INSIGHTS & IDEAS

The Education Table Blog

Practical strategies, research, and perspectives from the Novak Education team to help educators strengthen instruction, leadership, and inclusive systems.

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Universal Design for Learning

The Time for Equity in Schools is Now

As educators, we have committed our lives and careers to schools, colleagues, and students. Despite the obstacles the past few years have left in its wake, we have seen bright ...
Katie Novak and Mirko Chardin · October 5, 2020
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Professional Learning

Exploring the Depths of Deeper Learning

Deeper Learning isn’t new; however, one could argue that it has never been more important, needed, and desired than right now. At its core, Deeper Learning seeks to empower ...
Chris Bronke · August 3, 2020
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Universal Design for Learning

Unraveling or Unlearning?

Adapting to Rapid Change in Schools By Katie Novak, EdD and Allison Posey, MEd
Katie Novak · June 11, 2020
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Universal Design for Learning

Post-it Protocols

Simple Tools for Surviving Virtual Meetings When the pandemic hit, like most of us who work in offices or classrooms, I grabbed the essential things I thought I would need in the ...
Sarah Kyriazis · April 17, 2020
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Professional Learning

Better Professional Development in 5 Steps

They didn’t build Rome in a day, and we certainly can’t educate our kids in a day. But all too often our systems limit professional development for teachers to a single intensive ...
Katie Novak · March 20, 2019
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MTSS vs. RTI | What's the difference between MTSS and RTI
Universal Design for Learning

MTSS vs RTI: What is the Difference?

Like all industries, the education industry loves alphabet soup. We could list acronyms for days, but there are two that are drawing our attention today: MTSS and RTI.
Katie Novak · March 5, 2019
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Start Here - Implementation of UDL
Universal Design for Learning

UDL Implementation Rubric

If you’ve had a chance to review the UDL Progression Rubric, you probably recognize that UDL isn’t a framework that you can implement overnight. It takes years – not weeks or ...
Katie Novak · February 7, 2019
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Writing
Universal Design for Learning

UDL and writing limits: should they co-exist?

The question may seem like a simple one on the surface: How does asking students to write using word counts or paragraph numbers as success criteria support expert learning ...
Katie Novak · December 15, 2018
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Universal Design for Learning

Creating memorable assignments for your students

Take a moment to think back to one of your favorite classroom assignments growing up. What stood out about that assignment? I’ll take a shot in the dark and guess it wasn’t a 5 ...
Katie Novak · November 7, 2018
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