On May 8, 2019, Drs. Mitch Yell, David Bateman, Tessie Bailey and Teri Marx presented Recommendations and Resources for Preparing Educators in the Endrew Era. In this webinar, Drs. Yell and Bateman will draw from their recent article Free Appropriate Public Education and Endrew F. v. Douglas County School System (2017): Implications for Personnel Preparation in Teacher Education and Special Education. They provide an overview of Endrew’s impact on individualized instruction for students with disabilities and share six recommendations for preparing educators to meet the clarified requirements under Endrew. Drs. Tessie Bailey and Teri Marx, experts from the National Center on Intensive Intervention, illustrate how NCII resources and technical assistance supports can assist states, local agencies, and educators to address these recommendations and improve design and delivery of individualized instruction in academics and behavior.

In this Voices from the Field, the National Center on Intensive Intervention (NCII) talks with Richard Carter, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Counseling, Leadership, Advocacy, and Design at the University of Wyoming. Dr. Carter teaches Mild and Moderate Disabilities, Assessment in Special Education, and Collaboration and is working to develop a micro-credentialing system for educators in the state. Dr. Carter discusses how he has integrated NCII’s data-based individualization (DBI) resources within his education preparation efforts. NCII: Can you tell us a little about the programs and students at the University of Wyoming impacted by this work and why this work is important?

If you are like most educators, you agree with the idea of providing intensive intervention for students with the most intractable academic and behavior problems. The question you may be asking is, how do I find the time? This guide includes strategies that educators can consider when trying to determine how to find the time for this intensification within the constraints of busy school schedules. Supplemental resources, planning questions, and example schedules are also provided.

In this video, Lindsay Jones the CEO of the National Center on Learning Disabilities, shares some considerations and strategies that educators can use to support partnering with families of students with intensive needs.

In this webinar, held February 19, 2019, Drs. Rebecca Zumeta Edmonds, Sarah Powell, and Devin Kearns, 1) reviewed the evidence-base behind explicit instruction for students with disabilities and 2) highlighted recently released course content that is designed to help educators learn how to deliver explicit instruction and review their current practices.

In this article, Drs. Ketterlin Geller, Lembke, and Powell discuss how they are supporting educators to implement (1) the process of data-based individualization (DBI), (2) the principles of explicit and systematic instruction, and (3) key components of algebra readiness as part of Project STAIR (Supporting Teaching of Algebra: Individual Readiness).

NCII, through a collaboration with the University of Connecticut, developed a set of course modules focused on developing educators’ skills in using explicit instruction. These course modules are designed to support faculty and professional development providers with instructing pre-service and in-service educators who are developing and/or refining their implementation of explicit instruction.

This video demonstrates how to use fraction tiles and the set model to convert mixed numbers to improper fractions. It is important that students have the opportunity to convert fractions using both models of representation.

This video demonstrates how to use the set model to convert mixed numbers to improper fractions. It is important that students are exposed to converting fractions using this model because it is often how fractions are represented in the real world. Beginners and students who struggle may find the set model difficult to understand because the whole (1) is represented by a set of chips (4 chips in this example); therefore, students will benefit from explicit modeling and several opportunities to engage in guided and independent practice.

This video demonstrates different partitioning strategies that students can use to multiply fractions. Partitioning refers to dividing a shape, such as a rectangle, into equal pieces. In area models and length models, the total number of equally partitioned pieces represents the denominator of the product. Students can practice multiplying nonequivalent fractions using an area model without concrete materials, such as by creating a grid using paper and pencil, or with concrete materials such as fraction grids. Students should also have the opportunity to practice multiplication using fraction tiles and length model.