Strength-Based Pedagogy for Smart Students with Disabilities: Using Interest-based Strategies for Academic and Personal Success

Using the approach to teaching and developing strengths and talents known as the Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM) this book provides a blueprint on how to expand your repertoire of evidence-based practices and pedagogical strategies to better challenge and engage twice exceptional students.

Covering topics such as how to provide various types of enrichment for the classroom, how to assess individual interests, how to use strength-based learning to promote socioemotional wellbeing, post-secondary transition, and more, this book offers practical advice, easily implemented strategies and real-life examples from evidence-based research to support educators in helping their students achieve both academic and personal success.

Featuring various methods for providing various types of enrichment in the classroom as well as reproducible materials for immediate implementation, Strength-Based Pedagogy for Smart Students with Disabilities offers comprehensive assistance and support to educators and parents in their efforts to guide students and children toward academic and personal success.

Sally M. Reis, Ph.D., holds the Letitia N. Morgan Chair in Educational Psychology, is a Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor, and is well known for her work with academically talented students. She is a past president of the National Association for Gifted Children, and the Co-Director of Confratute, the longest running summer institute in the development of gifts and talents.

Susan Baum, Ph.D., is an educator, author, consultant, Chancellor of Bridges Graduate School for Cognitive Diversity in Education and Director of the 2e Center for Research and Professional Development. The author of To Be Gifted and Learning Disabled, her globally recognized writing and research covers many areas of education, including differentiated curriculum and instruction, gifted education, gifted learning-disabled students, and gifted underachieving students. Her work on twice-exceptional students is recognized globally and she has received many awards for her contributions to the field of twice exceptionality and strength-based, talent-focused teaching and learning.

Joseph Madaus, Ph.D., is a tenured professor and the director of the Collaborative on Postsecondary Education and Disability in the Neag School of Education at UConn. He has been recognized for his service to the field of higher education and disability and for his research.

Nicholas Gelbar, Ph.D., is a psychologist and researcher at the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut. He worked for over 5 years at the Autism Center at the Hospital for Special Care as a psychologist and is a nationally certified school psychologist as well as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst at the Doctoral Level. He has training and expertise in identifying and teaching students identified as neurodiverse and twice-exceptional.