Educators are faced with many decisions regarding supporting students' writing. While writing achievement and curriculum-based measure scores provide numbers that are important for high-stakes decisions like determining special education eligibility, they do not provide educators with information on a student's explicit instruction needs. Written…

This article provides teachers with a toolkit for assessing students in the context of data-based individualization (DBI) in mathematics. Assessing students is a critical component of DBI because it provides teachers with information about what they may need to modify in their instructional programs. In this article, we provide teachers with…

Students sometimes engage in challenging behaviors that require teachers to select and design appropriate behavior management interventions. Teachers may choose from various evidence-based intervention strategies when addressing students' challenging behaviors. Reinforcement-based strategies are preferred due to their desirable long-term outcomes.…

Self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) is an effective instructional approach used to teach academic strategies for skills such as writing and reading comprehension. Included in SRSD are direct strategy instruction and explicit procedures for teaching self-regulation skills, a method that has been effective at improving academic skills of…

The need for all students to have science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) experiences has translated into research examinations of what strategies and practices work in learning STEAM-related concepts and ideas. Through research, effective frameworks, strategies, and additional considerations have been identified for…

Students with disabilities encounter persistent barriers in writing, which manifest within all phases of the writing process. These challenges can involve both higher order processes (e.g., organization, idea development) as well as lower order processes (e.g., legibility, spelling) related to writing. Educators can apply the principles of the…

As technology continues to provide new instructional options in the classroom, opportunities to embed new tools in their pedagogy are critical for teachers. One avenue that could encourage teachers to adopt new technologies in their classroom is professional development. This column outlines how a comprehensive program can be implemented to build…

To support students with disabilities who do not respond to typically effective reading intervention, special education teachers are expected to implement evidence-based practices for intensifying intervention. Data-based individualization is an effective, evidence-based practice recommended in research to intensify intervention, but requires…

Students with severe and persistent academic or behavioral challenges may benefit from data-based individualization (DBI). Starting with an evidence-based standard protocol and systematic progress monitoring, teachers can evaluate growth and implement individualized interventions to meet students' needs. Specifically, this article addresses the…

Evidence-based practice related to autism research is a controversial topic. Governmental entities and national agencies are defining evidence-based practice as a specific set of interventions that educators should implement; however, large-scale efforts to generalize autism research, which are often single-subject case designs, may be a setback…

Study guides are a popular and frequently student-requested instructional support developed primarily by upper elementary, middle, and high school teachers to help students navigate through a course of study. With the increase of the number of learners with diverse needs in general education classrooms, teachers need to be mindful of various ways…

Students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) represent an increasing number of learners in general education classrooms. While reading comprehension instruction has received growing attention, learners with ASD continue to experience poor academic outcomes. This article describes a research-based approach to teaching students with ASD to…

Academic expectations are often antecedents for various types of inappropriate classroom behavior for students with challenging behavior. Effective interventions for managing these behaviors must involve techniques that combat academic refusal. Addressing the underlying issues of resistance or refusal to perform academically in school using…

Teacher educators are expected to provide preservice special education teachers with extensive knowledge about a variety of topics as well as allowing candidates a chance to engage in higher-level thinking about content. Today, some teacher educators are thinking "outside the box" when it comes to instructional delivery by moving beyond…

Writing can be a powerful tool for thinking and learning. Journaling is one form of writing that is a commonly used learning tool in many classrooms. Children use journals to record personal experiences, explore reactions and interpretations to reading and videos, or record, analyze, or enhance information about literature or other subject areas.…