Susan Winebrenner

Susan Winebrenner is a consultant and author who works with school districts to help them translate current educational research into classroom practice. Susan has a passion for motivating and teaching students at both ends of the learning continuum. She has co-authored two books that have appeared in several editions for more than 20 years: "Teaching Gifted Kids in Today’s Classroom," and "Teaching Kids with Learning Difficulties in Today's Classroom." Her other co-authored books include "The Cluster Grouping Handbook" and "Differentiated Lessons for Every Learner."

Articles by Susan Winebrenner

• Improving school productivity for ‘non-average’ students

  Friday, July 27, 2018

  You have undoubtedly noticed that only some of your students enthusiastically dig in to their schoolwork and seem motivated to get their work done. Learning standards are actually not written for specific grade levels! They are aimed at the perceived learning abilities of the students in the middle of achievement expectations for typical learners of a certain age in a targeted grade. So, the truth is that the students who are not being productive are "located" at both ends of the learning continuum. Those kids who are "not doing or handing in their work" are the target groups for this article.

• Have your students review the school year successfully

  Friday, May 18, 2018

  Are you looking for an end-of-year activity you can use to help your students review its events in a meaningful way? Keep in mind that some students are not comfortable with written work. Some teachers suggest that it’s OK to make a vocal recording instead. But students should always be invited to create and use another format than those you are suggesting. It may also be helpful to brainstorm and display a list of the year’s events, which makes it easier for students to remember specific things that have happened during the present school year.

• Time is running out to turn unproductive students into successful learners

  Monday, April 02, 2018

  ​Is this a trick? A joke? Wishful thinking? No, I am completely serious about this. My decades in education have taught me this one inescapable truth: If a student is not learning the way we are teaching her, we must try other strategies.

• What should kids with special needs be doing over the summer?

  Monday, March 05, 2018

  "The summer!" you exclaim. "I'm still living in winter!" Yes, you may be stuck in winter on the calendar, but for both gifted kids and kids with learning difficulties, some summer opportunities close their application process by the end of March. I actually found some informational workshops at sites listed below that are advertising the dates of spring workshops that help you get the information you seek.

• A tale of 2 twice-exceptional learners, 30 years apart

  Monday, February 05, 2018

  Some years ago, my husband, Dr. Neil Winebrenner, was a superintendent of a school district in suburban Chicago. He knew of all my work in gifted education, and he was prepared to meet a very unusual family. A mom and dad made an appointment to ask for his help in creating a custom school program for their very gifted son, Kurt, who was in 4th grade. They described a child who was extremely capable in almost all subject areas, but was significantly disorganized.

• A list of New Year’s resolutions for teachers

  Monday, January 08, 2018

  So, this is the season for these things called New Year's resolutions. We are accustomed to creating them for our personal lives, but creating a different list for you and your students can be helpful as we begin a new calendar year in school.

• Where in the world is ‘curriculum compacting’ actually happening?

  Friday, December 15, 2017

  The first time in my career that I received in-depth training in how to teach gifted students correctly was at a training called "Confratute" at the University of Connecticut. It was amazingly motivational and thoroughly informative, and I returned to my school district raring to get started, as correctly as possible.

• How the understanding of ‘mindset’ can impact success

  Thursday, November 16, 2017

  While you were busy doing your life, the whole field of child and motivational psychology for teachers and parents has changed ... for the better. I have been an educator, parent and grandparent for decades, and I have often struggled with bothersome situations in which some people often just give up when times become tough, or when things don't go their way. Worse, they may blame themselves for their "failures" and continue to berate themselves as inadequate, stupid, lazy or just plain careless — sometimes for many years.

• How to help struggling learners who are not completing their work

  Monday, October 16, 2017

  ​By this time of the school year, some learners may be struggling to complete their work in certain subject areas (​including some gifted or advanced learners). Although there may be evidence that this problem has been present in previous school years, this year's teacher will suffer frustration with these events.

• How to help gifted learners who are not completing their work

  Monday, October 02, 2017

  ​By this time of the school year, some gifted or advanced learners may be struggling to complete their work in certain subject areas. Although there may be evidence that this problem has been present in previous school years, this year's teacher will suffer frustration with these events.

• The miracle of teaching short-term goal setting to students

  Monday, September 18, 2017

  ​This article was purposefully targeted for this time of the school year. The all-important time is nearly past for teaching all students about the essential routines they need to function smoothly in your class. Sadly, there are still some students who don't seem to be able to meet your expectations about either the specific work they should be doing, or certain inappropriate behaviors you would like to see diminishing or even disappearing.

• Begin the year differently to create success for your gifted students

  Tuesday, August 08, 2017

  Visualize yourself at a professional development presentation during which you painfully discover you already know much of the content. How do you feel about being required to stay for the entire presentation when all you want to do is leave?

• Begin the year differently to create success for your struggling students

  Tuesday, August 01, 2017

  ​Do you recall from a recent school year how you started it with high hopes that this would be the year for learning success for certain students? If you made that happen, please congratulate yourself. If it didn't happen, you might find some helpful suggestions in this article.

• What should my gifted child be doing over the summer?

  Wednesday, June 07, 2017

  Summer is beginning, and you haven't made any activity plans for your gifted child. By the end of this month, you may be regretting that decision. Here are some suggestions for your consideration.

• What LD families need from teachers and schools

  Monday, May 15, 2017

  Teaching and parenting students with learning difficulties is extremely complex and sometimes very frustrating for all parties concerned. For the students, the challenge is not to lose confidence in their abilities to learn successfully. The parents and teachers, meanwhile, struggle with the issue of knowing how to give help the "Goldilocks" way — not too little, not too much, but just right.

• Are gifted education practices appropriate for all students?

  Tuesday, May 02, 2017

  After delivering workshops on teaching gifted kids, I am often asked by participants, "Wouldn't these teaching tips and interventions for gifted students be helpful for other students in my class? I can think of several who would respond positively to some of the opportunities you have been describing."

• What parents of gifted students desperately want your school to know

  Friday, March 24, 2017

  As a young adult, I paid to sign up for an adult course called "Advanced Bridge." After playing "at bridge" for some years, this class sounded intriguing. After the first 15 minutes of the class, as the instructor was answering several questions that clearly belonged in a Beginning Bridge class, I excused myself and went home. No one stopped me because as an adult, this was my prerogative.

• Listen up: Understanding the truth behind learning disabilities

  Monday, March 20, 2017

  ​Can you remember when you tried to learn something you really wanted to know how to do? And it didn't work the first time. Or the fifth time. Or even now — years later. For me it has been sailing, which is my bliss and which I have been trying to master for decades. But I still don't get it intuitively, because you learn sailing by doing it. And I now know I don't easily learn that way.

• Twice-exceptional students: Who they are and what they need

  Monday, February 06, 2017

  Do you know a student who demonstrates a dramatic strength in some area of learning, but who also clearly shows one or more equally dramatic learning weaknesses in other subjects or courses? Is that same student messy and forgetful, frequently describing various reasons why the absence of this or that assignment is not his or her fault? Such students are called "twice exceptional."