The Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004) made significant changes in the roles of general and special educators, especially related to inclusion and collaboration. This pilot study examined the perceptions of beginning elementary and secondary school special and general education teachers in a midwestern state in the…

Studies on special education teacher time use (TTU) have indicated that special education teachers spend small percentages of their day teaching. The authors examined goal setting and self-monitoring to change the time use of 4 teachers. In terms of TTU, each teacher articulated goals for increasing some tasks (e.g., instruction) and decreasing…

Spurred by preservice teachers' perceptions that diversity issues such as poverty would not affect their teaching, professors in 1 southeastern U.S. elementary teacher-preparation program took action, which resulted in this examination of the culture of poverty and the identification of strategies to best serve children living in poverty. The…

Secondary-level students from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) backgrounds who struggle with reading need strategies for aligning new information with their previous knowledge as well as for obtaining and retaining essential information from the text. Important components of all secondary literacy support must include instruction in…

The authors investigated the effectiveness of using high-preference (high-p) mathematics tasks for increasing task initiation of low-preference (low-p) mathematics tasks with a 13-year-old middle school student with autism. They used an ABAB design to determine the effectiveness of high-p tasks with to comply with low-p tasks. Results indicated…

Students' ineffective learning strategies are linked to poor metacognition, revealing that struggling learners have not developed the practical "figure it out" skills to succeed in academic challenges. Well-documented research has noted the positive effect of self-reflective learning on students' academic and personal development. Also,…

The seemingly simple task associated with formal reading instruction may be problematic for many students with speech and language delays who often enter school with meager literacy experiences (B. K. Gunn, D. C. Simmons, & E. J. Kame'enui, 1999). However, the challenges that students face may be reduced when reading instruction includes…

Teachers in 1 middle school learned about the positive effects of writing praise notes to students, which is 1 component of a positive behavior support. The authors intended for this procedure to promote a positive school environment and reinforce the appropriate use of social skills. Also, the authors instructed the teachers to use a direct…

Some students enter the world of mathematics with a disadvantage. The authors explored the causes for this from a language-processing perspective. They were particularly concerned with students with potential learning disabilities or specific language impairments. They also explored the role of language-mediated instruction in creating an…

Researchers have given increased attention to the teaching and learning of mathematics since the release of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)'s Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (PSSM). Despite the clear and focused goals, recommendations, and standards set by the NCTM (2000), a majority of classrooms continue to…

Students with an emotional and behavioral disorder (EBD) often present complex challenges for schools, families, and society. Researchers have indicated that these problems are prevalent across the life span. This article addresses (a) the educational implications of the research-to-practice gap for students identified as having an EBD, (b)…

The authors have witnessed major changes in the preparation of special education personnel. Recent legislation, including the No Child Left Behind Act (2001) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004), has moved the concept of highly qualified teacher (HQT) to the national forefront. It seems reasonable that preservice…

Response to intervention (RTI) is a new method of identifying students with learning disabilities. RTI's increasing implementation affects all teachers and students, in both general and special education. The authors provide educators with a practical understanding of what RTI may look like in the classroom and how co-teaching as an instructional…

The number of students with special needs, including those with emotional and behavioral disorder (EBD) who are being served in the early elementary classroom, is increasing rapidly. The actual number of students with EBD in Grades K-3 is frequently underreported, as the formal process of identifying students for special education services has…

Prevention of behavioral problems in school settings is essential. When the function of behavior communicates a sensory-based need, as it does for many learners with autism, teachers need to know what to do. Therefore, it is important for teachers to have varied strategies available for use in the support of such learners. The authors present…