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

The definition of specific learning disorder (SLD) in the DSM-V (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition) states that a specific learning disorder is a disorder with impairments in mathematics, reading, or written expression (Dyscalculia.org, 2019, para. 7). If you were to replace those three keywords with three “dys” words, mathematics could be […]

Invisible disabilities can significantly impact students in K–12 education, often presenting challenges that affect learning, social interaction, and emotional well-being. They are conditions such as dyslexia, ADHD, anxiety, or chronic illnesses that may go unnoticed but can hinder a student’s ability to engage in a traditional classroom setting. These challenges require proactive strategies from educators […]

Take a minute to think about how an adult helps a child learn to ride a bike. He doesn’t put her on the bike and say, “There you go! Ride the bike!” Instead, he scaffolds the support in order to help her learn to ride her bike independently: The adult knew a gap existed between […]

The science of reading is a vast, interdisciplinary body of scientifically based research about reading and issues related to reading and writing. This research has been conducted over the last five decades and is derived from thousands of studies conducted in multiple languages. The science of reading has culminated in a preponderance of evidence to […]

Assistive technology (AT) offers a multitude of benefits across all age groups by fostering independence, supporting inclusion, facilitating friendships, and leading to improved overall quality of life. For young children, it facilitates opportunities for play, learning, friendships, and development by providing tailored educational tools, enhancing communication skills through augmentative and alternative communication, and enabling access […]

Anyone who has successfully mastered a sport, a musical instrument, a culinary art, or public speaking understands the stages, time, and effort it took to get there. Even individuals with a propensity for sports, music, cooking, or speaking will admit that it took immense practice to achieve their goals. In the same way, learning to […]

What can teachers do to turn reading from a chore into an adventure? We live in a world of distractions for young and older students. Their lives are busy with endless schedules of activities, sports, technologies, family dynamics, etc. For some young people, it’s difficult to motivate them to enter the school doors consistently. Students […]

Morphology may sound like a scary proposition to include in literacy instruction, especially for elementary students; but it doesn’t have to be that way! In fact, students of all ages respond well to morphology instruction when included in their vocabulary development lessons. Schwartz (2023) defines morphology instruction as identifying and defining affixes (i.e., prefixes and […]

Pedal switches, Makey Makey, and Bluetooth OH MY! The Assistive Technology lab has a variety of switches available for school and early intervention teams to check out. Pair them with any switch-activated device, and your students will be ecstatically able to interact with their environment. Are you looking for something that will give a sensory […]

We all know to teach strategies using explicit instruction or gradual release of responsibility (“I do, we do, you do together, you do alone”), which provides scaffolds and builds learner fluency while incrementally increasing student responsibility for the learning (Dawson & Guare, 2012, 2018; Fisher & Frey, 2011, 2021; Fisher, Frey, & Lapp, 2012; Fisher, […]