Bridging the Gap Between Research and Practice
DLD's Bridging the Gap conference in Baltimore was a wonderful experience for those who were fortunate enough to attend. We met at the Sheraton Inner Harbor on the 29th and 30th of October for many fabulous sessions. Here are a few photos that capture some of the good times.
 DLD board members helped guests during registration  Presenter Bill Therien smiled when caught by the photographer during his presentation. President Mike Gerber talked with the guests about making teachers of students with LD the sources for information about evidence-based practices. |
 Tyson Schoeber, Frances Thompson, Linda Siegel, and Michael Gerber visited during a quiet moment.  Presenter Rollanda O'Connor coached participants during their practicing of peer-tutoring activities  Presenters Brian Bryant and Charles Hughes chatted during lunch.  Past President Linda Siegel presented the Educator of the Year Award to Tyson Schoeber. |
For more photos from the conference, jump over to TeachingLD on Facebook.
Friday Morning Sessions
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Session Number |
Presenters | Description | |
| (FM1) | Sara J. Hines, Jennifer T. Klein, & Kathleen M. Ryan |
Effective Rime-Based Instruction to Improve Decoding Skills This workshop links research-supported rime-based decoding instruction to practical classroom activities. A discussion of the rationale behind rime-based instruction and our recent research supporting its use to teach basic decoding skills will be presented. Participants will then practice developing rime patterns for instruction using short stories, popular music, and language experience stories. The presentation is appropriate for teachers of students with weak decoding skills at all grade levels. Grade Level: All Knowledge Level: Beginning Materials: Provided |
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| (FM2) | Charles A. Hughes & Bill Therrien |
The Essay Writing Strategy: Helping Students Write More Organized and Complete Responses to Essay Questions and Prompts This workshop is designed for educators with limited knowledge of the Strategic Intervention Model (SIM), developed through the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning. We will provide an overview of the SIM, including the critical teaching behaviors for learning strategies and why they are important for adolescents. We will also present the Essay Test Taking Strategy, one of the SIM strategies, designed to help students write more cohesive and complete essays in testing situations. Grade Level: Secondary Knowledge Level: Beginning Materials: $25. |
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| (FM3) | Peggy King-Sears |
The Technology and Pedagogy of Universal Design for Learning Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is characterized by flexible and diverse ways that students with and without disabilities learn (representation), practice what they have learned (engagement), and show what they know (expression). This workshop focuses on the principles of UDL for technological devices and pedagogical techniques that can be used to diversify instruction. Participants will practice identifying and creating varied ways to present new content, engage students in activities, and monitor learning using evidence-based techniques for all settings. Grade Level: All Knowledge Level: Beginning Materials: Provided |
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| (FM4) | Rollanda E. O’Connor |
Beyond Reading Words: Improving Reading Rate, Fluency, and Comprehension **Please note that the sessions listed as FM4 and SA3 here are different from those indicated in our printed brochure. The session topics and presenters remain the same. The timing of the sessions had to be changed. |
Friday Afternoon Sessions
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Session Number |
Presenters | Description | |
| (FA1) | Diane P. Bryant & Brian R. Bryant |
Using Evidence-Based Interventions to Teach Primary Level Students Early Numeracy Concepts and Skills Grade Level: All Knowledge Level: Intermediate Materials: Provided |
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| (FA2) | Lynn M. Gelzheiser & Laura Hallgren Flynn |
Responsive, Comprehensive and Intensive Intervention for Older Struggling Readers |
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| (FA3) | Jill Marie Leafstedt & Catherine Richards-Tutor |
Early Reading Intervention for Struggling Readers This workshop provides a detailed demonstration of methods for conducting early reading intervention within an RtImodel for students at-risk. The strategies and methods presented are based on substantial research demonstrating the effectiveness of the Core Intervention Model (CIM). The CIM includes 6 critical principles for conducting interventions. Participants will see examples of intervention in action and have the opportunity to develop intervention plans for their setting. Grade Level: All Knowledge Level: Intermediate Materials: Provided |
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| (FA4) |
Renata Ticha & Miya Miura Wayman |
Reading Progress Monitoring for Secondary School Students: Reading-Aloud and Maze-Selection Measures The goal of this workshop is to educate participants about the function and benefits of implementing read-aloud and maze selection measures in secondary education settings and to provide hands-on experience in using the measures for data-based decision making in reading instruction. Presenters will outline the research on progress-monitoring measures for secondary students and the role of these measures in RtI and special education. Participants will then have an opportunity to practice using the measures under the guidance of the presenters. Grade Level: All Knowledge Level: Beginning Materials: Provided |
Saturday Morning Sessions
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Session Number |
Presenters | ||
| (SM1) | Lindy Crawford & Barbara Freeman |
The Math Learning Companion: An Individualized Intervention for Students with Math Learning Disabilities |
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| (SM2) | Paul J. Gerber |
Adults with Learning Disabilities: Current Research, Evidence-based Conclusions and Emerging Directions |
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| (SM3) | J. Ron Nelson |
Strategic Instruction for Building Vocabulary |
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| (SM4) | Emily J. Solari & Alexis L. Filippini |
Developing Text Level Literacy Skills in Beginning Readers This workshop focuses on developing literacy skills in beginning readers. Presenters will share results from two research studies that concentrated on text level development, specifically vocabulary and comprehension. Participants will then learn how to develop and implement teaching strategies for text level literacy skills for K-2nd grade students. Finally, participants will work together to develop lesson plans using both expository and narrative texts. Grade Level: All Knowledge Level: Intermediate Materials: Provided |
Saturday Afternoon Sessions
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Session Number |
Presenters | Description | |
| (SA1) | Olga Jerman, Amber Moran, Cathy Lussier, Michael J. Orosco, Lee Swanson, & Michael Gerber |
Strategy Training, Problem Solving, and Working Memory in Children with Math Disabilities The purpose of this workshop is to share the intervention specifics and results of two studies focused on children with math disabilities (MD) or at-risk for MD. The first study focuses on a curriculum that emphasizes the use of cognitive strategies aimed at increasing working memory. The second study assesses the effectiveness of reading comprehension instruction on math word problem solving performance. Presenters will discuss the actual lesson plans, procedures to identify key instructional components, and the cognitive and achievement areas of change. Grade Level: All Knowledge Level: Intermediate Materials: Provided |
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Cancelled |
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| (SA3) | Paul J. Riccomini |
Response to Intervention in Math: An Instructional Focus Grade Level: All Knowledge Level: Intermediate **Please note that the sessions listed as FM4 and SA3 here are different from those indicated in our printed brochure. The session topics and presenters remain the same. The timing of the sessions had to be changed. |
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| (SA4) |
Michael J. Orosco, Lee Swanson, Michael Gerber, & Danielle Guzman |
Growth in Literacy, Language, and Cognition in Children with Reading Disabilities who are English Language Learners In this workshop, presenters will share pilot data related to developing accurate and stable assessment tools and instruction for the identification of reading disabilities (RD) in English language learning children whose first language is Spanish. Preliminary findings document the rate of cognitive, language and reading growth as a function of instructional practice. Participants will learn about the identification process; important instructional elements such as explicit modeling with sounds; and decoding, vocabulary, comprehension and oral language development. Grade Level: All Knowledge Level: Intermediate Materials: $36. |
How to Register
There are two ways to register:
1. To print a registration form to mail in, click here
2. Register ONLINE with a credit card.
If you have any questions, please contact our Conference Registrar at conference@teachingld.org.
About the Presenters
Brian R. Bryant, University of Texas at Austin
Dr. Bryant is an adjunct faculty member at The University of Texas at Austin, Research Fellow at The University of Texas’ Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk; and Project Manager and Fellow for the Institute for Mathematics Disabilities and Difficulties in the Meadows Center. His research interests are in service provision for individuals with LD, specifically in reading, mathematics, and assistive technology.
Diane P. Bryant, University of Texas at Austin
Dr. Bryant is a Professor in the Department of Special Education at The University of Texas at Austin, a Fellow in the Cissy McDaniel Parker Fellow Fund, principal investigator of an RtI grant from the Institute of Education Sciences, and project director for the 3-Tier Mathematics grant from the Texas Education Agency. She has authored books and articles on instructional strategies for students with LD and, recently, has been involved in research to develop and validate assessment measures to identify students who are at-risk for early mathematics difficulties.
Lindy Crawford, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
Dr. Crawford is the Associate Dean and an Associate Professor of Special Education in the College of Education at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Her research interests include large-scale assessments of writing, test accommodations and modifications for students with disabilities, alternate assessments, and curriculum interventions for students who are achieving below grade level. Dr. Crawford has received funding from the federal Office of Special Education Programs, the National Academy of Education, the Institute of Education Sciences, and the Colorado Department of Education to conduct research across a broad array of topics.
Alexis L. Filippini, San Francisco State University
Dr. Filippini’s research interests are in early literacy acquisition, especially early prevention and identification of learning disabilities and the teaching and learning of vocabulary. She teaches courses in literacy instruction and positive behavior supports, including classroom management and conflict resolution.
Laura Hallgren Flynn, University at Albany
Ms. Hallgren-Flynn has focused on the progress of older struggling readers. As a teacher and teacher-educator, she has extensive experience in promoting readers’ word reading abilities and comprehension, as well as expertise in helping other teachers to better guide struggling readers.
Barbara Freeman, Digital Directions International
Barbara Freeman is currently Chief Operating Officer of Digital Directions International and creator of the HELP (Help with English Language Proficiency) instructional program. It is from Ms. Freeman’s conceptualization and research of the HELP program that the Math Learning Companion was created. Ms. Freemanwas previously a co-founder of KPMG Consulting’s Risk Management practice in Asia.
Lynn M. Gelzheiser, University at Albany
Dr. Gelzheiser began her career in special education teaching adolescents with learning disabilities, and continues to be interested in intermediate and middle grade readers. She has been Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator in several research projects utilizing the Interactive Strategies Approach for struggling readers.
Michael Gerber, University of California at Santa Barbara
Dr. Gerber is currently Director of the UCSB center on Special Education. His research has focused on information processing characteristics and barriers to acquisition and performance of basic skills by individuals with cognitive disabilities.
Paul J. Gerber, Virginia Commonwealth University
Dr. Gerber is the Ruth Harris Professor of Dylexia Studies in the Department of Special Education and Disability Studies at VCU. He has researched, written and presented extensively over the years about adults with learning disabilities.
Danielle Guzman, University of California at Santa Barbara
Ms. Guzman is a doctoral student at the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, UCSB. Her research interests include English-language learners, language acquisition, reading and writing development, family support, tutoring styles, and cognition.
Sara J. Hines, Hunter College
Dr. Hines is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Special Education at Hunter College in New York City. She was a reading supervisor and teacher of students with LD in the Washington DC area for over 20 years. Her research interests are in effective reading instruction for students with LD, particularly related to effective decoding and vocabulary interventions.
Charles A. Hughes, Penn State University
Dr. Hughes is Professor of Special Education at Penn State. His research interests include developing and validating self-instructional academic and behavioral strategies for students with LD. He has worked with the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning for over 20 years and has co-authored several of the learning strategies in the SIM curriculum.
Olga Jerman, Frostig Center
Dr. Olga Jerman is a Director of Research at the Frostig Center in Pasadena, California. Her research interests include learning disabilities, cognitive processes, memory development and problem solving.
Peggy King-Sears, George Mason University
Dr. King-Sears is Professor of Special Education at George Mason University. Her research interests include self-management, co-teaching, curriculum-based assessments, and universal design for learning.
Jennifer T. Klein, Hunter College
Ms. Klein is a certified Reading Specialist in New York State and holds an MA in Applied Educational Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University. She has worked with developing readers ranging in age from 5 to 65. Ms. Klein currently teaches full time in the Graduate Program in Learning Disabilities at Hunter College.
Jill Marie Leafstedt, CSU Channel Islands
Dr. Leafstedt is Associate Professor at California State University, Channel Islands. She was a middle school special education teacher and a Kindergarten teacher before earning her doctorate at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her research interests include early reading intervention and special education teacher preparation.
Cathy Lussier, University of California at Riverside
Dr. Lussier is currently the director of two Institute for Education Sciences grants, one focused on working memory and problem solving and the other on bilingual, literacy and cognition.
Daryl F. Mellard, University of Kansas
Dr. Mellard is a Principal Investigator at the National Technical Assistance Center on RTI (RTI4Success.org). He coordinated the largest national study of schools’ implementation of response to intervention in 41 school settings. Other projects involve improving adult literacy through interventions provided in adult education, Job Corps, GED, vocational rehabilitation and literacy programs.
Amber Moran, University of California at Santa Barbara
Ms. Moran is a third-year doctoral student at UCSB. Sher is currently interested in instructional methods to teach mathematics problem solving to students with LD or who are at academic risk.
J. Ron Nelson, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Dr. Nelson is Professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He has over 20 years experience in the field of special education as a teacher, technical assistance provider, and professor, focusing on serving children at risk of school failure and research issues. He has developed behavior and literacy interventions that have been recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Rollanda E. O’Connor, University of California at Riverside
Dr. O’Connor is a reading specialist and Professor at the University of California at Riverside Since 1990, her research has centered on issues of reading acquisition and reading improvement. Her current research focuses on building reading fluency and comprehension, and issues in: Responsiveness to Intervention, including the effects of Tier 2 intervention across the first four years of reading development.
Michael J. Orosco, University of California at Riverside
Dr. Orosco is Assistant Professor of Bilingual Special Education at University of California at Riverside. His research foci include the disproportionate representation of culturally and linguistically diverse students in special education, dynamic assessment in reading and math, and culturally responsive pedagogy.
Paul J. Riccomini, The Pennsylvania State University
Dr. Riccomini is Associate Professor at The Pennsylvania State University and former middle and high school math teacher. He is the author of four books related to improved mathematics instruction. His research focusese on effective instructional approaches, strategies, and assessments for students who are low achievers and/or students with LD in mathematics.
Catherine Richards-Tutor, California State University- Long Beach
Dr. Richards-Tutor is Associate Professor at CSU-Long Beach. She has been a first-grade teacher and an at-risk reading teacher. Her research interests include early intervention for students at-risk, particularly English Learners and students with LD.
Kathleen M. Ryan, The Churchill School
Ms. Ryan is a middle school teacher at the Churchill School for students with LD in New York City where she has taught for three years. She received her Master’s Degree in Special Education with a concentration in Learning Disabilities from Hunter College in 2009.
Emily J. Solari, University of Texas Health Science Center
Dr. Solari is Assistant Professor at the Children’s Learning Institute at the University of Texas Health Science Center. Dr. Solari’s research is focused on early interventions with at-risk populations, language and literacy development of English language learners, early identification and remediation of reading disabilities, text level interventions for Spanish-speaking English language learners, cognitive development, and individual differences in children.
Lee Swanson, University of California at Riverside
Dr. Swanson is Professor and holds an endowed chair at UC-Riverside. He has 290 published articles, 45 chapters, 8 books, and 17 externally funded grants. The main focus of Dr. Swanson’s work for the last five years has been to investigate the role of cognition in mathematics, reading, and writing in children with LD.
Bill Therrien, University of Iowa
Dr. Therrien is Associate Professor of Special Education at the University of Iowa. His research interests center around academic interventions for students with mild cognitive disabilities, particulary in reading, writing and science instruction.
Renata Ticha, University of Minnesota
Dr. Ticha is currently a Research Associate at the Institute on Community Integration and the Department of Special Education at the University of Minnesota. Her work and interests are in developing general outcome measures for students with significant cognitive disabilities and struggling students in secondary settings, demonstrating the effectiveness of RtI in schools, and analyzing the National Core Indicators Survey data on people with developmental disabilities.
Miya Miura Wayman, University of Minnesota
Dr. Wayman is currently at the Institue on Community Integration at the University of Minnesota. Her current research interests include developing progress monitoring measures for beginning readers and English learners.