Virginia Department of Education's Training and Technical Assistance Center at Virginia Commonwealth University

Many students enter the mathematics classroom, regardless of grade, with a variety of factors impacting their academic and behavioral performance. Some of these factors may be related to a disability directly or indirectly related to mathematics, but others might not be. One such factor is math anxiety. But what is math anxiety and how do […]

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) released an updated version of the Virginia Guidelines for Early Childhood Inclusion in August 2023.  School divisions and early childhood communities can use this document to find, develop, and sustain inclusive opportunities for young children with disabilities in high-quality early childhood programs. The guidelines are presented in three sections:  […]

Once upon a time, back in 1985, a document titled, “Becoming a Nation of Readers: The Report of the Commission on Reading” was published. The purpose of this document was to review and analyze the wealth of research about reading and the established process of teaching reading. From this report, the authors indicated that “the […]

Attendance is a topic of discussion in many schools. When students attend school consistently, they have increased opportunities to experience academic and social success. However, some students struggle with regular school attendance and are chronically absent. Specifically, chronic absenteeism is an area of concern for students with disabilities. Let’s examine why students with disabilities may […]

The Virginia General Assembly in 2022 passed the Virginia Literacy Act (VLA) and expanded it in 2023 to include grades K-8. The VLA focuses on improving literacy outcomes for all students and requires the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) to recommend instructional programs, including core, supplemental, and intervention materials related to literacy. There are many […]

Chat generative pre-trained transformer, or ChatGPT, is an artificial intelligence program that can understand and respond to human text and prompts. It can be used for a variety of purposes from writing programming code, real estate listings, or even teacher lesson plans. Although some fear ChatGPT may interfere with the educational process, there are practical […]

If you’re a middle or high school teacher, you’re probably experiencing some challenges as you see your students struggle to organize materials from previous class sessions so they are unable to use them in future classes. Let’s look at this from the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) perspective.  The UDL Guidelines recommend scaffolds we can […]

Sensory processing is the relationship between the nervous system, sensory input interacting with our senses, and the patterns formed by a person’s response. Common processing patterns within our seven senses (i.e., sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, vestibular, and proprioceptive) are sensory sensitive, sensation avoidance, low registration, and sensation seeking. These create various possible responses and […]

Specially designed instruction (SDI) is a critical part of how we provide support to students with disabilities (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2004). For secondary co-teachers of mathematics, there are many factors to consider to support students with disabilities in mathematics. Many students with disabilities struggle with memorizing and retrieving math facts, understanding relationships, and […]

Coaching plays a vital role in supporting and empowering co-teaching pairs. By providing ongoing guidance, feedback, and professional development, instructional coaches can help teachers develop the necessary skills and strategies to meet the diverse needs of their students. Here are four areas of coaching to consider when working with co-teachers. Establishing relationships Coaching teachers begins […]