Over on US National Public Radio’s “The Root,” John McWhorter comes pretty close to getting it right. In “Getting The Best Teaching Tools To Schools” he notes that the much-in-the-news results from the US National Assessment of Educational Progress (NEAP) simply show the need for effective educational practices. And he points squarely at Direct Instruction as a recommended remedy.
Continue reading ‘Somebody gets it’
Explicit Instruction, a new book by Anita Archer and Charles Hughes, sure gives the appearance of a winner. I’ve only had the chance to read the first chapter, but that and the knowledge that these two authors know their way around both the research about and practice of instruction are enough to convince me to place an order.
Continue reading ‘Looks like a winner!’
The Microsoft folks who bring us the search engine Bing have begun an effort to promote change in US education with REDU. The Web site makes a good case for why there should be concern about education in the US: high rates of dropping out, low rankings in international comparisons, aging teaching force, proportion of children attending schools in high-poverty areas, and so forth.
Sphere: Related ContentREDU stands for rethinking, reforming and rebuilding US education. Powered by people and technology, REDU is a movement designed to expand and encourage the national conversation around education reform by providing information and resources to learn, a community platform to connect, and tools and initiatives to act.
For folks who follow teacher preparation, this will come as no surprise. It’s been brewing. The two largest US groups concerned with accreditation of teacher education programs are joining together to create a new organization, the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). Given the critical importance of preparing prospective teachers to use evidence-based practices, procedures, curricula, and such, I’m hoping that this new accrediting group will promote efforts to have new teachers ready to teach effectively.
Continue reading ‘NCATE and TEAC emerge under new CAEP’
I usually leave the technology cheering up to colleagues who know better than I about the topic, but this piece from the mainstream press is too good to let pass without amplification. In the Wall Street Journal, Jennifer Valentino-DeVries reported about children using contemporary devices as assistive technologies to their great benefit. Under the headline “Using the iPad to Connect: Parents, Therapists Use Apple Tablet to Communicate With Special Needs Kids,” she reported about the popular tablet device allowing a young child with disabilities to communicate.
Sphere: Related ContentBefore she got an iPad at age two, Caleigh Gray couldn’t respond to yes-or-no questions. Now Caleigh, who has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, uses a $190 software application that speaks the words associated with pictures she touches on Apple Inc.’s device.
Folks who are interested in effective teaching for students with Learning Disabilities (and other students as well) can learn a lot at the up-coming conference of the Division for Learning Disabilities in Baltimore (MD, US) later this month. Michael Gerber assembled a fine group of sessions, as shown at the end of this post.
Check out the all-star cast. Note the coverage of relevant topics ranging from RTI to math, primary to adolescent ages (with some adult interests included!), and skills to cognition. On top of the fine content, there will be excellent opportunities to mix and mingle with other people attending the conference as well as presenters and members of DLD’s executive board during social events that include breakfasts, a luncheon, and a reception. Lots of materials are included.
Learn more about the TeachingLD Conference 2010, including how to register on line.
- Using Evidence-Based Interventions to Teach Primary Level Students Early Numeracy Concepts and Skills
—Diane P. Bryant (University of Texas at Austin) & Brian R. Bryant (University of Texas at Austin) - The Math Learning Companion: An Individualized Intervention for Students with Math Learning Disabilities
—Lindy Crawford (University of Colorado at Colorado Springs) & Barbara Freeman (Digital Directions International) - Responsive, Comprehensive, and Intensive Intervention for Older Struggling Readers
—Lynn M. Gelzheiser (University at Albany) & Laura Hallgren Flynn (University at Albany) - Adults with Learning Disabilities: Current Research, Evidence-based Conclusions, and Emerging Directions
—Paul J. Gerber (Virginia Commonwealth University) - Effective Rime-Based Instruction to Improve the Decoding Skills of Students with Learning Disabilities
—Sara J. Hines (Hunter College), Jennifer T. Klein (Hunter College), & Kathleen M. Ryan (The Churchill School) - The Essay Writing Strategy: Helping Students Write More Organized and Complete Responses to Essay Questions and Prompts
—Charles A. Hughes (Penn State University) & Bill Therrien (University of Iowa) - Strategy Training, Problem Solving, and Working Memory in Children with Math Disabilities
—Olga Jerman (Frostig Center), Amber Moran (University of California at Santa Barbara), Cathy Lussier (University of California at Riverside), Michael Orosco (University of California at Riverside), Lee Swanson (University of California at Riverside), & Michael Gerber (University of California at Santa Barbara) - The Technology and Pedagogy of Universal Design for Learning
—Peggy King-Sears (George Mason University) - Early Reading Intervention for Struggling Readers
—Jill Marie Leafstedt (CSU Channel Islands) & Catherine Richards-Tutor (CSU Long Beach) - Response to Intervention Screening and Progress-Monitoring Practices in 41 Local Schools
—Daryl F. Mellard (University of Kansas) - Strategic Instruction for Building Vocabulary
—J. Ron Nelson (University of Nebraska, Lincoln) - Beyond Reading Words: Improving Reading Rate, Fluency, and Comprehension
—Rollanda E. O’Connor (University of California at Riverside) - Growth in Literacy, Language, and Cognition in Children with Reading Disabilities who are English Language Learners
—Michael J. Orosco (University of California at Riverside), Lee Swanson (University of California at Riverside), Michael Gerber (University of California at Santa Barbara), & Danielle Guzman (University of California at Santa Barbara) - Response to Intervention in Math: An Instructional Focus
—Paul J. Riccomini (The Pennsylvania State University) - Developing Text Level Literacy Skills in Beginning Readers
—Emily J. Solari (University of Texas Health Science Center Houston) & Alexis L. Filippini (San Francisco State University) - Reading Progress Monitoring for Secondary School Students: Reading-Aloud and Maze-Selection Measures
—Renata Ticha (University of Minnesota) & Miya Miura Wayman (University of Minnesota)
Please note that I am compensated by DLD as its executive director so this is, indeed, a shameless promotion!
Sphere: Related ContentThanks to GreatSchools and its partners, there is a way for parents to examine the relative outcomes of different schools. Although I’m not among them, this is likely to make advocates of charter schools crow. For me, though, it’s a good time to celebrate the nose of the camel getting into the tent.
To be sure, many of these data have been available on the Web previously, but this version is especially accessible and has a very high profile. Now that these data are aggregated here, I long even more for the day when schools will routinely publish the results of regular measurements of students’
Continue reading ‘Schools scorecard’
Who? Who? Who?
Some traffic has been arriving from relatively new sources. What are these blogs? Who are the authors?
Liz Ditz says who she is. So does Joanne Jacobs. Ken DeRosa owns up to his posts. It’s easy to m know what Andrew Rotherham writes. Now, I can understand why, under certain circumstances, folks might need anonymity. But, I hope most folks promoting changes in education can speak openly about their views with fear of recrimination. It’s O.K.
Of course, if one simply makes inflammatory comments, then that’s a different matter. Maybe anonymity is advised. (That’s not to say that all anonymous commentators are flamers, just as not all spotted objects are Dalmatians.)
Anyway, anyone know what’s up with these sources?
- http://eduphoria.wordpress.com/
- http://parabola.edublogs.org/
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