Exceptional Teaching

Learning is an active process. Children learn by experiencing and interacting with their environment. Parents and educators should provide students with immediate, constructive, positive feedback to help encourage desired behaviors as they are learning.

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Accommodations are changes to activities, instruction, materials, or the environment that do not dilute the state standards.

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Modifications are changes to products, assessments, or materials that require less of the student than the minimum state standards.

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Co-teaching is two educational professionals, often a general education and special education educator, who collaborate to teach a group of heterogeneous learners.

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Critical Conversations increase success for all!  Teacher teams preparing to co-teach need to find answers for these critical questions before the first day of teaching.

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Differentiated Instruction is one part of UDL. It is a way of teaching that provides specific instructional strategies required to meet the needs of specific individuals. 

UDL is still practiced throughout the curriculum while teachers additionally implement Differentiated Instruction as needed for individual students in each class.

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Direct Instruction is the use of straightforward, explicit teaching. It is usually used to teach a specific skill. Students are guided through a systematic process that includes direct teaching with much repetition and practice.

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IDEA is the federal education law that guides the education of children diagnosed with a disability. IDEA ensures a free & appropriate public education to children with disabilities that affect their learning. IDEA governs how states and public agencies provide early intervention, education and related services to millions of children (birth-18) within 14 disability catagories.

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Paraprofessionals supplement the teacher’s duties and implement important delegated tasks for which they are specially trained. Teachers need to be aware of the role the paraprofessional is intended to play in the classroom.

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RTI is a school-wide framework for supporting all students with continuous progress monitoring. Instructional adjustments are made as needed to help all students succeed. ​ The three tiers of RTI help determine if struggling students are able to learn with effective instruction through increasing data collection/progress monitoring, interventions, and increasing instructional expertise.

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Special Education is specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of a student with a disability to ensure they have access to the general curriculum. Specially designed instruction means to adapt content, methodology, or delivery of instruction to meet the unique needs of the student so they can succeed like all others in the same grade.

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About 80% of students meet benchmark levels, and 20% require additional suport or intervention. Struggling students go through the RTI framework to determine if they are able to learn with effective, evidence-based instruction. Frequent progress monitoring helps the student success team determine the best level of support needed for student success.

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Teachers can teach their students social skills and self-regulation by setting clear expectations, providing plenty of opportunities for practice, and by providing immediate feedback.

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Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an equitable instructional approach that provides multiple ways for learning and practice that meets the needs of all students in a class or school.

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