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It is a program or set of steps that schools and educators use to help students improve in the area that they are having trouble with.

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Interventions apply to students that are struggling in a specific area.

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- Tutoring such as one on one or a small group that can help a student or students in a particular subject.

- Behavioral Support Plans. Which can address certain issues and modify disruptive behavior in classrooms, which also include positive enforcement.

- Assistive technology. Like e-readers, audio books, and software that can help teacher learning disabilities.

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More Information: Effective Interventions in Education

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More Information: Effective Interventions in Education

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This website includes many ways that you can have interventions. It breaks down certain ways for an intervention to happen while also giving you guidelines on how to approach the situation.

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'Intervention'. If you work in a school, you're likely to hear the term used innumerable times a day. Now an intrinsic part of school life, interventions in education allow teachers and teaching assistants to address any gaps in a child's progress or attainment. Once a need has been identified, effective interventions can then be used to overcome any barriers in the child's learning.

In this article, we'll overview the main types of interventions in education. We'll then look at a range of strategies and practical examples that you can use when planning effective interventions for your students.

What are Interventions in Education?

In educational settings, interventions are often used to describe a focused teaching session, which is a deviation away from existing teaching practice. Interventions in schools can be one-to-one, or delivered as a group. The aims of the programme will have been carefully created by a teacher or teaching assistant based on a key area of need. For example, inference in reading, or units of time in maths. Interventions should be delivered alongside Quality First Teaching, and are often used to support children with SEND.

Many issues children face in their learning are inter-connected. It might be that a child is displaying concerning behaviour, and is falling behind academically, so each intervention needs to address each individual's specific areas of need.

As a result, some interventions are targeted, and are put in place to address a certain weakness. These interventions are likely to be more formally monitored in order to track the child's progress, whereas other interventions are more flexible, and adjust according to the changing needs of the student.

Some interventions can be costly and time-consuming. In order to be effective, there needs to be a demonstrable impact, so structuring interventions requires strategic thinking.

Types of Intervention in Schools

There are many different types of interventions in schools. Let's take a look at the most commonly used intervention strategies:

Behavioural Interventions

Collaborative Interventions

One-to-One Interventions

Classroom-Based Interventions

Social, Emotional and Wellbeing Interventions

Peer Tutoring

Metacognition and Self-Regulation

Homework

Why are Effective Interventions Important in Schools?

Interventions can be an incredibly beneficial aspect of school life.

Using a structured intervention, teachers can swiftly close progress or attainment gaps in a key area. They can also see the demonstrable impact of their practice, and share it with the child and their parents or carers.

Challenging behaviour in the classroom is one of the greatest barriers to learning. But behavioural interventions can help to address low-level behaviour, and, as a result, build relationships in the classroom, therefore improving the teaching and learning experience for the teacher and pupils.

When pupils fall behind their peers, they can begin to lose confidence. Implementing interventions can help to build a child's self-worth, as well as their academic understanding. Equally, interventions often take place in a nurturing, safe environment, which can positively contribute to students' overall wellbeing.

How Might Teachers Plan Effective Interventions?

In order to plan an effective and impactful intervention, you must first identify what it is you wish to achieve. The outcome you decide upon should ideally be monitorable, so that you can demonstrate the impact of the programme. At this stage, it may also be worth discussing any previous interventions you've used in order to unpick their success rates. If we prioritise interventions within the teaching and learning policy, then they're more likely to have a sustainable impact.

Work with a colleague to consider:

What will we be doing?

Why are we doing it?

How will we implement the intervention?

Will we be able to monitor the process, and if so, how?

And to what aim?

Once you have selected the child or children for the intervention, next look holistically at the provision in your school. What can you realistically offer? Who will deliver the session? Where? At what point in the day?

When you've addressed any logistical barriers, strategic planning will then be needed to address any challenges you may face. For example, staff may need to increase their knowledge and understanding prior to delivering a particular intervention. Keeping staff motivated and enthused will be crucial in the programme's success. Additionally, a potential challenge may be that children are involved in too many interventions, which may simply lead to students feeling overwhelmed, negating any form of progress.

Before you begin the programme of intervention, remember to organise a baseline assessment, so staff can effectively monitor the child's outcomes.

Throughout the sessions, consider how any members of staff involved will feedback on progress and target setting. And finally, when it comes to assessing outcomes, ensure you have collected tangible evidence of the intervention's impact. This could be an increased reading age, or a journal created by the child, reflecting their increased understanding of strategies they can use to improve their wellbeing.

If the intervention was a success, try to make time as a team to discuss why. Share the practice with the rest of the school, and consider whether the programme could be rolled out across other year groups.

This handy guide from the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) allows you to compare which interventions are most impactful, based on evidence strength, impact and cost.

Examples of Classroom Intervention Strategies

Interventions in the classroom may take many different forms.

It might be that a group of children are struggling with a particular concept. The teaching assistant might then work with those particular children to spend time consolidating their knowledge of shape before they move further into the topic.

Equally, a collaborative intervention might take place in class to deepen and strengthen students' knowledge and understanding of a poet's techniques and language use.

A teacher's ability to identify early areas of need within the classroom can prevent any learning issues from becoming bigger barriers to education.

How to Create a Successful Intervention: Top Tips

1. Make it fun

Particularly important when working with Primary aged students, it is vital to grab their attention and make the learning experience memorable. You might consider getting outside and using the natural environment to practise symmetry, or use drama to analyse characters in fiction. For secondary aged students, it's also important to make it engaging, and be sure to make the purpose of the intervention clear to them, so that they can really see how it will benefit them.

In order for the students to make links between key concepts and subject areas, try and link the content to wider class learning. Consider liaising frequently with the class teacher to ensure that the content aligns with the learning objectives which are being covered with the rest of the class and try to use similar case studies or examples to those which they plan to teach.

3. Timing is key

With regard to neurodiversity, a student with ADHD, for example, may resent being taken out of a creative subject they love and excel in, in order to make progress in a subject they find challenging.

4. Personalise the sessions

Every student is unique. They all have differing areas of need, and different skills and talents. As a result, when planning an intervention, try and tap into what it is that will really spark their interest and keep them motivated.

5. Consider staff wellbeing

It is vital that staff feel supported in delivering their interventions, so check in with them frequently and show an interest in the progress they are making. They must be offered adequate training for the role, and they must be given enough time to effectively plan their sessions. The interventions should also be carefully planned into their timetables so that they are balanced and manageable, for example, staff may find a full day of back to back interventions quite overwhelming so if it is possible, try to space them out.

6. Play to your strengths

Use staff in a strategic manner by playing to their areas of strength. As a team, work out where your skills and interests would be best placed when matching staff to both subject areas and individual students. It may be that a teaching assistant has a degree in a certain subject, and would feel particularly comfortable delivering interventions in that area, so make the most of those situations!
Creating an intervention in school can seem challenging. But if the programme is created in a structured and strategic manner, the chances of it being successful are much higher. Yes, interventions involve budgets, monitoring, and data, but at the heart of every programme is the child. Effective interventions help today's young people navigate whatever challenges they may face, and your role can be crucial in helping them to reach smoother seas.
Further Resources:

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Effective Interventions in Education: Types and Examples

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Interventions in education help to address any gaps in a child's progress or attainment. We look at a range of strategies and practical examples here.

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Some HLP's can include explicit instructions on an assignment, and positive reinforcement and corrective feedback. These are perfect HLP's because they can have lots of impact on how a student performs and it can be applied across all grades and subjects.

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Developed by the Council for Exceptional Children and the CEEDAR Center, high-leverage practices are 22 essential special education techniques that all teachers of students with disabilities should master for use across a variety of classroom contexts. Six of these practices are referred to as pillar practices-those most essential for educators to implement; and the remaining[.....]

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Differentiation is when you tailor to the instruction to meet the needs of a specific learner. You modify the curriculum, or come up with other strategies, methods/resources to create a learning environment where all students can learn.

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It applies to all students in the classroom to create an inclusive environment.

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Provided different reading materials to the students based on their reading levels.

Having students choose how they want to learn in specific ways like hands on or reading assignments.

Having students write essays or create videos for a certain lesson.

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More Information: Examples on how to use it in the classroom.

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More Information: Examples on how to use it in the classroom.

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This website provides detail on how to effectively use differentiated instruction in the classroom. It breaks down how and why and what you may need for certain students.

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Just as everyone has a unique fingerprint, every student has an individual learning style. Chances are, not all of your students grasp a subject in the same way or share the same level of ability. So how can you better deliver your lessons to reach everyone in class? Consider differentiated instruction-a method you may have heard about but haven't explored, which is why you're here. In this article, learn exactly what it means, how it works, and the pros and cons.

Definition of differentiated instruction

Carol Ann Tomlinson is a leader in the area of differentiated learning and professor of educational leadership, foundations, and policy at the University of Virginia. Tomlinson describes differentiated instruction as factoring students' individual learning styles and levels of readiness first before designing a lesson plan. Research on the effectiveness of differentiation shows this method benefits a wide range of students, from those with learning disabilities to those who are considered high ability.

Differentiating instruction may mean teaching the same material to all students using a variety of instructional strategies, or it may require the teacher to deliver lessons at varying levels of difficulty based on the ability of each student.

Teachers who practice differentiation in the classroom may:

Design lessons based on students' learning styles.

Group students by shared interest, topic, or ability for assignments.

Assess students' learning using formative assessment.

Manage the classroom to create a safe and supportive environment.

Continually assess and adjust lesson content to meet students' needs.

History of differentiated instruction

The roots of differentiated instruction go all the way back to the days of the one-room schoolhouse, where one teacher had students of all ages in one classroom. As the educational system transitioned to grading schools, it was assumed that children of the same age learned similarly. However in 1912, achievement tests were introduced, and the scores revealed the gaps in student's abilities within grade levels.

In 1975, Congress passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), ensuring that children with disabilities had equal access to public education. To reach this student population, many educators used differentiated instruction strategies. Then came the passage of No Child Left Behind in 2000, which further encouraged differentiated and skill-based instruction-and that's because it works. Research by educator Leslie Owen Wilson supports differentiating instruction within the classroom, finding that lecture is the least effective instructional strategy, with only 5 to 10 percent retention after 24 hours. Engaging in a discussion, practicing after exposure to content, and teaching others are much more effective ways to ensure learning retention.

Four ways to differentiate instruction

According to Tomlinson, teachers can differentiate instruction through four ways: 1) content, 2) process, 3) product, and 4) learning environment.

1. Content

As you already know, fundamental lesson content should cover the standards of learning set by the school district or state educational standards. But some students in your class may be completely unfamiliar with the concepts in a lesson, some students may have partial mastery, and some students may already be familiar with the content before the lesson begins.

What you could do is differentiate the content by designing activities for groups of students that cover various levels of Bloom's Taxonomy (a classification of levels of intellectual behavior going from lower-order thinking skills to higher-order thinking skills). The six levels are: remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating.

Students who are unfamiliar with a lesson could be required to complete tasks on the lower levels: remembering and understanding. Students with some mastery could be asked to apply and analyze the content, and students who have high levels of mastery could be asked to complete tasks in the areas of evaluating and creating.

Examples of differentiating activities:

Match vocabulary words to definitions.

Read a passage of text and answer related questions.

Think of a situation that happened to a character in the story and a different outcome.

Differentiate fact from opinion in the story.

Identify an author's position and provide evidence to support this viewpoint.

Create a PowerPoint presentation summarizing the lesson.

2. Process

Each student has a preferred learning style, and successful differentiation includes delivering the material to each style: visual, auditory and kinesthetic, and through words. This process-related method also addresses the fact that not all students require the same amount of support from the teacher, and students could choose to work in pairs, small groups, or individually. And while some students may benefit from one-on-one interaction with you or the classroom aide, others may be able to progress by themselves. Teachers can enhance student learning by offering support based on individual needs.

Examples of differentiating the process:

Provide textbooks for visual and word learners.

Allow auditory learners to listen to audio books.

Give kinesthetic learners the opportunity to complete an interactive assignment online.

3. Product

The product is what the student creates at the end of the lesson to demonstrate the mastery of the content. This can be in the form of tests, projects, reports, or other activities. You could assign students to complete activities that show mastery of an educational concept in a way the student prefers, based on learning style.

Examples of differentiating the end product:

Read and write learners write a book report.

Visual learners create a graphic organizer of the story.

Auditory learners give an oral report.

Kinesthetic learners build a diorama illustrating the story.

4. Learning environment

The conditions for optimal learning include both physical and psychological elements. A flexible classroom layout is key, incorporating various types of furniture and arrangements to support both individual and group work. Psychologically speaking, teachers should use classroom management techniques that support a safe and supportive learning environment.

Examples of differentiating the environment:

Break some students into reading groups to discuss the assignment.

Allow students to read individually if preferred.

Create quiet spaces where there are no distractions.

Pros and cons of differentiated instruction

The benefits of differentiation in the classroom are often accompanied by the drawback of an ever-increasing workload. Here are a few factors to keep in mind:

Pros

Research shows differentiated instruction is effective for high-ability students as well as students with mild to severe disabilities.

When students are given more options on how they can learn material, they take on more responsibility for their own learning.

Students appear to be more engaged in learning, and there are reportedly fewer discipline problems in classrooms where teachers provide differentiated lessons.

Cons

Differentiated instruction requires more work during lesson planning, and many teachers struggle to find the extra time in their schedule.

The learning curve can be steep and some schools lack professional development resources.

Critics argue there isn't enough research to support the benefits of differentiated instruction outweighing the added prep time.

Differentiated instruction strategies

What differentiated instructional strategies can you use in your classroom? There are a set of methods that can be tailored and used across the different subjects. According to Kathy Perez (2019) and the Access Center those strategies are tiered assignments, choice boards, compacting, interest centers/groups, flexible grouping, and learning contracts. Tiered assignments are designed to teach the same skill but have the students create a different product to display their knowledge based on their comprehension skills. Choice boards allow students to choose what activity they would like to work on for a skill that the teacher chooses. On the board are usually options for the different learning styles; kinesthetic, visual, auditory, and tactile. Compacting allows the teacher to help students reach the next level in their learning when they have already mastered what is being taught to the class. To compact the teacher assesses the student's level of knowledge, creates a plan for what they need to learn, excuses them from studying what they already know, and creates free time for them to practice an accelerated skill.

Interest centers or groups are a way to provide autonomy in student learning. Flexible grouping allows the groups to be more fluid based on the activity or topic. Finally, learning contracts are made between a student and teacher, laying out the teacher's expectations for the necessary skills to be demonstrated and the assignments required components with the student putting down the methods they would like to use to complete the assignment. These contracts can allow students to use their preferred learning style, work at an ideal pace and encourages independence and planning skills. The following are strategies for some of the core subject based on these methods.

Differentiated instruction strategies for math

Provide students with a choice board. They could have the options to learn about probability by playing a game with a peer, watching a video, reading the textbook, or working out problems on a worksheet.

Teach mini lessons to individuals or groups of students who didn't grasp the concept you were teaching during the large group lesson. This also lends time for compacting activities for those who have mastered the subject.

Use manipulatives, especially with students that have more difficulty grasping a concept.

Have students that have already mastered the subject matter create notes for students that are still learning.

For students that have mastered the lesson being taught, require them to give in-depth, step-by-step explanation of their solution process, while not being rigid about the process with students who are still learning the basics of a concept if they arrive at the correct answer.

Differentiated instruction strategies for science

Emma McCrea (2019) suggests setting up "Help Stations," where peers assist each other. Those that have more knowledge of the subject will be able to teach those that are struggling as an extension activity and those that are struggling will receive.

Set up a "question and answer" session during which learners can ask the teacher or their peers questions, in order to fill in knowledge gaps before attempting the experiment.

Create a visual word wall. Use pictures and corresponding labels to help students remember terms.

Set up interest centers. When learning about dinosaurs you might have an "excavation" center, a reading center, a dinosaur art project that focuses on their anatomy, and a video center.

Provide content learning in various formats such as showing a video about dinosaurs, handing out a worksheet with pictures of dinosaurs and labels, and providing a fill-in-the-blank work sheet with interesting dinosaur facts.

Differentiated instruction strategies for ELL

ASCD (2012) writes that all teachers need to become language teachers so that the content they are teaching the classroom can be conveyed to the students whose first language is not English.

Start by providing the information in the language that the student speaks then pairing it with a limited amount of the corresponding vocabulary in English.

Although ELL need a limited amount of new vocabulary to memorize, they need to be exposed to as much of the English language as possible. This means that when teaching, the teacher needs to focus on verbs and adjectives related to the topic as well.

Group work is important. This way they are exposed to more of the language. They should, however, be grouped with other ELL if possible as well as given tasks within the group that are within their reach such as drawing or researching.

Differentiated instruction strategies for reading

Tiered assignments can be used in reading to allow the students to show what they have learned at a level that suites them. One student might create a visual story board while another student might write a book report.

Reading groups can pick a book based on interest or be assigned based on reading level

Erin Lynch (2020) suggest that teachers scaffold instruction by giving clear explicit explanations with visuals. Verbally and visually explain the topic. Use anchor charts, drawings, diagrams, and reference guides to foster a clearer understanding. If applicable, provide a video clip for students to watch.

Utilize flexible grouping. Students might be in one group for phonics based on their assessed level but choose to be in another group for reading because they are more interested in that book.

Differentiated instruction strategies for writing

Hold writing conferences with your students either individually or in small groups. Talk with them throughout the writing process starting with their topic and moving through grammar, composition, and editing.

Allow students to choose their writing topics. When the topic is of interest, they will likely put more effort into the assignment and therefore learn more.

Keep track of and assess student's writing progress continually throughout the year. You can do this using a journal or a checklist. This will allow you to give individualized instruction.

Hand out graphic organizers to help students outline their writing. Try fill-in-the-blank notes that guide the students through each step of the writing process for those who need additional assistance.

For primary grades give out lined paper instead of a journal. You can also give out differing amounts of lines based on ability level. For those who are excelling at writing give them more lines or pages to encourage them to write more. For those that are still in the beginning stages of writing, give them less lines so that they do not feel overwhelmed.

Differentiated instruction strategies for special education

Use a multi-sensory approach. Get all five senses involved in your lessons, including taste and smell!

Use flexible grouping to create partnerships and teach students how to work collaboratively on tasks. Create partnerships where the students are of equal ability, partnerships where once the student will be challenged by their partner and another time they will be pushing and challenging their partner.

Assistive technology is often an important component of differential instruction in special education. Provide the students that need them with screen readers, personal tablets for communication, and voice recognition software.

The article Differentiation & LR Information for SAS Teachers suggests teachers be flexible when giving assessments "Posters, models, performances, and drawings can show what they have learned in a way that reflects their personal strengths". You can test for knowledge using rubrics instead of multiple-choice questions, or even build a portfolio of student work. You could also have them answer questions orally.

Utilize explicit modeling. Whether its notetaking, problem solving in math, or making a sandwich in home living, special needs students often require a step-by-step guide to make connections.

References and resources

Books & Videos about differentiated instruction by Carol Ann Tomlinson and others

The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners, 2nd Edition

Leading and Managing a Differentiated Classroom - Carol Ann Tomlinson and Marcia B. Imbeau

The Differentiated School: Making Revolutionary Changes in Teaching and Learning - Carol Ann Tomlinson, Kay Brimijoin, and Lane Narvaez

Integrating Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design: Connecting Content and Kids - Carol Ann Tomlinson and Jay McTighe

Differentiation in Practice Grades K-5: A Resource Guide for Differentiating Curriculum - Carol Ann Tomlinson and Caroline Cunningham Eidson

Differentiation in Practice Grades 5-9: A Resource Guide for Differentiating Curriculum - Carol Ann Tomlinson and Caroline Cunningham Eidson

Differentiation in Practice Grades 9-12: A Resource Guide for Differentiating Curriculum - Carol Ann Tomlinson and Cindy A. Strickland

Fulfilling the Promise of the Differentiated Classroom: Strategies and Tools for Responsive Teaching - Carol Ann Tomlinson

Leadership for Differentiating Schools and Classrooms - Carol Ann Tomlinson and Susan Demirsky Allan

How to Differentiate Instruction in Academically Diverse Classrooms, 3rd Edition by Carol Ann Tomlinson

Assessment and Student Success in a Differentiated Classroom by Carol Ann Tomlinson and Tonya R. Moon

How To Differentiate Instruction In Mixed Ability Classrooms 2nd Edition - Carol Ann Tomlinson

How to Differentiate Instruction in Academically Diverse Classrooms 3rd Edition by Carol Ann Tomlinson

Assessment and Student Success in a Differentiated Classroom Paperback - Carol Ann Tomlinson, Tonya R. Moon

Leading and Managing a Differentiated Classroom (Professional Development) 1st Edition - Carol Ann Tomlinson, Marcia B. Imbeau

The Differentiated School: Making Revolutionary Changes in Teaching and Learning 1st Edition by Carol Ann Tomlinson, Kay Brimijoin, Lane Narvaez

Differentiation and the Brain: How Neuroscience Supports the Learner-Friendly Classroom - David A. Sousa, Carol Ann Tomlinson

Leading for Differentiation: Growing Teachers Who Grow Kids - Carol Ann Tomlinson, Michael Murphy

An Educator's Guide to Differentiating Instruction. 10th Edition - Carol Ann Tomlinson, James M. Cooper

A Differentiated Approach to the Common Core: How do I help a broad range of learners succeed with a challenging curriculum? - Carol Ann Tomlinson, Marcia B. Imbeau

Managing a Differentiated Classroom: A Practical Guide - Carol Tomlinson, Marcia Imbeau

Differentiating Instruction for Mixed-Ability Classrooms: An ASCD Professional Inquiry Kit Pck Edition - Carol Ann Tomlinson

Using Differentiated Classroom Assessment to Enhance Student Learning (Student Assessment for Educators) 1st Edition - Tonya R. Moon, Catherine M. Brighton, Carol A. Tomlinson

The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners 1st Edition - Carol Ann Tomlinson

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Differentiated Instruction: Examples & Classroom Strategies | Resilient Educator

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Differentiated instruction benefits a wide range of students, from those with learning disabilities to those who are considered high ability. Read about classroom tips and strategies for implementation.

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Evidence Based Practices for Differentiation

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Evidence Based Practices for Differentiation

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You can use what is called 'Flexible Grouping', which is when your put students into groups based on learning needs, interests or levels of reading and try to have each other help each. This is a great way to see students grow from their peers.

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Accommodations are changes that are made to how the student accesses and demonstrates learning without actually changing the learning itself.

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They mostly apply to students with learning disabilities or have specific learning needs.

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Extended Time on lessons or assignments in the class

Placing a student in the front of the class or near a place that benefits their learning ability.

Providing the student with technology like audio books if needed.

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More Information: Common Accommodations in the classroom

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More Information: Common Accommodations in the classroom

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This website talks about common examples of accommodations that you can achieve in a classroom if needed. It goes into detail about timing accommodations, setting, response and so on.

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Common accommodations and modifications in school

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Refer to this checklist of common modifications and accommodations to get to know options for struggling students.

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Evidence Based Practices for Accommodations

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Evidence Based Practices for Accommodations

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Assistive Technology is a major accommodation that teachers can use in the classroom for students who have learning disabilities like dyslexia. There is a wide range of tools like text to speech, screen readers, voice recognition, etc.... that are capable of helping students learn.

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Students with disabilities, from deafness and blindness to ADHD, have the legal right to a free and appropriate K-12 education in the United States, as well as reasonable accommodations in their post-secondary education. Schools often meet these requirements with assistive technology, which, according to Cynthia Curry, refers to technology "intended to support the function of the individual."

Curry is the director of the National Center on Accessible Educational Materials and the Center on Inclusive Technology & Education Systems.

Popular assistive technologies for blind students, for instance, include refreshable Braille displays and screen readers, which "read aloud all the content on the screen, as well as buttons, links, menus [and] images, if the images have alternative text on them," she said.

What Is Assistive Technology?

Assistive technology (AT) is the use of devices and software to improve the experience of learning or going about daily life. AT can range from Braille displays and books to text-to-speech software or wheelchairs. The beauty of assistive technology is that it can be anything that improves life and learning. To qualify as assistive, though, a technology has to meet the individual user's needs. In other words, it's inherently personal.

Curry's interest in assistive technology in the classroom is personal too. It started during her days as a middle- and high-school science teacher. Although she was well-versed in the subject due to her previous work as an engineer, Curry was bowled over by the variety of learners in her classroom.

Assistive Technology Definition

"I really had difficulty with learner variability," she said. "Particularly [with] students who didn't think like I thought. I was working about 16 hours a day trying to make up for my lack of education and training, creating my own materials, and trying to work individually with students."

Curry's students came from different cultures and spoke different languages. They had different class backgrounds. They also had various levels of physical and cognitive ability.

Supporting kids with disabilities felt essential to Curry, whose sister has disabilities. Legislation like the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, had made that support mandatory, but it also felt more "straightforward" than "trying to accommodate student variability in language or race or ethnicity, or even gender."

In other words, equal access for disabled students has a practical component. It can be engineered into existence, in part, with assistive technology.

All Technology is Assistive

Some critics argue that it's silly to categorize some technology as "assistive" and other technology as simply "technology." All technology assists its users, whether we classify them as "disabled" or not. As Sara Hendren wrote in Wired:

"Honestly - what technology are you using that's not assistive? Your smartphone? Your eyeglasses? Headphones? And those three examples alone are assisting you in multiple registers: They're enabling or augmenting a sensory experience, say, or providing navigational information. But they're also allowing you to decide whether to be available for approach in public, or not; to check out or in on a conversation or meeting in a bunch of subtle ways; to identify, by your choice of brand or look, with one culture group and not another... [A]re you sure your phone isn't a crutch, as it were, for a whole lot of unexamined needs?"

Not only is mainstream technology assistive, technology designed for those with legally protected disabilities often helps those without them. Or, more generally, improving accessibility for one group improves accessibility for all, in ways we can't always predict. That's the foundational principle of Universal Design.

One famous example are curb cuts, the ramp-like dips in sidewalks. Originally designed for people in wheelchairs, they turned out to benefit parents with strollers, rollerbladers and a host of other users.

Universal Design for Learning, or UDL, shifts Universal Design's ideas into the classroom. "It's based on research on how humans learn," Curry said. The UDL philosophy goes that lessons designed with accessibility in mind often- "though not always" -work best for everyone, accommodating varied learning styles.

According to a framework first laid out in the 1990s, UDL lessons should represent information in multiple ways. That can be simple enough - think closed caption videos, which make dialogue comprehension easier for the hard of hearing, English language learners and anyone who's absorbing unfamiliar vocabulary. Evaluation should also let students demonstrate what they know in various ways - in an audio recording, for example, or in writing.

Lessons designed to meet UDL specifications often incorporate, or integrate easily with, assistive technology. Let's take a look at some examples of assistive technology and the companies behind it.

Here are 10 tools changing the way assistive technology in the classroom is being used.

Related Reading Inclusive Design Takes Many, Many Forms

Examples of Assistive Technology in the Classroom

Speechify

Speechify is a text-to-speech software that captures text and translates it into audio format. This is particularly useful for textbooks, PDF reading assignments and more. The software is compatible with the Chrome browser as well as iPhones, Macs and Androids. Speechify is commonly used by learners and students with ADHD and dyslexia.

Kurzweil 3000

Kurzweil Education's Kurzweil 3000 is a literacy support system for Macs and various browsers, which comes equipped with a variety of assistive technologies. The speech-to-text and text-to-speech functions, which work in 18 languages, help students with vision impairments and ADHD, among other conditions. Meanwhile, a font designed for dyslexic readers, called OpenDyslexic, alleviates letter confusion with its bottom-heavy characters.

Google Classroom

Google Classroom has become popular with the surge of online learning and it also offers a host of tools for executive function and speech-to-text capabilities that improve accessibility and learning. The platform is compatible with Kurzweil 3000 as well as Hāpara Student Dashboard, which helps students organize their tools in one streamlined place. In the upcoming editions of Classroom, Google plans to deploy features like video tutorials, guided lessons and automated hints.

TactPlus

The TactPlus is a Braille printer. Often used by educational institutions, the portable printer precision-heats a specialty foamed paper to create a page of Braille (or other 3D images) in one to two minutes. The printer is also outfitted with audio instructions, to aid visually impaired users.

Seeing AI

The Seeing AI app from Microsoft is designed for the low-vision community and offers audio guidance in a vast array of situations. It reads text aloud as soon as it appears in a smartphone's camera viewfinder. It also identifies products by barcode when shopping and describes surrounding scenery and its colors. Over time, it learns to recognize the user's friends and describe their facial expressions.

More on Edtech Big Data in Education: 10 Companies Delivering Insights to the Classroom

Clicker

Clicker from Crick Software is a writing and reading platform that's outfitted with a whole suite of assistive features. Its mapping feature, for instance, lets elementary-age students create webs of words and emoji-like pictograms, or diagram entire projects. That helps visual learners tackle reading and writing projects.

Co:Writer

Co:Writer, a tool created by Don Johnston Learning Tools, can transcribe speech and predict intended words and phrases - a boon to students with a wide variety of special needs. Produced in partnership with Google for Education, Co:Writer's built-in prediction engine grasps the fundamentals of grammar and free association, unearthing writers' meaning even when they misspell words and conjugate verbs incorrectly.

Dragon

Dragon is a smart speech recognition software. Though it's marketed as a business productivity tool, it's also a widely used accessibility technology for students with disabilities that make mouse use and typing difficult. Equipped with deep learning capabilities, the software can transcribe natural speech at speeds of up to 160 words per minute.

MathTalk

MathTalk is a speech recognition software designed for students with ADHD and physical disabilities that preclude keyboard use. An add-on to Dragon, this software comprehends technical vocabulary and transcribes in mathematical notation appropriate for trigonometry, algebra, calculus and even PhD-level courses.

Tobii Technology

Tobii offers eye-tracking devices that turn the human gaze into a hands-free mouse. To use the technology, students with limited motor skills and verbal difficulties simply need to look at their screen, and a mix of infrared projectors, cameras and machine-learning algorithms will detect their point of focus.

The Future of Assistive Edtech

Going forward, assistive technology in the classroom has room to grow. Curry sees potential in two particular areas: artificial intelligence and mapping apps.

AI, she said, already has transformed life for people with disabilities. However, "it's not quite accurate yet under all conditions," and she worries that accessibility programs over-rely on it, especially when working with those who are hard of hearing.

Right now, AI often generates wonky automated closed captions, or live captions for talks. (It might translate "Pokemon" as "bro give mom," for example.) AI needs "human monitoring and human vetting" to really work, Curry said.

Once it can work reliably on its own, though, it will transform daily life for people with a wide array of disabilities. Higher-quality AI could not only hear "Pokemon" correctly, but also generate useful tools for people with Autism who have difficulty understanding facial expressions.

Many students with Autism - though not all - struggle with that, Curry notes. Facial recognition technology, a branch of AI, could help them match a peer's facial expressions with a feeling and guide them in knowing "how to interact with the individual," Curry said.

Another opportunity for improvement lies in digital mapping. Maps apps already offer users spoken navigation instructions and a highly granular sense of their surroundings nearly everywhere in the world. The maps of the future, however, could support blind people in new ways.

Many blind people memorize the layouts of their neighborhoods and schools and can navigate them without assistance, Curry says. However, unfamiliar environments pose problems. Mapping technology can't specify which streets have uneven sidewalks and which have no sidewalks. It also can't guide users through unfamiliar buildings - not yet, anyway.

"Augmented and virtual reality could help [blind students] orient themselves in new environments," Curry said. "And that can be true in smaller spaces, like a learning environment. So students who come into schools - maybe they're transferring from one district to another, or transitioning from middle school to high school - can more quickly and independently navigate their environments."

Of course, that mapping technology would only qualify as assistive for students seeking independent navigation skills in the first place. Assistive technology has to meet the individual's needs, not the needs that outsiders project onto them.

In that spirit, the ultimate assistive classroom technology in the classroom might be a teacher who asks, "How can I help you?"

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Examples of Assistive Technology in the Classroom Changing How Education Works

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Assistive technology tools for the classroom, like screen readers and 3D Braille printers, offer students with disabilities new ways to participate in school.

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Adaptations is when teachers make adjustments to meet the learning needs of the students in the classroom. These changes are, but not limited to the curriculum, teaching methods or assessments

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Modifications are changes to what the student is expected to learn. So this might mean altering the lessons, or making the assignments less hard for certain students who need it.

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Specially Designed Instructions mean that you tailor the teaching methods and materials to meet the standards of each student with a learning disability.

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This applies to all the students in the classroom.

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This applied to students who generally have learning disabilities and IEPs.

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Students who have learning disabilities and IEPs in the classroom.

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Giving extended time on assignments

Allowing assistive technology

Seating students in areas of which they feel would be more comfortable for them

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Allowing oral responses instead of written ones

Allowing students to not to a full test or quiz, so reducing those

Providing different assignments

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Three Examples of Specially Designed Instructions

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Three Examples of Specially Designed Instructions

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Peer to peer groups which focuses on social skills for students that have ADHD

Peer to Peer tutoring which students who are struggling in certain subjects

Direct teaching with students who have dyslexia

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More Information: Adaptive Learning in the Classroom

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More Information: Adaptive Learning in the Classroom

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This video explains how you can create adaptive learning in your classroom to create an all inclusive learning environment!

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McGraw Hill PreK-12: Adaptive Learning in K12 Education

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More Information: Modifications for Students with Learning Disabilities

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More Information: Modifications for Students with Learning Disabilities

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This PDF talks about ways that you can create modifications for your students and gives examples of what to do.

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More Information: Specially Designed Instructions A Resource

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More Information: Specially Designed Instructions A Resource

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This is a detailed resource booklet that goes into detail on how you can apply Specially Designed Instructions in your classroom. About 40 pages, and it talks about specific environments for SDIs.

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Evidence Based Practices for Adaptations

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Evidence Based Practices for Adaptations

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Differentiated Instruction can be applied for adaptations in a classroom. You can tailor to the students specific needs, and go from there.

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(Please note the information is adapted from A Special Educator's Guide to Successfully Implementing Evidence-Based Practices By Torres, Farley and Cook, 2012).
Implementing an evidence-based practice in the classroom can seem like a daunting task. Not only are you examining the research behind the practice, but you are thinking about data collection and evaluating whether the practice is positively impacting your students.

We are going to break down the 10 Steps for Implementing Evidence-Based practices by Torres, Farley, and Cook (2012).
To access purchase information for the article "A Special Educator's Guide to Successfully Implementing Evidence-Based Practices, click here.
Torress, Farley and Cook (2012) suggest using a a ten step approach to implementing evidence-based practices in the classroom. These steps involve selecting and evaluating and EBP, implementation and fidelity, progress monitoring student performance and becoming and leader and advocate for EBPs in your school.

Let's take a look at each of the steps.

The first step in implementing and evidence-based practice (EBP) is to select the students, the environment and the teacher characteristics. You need to know the students that will be receiving the EBP, their grade, age, etc. All of these factors will impact the EBP that you choose. Along with student demographics, you need to choose the learning environment that you will be delivering the EBP in. Considerations need to be made for number in the group, how much time do you have, what resources will you need and what environment matches best (large group or small group). All of these factors determine what EBP will be the best fit for your students.

When selecting and EBP, the first place you should go are to reputable sources of information. I mean you wouldn't go to the Food Network to find out about how to fix plumbing. The same applies to EBPs. Picking the right fit for an EBP to match the student, environment and teacher characteristics can tricky. However there are some great places to look for identifying what EBP will best fit your student needs.

Here are a few places to consult when selecting and EBP.
Click on the images to access the resources.
Now that you have gone to a reputable site to collect information on the EBP that is the best fit for your student, environment and teacher characteristics, it is time to select the EBP. This process can be tricky in that there may not be an EBP that best fits the above descriptors. If struggling to find an EBP, consider the outcomes that you want for your students. The EBP should meet the student's disability needs and try to be most aligned with the teacher characteristics and environment. Use your best professional judgement based off the information from reputable sources, which best matches the outcomes and disability needs of your students and what is the closest match to environment and teacher characteristics.

Once you have selected your EBP, the next step is to identify it's essential components. Think of these as the ingredients in a recipe. If you miss an ingredient in the recipe then the end result will not come out the way you want. The same goes for EBP. If you leave out essential components of the program or practice, then the results will not be as positive on student outcomes. If the EBP that you have chosen has an implementation checklist, this is a great place to start to find the essential components of the EBP.

You've selected the EBP, identified it's essential components and now you are ready to implement the EBP. Remember that a EBP does not replace an effective teacher. Think about implementation like riding a tandem bicycle. For the bike to move forward, it takes the person in the front and the person in the back to make the bike move. The same goes for EBPs. It takes the research backed practice or program plus your knowledge of explicit and systematic instruction to see positive impacts on your students. If you are implementing and EBP that may acquire additional training, reach out to your administrators to set up the training for you and to identify who in your county can help you get started.

After you have begun implementing the EBP, it is important to track that the EBP is being implemented using all the essential components and that each component is being taught effectively. The way to do this is to use the programs implementation fidelity checklist. Each week, complete the implementation fidelity checklist to make sure the EBP is being done correctly and with all the essential components. To even increase fidelity more, have a coach or fellow teacher using the same EBP to come and observe you teach a lesson and fill out the implementation checklist to track how you did. This is an important step in implementing an EBP because it helps you to track how well the program or practice is being delivered to students, if all the essential elements are being done by the teacher and to see if any additional training is needed to fully implement the EBP with fidelity.

This is an example of a fidelity checklist:

Before you implement an EBP, you should create a plan for collecting data to monitor student progress. EBPs have an increased likelihood of providing positive outcomes for students, but their impact on students should still be accessed. Taking progress monitoring data ensures that the EBP is having an effect on student outcomes as well as providing information about the impact of delivery from the teacher on student outcomes. The best way to progress monitor EBPs is to use criterion-based measurement. These are repeated and criterion-references probes that can be given weekly to monitor student progress. CBM probes are short and administered with a set of guidelines and timings to ensure they are capturing the student performance the same from week to week. Consider looking at this website section on criterion-based measurement.
To visit this websites section on Criterion-Based Measurement, click here.
Once you are familiar with implementing your EBP, there may need to be adaptations to optimize the program to fit teaching style or student needs. Think about it like this...if you are trying to learn a new dance, you instructor may make changes to how they teach you choreography. They may change working, approach instruction differently or change how they present the new material to you. All of these are different adaptions from the traditional way of teaching choreography but are tailored to your needs. The same can be done with an EBP. Proceed with caution though! Use adaptions that are proven to impact student achievement and not those purely based on intuition. Use the information from your CBM progress monitoring to help track whether implementations are having a positive effect on student outcomes.

One key component on making deciding if an EBP is effective is data. Data-based decisions ensure that the changes you are making to a students program are based in fact and not in intuition or feeling. If an EBP is showing a positive trend towards a students goal, then you don't need to implement adaptations. You would continue to monitor student progress weekly with CBM probes and continue with the EBP. If you consult you CBM graph and notice that there is not a strong positive impact on students performance, then you can safely say that based on the data a change needs to be made. Before making adaptations, check you implementation fidelity to assess whether the program is being delivered as prescribed. Next, ensure that effective teaching practices are being implemented along with the EBP. It may be that a simple change like increasing opportunities to respond or positive correct feedback could impact the EBPs effectiveness. If you have made adaptations, make sure that they match student needs and the environment to maximize their effectiveness for students. If after exhausting all of these options, it could be time to select a new EBP and start the 10 steps for implementation over again.

Being an advocate for EBP in your school is an important part of evidence-based practices. Since you have implemented and seen the positive outcomes for your students, consider working with other teachers in your building to help them select and implement EBPs in their classrooms. You can also take your knowledge of EBPs and advocate for change within your district. If a new curriculum adoption is coming up consider researching the options and providing your opinion and feedback to the district.

Monitoring implementation of evidence-based practices is extremely important. Ensuring that all essential components of the program are being done with fidelity along with effective instructional practices will increase the likelihood that the EBP will have a positive impact on student outcomes. Remember that EBPs should be driven by data and data-based decisions are going to be more effective than those made fro intuition.
For additional information on implementing evidence-based practices, consider completing the Iris Center's module on EBP implementation. To access the Iris Center EBP module on implementation, click the image below. References:
Best Evidence Encyclopedia - Empowering Educators with Evidence on Proven Programs. (n.d.). Retrieved November 4, 2019, from http://www.bestevidence.org/.

Evidence Based Intervention Network. (n.d.). Retrieved October 18, 2019, from http://ebi.missouri.edu/.

Evidence-Based Practices (Part 2): Implementing a Practice or Program with Fidelity. (n.d.). Retrieved November 4, 2019, from https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/ebp_02/#content.

Find NTACT Resources. (2019, September 24). Retrieved November 4, 2019, from https://transitionta.org/#content.

Home: National Center on Intensive Intervention. (n.d.). Retrieved October 18, 2019, from https://intensiveintervention.org/.

Find NTACT Resources. (2019, September 24). Retrieved November 4, 2019, from https://transitionta.org/#content.

Torres, C., Farley, C. A., & Cook, B. G. (2012). A special educator's guide to successfully implementing evidence-based practices. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 45(1), 64-73.

We Provide Opportunities to Learn for Teachers and Leaders. (n.d.). Retrieved October 18, 2019, from http://ceedar.education.ufl.edu/.

WWC: Find What Works! (n.d.). Retrieved October 18, 2019, from https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/.

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Implementing Evidence-Based Practices in the Classroom

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(Please note the information is adapted from A Special Educator's Guide to Successfully Implementing Evidence-Based Practices By Torres, Farley and Cook, 2012). Implementing an evidence-based practice in the classroom can seem like a daunting task. Not only are you examining the research behind the practice, but you are thinking about data collection and evaluating whether...

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Simplifying reading materials and creating a comfortable environment for the student is a great way to modify.

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Developed by the Council for Exceptional Children and the CEEDAR Center, high-leverage practices are 22 essential special education techniques that all teachers of students with disabilities should master for use across a variety of classroom contexts. Six of these practices are referred to as pillar practices-those most essential for educators to implement; and the remaining[.....]

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Collaboration with special education teachers. This way you can implement strategies and work with each other on students that have learning disabilities.

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This tool is intended to be used by instructional leaders and those in coaching capacities to look for the presence of SDI in co-taught classrooms during formal observations. The list is not exhaustive, and questions may be presented in multiple ways to help uncover the various factors that contribute to the implementation of SDI and the variety of SDI one might see. An administrator or observer may only see 1 or 2 observable behaviors in an observation. This tool is intended to promote conversation between the observer and the observed.

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This tool is intended to be used by instructional leaders and those in coaching capacities to look for the presence of SDI in co-taught classrooms during formal observations. The list is not exhaustive, and questions may be presented in multiple ways to help uncover the various factors that contribute to the implementation of SDI and the variety of SDI one might see.