2 September 2010
Open Society Institute Mental Health Initiative
Sometimes folks lose sight of the fact that disability and mental health issues are international in scope. They’re not confined just to one’s own neighborhood, locality, geopolitical area, etc. Fortunately, there are groups that transcend borders (you can probably think of the names of some well-know organizations that function internationally), and there are some in [...]
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Gerls Rock Tour Continues in Arizona
My newly named Gerls Rock 2010 Tour for special education continues. 
I am attending the Arizona Directors Conference. I have run into some old friends, and I met some readers for the first time.
Also, I was honored to meet the inspirational Jonathan Mooney. A former special ed student, he graduated from Brown University and he has written two books.
Jonathan also has a fresh approach to education featuring the importance of self-concept, of connection over content.
I was pleased to learn that Jonathan was a reader of this blog. He has agreed to a future interview.
More soon.
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Thanks for subscribing! Jim Gerl
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1 September 2010
Another list of blogs and sites
Over on The Teaching Master, a blogger identified as Dana gave a shout out to Teach Effectively in a post entitled “Top 50 Blogs for Teaching Tips, Ideas and Inspiration.”
Teaching can be tough job. Teachers work hard, and sometimes do not get always get [sic] the recognition and pay they deserve. But, at the same [...]
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26 August 2010
Tour Contest Winner
Look for new post tomorrow for the winner of the name the tour contest.
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Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from U.S. Cellular
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Thanks for subscribing! Jim Gerl
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25 August 2010
U.S. Department of Education Solicits Feedback on Priorities, Share Your Thoughts With CEC
Earlier this summer, the Institute for Education Sciences – the research arm of the U.S. Department of Education – released its proposed research priorities which will guide the federal education research portfolio and impact the focus of research grants. Read more.
Additionally, the Department has proposed 13 priorities that it may use in crafting requirements when awarding discretionary grants. These 13 priorities fall within three categories: Advancing Cradle to Career Reforms; Addressing Students Subgroups; and Building Capacity for Systemic Improvement. As you know, in many instances, the Department has leeway to make decisions regarding discretionary grants, these priorities would help guide these decisions. Read more.
CEC wants to hear your thoughts on these priorities. Please email pubpol@cec.sped.org with your comments by September 1.
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24 August 2010
WWC on Lovaas model
The US Department of Education’s What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) released the results of its review of the model for teaching children with Autism that is based on the work of the late Ivar Lovaas on 24 August 2010. The WWC report is based on two of the many studies of the Lovaas method—often called “Applied [...]
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Willingham’s guidelines for teacher accountability
In his recurring posts for the Washington Post, Dan Willingham has three suggestions about how to approach the problem of creating a system for evaluating teachers’ contributions to students’ outcomes. The guidelines are sensible and worth reviewing. Read them here.
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23 August 2010
Elsewhere
Do you hear the crickets chirping on my blog today?
That's because I'm not here. I'm over here: I wrote a guest post for Bethany of Organic Enchilada. You should totally go read it.
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17 August 2010
U.S. Department of Education Announces Investing in Innovation Awards
For more information, click here.
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i3 projects
Ed Week reporter Christina Samuels reminded me that the US Department of Education has announced awards under the “Investing in Innovation Fund” (“i3″ program). There are substantial funds for cooperative agreements or grants aimed at promoting practices with demonstrated benefits.
Program Description: The Investing in Innovation Fund, established under section 14007 of the American Recovery [...]
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15 August 2010
“Our teachers think they’re all effective.”
According to Stannis Steinbeck, principal of Broadus Elementary School in Pacoima (CA, US), this is the view of the members of her faculty. According to data about the teachers’ effects on student achievement, not all teachers are effective. It should come as no surprise that some are more effective than others and some are woefully [...]
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11 August 2010
What do we need to know
I’m asking readers (both of you—teehee, there really are about 3 or 4 of you, but please invite your friends and colleagues) to tell me what you consider the three (or two or four) most important research questions about Learning Disabilities interventions. These need to be BIG IDEA questions. What do teachers and parents need [...]
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What do educators need to know?
I’m asking readers of EBD Blog to help me identify important research questions about interventions for students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders. As I noted in a parallel post on LD Blog, these need to be BIG IDEA questions. What do teachers and parents need to know about how to help students with EBD?
Examples (just [...]
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Senate Passes Rosa’s Law! Critical First Step in Removing Term “Mental Retardation”
Last week, the Senate passed Rosa’s Law,
legislation that would remove the term “Mental Retardation” from all federal
laws and replace it with the more commonly used term “Intellectual Disability.”
CEC
has long supported this
legislation in the Senate
and will now shift its efforts to advocating for its passage in the House.
Rosa’s
law is named after Rosa
Marcellino, a Maryland girl with Down syndrome. Similar legislation proposed in
the House is known as the Elizabeth A. Connelly Act in honor of a former member of the New York
Assembly who was influential in pushing for services for those with
disabilities. The bills are the same,
except for their namesakes.
It is important to point out that this change would not
alter the eligibility requirements for any services and supports. It would,
however, ensure that current language in all legislation impacting this group
of individuals was consistent. CEC believes that replacing antiquated
terminology with more common and accurate language is an important and
respectful step for people with disabilities.
As this legislation now moves to the House, CEC encourages you
to contact your Representative and urge them to co-sponsor this important
legislation. Find your elected official by entering your zip code into
CEC’s Legislative Action
Center and tell them why
this is important to you.
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9 August 2010
Open rank position at University of Haifa
The Department of Learning Disabilities and the Edmund J. Safra Brain Research Center for the Study of Learning Disabilities at the Faculty of Education of the University of Haifa invite applications for a full-time, tenure-track position, to begin 1 October 2010 or later.
Preference will be given to candidates with research expertise in the field of [...]
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5 August 2010
ABAI on restraint and seclusion
Based on the work of a task force composed of highly qualified individuals, the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI) has issued position statement about the use of restraint and seclusion in treatment. Members of the task force, which was appointed by the executive board, include Jon S. Bailey, Michael F. Dorsey, Louis P. Hagopian, [...]
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Lovaas obituary
Over on Spedpro I posted a brief account of the research conducted by O. Ivar Lovaas. Professor Lovaas, the eminent behavioral psychologist who developed detailed procedures for teaching individuals with Autism, died earlier this week.
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4 August 2010
Ivar Lovaas, 1927-2010
O. Ivar Lovaas, the clinical researcher responsible for the development of teaching procedures that are at the base of nearly all effective therapies for children with autism, passed away 2 August 2010. Professor Lovaas, who was born in Norway in 1927, was among a pioneering group of scholars who studied the use of principles based [...]
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3 August 2010
Merrow on reading
Over on Learning Matters in his blog, Taking Note, John Merrow published an entry entitled “On Learning to Read” that raises some good points, but nearly omits a terrifically important one. I suspect regular readers (whom I’ve neglected terribly in the recent months—sorry) can guess which one was omitted.
Here’s Mr. Merrow’s lead:
Why children want to [...]
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30 July 2010
Research: Value-added measures can inaccurately rate teachers
The fact that part of our new IMPACT teacher evaluations is based on student test scores, this study matters. New research shows that the value-added measures used in some teacher evaluations to measure student growth over time can be inaccurate, Washington Post blogger Valerie Strauss writes. There is a 25% chance that an average teacher could be identified as poor when using three years of data, according to a report by Mathematica Policy Research. That rate climbs to 35% if only one year of student data is studied. The Washington Post/The Answer Sheet blog
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