Interdisciplinary Frameworks for Schools: Best Professional Practices for Serving the Needs of All Students

by Virginia W. Berninger, Sharan Brown (Contributor), G. Andrew H. Benjamin (Contributor)

Common core standards and individual education plans specify learning goals for students. But when a student's performance falls short of these goals, it can be challenging - even for professionals with a range of training and disciplinary expertise - to determine the cause of the student's struggle and to plan the necessary supports. Individualized learning solutions are necessary, because one-size-fits-all interventions don't work. This landmark guide presents an evidence-based approach to assessment and instruction in K-12 education that takes into account individual differences in students. The guide identifies the developmental skills to be assessed and taught in early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence, and it provides principles for tailoring assessment and intervention to individual students, who exhibit sizable developmental, individual, cultural, and language differences. Importantly, it also explains how to facilitate communication and collaboration among interdisciplinary teams in education - professionals who are legally required to work together yet have such different training and disciplinary expertise that they seem to "speak different languages". This timely, comprehensive resource will help local schools and districts meet not only narrow legal mandates but also broader best practices for helping students learn. A special companion website provides additional resources and recommended readings.

383 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2014

About the author

Virginia Wise Berninger, PhD (Ginger) is a Professor of Learning Sciences and Human Development at the University of Washington, former Program Coordinator of APA-accredited and NASP- approved School Psychology Program, and Principal Investigator of NIH Center Grant on Defining and Treating Specific Learning Disabilities awarded December 15, 2011 for five years. She has been on the University of Washington faculty since 1989, and is also a Research Affiliate (1994-present) and Coordinator Research Specialization for Learning Disabilities (2000-present), Eunice Kennedy Shriver Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (IDDRC).

Professor Berninger is a licensed psychologist and former teacher (general education, special education, and reading specialist) with extensive experience in school-related assessment, consultation, and research. She is the Principal Investigator and Director of the NICHD-funded, University of Washington Multidisciplinary Learning Disability Center and Center for Oral and Written Language Learners (OWLs). During her 30 years of research on normal reading, writing, and math development and learning disabilities in reading, writing, and math, she has authored, co-authored, or edited over 200 research publications, including 12 books.