Pamela Hill

Dr. Pamela Hill has been a special educator for more than 30 years. She is a public school resource teacher at an elementary school in a Chicago suburb. She also is a special education adjunct professor at two local universities. Pamela believes in the importance of teaching students to self-advocate, become involved in their own IEP development and understand their own learning differences, as early as in the elementary school grades. She presents at national and local educational conferences.

Articles by Pamela Hill

• Am I providing ‘appropriate’ special education?

  Monday, June 26, 2017

  On March 22, a Supreme Court ruling emphasized that schools that provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to students who have a disability now need to view "appropriate" more critically. What does Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District mean for special educators across the country?

• Giving students what they need most

  Monday, May 08, 2017

  ​What do students with learning disabilities need the most from their special educator? While many individualized skills and interventions are needed, there is one skill all students need from their special educator: the ability to problem-solve.

• Considering the importance of creativity

  Monday, February 20, 2017

  Albert Einstein has been credited with the phrase, "Creativity is intelligence having fun." Learning is hard work for students with learning disabilities, and most instruction for students with learning disabilities is very structured, direct, and scripted. However, many students with learning disabilities are very creative. They have the ability to "have fun" with their intelligence and develop creativity, but it must be welcomed.

• KWL for professional development

  Monday, January 09, 2017

  The beginning of a new year is a natural time to reflect on the past year's experiences of teaching students with special education needs. When seeking ways to make educational changes based on past experiences, professional development opportunities may be considered.

• Follow the leader: Letting students take ownership

  Monday, December 05, 2016

  "Follow the leader" is a game in which "the participants copy the actions and words of a person who has been chosen as leader," according to the Oxford Dictionaries. In many ways, this mirrors the instruction of a special educator and her resource students.

• Partners in learning: A twist on the school‑home collaboration

  Monday, October 17, 2016

  The typical connection for communicating information from the school to home is between parent and teacher. At the start of each new school year, parents look for the basic weekly classroom newsletter, parent-teacher notebook or notes from the teacher.

• Instructional journaling for improved teaching and learning

  Monday, January 25, 2016

  Teachers of students with learning disabilities make multitudes of curricular and instruction decisions in any given day. Therefore, they must know the instructional methodology they are choosing is effective. In reality, special educators are always learning and improving their craft, and reflection by journaling is an important piece of this decision-making process.

• Encouraging students with learning disabilities to talk

  Thursday, December 03, 2015

  ​Talking is the most natural skill for almost every person. Talking begins early in development and needs little coaxing. There are some students with learning disabilities who are gifted at talking. By that, I refer to their natural desire to talk to anyone and about almost anything. Children have free rein to talk as long as they want and about any topic they are interested in — until they begin school.

• Drawing is an integral learning tool

  Monday, November 02, 2015

  In schools, the act of drawing is often pigeonholed to specific areas of academics and instruction. It is observed in lower elementary grades as a constant, but less and less as students progress through higher level grades.

• Occupational therapy: An important support

  Monday, October 26, 2015

  ​Many students with learning disabilities have attention and sensory processing issues that can be assisted and improved by occupational therapy. Occupational therapy focuses on functioning in daily life. In the school, the focus is on attention and performance of skills in the classroom.

• Transitioning to college: The responsibility shift

  Tuesday, September 08, 2015

  More students with learning disabilities are enrolling in college than in the past — the number has tripled in the last two decades. However, students with learning disabilities are dropping out of college at a higher rate than their peers. Why? The students often do not reveal to college personnel that they have a disability.

• Monitoring accommodations for effective learning

  Monday, July 20, 2015

  Students who receive special education services rely on accommodations to help them learn and to help make learning environments accessible. The accommodations are typically chosen by the special education team during a student's annual or initial Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) meeting. Accommodations can also be added to a student's IEP at any other time that a change is deemed necessary.

• Quest for quiet: Considering noise control as an accommodation

  Monday, June 29, 2015

  When educators plan Individual Educational Programs for students with learning disabilities, they use several key considerations for possible instructional and test accommodations to help students improve their individualized learning.

• Summertime for special educators: Learn something new

  Monday, June 15, 2015

  If you are a special educator and have reached the last day of school, congratulations! Another school year is complete! At some time during this month all schools that follow a traditional calendar will provide a summer break of several weeks. Schools who follow year-round calendars will also have break, typically in August. In all situations, the special educator will have an extended time to have a break from teaching.

• Setting summer goals: Linking school years together

  Monday, May 18, 2015

  For many, there are just a few days left in the current school year. Some educators are making final lesson plans for the school year, others are developing summer school lesson plans, and parents are making plans to fill the months of summer with activities.

• For the love of reading: Using technology to draw students to literacy

  Monday, May 11, 2015

  My love for reading goes back further than I can actually recall. As an educator, I want my students to love to read, not just learn to read. Parents of students with diagnosed reading disabilities want their children to read and enjoy reading as well. Students with diagnosed reading disabilities spend more of their educational hours in intensive reading instruction than the average reader.

• 2 heads are better than 1 — in the right circumstances

  Monday, April 13, 2015

  As a special educator, I want to use well-researched practices with my students. The reasons are logical: I want my students to learn well, I want to try researched practices so I can share them with credibility with my educator peers, and best practice dictates that IEP goals are based on researched practice.

• Learned helplessness: A daily tug of war

  Monday, March 23, 2015

  A teacher excitedly explains to his class that they will be beginning a new writing project that will be self-defined by the students' favorite activities outside of school. The students will choose an activity to explore, choose the means of writing and how to present the final project. The students in the class excitedly begin discussing with each other what their favorite activities are and begin to brainstorm what they will do.

• Telling or teaching? Knowing when it’s right to ‘give a fish’

  Monday, March 09, 2015

  A famous proverb tells us, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." When applied to teaching — and, more appropriately, to special education — it also begs a question. Who decides if the best approach is to give a fish or teach fishing lessons when teaching a student with learning disabilities?

• Motivation + trust = learning

  Monday, March 02, 2015

  ​As March begins, we are all feeling the need for spring break. In the Midwest, we are in need of a thaw and for the students to go outside and run. The signs of the season tell us that we have surpassed the middle mark of our school year. By now, the goals you set at the beginning of the year are starting to show signs of either being met or needing to be adjusted. You have had time to evaluate your students, and you can plan for how you will spend the time that is left for educational success.

• The power of observation

  Tuesday, February 10, 2015

  How do we know that a student is learning? What behaviors must they demonstrate for the teacher to draw the conclusion that the student has learned? Who determines learning? The teacher, the curriculum and the standards do. The current measure of learning is assessment. The student must indicate what they know by answering questions in a test format. However, there is a piece missing that is important to determine if a student has learned and is learning.

• How special educators can handle testing season

  Tuesday, January 20, 2015

  In numerous schools, assessment season is just beginning. Countless public schools administer districtwide assessments three times a year, and they administer federally-mandated yearly statewide testing during the spring season.

• Starting the new year: Begin anew by cycling back

  Monday, January 05, 2015

  ​It's a new year once again. Most traditions say to begin anew. Put aside old ideas and behaviors that did not work. In special education, it is important to build upon what has been taught successfully. Do not start with something entirely new, rather cycle back and refresh with students what they know and what they have learned.

• Collecting IEP goal data: Students, teachers working in partnership

  Wednesday, November 19, 2014

  At the conclusion of an initial or annual IEP review, after everyone has shared information about the student and developed the best IEP plan for the student's success, everyone breathes a sigh of relief. The "save" button on the computer IEP program is pressed, and voila! The educational goals become active.

• Student self-assessment: Understanding with purpose

  Monday, November 03, 2014

  Student assessments drive education. Academics are carefully measured with every student to determine at what level he is learning and if any interventions are needed to assist him for improved learning.

• Collaborating with students: Invite them to the IEP process

  Tuesday, October 21, 2014

  In the typical special education scenario, the special education team sets the goals for the student receiving an Individual Education Plan. However, at the age of 14 the student reaches the age of transition and begins to collaborate with the special education team to plan goals for his future.

• Who is responsible for IEP goals?

  Tuesday, October 07, 2014

  As the beginning of autumn appears, public school is well underway for the more than 2 million students identified with learning disabilities in the United States. These students are being instructed by teachers whose responsibility is to assist them in meeting their Individual Education Plan (IEP) goals.

• Is the resource room a waste of time?

  Tuesday, September 23, 2014

  ​Recently, I read a Facebook entry written by a parent of a student with learning disabilities. The parent said, "The resource room is a waste of time for my child." The comment took me aback. I began to internalize the comment and wondered if my work with students was a waste of time.