Special Education Professional Development

Designed for all K-12 general and special educators

Many schools and districts report that special education students are underperforming compared to their general education peers. However, new research links more time spent in inclusive educational settings (aka, the “least restrictive environment”) to higher academic performance, better post-secondary outcomes, and more employment opportunities for students with disabilities. For special education to work, you have to start with the belief that all students deserve an excellent education and pair that steadfast belief with effective instruction. We can help you get there with our special education professional development.

At Action Driven Education, we give districts, schools, and teachers–both general and special education–the tools they need to design a high-expectation individualized education for every student with special needs that fits within their unique classrooms. Our professional development helps shape the mindset of teachers and provides them with specific actions they can do to improve student achievement.

Our synchronous professional development is personalized for each organization and the participants involved, and is held on-site at the location of your choice.

Tim working with a district doing professional development.

Core Special Education Professional Development Workshop: Tools for Effective Inclusion

In this professional development workshop, we explore what it takes to make inclusion work for every child with special needs.  Our Tools for Effective Inclusion session is available for all audiences including paraprofessionals, special education, and general education teachers!

Participants will:

    • Discover the right tools for effective inclusion
    • Develop an understanding of the function of accommodations
    • Learn how to use disengagement as a resource and a validation of your efforts
    • Learn and apply the variables used to select accommodations and modifications
    • Discover the importance of finding the “just right” level of support
    • Explore the two-tiered system of special education
    • Discover specific actions that can be shared with others to make inclusion work for all children

On-Demand Learning

Tools for Effective Inclusion is also available as an asynchronous course!

Introducing our Newest Action-Driven Professional Development!

Heroes are so important to schools, but sometimes we throw compliments like calling someone a hero without clarifying why.  Heroes… engages participants in discovering why they are, in fact, a hero!  But Action-Driven professional development needs to be more than just a motivational presentation – it needs to be action-driven!  Heroes… pushes participants to discover that many children need more than a hero; they need a super-hero!  But what are the characteristics of a super-hero?  Schedule a free professional development consultation to find out! – Heroes… can be presented as a keynote, general, concurrent, or workshop session.

Additional Special Education Professional Development Topics of Interest

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Meeting Student Needs Through Two Tiers
Teachers will learn to capitalize on opportunities to improve a child’s need-related skills while concurrently implementing appropriate accommodations and modifications that supports students around their needs in all classes.  Explore Action Driven Education’s wildly popular Barrier Moving Mindset!

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Developing an Inclusive Mindset
Learn how to educate your staff and eliminate ableism to restore high expectations for all students and ensure that each learner reaches their fullest potential.  

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Save Time by Validating Your Efforts Using Data
Teachers are busy and our learners with special needs are behind so there’s nothing worse than wasting time.  How’s the best way to ensure this doesn’t  happen?  With DATA!  Explore a common-sense and Action-Driven approach to data collection that gets the most from every second!  Explore more in our Data Drives Change Best-Practice Newsletter.

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Exploring the Power of Possibilities (PoP) Process
Given the individualized nature of educating students with special needs, it is impossible to provide the perfect accommodations and modifications for all students in every situation. When your staff understands how to use suggested accommodations and modifications as examples, they learn to develop their own ideas with ease.

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Uncovering the Importance of Confidence and Trust
Teachers are guided in exploration of how student confidence and trust impact their willingness to take academic risks, what happens when a student isn’t willing to take a risk, and how Accomods changes this equation.

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Engaging General Education Teachers
The law directs the involvement of general education teachers in a student’s IEP and evaluations, yet they often feel unempowered. Teachers will learn how to select and implement appropriate accommodations and modifications that get all members of your team involved in meaningful ways.

Ready to Get Something Scheduled?

Don’t see what you’re looking for?

Let’s work together to individualize professional development to meet your teacher’s and school’s needs!