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I share about special education professional development books all the time. I have shared some of my tried and true favorites, about some behavior focused PD books, and I am always sharing some of my favorite books for kids! As an avid reader, and these 4 special education professional development books have been at the top of my recent favorites list. How could I NOT share them with you?!
The Minimalist Teacher
I am really digging this book. It’s truly an exemplary resource that supports teacher wellness for educators teaching preschool through transition. It supports combating racism and bias and meeting the learning needs of ALL kids while still maintaining teacher wellbeing.
This is not only a great read, but offers very tangible tools, guidelines, activities, and strategies. The text gives tons of examples where students, families, teachers and admin are bombarded by the mountains of initiatives, curriculums, assessments (etc) being thrown at them. The frameworks offered within the chapters help navigate and simplify these intense demands so that we can stay sane in the process.
Overcoming Dyslexia
Dyslexia has been around forever. The science of reading is making headlines and awareness of dyslexia rising. It’s important that we better understand dyslexic profiles.
While this is a thick book with a TON of thorough information, it doesn’t have to be read cover to cover. Reading this book by individual chapter as needed can be incredibly helpful for both teachers and parents. Often information like this is held by the reading interventionist/specialist, and often isn’t found in special education professional development books. To be a well rounded reading support for kids, this would be a great text to add to your shelf!
One Without the Other
Shelley Moore is one of my favorite voices in the special education world. “When you see students in your class, do not look at them as a category. Look at them as people who need support. Think about supports in layers that are designed for specific students, but that everyone has access to.” Can you see why this is one of my recent favorite special education professional development books?
Moore gets into some really great ideology regarding what inclusion really means. She’s making it more tangible and helping us see what it can be in its best form.
Disabling the School to Prison Pipeline
We often hear about the school to prison pipeline. This text brings to light the startling research that weaves special education figures right into the mix. The author, Laura Vernikoff, brings together her experience as a teacher, research & data that’s readily available in Google searches, as well as her own meticulous data to show the reality of youth with disabilities in the penal system.
While this topic is heavy, it’s crucially important. We must add this information to our special education professional development book library. This text is perfect for book groups, PLCs, department studies, and graduate school work.
