Special Education, Explicit Instruction, and the Power of Literacy — with Dr. Lalita Karpen
Special Education, Explicit Instruction, and the Power of Literacy — with Dr. Lalita Karpen
About This Episode
In this episode of Better Teaching: Only Stuff That Works, Gene Tavernetti talks with Dr. Lalita Karpen about special education, specially designed instruction, literacy, and the responsibility schools have to provide effective instruction for every student.
Dr. Karpen shares her path from leaving high school to earning a doctorate, and explains why she sees literacy as a human right. The conversation then examines how specially designed instruction differs from accommodations, how it should build on strong Tier 1 instruction, and what teachers and school leaders can do to support students with disabilities.
What You’ll Learn
- Why literacy and education can change the trajectory of families and generations.
- What specially designed instruction means under special education law.
- How SDI should connect content, methodology, and delivery to individual student needs.
- Why teacher preparation and instructional leadership must better support special education.
- How mentoring, lesson planning, immediate feedback, and progress monitoring help teachers serve students well.
- What co-teaching, school choice, and student-loan forgiveness mean for students with disabilities.
Chapters
- 00:00 — Welcome to Better Teaching
- 01:28 — Dr. Karpen’s journey and the power of literacy
- 08:10 — Education as a human right
- 15:45 — What specially designed instruction means
- 26:20 — Preparing and mentoring special education teachers
- 37:35 — Applying SDI to individual student needs
- 48:10 — Instructional leadership, co-teaching, and school support
- 57:20 — Teacher preparation, school choice, and student debt
- 63:10 — Closing thoughts
Resources
- Dr. Lalita Karpen on LinkedIn — Connect with Dr. Karpen and follow her education work.
- Dr. Lalita Karpen on X — Follow Dr. Karpen’s updates and resources.
- Council for Exceptional Children — The professional organization referenced in the conversation.
This podcast sponsored by:
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