Current StrateNotes Newsletter

SN Vol. 33, No. 1 | Sept./Oct. 2024

Featured Article: Providing a Continuum of Special Education Supports, Dana McCaleb, SIM PD Leader (VA)

Providing a Continuum of Special Education Supports with SIM, Image of a Lightbulb In “Big Ideas in Special Education: Specially Designed Instruction, High-leverage Practices, Explicit Instruction, and Intensive Instruction,” the authors (2017) support educators' understanding the relationships and hierarchies among key special education concepts. They include a visual guide (i.e., nested structure of special education terms) to illustrate how special education terms interconnect to support effective educational support for students with disabilities. The Strategic Instruction Model (SIM) provides a foundation for instruction, beginning with targeted interventions and strengthening less intensive levels of support throughout the continuum. SIM, a comprehensive approach to adolescent literacy, includes evidence-based instructional tools and interventions to help students succeed. The light bulb graphic, in Figure 1, represents how SIM underpins all instruction, viewed from the base upward.

Click here to read the full article

_{Note: Image adapted from “Big Ideas in Special Education: Specially Designed Instruction, High-leverage Practices,Explicit Instruction, and Intensive Instruction,” by P. J. Riccomini, S. Morano, and C. A. Hughes, 2017, Teaching Exceptional Children, 50(1), p. 22. Adapted with permission.}

SIM News

New KUCRL Online Store is online: https://shop-kucrl.ku.edu/
The new store is updated with a more modern look and feel and features a few example pages from each manual that customers can browse to get an idea of what the manual will include.
KU Center for Research on Learning was recently notified it will receive a cooperative agreement award from the U.S. Library of Congress. The project, titled “Citizen Journalism for All Students: Making Journalism in Action’s Library of Congress resources more accessible and relevant for students with disabilities,” will be led by Suzanne Myers and Jocelyn Washburn.
FREE PL Micro-credential as part of PD. We are now including the SIM Professional Learning (PL) Micro-credentials as part of the initial PD experience for anyone who attends and completes a SIM PD Session and fills out the evidence section of their micro-credential/badge for review.

What this means for you: As a SIM Specialist, Professional Developer, or Professional Development Leader, the roster that you submit with your Post PD Reports will be all we need to approve people for the SIM Professional Learning (PL) micro-credentials. So, be sure to let your teachers know during your PD that they can join the SIM PL Badges on Badgelist at either:
SIM-Content-Enhancement Credentials or
SIM-Learning-Strategies Credentials
KUCRL has submitted Xtreme Reading to a handful of the states who have passed Science of Reading Laws. Here's more information: Which States Have Passed ‘Science of Reading’ Laws? What’s in Them?
SIM Offices have moved across campus! Our new address is:
University of Kansas, Center for Research on Learning
1200 Sunnyside Ave., Haworth Hall #3107
Lawrence, KS 66045

SIM Resources & Reminders

Resources:

HLP & SIM Crosswalk, 2024 The KUCRL has developed this crosswalk to assist educators in understanding the relationship between the High-Leverage Practices for Students with Disabilities (HLPs) and the elements and processes used when implementing the Strategic Instruction Model (SIM™). This crosswalk was updated to respond to the 2024 updated and revised High-Leverage Practices for Students with Disabilities (2nd edition).

2024 Xtreme Reading Sampler
Please feel free to use or share the SIM Overview Video

Link to SIM Brochures, including:

SIM Overview Brochure
SIM Learning Strategies Brochure
- Writing Strategies Brochure
SIM Content Enhancement Routine Brochure
- Higher Order Thinking and Reasoning Brochure
SIM Math Strategies Brochure

Reminders:

SIM in the Field

September is National Literacy Month and the Be Podcast Network in partnership with Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) are sharing over 40 podcasts to spotlight children’s literacy. Listen to the Sep 15th episode, Making the Science of Reading Stick with SIM Director, Dr. Jocelyn Washburn.
New Publications from the SIM Network:
- VanUitert, Victoria & Millirons, Emily & Coleman, Olivia & Kennedy, Michael. (2024). Learning by Talking: Using Multimedia to Enhance Science Explanation Development of Neurodivergent Students. Journal of Special Education Technology. 39. 403-418.
- Carreon, A., Rowland, A., Smith, S., Lowery, A., & Mosher, M. (2024). Designing for Successful Educational Experiences in Virtual Reality Environments. Journal of Special Education Technology, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/01626434241277191

Upcoming SIM Events:

SIM Update Conferences for PDers and Specialists
- Oct. 22, 2024 - Northeast SIM Update Conference in Virginia begins online on Sept.
- Feb. 2025 - Florida Virtual SIM Update Conference - registration coming soon
- Other tentative dates for 2025:
  - Southeast Conference (Charlotte, NC) - March 2025
  - SIM Virtual Conference - October 2025
SIM Online PD Classes for educators (self-paced courses on Canvas, with follow-up coaching time)
- Framing Routine
- Fundamentals of Paraphrasing and Summarizing Strategy
- NEW: The Paragraph Writing Strategy
- Possible Selves (1^st or 2^nd edition)
- Sentence Writing Strategies (Fundamentals and Proficiency)
- Unit Organizer Routine

Follow SIM® on: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn

The University of Kansas prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, ancestry, disability, status as a veteran, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, gender identity, gender expression, and genetic information in the university's programs and activities. Retaliation is also prohibited by university policy. The following persons have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies and are the Title IX coordinators for their respective campuses: Director of the Office of Institutional Opportunity & Access, IOA@ku.edu, Room 1082, Dole Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66045, 785-864-6414, 711 TTY (for the Lawrence, Edwards, Parsons, Yoder, and Topeka campuses); Director, Equal Opportunity Office, Mail Stop 7004, 4330 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Fairway, KS 66205, 913-588-8011, 711 TTY (for the Wichita, Salina, and Kansas City, Kansas medical center campuses).