Models help promote mathematical thinking by facilitating an understanding of key concepts and mathematical structures. By seeing and moving objects, students engage their senses to better understand and reason with abstract concepts, or to make sense of — and solve — problems.
National Center for Technology Innovation, Center for Implementing Technology in Education (CITEd)
Teach science by having students think like scientists. Scientists ask themselves questions, develop hypotheses, and test until they learn some more. They collaborate with peers and use computer programs, diagrams, pictures, videos, and other multimedia resources. These hands-on activities help all students- and are especially helpful to students with learning disabilities.
Center for Implementing Technology in Education (CITEd)
Many students with learning disabilities struggle with social interactions and appropriate behavior, putting them at greater risk for bullying, harassment, and victimization online. While the internet can be beneficial for developing social and technical skills, it’s important to talk children with disabilities about online safety and responsibility.
Judy Zorfass, Tracy Gray, Ph.D., PowerUp WHAT WORKS
Finding and understanding patterns is crucial to mathematical thinking and problem solving, and it is easier for students to understand patterns if they know how to organize their information.
Summer is a great time to get organized! Students who have learning disabilities frequently struggle to keep track of their school work — especially digital files. When the information is lost in their computer, they waste valuable time looking for it, sometimes have to redo it, and then can’t hand it in! Read this article by the Landmark School Outreach Program for a strategy that works.
Judy Zorfass, Tracy Gray, Ph.D., PowerUp WHAT WORKS
Once students have completed the prewriting and drafting phases of the writing process, they move on to reviewing and revising their work. This involves making changes to their writing to make sure it meets the needs of their readers. During this phase, students learn about the ‘craft’ of writing, review their content for clarity, and make deliberate changes in order to improve the piece.
Kristin Ruedel, National Technology Implementation Expert
The goal of a sustained, school-wide technology implementation program is to meet the needs of all students. It takes a School Leadership Team to meet this goal.
There is much to learn from three elementary school teachers who meet weekly as a professional learning community (PLC). Together they identify free tech tools to support their struggling students using the rich resources in PowerUp WHAT WORKS.
