large groups, working with smaller group, and teaching students one-on-one, all while trying to exceed the expectations of your cooperative teacher. The good news is, this meant to be a learning experience, and it's okay if you make mistakes or don't know something. That being said, there are plenty of things you can do to feel more prepared when the school year begins. After you've taken time to meet and get to know your cooperative teacher, you still need to check off a few more steps.

Step 1

Familiarize Yourself with the Classroom

Getting to know the classroom can make you feel more comfortable once you visualize where you'll be standing, see how the room is set up, and observe the different areas where students work. Second, familiarizing yourself with the locations of teaching tools and materials can help minimize frustration or stress during a lesson. Finally, this step will give you ideas for what works and what doesn't work when it comes time to set up your own classroom.

Step 2

Read the School Manual

While elements included will vary by individual schools and districts, these documents typically contain information about student expectations, purposes and priorities, contact information, schedules, health services, meals, and other important details. By reviewing this manual early, highlighting important parts, and keeping it nearby, you can avoid a lot of uncertainty. If you're unsure about policies around student behavior or how the bussing system works, turn to the manual. Need to get in contact with a member of school staff but don't know their number? Use the manual. This is a vital document to keep with you throughout your student teaching experience.

Step 3

Get Organized

As any teacher will tell you, the best time to get organized is before you're teaching multiple classes per day, handling grading, and creating lesson plans. Fortunately, many tools exist to help you get - and stay - organized throughout the student teaching experience. Whether you prefer a paper or digital calendar - or your teacher shares a master calendar with you - these tools can help you stay on top of tasks and ensure you don't miss anything.

Carefully reviewing your class list and keeping it nearby during the first weeks of school can also be valuable in helping you learn students' names and familiarize yourself with any seating charts. Rather than spending precious time trying to remember your password, create and keep handy a secure login list for each school website.

Step 4

Meet Others You'll Need to Know

The majority of your day will be spent with a cooperative teacher and your students, but it's also important to get to know - or at least know where to find - others in the school building who you may need at some point. Examples include:

Vice Principal
This person can help with any behavioral or disciplinary issues

School Counselor
The school counselor can help with academic and personal issues arising in students' lives

Nurse
If you have a student with an accident or an ongoing health issue, knowing the nurse is important

School Librarian
This professional can help ensure needed materials are stocked in the library for projects/assignments

Achieving Success in the Classroom

After doing all your prep for the school year, it's time to start thinking about success in the classroom. The next few sections highlight things you can do to feel prepared, confident, and ready for a busy year.

Ask Questions Designed for Learning

Students majoring in education spend years in college classrooms, learning about the stories and pedagogies behind teaching best practices. These valuable lessons form the cornerstone of your ability to work as a teacher, but learning about and doing it can feel like two very different actions.

It's normal to have a lot of questions when you first enter a K-12 classroom, making the relationship between you and your cooperative teacher even more important. Questions will arise, so don't be afraid to ask them. You'll have plenty of questions on your own, but here are some a few basic ones to ask as you start your work in the classroom:

With approximately 77% of teachers reporting that they find their job to be stressful, this question is timely and important. Teachers often feel overwhelmed and stretched for time. But there's hope yet- the teachers who get past those first five years often love their work and stay in the field for decades. Try to ask your cooperative teacher how they handle burnout, what they do to create professional and personal boundaries, and what advice they would give you just starting out.

Get Feedback

As a student teacher, feedback is one of the most important components of the process. Whether given by your cooperative teacher, students, or parents, feedback can help you improve in areas of classroom management, lesson planning, content delivery, and interpersonal relationships. While critical feedback can sometimes be hard to hear, know that it is offered in service of helping you become a better teacher. As part of the process, know that you will also be required to offer feedback. Learning how to do this in constructive ways is a valuable skill both inside and outside the classroom, so take advantage of this opportunity. Below are some do's and don'ts for receiving feedback.

Student Teacher Feedback Do's and Don'ts
FROM THE TEACHER FROM THE STUDENTS
Build Relationships

Relationships are some of the most important things you can cultivate - both when student teaching and once you have your own classroom. As a student teacher, building relationships with your cooperative teacher, other teachers, and school administrators helps to grow your network. Building relationships with students helps you better understand their specific needs and builds a sense of purpose when putting in long hours. Getting to know parents can assist in better understanding your students' home life and building a spirit of collaboration for the best possible outcomes. Here are some tips for building relationships as a student teacher.
Know who's in charge
While it's great to give your opinion and offer ideas when invited, remember that you're a visitor in your cooperative teacher's classroom. Defer to their hard-earned wisdom and learn from them rather than trying to take the lead.
Ask for their advice
Student teachers are placed with more experienced educators precisely for what they can learn from them. Don't waste your experience. Instead, try to ask thoughtful questions and pick up as much advice as possible.
Put in the time
Teachers are known for working hard, long hours. Show that you want to be an equitable partner during your time by putting in the time and effort and earning their respect.
Take feedback graciously
While much of your feedback will likely be positive, take the more critical feedback in the same stride. Remember, at the end of the day, your cooperative teacher is trying to help you unlearn any bad habits and find ways of thriving.
Show your personality
Students like to know who is teaching them, so don't be afraid to tell them a bit about yourself and show your personality. If you come off as a robot, they won't be engaged when you teach.
Demonstrate enthusiasm
Regardless of the subject you teach, show your enthusiasm. If you're teaching history, talk about why understanding information from the past is so interesting. If you can get them on board and excited, they are far more likely to remember the material.
Listen to them
Today's students often have a lot going on in their lives, both at school and at home. If they come to you and want to talk to you about something outside of the lesson, make time for them and show real interest.
Make fun of yourself
If you make a mistake while teaching, don't be afraid to make fun of yourself. Injecting humor into lessons helps keep students engaged and reminds them that learning and having fun can go hand-in-hand.
Learn which communication medium works for them
Parents and guardians have busy lives filled with personal and professional responsibilities. If you want to maintain a strong line of communication with them, find out what works best. Some might prefer texts or phone calls while others may do best with emails.
Ask questions
Try to learn more about your students, their challenges, and their interests by asking their parents questions. They can help you understand why a student may behave in a certain way or how they are doing with their homework.
Remove any language barriers
If working with an immigrant parent, make sure you have someone in the school who can speak the language to provide translations. This will help bring the teacher on side and ensure they feel heard.
Listen to them
Like students, parents sometimes need to simply be heard. Sometimes what they say will be directly related to their student, other times only tangentially. But giving them the space to talk and process will show they can trust you.

Insight from an Expert on Student Teaching

After more than 30 years as a school administrator, Janet Ferone, M.Ed. is now President of Ferone Educational Consulting. Currently completing Certificate of Advanced Educational Leadership from Harvard University, she holds a master's degree in special education from Hofstra University. As founding director of a public high school program for students with depression/suicidality, her program was recognized by Gates Foundation and she received a Goldin Foundation Award for Excellence in Education. She provides training, program design and evaluation, technical support to transform schools into places where all students, especially those with special needs, thrive and succeed. She is also Associate Lecturer at Lesley University and Curry College supervising student teachers.

Student Teaching Resources

Cooperating Teacher Roles & Responsibilities
Temple University provides this comprehensive guide that can help inform both student teachers and cooperative teachers on best practices.

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Student Teaching Survival Guide: Optimize Your Experience

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Discover expert insight, relationship-building tips, and the steps you'll need to take to get ready for the student teaching classroom.

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CCIU Para - Academic Advisor (2023 Grant Group)

Robin Cunconan-Lahr

RCunconan-Lahr@northampton.edu

DASD  Para- Academic Advisor

Tonia Breech

tbreech@northampton.edu

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Academic Advisor

Kate Stopford

kstopford@immaculata.edu

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Advisors

Shawn RuttShawn.Rutt@alvernia.edu

Kelly BurrKelly.Burr@alvernia.edu

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This link will take you to a short video. If you scroll down, you will find additional resources.

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Edutopia Sessions: Assessment for New Teachers

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A panel of educators shares how new teachers can create meaningful assessments and target what’s truly important for students.

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A Primer on Parent-Teacher Conferences for New Teachers

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By planning more collaborative and communicative conferences, teachers can foster strong relationships with families that last all year long.

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Edutopia Sessions: Classroom Management for New Teachers

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In this video panel discussion, a relatively new teacher and a veteran answer questions about how to keep a class on track for learning.

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4 Research-Backed Ideas to Upgrade Your Classroom

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As teachers prepare their classrooms for a new school year, these low-cost changes can make a big difference in students’ learning experience.

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From building more effective communication habits to creating a more welcoming back-to-school night to considering setting up a home visit system, there are many ways that secondary school administrators can work to improve family engagement, even as students get older. The best of these approaches will welcome caregivers of all backgrounds to partner with the school, increase community involvement, and ultimately boost student achievement.

To learn more about the benefits of the strategies covered in this video and others, explore these resources cited in the video:

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3 Ways for Schools to Engage Families of Older Students

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Though sustaining a strong connection between school and home can become more difficult in middle and high school, it's worth the extra effort to support long-term student success.

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Supporting Constructive Student Behaviors in Elementary School

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These tips can help improve school culture, with fewer students sent to the principal’s office.

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A 3-Step Process for Addressing Disruptive Behavior

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Teachers can use this strategy to help dysregulated students get back on track and ready to participate in learning.

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De-escalating the Brain, Not the Behavior

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When students feel intense emotions, it’s important for teachers to meet them where they are and use strategies that guide them toward self-regulation.

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Cognitive, Emotional, and Behavioral Engagement Strategies That Work

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Teachers can use a mix of approaches to overcome students’ attention span limits so they stay engaged in learning.

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Social & Emotional Learning (SEL)

When young students are feeling overwhelmed, these strategies can help them find their calm again.

Paige Stampatori / The iSpot

Do not engage the student in conversation during active fight-or-flight; instead, consider an agreed-upon signal (preferably chosen by the student to improve compliance) to cue them to utilize chosen supports.

Ensure that the environment is conducive to subduing a heightened fight-or-flight state-dimmed lighting, reduced/no auditory input.

Consider the following modifying strategies, especially at first.

Young students are brimming with emotions, and at times they may go into fight-or-flight states of regulation from a physical and an emotional perspective due to trauma, sensory overload, and emotional dysregulation. Some students can also come to school already dysregulated from difficult home situations, long bus rides, lack of sleep, etc., and can more easily get into this state than peers. During these episodes their senses are heightened, so these young students can benefit from modifications to reduce stimuli within the environment and from simple strategies that help them calm down. Here are some ideas. (Please note: Check with your school administrator beforehand to see what, if any, permissions are needed before trying these strategies.)

When introducing and trying to present these strategies to a child who is in active fight-or-flight, it's important to remember the following points:

Suggested strategies

Try the "squeeze your whole body" strategy, by way of "joint compressions" (a way of providing proprioceptive input-deep pressure-to the body). This input gives the body specific information of where it is in space as each joint receives specific deep pressure information, thus decreasing fight-or-flight from a physical and emotional perspective and providing a sense of grounding. With firm, cupped palms, you gently but firmly squeeze the student's shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees, and ankles.

It may be helpful to pair these strategies with sensory tools connected to the proprioceptive and vestibular (head below knees) systems, which aim to further decrease fight-or-flight, especially in the beginning stages as understanding of how to utilize these supports develops.

Consider having the student wear a weighted fanny pack or complete a "pillow squish" after the exercise sequence is finished (and they are more receptive to sensory feedback). A pillow squish involves either large pillows or bean bags both underneath and over the child. Slowly and firmly, making sure not to cover the student's head, press down evenly with open palms at each joint. Continually look at the student to see how they are responding.

Alternatively, the student can lie on a soft surface, such as a bean bag or pillows. They can be positioned on either their belly or their back. You would apply careful pressure to the back, legs, and shoulder joints (not covering the head) with a second beanbag. The head should rest comfortably on the beanbag and remain uncovered.

As you move across the different joints, you can name them together with the student, to improve body awareness. You can also add imaginative components, such as "What are we putting in the Evan sandwich?" Let the student add their own "ingredients" as you move across the joints of the body.

After the completion of these physical strategies, have a quiet cool-down time, with the incorporation of dim/dark lighting (possibly paired with a visual stimulatory tool, such as an aquarium light), low-frequency instrumental music, weighted items, and tactile manipulatives.

Once you see that the student is returning to a functional state of regulation, allow them to set a visual timer for approximately five minutes, and explain that once the timer starts, they will have five minutes until they need to transition to the classroom.

Provide nonverbal, visual reminders of the time remaining by showing them the timer.

a Small-Movement Exercise

Squeeze the whole body: This exercise allows for co-contraction of the muscles of the body (simultaneous activation of muscles on opposite sides of the joint) quickly providing strong proprioceptive input and adding a mindfulness component of picturing the strong feelings leading to fight-or-flight squeezing out of the body through the proprioceptive input.

Instruct the students to do the following: " Close your eyes. Think about how you are feeling. Are you wiggly, angry, frustrated? Where do you feel those strong feelings the most? In your belly? Your feet? Your arms, legs, fingers, head? A mixture? Now, squeeze your entire body-tight, tight, tight, as if you're making a huge muscle out of your whole body-and feel those strong feelings squeeze out of your body!"

Puppy: This exercise quickly provides a strong proprioceptive (deep pressure) and vestibular (head below knees) component of picturing the strong feelings leading to fight-or-flight leaving the body through vestibular and proprioceptive input. Placing the head below the knees is a quick way to get out of fight-or-flight from an emotional and physical perspective.

Directions: Have the student lie on their belly, knees bent underneath, arms underneath the head and hugging the torso (cue them to curl up into a tight, tight ball). Depending on the severity of the fight-or-flight state, you may want to add some weight around the student's torso during this exercise, such as a bean bag. Ensure that the student is lying on a soft surface-such as the classroom rug-that they are not protesting and that their head is free-that is, there is nothing covering the student's head when completing this strategy. In this exercise, the bean bag should be on top of the shoulders and not covering the head.

It's important to note that students who tend to go into fight-or-flight states of regulation benefit from environmental modifications to reduce stimuli within the environment. It's also vital to recognize that physical reactions may be exacerbated by sensory overstimulation.

On a similar note, the opportunity for heavy doses of powerful and predictable sensory movement can be extremely effective in the self-regulation process. You may need to incorporate additional deep pressure input both during and after the utilization of these strategies, to increase the sensory input provided, depending on the child's state of emotional dysregulation.

The teacher instructs the students to do the following: " Close your eyes. Think about how you are feeling. Are you wiggly, angry, frustrated? Where do you feel those strong feelings the most? In your belly? Your feet? Your arms, legs, fingers, head? A mixture? From all fours, move your hands out in front of you, and lower your chest to the floor. Keeping your hands straight with your elbows raised off of the ground, rest your forehead between extended arms. Picture your strong feelings leaving your body through your hands.

A Useful Tool

Play-Doh: Play-Doh provides tactile (touch) and proprioceptive input through the hands, decreasing fight-or-flight input. Using imaginative-play and exploratory tools such as cookie cutters/carvers, etc., with Play-Doh or just using the hands provides calming sensory input to the body. Taking a small piece of Play-Doh as a transition object (i.e., when going from a preferred to a nonpreferred task, from fight-or-flight to work time, from low sensory thresholds to high sensory thresholds, etc.) can improve overall regulation and participation for the rest of the day.

It's a good idea to keep materials and the corresponding above instructions near your sensory area or cool-down space and other sensory-smart areas within the school setting-especially sensory-rich locations that may trigger related behaviors and experiences (the lunchroom, courtyard, gym, etc.). This will help ensure that you're prepared to mitigate the fight-or-flight states and restore the students to a calmer state from an emotional and physical standpoint.

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Simple Supports to Decrease Fight-or-Flight Behavior

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These simple strategies for helping young, dysregulated students to calm down can give them alternatives to fight-or-flight behaviors.

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Administration & Leadership

Schools can identify trends and patterns in student behavior in order to help correct issues and prevent them from recurring.

Frequency

Location

Time/Day

Grade Level/Student

Type of Behaviors

Missing Skills

Understanding behavior data assists schools in determining areas of success, areas that need additional support, and the action steps required to promote students' independence. Schools can establish a supporting learning environment for every student by recognizing and addressing their behaviors.

A universal way to capture and collect data is through office discipline referrals for behaviors that administrators handle. These referrals answer the what, where, when, who, and how often of the behaviors. Schools typically collect paper copies of office discipline referrals, but an all-digital format has been very effective at my school-teachers fill out a Google Form, and our administration team immediately receives an email about the issue. Tracking the following six data points and asking specific questions about them will help you unpack information so that you can better understand how to take action:

1. How often do office discipline referrals happen?

Date and time

Student name

Referring staff name

Student grade level

Location

Missing social behavior skill

Short explanation of the incident

Your admin team can get insight into the effectiveness of interventions and programs by examining changes in the frequency of occurrences over a period. This data can be compared month-to-month and from school year to school year.

In our system, we track multiple pieces of information. We refer to office discipline referrals as "behavior tickets." These are one piece of outcome data that we collect. Every behavior ticket submitted includes the following:

Each month, our behavior team (principals, counselors, and one teacher from each grade level and department) breaks down all the behavior tickets. We start by charting the total number of behavior tickets. This data allows our team to find if the averages are trending up, trending down, or remaining stable.

2. Where are these behaviors Happening?

When you know the locations where the behaviors are happening in the school, that can help you understand why they're taking place in that area. This data allows the team to determine if more support is needed in each location with supervision or expectations.

We have a set of expectations for social behaviors in common spaces. Because our school's mascot is wildcats, the acronym we use is PAWS (practice respect, act safely, work hard, and show responsibility). Each area of our school (cafeteria, hallways, playground, bathrooms) has its own set of expectations. Tracking these behaviors and locations allows our team to determine which of the four PAWS expectations are challenging for students. Classroom teachers review expectations at the beginning of each school day. The classroom teachers continually review a rotating schedule and reteach expected behaviors at all common locations in the building.

3. When are the behaviors happening?

Knowing when these behaviors occur helps with correction and determining the best way of addressing them. Revisiting the master schedule to cross-reference the time of day when behaviors occur, as well as where they're happening, is important and helpful for resolving issues.

In keeping this data point, we've learned that Mondays are difficult for many students. As a result, each Monday we begin the day with 30 minutes for class meetings and social and emotional learning time. Giving our staff this time has helped us reduce occurrences of those Monday issues.

Knowing the time of day or day of the week has also helped us narrow down why issues are happening. At our school, lunch runs from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., with older students eating toward the end of the period. We saw an increase in behavior tickets from fourth graders around noon. When we looked at the data and talked with the kids, it was obvious that they were hungry and getting impatient waiting for lunch. The next day, we sent home a note for all fourth-grade students that they could bring a snack to eat in class before lunch. We focus on addressing the behavior but also create a plan to ensure that it doesn't keep happening.

We teach students that they can be OK when others aren't and that they can do hard things (like being patient) even if they don't want to.

4. Who are the students involved?

Whenever behavior begins to impede learning, it's critical to ensure that Tier 1 supports are implemented for all students and all situations. Tier 2 supports focus on a smaller set of students who show signs of behavior issues. Tier 3 provides support for the most intensive behavior needs.

With this data, we identify students within the intervention tiers. Tier 1 consists of all students who had zero or one ticket. Students in Tier 2 are at risk of or are showing signs of behavioral issues. These students typically have two to four behavior tickets. Tier 3 students display chronic or intense behavior needs. These students have five or more behavior tickets.

We also assess whether the issue is a student problem or grade-level problem. We've had instances where whole grade levels are practicing a skill due to the number of tickets within the grade level.

5. What is being reported?

Once the team knows the contributing elements and has a clear problem description, they decide what steps to take to remedy the issue. We urge our team to think about ways to stop the problem behavior from happening, what might need to be taught or retaught to address it, and how to best reinforce the behaviors outlined in the school's expectations.

The behavior team reads each behavior incident and categorizes them into appropriate groups. Each month, we list a percentage of tickets submitted for each behavior. An example would be that one month we might see that 24 percent of all behavior tickets are on inappropriate language, 19 percent on disrespect, and 15 percent on physical aggression. This data informs our social and emotional learning plans. During this time, we can drill down to each of the most common behaviors, creating teachable moments.

6. What needs to be improved?

Your team can learn more about the most frequently reported behaviors by answering this question. From here, the team can decide what actions they'd like to see in their place and create a plan for helping kids engage in replacing their negative behaviors. These actions treat and eliminate problem behaviors by building students' skills.

Adults in our building ask students processing questions to help them take responsibility, practice skills, and develop a plan for making better decisions. We believe that every negative behavior can be replaced by a positive behavior. We have multiple students who have a daily sheet for an adult to check in with them. Each sheet is different depending on the student, but they have the needed replacement skill, assessment of their emotions, and guidance on how to problem-solve when issues arise.

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Using Data to Proactively Manage Student Behavior

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Schools can identify trends and patterns in student behavior in order to help correct issues and prevent them from recurring.

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A Relationship-Driven Strategy for Addressing Challenging Behavior

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Putting relationships first can yield positive results in student success.

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In this Intervention Brief, we explore 2x10 Relationship Building, an intervention that empowers educators to build authentic relationships with students and increase their sense of belonging. You can find the 2x10 Relationship Building strategy in the intervention library of Student Success, Panorama's MTSS intervention management platform for school districts.
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Quick Summary
Intervention Name: 2x10 Relationship Building (or Two-by-Ten Relationship Building)

Tier(s): 2

Grade Levels: K-12

Description: Support students by spending two minutes per day (for 10 consecutive school days in a row) connecting with a student individually and offering extra social-emotional support.

Table of Contents
2x10 Relationship Building Intervention Overview Who Does the 2x10 Strategy Work For? How to Implement the 2x10 Strategy Tips for Effective 2x10 Strategy Implementation Additional Resources on the 2x10 Strategy and Other Behavior Interventions

Key Takeaways:

1. 2x10 Relationship Building: The 2x10 strategy involves spending two minutes per day for 10 consecutive school days connecting with an individual student to build authentic relationships and offer extra social-emotional support.

2. Target Audience: This intervention works best for students struggling with maintaining positive relationships, exhibiting disruptive behaviors, or needing extra emotional support. It provides a safe outlet for students to communicate with a trusted adult.

3. Implementation Tips: Keep conversations focused on the student's personal interests, maintain consistency in engaging with the student, ask open-ended questions, and be a persistent, positive role model. Consistency and authenticity are key to the success of the intervention.

4. Monitoring and Feedback: Educators can use platforms like Panorama to create intervention plans, monitor student progress, and gather feedback. Tracking progress allows educators to adapt and tailor interventions to meet students' evolving needs.

5. Impact and Benefits: Implementing the 2x10 strategy can lead to improvements in individual student behavior, classroom climate, attendance, academics, overall well-being, and social-emotional strengths. This targeted intervention fosters a sense of belonging and connection to adults among students.

[Free Download] 20 Evidence-Based High School Intervention Ideas for School and District Teams

2x10 Relationship Building Intervention Overview

2x10 Relationship Building-originally coined the "two-minute intervention" by researcher Raymond Wlodkowski and popularized in Allen Mendler's Connecting with Students-is a Tier 2 intervention that helps build teacher-student relationships, reinforce positive behaviors, and convey genuine support to an individual who might be typecast as a "challenging student."

At its core, the 2x10 strategy is about consistently building relationships with students. Educators (or school leaders) select a particular student and set a goal to engage in a 2-minute conversation with that student for 10 consecutive school days. These conversations might happen at the beginning or end of a class period.

Research shows that implementing the 2x10 intervention can lead to significant improvements in individual student behavior and the broader classroom climate.

Not only can the 2x10 strategy create a positive connection between an adult and an individual student, but adults can also use it to model core SEL competencies such as social awareness, self-awareness, and relationship skills through empathy and active listening.

Who Does the 2x10 Strategy Work For?
The 2x10 Relationship Building intervention works best for students who are having a hard time maintaining positive relationships in the classroom, exhibiting disruptive behaviors, or are in need of extra emotional support. It provides students with a safe outlet to communicate their feelings, emotions, and needs to a trusted adult. This targeted intervention can be used as a behavior support for individual students in elementary school, middle school, or high school.

Consider the following criteria when identifying students who will benefit from the 2x10 strategy:

Students who respond positively to adult attention and connection

Students who are struggling to connect with peers (or adults) in the school community

Student who struggle with emotion regulation, social awareness, and disruptive behavior

How to Implement the 2x10 Strategy

1. Choose one student whom you would like to strengthen your relationship with.

2. Select when you are going to approach the student (e.g., at the beginning of a class period).

3. Find the student and start a conversation with them. To build a productive relationship with a student, adults will likely have to initiate the connection.

4. The focus of these conversations should be:

Brevity.These conversations should last two minutes or under.

Student Voice.Invite them to share something non-academic with you about their day or life. Here are some great get-to-know-you question prompts.

Honesty.Model transparency and authenticity by sharing something personal/non-academic with the student.

If you use Panorama: You can select the "2x10 relationship building" strategy when creating an intervention plan for a student. Monitor the student's progress over time by logging notes. Everything will be saved to the student's profile and visible to other educators with access to Panorama.

Example of a student intervention plan in Panorama (mock data pictured)

"After implementing 2x10 relationship building in response to Panorama survey data, we had an increase of over 6 percent of students who felt a favorable sense of belonging and connection to adults. That's about 75 to 80 kids. Those students also improved their attendance, academics, overall sense of well-being, and SEL strengths."
-Luke Rasmussen, Executive Director of Secondary Education (Read the full story)

Tips for Effective 2x10 Strategy Implementation

Keep the content of the conversation focused on the student's personal interests, not their schoolwork or behavior. Use an interest inventory to ask questions, or use context clues (e.g., what the student is wearing or likes to talk about in class) to help drive the conversations. Find out what their favorite food is or what their hobbies are. The goal is to get to know the child outside of school in an authentic manner.

Consistency is key. Even if the conversations are shorter than ten minutes, they can be beneficial if they occur every school day. Holding a 30-second conversation for 10 days in a row with a student conveys more care than having just one 30-minute conversation.

Ask open-ended questions, and don't be afraid to probe if students start to open up.

Be a persistent, positive role model.

Keep the momentum going after the 10 days and continue to engage the student on a regular basis.

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. Can the 2x10 Relationship Building intervention be used exclusively for students with behavioral issues, or is it applicable to all students?

While the 2x10 strategy is effective for students experiencing behavioral challenges, it's not limited to them. This intervention can benefit all students by fostering authentic connections and providing additional social-emotional support, regardless of their behavior.

2. Is the 2x10 Relationship Building intervention time-consuming for educators, especially considering their other responsibilities?

The 2x10 strategy is designed to be brief and manageable for educators. Spending just two minutes per day for ten consecutive days can have a significant impact on building relationships with students. Consistency is key, but the intervention doesn't require extensive time commitments.

3. How can educators ensure the effectiveness of the 2x10 Relationship Building intervention in virtual learning environments?

In virtual settings, educators can adapt the 2x10 strategy by scheduling brief one-on-one video calls with students or incorporating personalized check-ins during virtual classroom sessions. Utilizing digital platforms for communication and engagement can help maintain the authenticity and effectiveness of the intervention.

5. Can the 2x10 Relationship Building intervention be integrated with existing school-wide initiatives or SEL programs?

Yes, the 2x10 strategy can complement existing SEL programs and initiatives by providing targeted support to individual students. Educators can incorporate elements of the 2x10 intervention into broader SEL frameworks, fostering a more inclusive and supportive school environment for all students.

Additional Resources on the 2x10 Strategy and Other Behavior Interventions
Download 20 Evidence-Based High School Interventions

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2x10 Relationship Building: How to Do It (and Why It Works!)

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The 2x10 Relationship Building strategy is a Tier 2 behavioral intervention that empowers educators to ritualize a classroom management technique to create a personal connection with students