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Promoting Interactions Among Students 2021

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Para-Bytes: How can I help students when the direction from the teacher is "find a partner or group"?

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Thinkport.org | Leaders in Educational Products

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We offer a collection of pre-formatted graphic organizers that you can integrate into activities and lesson plans or use by themselves.

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© 2023 UCLA Jane & Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior

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Paraprofessionals in Inclusive Classrooms: Increasing Student Learning and Independence

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When feedback originates with students, they can assess their current understanding and see what they need to do to improve.

Cavan Images / Alamy Stock Photo

The trigger for feedback is often when students complete a teacher-assigned task and then receive comments that ask them to make changes. Students typically revise their work for the sake of boosting their grade. Feedback in these cases has limited impact, since the teacher told students what to fix. In Visible Learning: Feedback, John Hattie and Shirley Clarke recognize that feedback is most valuable when it moves from student to teacher. High-impact feedback begins and ends with the student. It also takes off when it builds on student strengths: What are students close to mastering?

Feedback can be hard to receive when someone is telling you what to change. In a TEDx Talk, Sheila Heen explains that feedback can be difficult because we want to be accepted for who we are right now. According to Heen and Douglas Stone, three types of feedback include evaluation, coaching, and appreciation, and focusing on those can help teachers put students in the driver's seat.

Evaluation

Evaluation tells a student where they stand in comparison with grade-level peers typically through a letter grade or score. To put students in charge of evaluation, they should be the first ones to score their work.

For example, in English class, students can use a standards-aligned checklist on writing an effective argument to self-assess. After they get their score, they select an area of interest (and strength) to improve upon-this combination increases student motivation. Next, students use a tool like this SMART Goals Handout to customize a goal based on their self-assessment. The SMART handout asks the student to consider who can help as they work toward their goal. When the student reaches out to the teacher for any support, talk focuses on the goal with the evaluation as evidence. Evaluation feedback in this way moves from student to teacher.

Coaching

The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) establishes what a learner can do independently and what they can do with some support. Through self-evaluation and goal setting, this grows clearer as students try out their goals.

Coaching feedback is a reflective technique within the ZPD. The type of coaching that students need depends on their goals and the roadblocks they face. Many times, students may need coaching that does not directly reflect the content they're learning. For example, the student who wants to improve the clarity of their writing may need coaching in time management strategies, not writing itself. This student knows that their writing is too lengthy in lab reports and leaves the teacher digging for the answer. The teacher might coach the student to put a time limit on their work. Try out answering each question in a lab in no more than 10 minutes.

The use of time limits will reveal roadblocks with which the student can then receive some more help. For example, if they still can't get their point across in a concise way, they should note what happens in that time. They might be rereading without beginning the response. In this case, they need to reflect on their note-taking, reading skills, or activity level during the lab. Allow students to drive the coaching feedback in this way.

A tool to use during coaching is WOOP for Classrooms from the Character Lab. This will help students quickly retool their goal based on feedback.

Appreciation

Appreciation feedback helps students to develop a positive self-narrative. They first need to appreciate themselves. They should learn about the power of yet and the counternarrative. As they evaluate their work and set goals, students should practice adding yet to "can't do" thoughts: "I am not a concise writer... yet." Using the word yet feeds into the counternarrative of reframing the story they tell themselves. The inner voice needs practice in talking up the positives and reframing the negatives.

In Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning, Brown, Roediger, and McDaniel explain how learning something new changes the brain; thus, making mistakes is the pathway to advanced learning. The counternarrative moves from "I failed and am embarrassed" to "I learned something new and am stronger for it."

All Feedback Begins and Ends With the Learner

In Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life, William Burnett and David J. Evans mention a sign that hangs outside the Stanford Life Design Lab that reads, "You are here." It's where we all begin when seeking feedback. Students need to look around and verbalize where they are now and then ask themselves these three big questions posed by John Hattie: Where am I going? How am I getting there? Where next? These questions can be posted above your classroom board or on your digital course page for students to use daily.

Feedback begins and ends with the learner. If you teach students how to use these tools, feedback reframe takes place by having the student sit in the driver's seat-they determine their current location, route, and destination, and where to go next.

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A Way to Increase Students' Independence in Learning

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When feedback originates with students, they can assess their current understanding and see what they need to do to improve. Cavan Images / Alamy Stock Photo The trigger for feedback is often when students complete a teacher-assigned task and then receive comments that ask them to make changes.

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In the quickly evolving workplace and at a time when graduates are competing for jobs and careers with others around the world, the capacity to change rapidly and apply new skills is paramount. Bottom line: Learning how to learn is a game changer in the global knowledge economy, and it's never too early to teach students how to begin to learn more independently.

Cultivating Independent Learners

Inspire student motivation for learning: Motivation to learn is key to success in school, after graduation in the global job market, and for life in a world of constant changes in technology.

Use the power of your relationship with students to show a passion for learning. When you embody passion for learning, your students are more likely to have a powerful, positive emotional connection to learning that will inspire their motivation to continue to learn. With teachers who release their passion for learning, students across all grades are free to learn new ways of learning with motivation and joy. Over time, expect self-motivation rather than compliance.

Guide students to imagine how they will feel when they learn something new. Allow volunteers to describe their feelings after they learned something. When appropriate, ask students to visualize what a finished project will look like.

Encourage students to tell a friend their learning goal and get their support. This allows students to verbalize their goal, which will help them internalize it. Students of all ages are inherently social, and getting support from a peer can be very motivating.

Coach students to set goals and develop a plan for learning: Support students in developing their own learning goals that are realistic yet challenging. Often the most motivating goals are those that allow us to use our personal strengths. Yet students often have goals set for them based on a one-size-fits-all curriculum or on their personal learning deficits-think individualized education program-which can be discouraging.

If you have students who currently lack motivation to learn, consider helping them to develop learning goals based on their personal learning strengths. For example, a personalized goal for some learners might be to design movement breaks for the class. Another student might set a goal to complete his or her appreciation or gratitude journal with photographs or illustrations. For another student, Pinterest offers ideas that might aid them in becoming curious about new topics to learn about. Teachers can support students in becoming aware of their strengths and figuring out how to set personal goals.

Teach students how to best structure their independent learning time. Our brains did not evolve to do several hours of physics without a break. We encourage students to plan a shift in focus after every 20 minutes of independent study. At least every hour or so, they should get up and move. When learning new material, they should utilize different locations. For example, we use an outside patio table, a particularly comfortable chair, an inside office desk, and different local cafes as places to work. Because memory for locations is powerful, using several locations for learning aids memory.

Encourage students to become self-disciplined learners. Support them in making a commitment to themselves to get started on achieving their goals. Assist them in affirming their commitment to organize themselves, manage their focus over time, and limit time-wasting distractions. Help students learn to consistently define themselves as people who commit to and achieve their goals. It will probably be necessary to remind them time and again that along the learning pathway, successful people forgive themselves when they make mistakes and then continue on.

Teach students to self-assess: Ask students to write a letter to a student who will be in the class the next year. Upon completion of a project, unit, or chapter, ask students to summarize what they have learned and tell the future student how they have overcome any learning challenges. This strategy provides an opportunity for student reflection on virtually any topic.

Have students pair up and take turns sharing what they have learned. This activity-we call it "brain buddies"-gives students opportunities to learn from each other. For example, each partner may remember different aspects of a lesson. And they may have different points of view, so when they share, each partner can learn to better understand a variety of perspectives.

As your students practice independent learning, encourage them to notice changes. For example, when we asked students to discuss changes in achievement, one student said, "Now I get assignments turned in on time, and my grades have improved." Another said, "I enjoy school now because I know how to make better grades." Over time, statements like these become a part of students' positive identity for school success.

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Guiding Students to Be Independent Learners

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In the quickly evolving workplace and at a time when graduates are competing for jobs and careers with others around the world, the capacity to change rapidly and apply new skills is paramount. Bottom line: Learning how to learn is a game changer in the global knowledge economy, and it's never too early to teach students how to begin to learn more independently.

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Putting Students in Charge of Their Learning

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Giving students choices and the means to assess their progress fosters metacognition and independence.

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Graphic Organizers & Choice Boards

This collection of ready-to-use graphic organizers will help children classify ideas and communicate more effectively. All of our printable graphic organizers are designed to facilitate understanding of key concepts by allowing students to visually identify key points and ideas. By using graphic organizers across all subject areas, you will be empowering your students to master subject-matter faster and more efficiently. We have graphic organizers for reading, science, writing, math, and for general classroom use. You'll also find blank printable templates like graph paper, dot arrays, and other useful tools.

Popular Graphic Organizer Collections

Self-assessment Graphic Organizers

Growth Mindset Graphic Organizers

Graphic Organizers (PreK-2)

Help students, grades pre-K-2, with their reading comprehension, main idea organization, and more using our graphic organizers.

Graphic Organizers (Grades 3-5)

Help your grade 3-5 students with their organization by using our graphic organizers and reading webs.

Graphic Organizers (Grades 9-12)

These graphic organizers for grades 9-12 will aid students in reading comprehension, writing abilities, and sequencing.

Writing Graphic Organizers

Help students organize their writing with these sequence charts, reading organizers, outlines, webs, and more!

Research Graphic Organizers

Support students to practice and develop essential research skills.

Science Graphic Organizers

Use our venn diagrams, graphic organizer worksheets, and instructions to help your students organize their scientific thought.

Timelines and Sequence Charts

Sequence stories and picture orders with these timeline and sequence charts.

Reading Comprehension

Enhance your student's reading comprehension with these webs, main idea charts, plot summaries and more with our reading comprehension graphic organizers!

Concept Maps and Idea Webs

These concept maps and idea webs will help students organize their thoughts, whether they are history, science, or language arts related.

Math Graphic Organizers

Help your students enhance their math skills and stay on track with these homework checklists, KWL charts, column charts and more.

Galleries

These galleries provide you the best graphic organizers for every occasion. Whether it be writing, science, literature, or animal related, we have a slideshow for it all!

Customizable Graphic Organizers

Use our customizable graphic organizers to tailor each one to the specific lesson of the day.

KWL Charts

Help students organize what they know, what they want to know, and what they have learned with these KWL charts relating to all subjects.

Venn Diagrams

Venn Diagrams are a great way for students to compare and contrast two (or three) concepts. Use our venn diagrams to accompany your lesson for any subject.

Cause and Effect

Each effect has a cause. Help students identify the two in their readings, writing, and more with our cause and effect printable worksheets.

Main Idea and Supporting Details

It is important for students to distinguish main ideas and supporting details in order to comprehend their readings. We have provided printable graphic organizers, such as a stair step organizer, to help students organize the main idea from the supporting details.

Choice Boards

Choice Boards are similar to graphic organizers because they can be downloaded, printed, and given to students. What sets Choice Boards apart is that they provide students with the opportunity for choice. Rather than a graphic organizer that has one assignment, a choice board provides multiple ways that students can explore a topic or skill and demonstrate their learning. Choice boards also help you differentiate your instruction, as you can support students to make a choice that best aligns with their learning needs and learning preferences. Access our library of choice boards below.

Holiday Choice Boards

Math Choice Boards

English Language Arts Choice Boards

Social Studies Choice Boards

Science Choice Boards

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Graphic organizers for teachers grades K-12.

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Helping Student Generalize Strats in Class

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By Amanda Morin

Respectful redirection is a quick, in-the-moment strategy to give corrective feedback to students. You get your students' attention without making a big deal about it, using a calm tone, neutral body language, and clear, concise wording.

You tell students exactly what they're doing incorrectly and what they should be doing instead with as few words as possible, leaving less room for confusion. (If your school uses a PBIS framework, you may hear this strategy called "error correction.")

Watch: See respectful redirection in action

to see how one teacher uses respectful redirection with her whole class.

Read: How to use this strategy

Set expectations. Before you can start using respectful redirection, make sure your students know what is expected of them in your classroom. These expectations should be reasonable, age-appropriate, and culturally responsive. Knowing your students well will help you create expectations that respect cultural differences and life experiences. Share and review the expectations regularly as part of building your class culture.

When a student doesn't follow a classroom expectation, decide in the moment whether you need to intervene. Ask yourself: What is this behavior communicating? Is it getting in the way of the student's learning or the learning of others?

Also, when you're deciding whether to intervene, remember that some students may look off-task when they're doing things that actually keep them on-task. For example, students who are standing up or fidgeting at their desks may look off-task. But for students who have ADHD, movement can be a strategy that helps them concentrate.

If you decide that you need to use a respectful redirection, follow the steps from the example below.

Scenario: Josh is struggling to have his ideas recognized during group work and keeps interrupting another student.

Step to take

What to say

1. Address the issue as quickly as possible. If your redirection will only be for one student, do your best to speak privately.

Walk to Josh and say quietly and calmly, "Josh, I can tell you really want to share your ideas, but you were talking while Laurel was talking."

2. Describe what the student should do instead by referring to your classroom expectations.

Point to a visual of classroom expectations and say, "In this class, we take turns speaking during discussions. Next time you have an idea to share with the group, wait until the person who is speaking stops, and then share your idea."

3. Explain why the alternate behavior is a better option.

"It's easier for people to listen when one person is talking at a time."

4. Ask the student to demonstrate understanding, either by practicing it immediately or by telling you how they will do it in the future.

"Josh, the next time you want to share your idea when someone else is talking, what could you do?"

5. When the student follows your redirection, provide feedback and reinforcement.

"Josh, the way you waited to speak until after Laurel was finished talking allowed everyone in your group to listen and share their ideas. Well done."

Understand: Why respectful redirection works

Respectful redirection isn't just about telling students to focus on what they're supposed to be doing. It's also about how you say it. Research shows that this type of brief, consistent, systematic correction with feedback has a positive effect on student behavior. How you speak to students - the tone you use, the words you choose, and how much you say - affects the way they respond to you.

Students who learn and think differently especially benefit from this strategy. For students with ADHD, research shows that delayed feedback is less likely to result in positive behavior changes. An immediate redirection helps students recognize cause and effect.

As a predictable framework, respectful redirection can be comforting to students, especially those who have experienced trauma. One of the elements of strong trauma-informed teaching is a safe community. Routines and predictability help to build trust, allowing students to feel safe. They know how the process works and their role in it.

When done successfully, respectful redirection can remove the need for further intervention. Talking to students in a positive, calm manner while giving specific feedback gives them a way to get back on task without needing more information.

Respectful redirection can work at home, too. Share behavior contracts families can use to help their kids learn to replace an inappropriate behavior with a more appropriate one.

Adapt: Use for distance learning

Before using this strategy, make sure your students know what you expect of them during distance learning. Share and review those expectations regularly.

Consider what a student's behavior is telling you. Because distance learning brings new challenges, what may look like off-task behavior may actually be on-task for the situation.

When using respectful redirection during live video lessons, plan for how to speak with students privately. For example, you might send a direct message through the chat feature or talk with them after the lesson.

Research behind this strategy

Tell us what interests you

About the author

About the author

Amanda Morin is the director of thought leadership at Understood and author of "The Everything Parent's Guide to Special Education." She worked as a classroom teacher and early intervention specialist for more than a decade.

Reviewed by

Reviewed by

Brittney Newcomer, MS, NCSP is the associate director of thought leadership at Understood. She has served in public schools for more than a decade as a teacher, evaluator, and curriculum manager.

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Respectful redirection is a quick, in-the-moment strategy to give corrective feedback to students. You get your students' attention without making a big deal about it, using a calm tone, neutral body language, and clear, concise wording. You tell students exactly what they're doing incorrectly and what they should be doing instead with as few words as possible, leaving less room for confusion.

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Tips for Paras Supporting Remote Learning

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Tips for Paras Supporting Remote Learning

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Video Tutorial of Behavior Contingency Maps

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Reinforcement System Tutorial for Children with Autism

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Does this sound familiar? You are trying to get your child out the door to school or for an appointment and they can't seem to accomplish the smallest tasks. They are easily distracted and moving as slow as molasses. You give reminder after reminder, but they seem to go in one ear and out the other. It's the same scene every morning. You are becoming more and more agitated until finally, you explode. You feel guilty as your child leaves for school once again feeling deflated.

Your child can't move from one activity to another or one location to another without having a meltdown. You try to remember to give them a "five minute warning", but sometimes there just isn't time. Sometimes, even with the warning, they still don't seem to be able to make the transition.

You find yourself once again dealing with a meltdown.

The teacher calls again. Your child came out of the bathroom at school with their pants down around their ankles. Again. At home, they always forget to flush the toilet or leave the water running after they wash their hands...when they remember to wash their hands at all. You know that your child is doing their best.

You wish you could help them gain more independence.

Why use visual schedules?

Visual schedules carry many benefits, particularly for children who have special needs. Visual schedules:

break down tasks into easy-to-complete steps

simplify

provide structure

create predictability

teach independence

improve focus and attention

help with time management

instill consistency

form healthy habits

reduce cognitive load

maintain daily routines

establish a schedule that works

ease transitions

prevent meltdowns

promote positive choices

decrease problem behaviours

provide helpful reminders

Visual schedules are especially beneficial for children on the autism spectrum, children with FASD, ADHD, sensory issues or SPD, RAD, or other special needs. They can be an invaluable tool. Many parents report that they have been a "game changer" in their household.

I created the Printable Visual Schedule for Special Needs because I couldn't find a visual schedule that included what I was looking for to use with my own kids. I wanted something that parents could use with visual and written prompts that kids could easily understand. It is in both colour and black and white. The black and white cards are great for having kids colour themselves. This gives them another reenforcement and reminder.

How to use visual schedules:

The best way to use visual schedules to benefit your child depends on your child and on what you are hoping to accomplish.

If your child is experiencing a lot of meltdowns during transition times, you will want to start with cards that help them predict upcoming changes throughout their day to help them predict what's coming next.

If your child is struggling to get out the door in the morning, you'll want to start with cementing a morning routine that works for them.

Or if your child is struggling most with breaking things down into smaller tasks, that will be where you want to start.

Create a morning routine chart.

You can do this in many ways. Choose which of the methods below you feel would work best for your child. You can always try multiple methods to find the best fit.

1. Place velcro dots on a poster board and hang the poster in their bedroom. Attach an open envelope to the bottom of the poster. Place velcro dots on the back of the visual schedule cards and place them on the poster in the order your child should complete their morning routine. As they complete the tasks, they can add the card into the envelope.

2. Hole punch the cards that your child needs to complete each morning. Place them on a binder ring and give it to your child as a visual reminder they can carry with them as they complete each step.

3. Affix magnets to the back of the cards. This works best if the cards are laminated. Set up an area on the side of the fridge or on a magnetic white board in the kitchen where your child can see their cues and move them down as they complete each one.

4. Give your child a folder or binder that contains the cards needed for their morning routine. These can be glued down on a page in the binder with the heading "Morning" or you can add velcro dots to the page and to the backs of the cards and glue an envelope to the inside of the binder for easy storage of the cards.

5. Hang a ribbon or string in your child's room. Use clothespins to attach their visual prompts in the order they need to be completed. Provide a small bucket or envelope that your child can put the cards into once they've finished each one.

Create a daily schedule.

1. Make a poster for your child that displays their daily schedule. See the method for making the poster above.

2. Create a visual representation of your child's day on the side of the fridge using magnets on the back of the cards.

3. Make your child a binder separated into Morning, Afternoon and Evening to further simplify things.

4. Another way of creating a daily schedule is by using a pocket chart. You can add the cards needed for that day at the top of the chart in the order they will happen and store the rest of the cards either at the bottom or in a separate envelope that you can staple near the bottom of the pocket chart.

For some children, the chart can be very general, including only the highlights of the day, whereas for others, you will need to break down each thing into smaller tasks.

I don't recommend using binder rings for an entire daily schedule as it can be too overwhelming for a child.

Break down tasks.

Some of the cards break tasks down for kids to enable them to complete them step by step. These cards work well in these ways:

1. Hole punch the cards and attach them to a binder ring. This way, the child can carry it with them. This is particularly good for the bathroom prompts. They can flip through the cards as they complete each step.

2. Use poster putty or teacher's tape to attach cards to the bathroom wall or mirror for the bathroom cards and the step by step instructions for hand washing.

3. Attach the cards to the back of your child's bedroom door or the wall in the entryway for reminders such as putting on their shoes and coat or taking their lunch.

For school and appointments:

1. When I created this visual schedule, I purposely left some of the cards such as those for Speech, Occupational Therapist, Therapist, etc. without an image. This was so that the child or parents could add a picture of the building or actual therapist to the card. For some children, especially those with autism, it helps to have things as concrete and specific as possible. Seeing the actual building or person they have an appointment with helps create security and aids in the transition.

2. Children can use the pocket chart, binder, or binder ring method to use their visual schedule as their prompts while at school.

For a short time only, the Visual Schedule for Special Needs is included in the Sensory Essentials Collection which included many other resources for helping kids thrive.

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How to Use Visual Schedules with Your Special Needs Child

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Learn how to use visual schedules to ease transitions, reduce meltdowns, create independence in daily life, and make mornings more peaceful.

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System of Least Prompts  (SLP) with a Token Board

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Peer supports are one of the most effective ways to help students with disabilities reach their potential and ensure that their academic and social needs are met. Whether you're implementing a formal peer buddy program or more informal student-to-student partnerships, peer supports don't have to require a huge time investment-but before you begin, the young people participating will need some preparation and guidance. Today's post gives you 10 tips on getting students ready to help, so they can provide the most effective, appropriate supports to their peers with disabilities.

TIPS FROM: Peer Support Strategies for Improving All Students' Social Lives and Learning, by Erik Carter, Lisa Cushing, & Craig Kennedy

Don't Underestimate Young People

"Adolescents are often capable of much more than adults give them credit for. The current generation of students has grown up attending inclusive schools and classrooms, they are experienced at working collaboratively with others, they are savvy with new technologies and educational innovations, and they recognize their potential role in increasing the participation of their peers with disabilities in everyday school life. In other words, peers often have a good understanding of why inclusion is important and how they can help support it."

"Although students will need some initial orientation to their new roles at the start of the semester and an introduction to basic support strategies, educators can be flexible with how training is provided... Students do not have to learn everything at the outset. Training can often be delivered informally through sharing additional strategies as new needs emerge; modeling appropriate interactions when necessary; or periodically meeting briefly with students before or after class, at lunch, or during down time in class."

Align Training with Students' Needs

"Peers are able to provide a rich and diverse array of supports to their classmates with disabilities [see the examples at the end of this post]. Peer support arrangements, however, are individually tailored interventions designed to help address just some of the educational and social support needs of students with severe disabilities in inclusive classrooms. Because support needs vary from student to student and class to class, peers do not need to be taught to provide every conceivable form of support. Rather, they only need to be shown the specific strategies they will need to support a specific classmate."

Anticipate Potential Challenges and Concerns

"Consider from the outset some of the early questions and concerns students might have [and] make certain that the questions are addressed during orientation activities. Some of the common questions we hear raised by peer supports in our work with schools are as follows:

What do I do if my partner has behavioral challenges? Is it my role to address these issues?

What if my partner decides he or she just does not want to work during a particular class?

Am I responsible for making sure that he or she keeps up with the rest of the class?

What do I do if I find myself falling behind in my own work? What if I ever feel overwhelmed or unable to keep up?

What if my partner and I find we do not get along as well as we thought we would?

Who do I go to if I have questions, need help, or have something I would like to share?

Talk through these or other questions students might have, and brainstorm possible responses before any potential challenges might emerge."

Model Desired Behaviors

"What attitudes and behaviors do you want peers to adopt? They will learn from watching adults, so it is important to be very aware of how you and your colleagues interact and work with students with disabilities. When adults encourage independence, offer choices, and promote self-determination, peers are likely to mirror these actions. When adults use age-appropriate language, model respectful interactions, and hold high expectations, anticipate that peers will do the same."

TIPS FROM: Peer Buddy Programs for Successful Secondary School Inclusion, by Carolyn Hughes & Erik Carter

"As a group, teachers and paraprofessionals in a school must meet to discuss and come to consensus regarding roles, responsibilities, and expectations for peer buddies in their particular school. Expectations and roles will vary from school to school, which is why staff should strive to develop their own expectations. For example, in some schools, peer buddies will be expected to accompany their classmates with disabilities to work-study jobs. In other schools, peer buddies will focus more on adapting academic assignments and teaching study skills."

Clarify Supervisory Roles

"It is important to determine which staff members will be responsible for the day-to-day supervision of peer buddies. For example, in a geography class, peer buddies could be told to go to the general education teacher for academic-related questions but to ask the special education teacher when they have questions about the social behavior of the student with whom they are working. Supervisory roles will differ across schools and even within school settings."

Maintain Communication

"A contact person should be established for peer buddies in case students need to ask questions or report challenges. This point of contact could be the classroom teacher, club sponsor, lunchroom monitor, special educator, job coach, paraprofessionals, or school counselor. A communication system also must be established for reporting emergencies, such as seizures or accidents."

Ask Students to Journal about Their Experiences

"We recommend having peer buddies complete daily or weekly reflective journals to record and think about the activities in which they have engaged and interactions they have shared...Such writing prompts students to think about, process, and learn from their experiences as well as improve their skills as a peer buddy. Students' entries provide teachers with insight into both the successes and challenges that peer buddies are experiencing."

Give Students Ideas for Specific, Real-World Supports

Here's a list of 28 small but powerful things peers can do to help students with disabilities inside and outside the classroom:

For more guidance on peer supports, explore the two books quoted in today's post:

Peer Support Strategies for Improving All Students' Social Lives and Learning, by Erik Carter, Lisa Cushing, & Craig Kennedy

Peer Buddy Programs for Successful Secondary School Inclusion, by Carolyn Hughes & Erik Carter

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10 Practical Principles for Peer Supports: Getting Students Ready to Help

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Peer supports are one of the most effective ways to help students with disabilities reach their potential and ensure that their academic and social needs are met. Whether you're implementing a formal peer buddy program or more informal student-to-student partnerships, peer supports don't have to require a huge time investment-but before you begin, the young people participating will need some preparation and guidance.

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5 Peer Support Approaches That Work! - Brookes Blog

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In inclusive classrooms, peer supports are a great way to help meet the needs of all learners. While they can’t take the place of individualized supports delivered by teachers and other members of a student’s school team, they’re an important supplemental strategy to keep in your inclusion toolbox.…

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Teaching Assistants Supporting Students in Special Education Programs