Teaching Vulnerable Learners

The practices that work—and those that don’t—to reach and teach students at risk.

When schools fail to address the problems of struggling students, the consequences can be dire: course failures, absenteeism, suspensions or expulsions, dropouts. Those effects continue to ripple after school with lower rates of college attendance and graduation, underemployment and lower wages, and even incarceration.

Yet many of these students can experience a very different trajectory when their learning difficulties are addressed. Whether it’s a student with ADHD who has trouble sitting still, a student just arrived from the Dominican Republic who speaks no English, or a traumatized student who dissociates in class, there are strategies that have proven effective in overcoming the hurdles they face. This guide will help teachers recognize the most common barriers to learning and apply solutions that will work in their classrooms.

Teaching in the Fast Lane

Teaching in the Fast Lane offers teachers a way to increase student engagement: an active classroom. The active classroom is about creating learning experiences differently, so that students engage in exploration of the content and take on a good share of the responsibility for their own learning. It’s about students reaching explicit targets in different ways, which can result in increased student effort and a higher quality of work.

Learning in the Fast Lane

Too often, students who fail a grade or a course receive remediation that ends up widening rather than closing achievement gaps. According to veteran classroom teacher and educational consultant Suzy Pepper Rollins, the true answer to supporting struggling students lies in acceleration. In Learning in the Fast Lane, she lays out a plan of action that teachers can use to immediately move underperforming students in the right direction and differentiate instruction for all learners–even those who excel academically.

Math in the Fast Lane is different.

A touch-screen instructional math resource for every 3-8 classroom, teachers select tasks that are as engaging as they are rigorous. Organized by math concepts, Math in the Fast Lane is a research-based instructional framework that builds success in ALL students. Within the MFL framework, teachers utilize resources to build dynamic, 100% engagement lessons.  Our mantra:  Where rigor meets engagement!

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• Enjoy a short video that demonstrates Math in the Fast Lane in action!

Have you ever been to a presentation and thought, “Gee, I wish I could have some of his/her materials for my classroom?” Now you do.

The site has an array of educational expertise…all in one place. Educational authors like gifted ed expert Todd Stanley, STEM innovator Ann Kaiser, growth mindset expert Mary Cay Ricci, writing consultant/author Angela Stockman, and leadership/student voice expert Dr. Rick Jetter contribute exceptional open access resources.  This diverse array of talent merges in one space with this goal: to support educators with stellar, evidence-based resources. Suzy Pepper Rollins is both the founder and a contributor.