This article offers guidelines to first-year special education teachers concerning confidentiality issues, especially in relation to substitute teachers and paraprofessionals. Guidelines address what to do if the teacher is absent and what to do if teaching assistants are absent. Also provided are several Web resources on confidentiality. (DB)

This article discusses the use of a writing assessment rubric to structure writing instruction with examples from two classes of children who are deaf. It considers strategy modifications, using rubrics for instruction, and creating and using rubrics. Tables provide detail for a universal-type rubric, a modified universal-type rubric, a writing…

This article presents a five-step sequence for teaching children with disabilities to read pictures. Steps are sequenced for content and complexity of picture, student response requirement, and language demands. They include: (1) identify person, (2) identify object, (3) identify person and object, (4) identify action, and (5) identify sequence.…

This article describes a set of software programs designed to teach mathematics to all students including students with disabilities. The programs are based on the standards of the National Council of Teachers and Mathematics. The article reports on the effective use of one of these programs with four students with various disabilities. (Contains…

This article describes a 3-credit graduate course to prepare secondary science, mathematics, and special education teachers to use museums to teach science to students, including those with disabilities. The course emphasized helping teachers to develop instructional materials across the curriculum through use of museum resources and on promoting…

This article examines issues related to school violence and disruption. It discusses the sociocultural context within which school violence occurs, balancing educational rights within an orderly school environment, and the role of students with disabilities in school suspensions. Violence prevention initiatives and guidelines for parents and…

This article describes the new National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certificate for teachers of students with disabilities. The certification process, the required Exceptional Needs portfolio, the assessment center, and the application fee are discussed, along with answers to frequently asked questions about the NBPTS.…

This article shows how the Council for Exceptional Children's (CEC) standards for the preparation and licensure of special educators can provide guidance to all, whether embarking on careers or seeking enhancement through professional development opportunities. Challenges and strategies for implementing the CEC standards using collaboration and…

This article provides an overview of standards that have been developed for special educators, shares the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee program standards, discusses the ways in which they are used in teacher preparation, and suggests ways in which practicing teachers could use these or similar standards for ongoing professional development.…

This article examines the benefits of educator study groups, outlines the different types of educator groups, and provides guidelines for forming educator study groups. Membership of the group, leadership, assessment of needs, creation of the study group, materials, meeting organization, and group evaluation are addressed. (Contains references.)…

This article describes a collaborative partnership between universities and schools designed to facilitate the work of both special and general educators instructing students at risk of reading failure. It discusses how teachers integrated this professional development in early literacy into teaching practices, and describes instructional…

A study investigated the effectiveness of a 9-week collaborative metacognitive social skills intervention program on 16 middle school students attending a private, alternative suburban school for students with learning problems. The program used cooperative learning, role play, and art therapy to improve the students' social problem-solving…

This article describes how a self-management strategy, self-recording with points, teacher praise, and encouragement, was used to increase the on-task and nondisruptive behaviors of a 6-year old African American boy with hyperactivity. The use of drug therapy to control hyperactivity is discussed and a self-recording form is provided. (Contains…

In this study, 35 college students with disabilities identified the following barriers to their success: lack of understanding and acceptance of disabilities, lack of adequate services, lack of sufficient financial resources, and lack of self-advocacy skills and training needed to live independently. Tips for eliminating barriers are included.…

This article highlights three teachers who were actively involved as friendship facilitators by illuminating their use of a friendship-facilitator framework with three students with moderate/severe disabilities. The framework includes three strategies: finding opportunities to bring children and youth together, acknowledging individual strengths…