Virtual Learning Consortium

Partner-Provided Courses

Courses in this catalog have been vetted by the AK Reads Team and are provided by partner organizations.

Behavior Supports for Intensive Intervention

Audience: Educators

Why take this course? This course focuses on enhancing educators’ skills in behavior support for intensive intervention.

Course Description: This course deepens learners’ understanding of intensive instruction through exploration of behavioral theory and instructional strategies that support academic intervention and serve as a foundation for intensive behavior intervention within the data-based individualization (DBI) process. Eight modules are designed to build educators’ knowledge of behavioral theory and strengthen their skills in designing and delivering effective supports for students with intensive needs.

Modules:

Behavior Theory I
Behavior Theory II
Antecedent & Instructional Strategies
Consequence Strategies to Increase Behavior
Consequence Strategies to Decrease Behavior
Defining, Measuring, and Monitoring Behavior
Using Behavior Data to Inform Decisions
Intensifying Behavioral Interventions

Behavior Progress Monitoring: Selecting Target Behaviors, Aligning Tools, and Creating a Plan

Audience: Educators and support staff, including special education teachers, general education teachers, behavior specialists, school psychologists, and related service providers

CEU: No

Why take this course? Build practical skills to identify target behaviors, select and align progress monitoring tools, and develop effective data collection plans to track student behavior and guide instructional decisions.

Course Description: This 60-minute module provides an overview of the behavior progress monitoring process, with a focus on the first three steps. Participants will:

Summarize the process for identifying target behaviors
Describe two behavior progress monitoring approaches that can be used across behaviors
Align a progress monitoring tool with a target behavior
Explore the key features of a behavior progress monitoring data collection plan

Behavior Progress Monitoring: Analyzing Data and Making Decisions

Audiences: Educators and support staff, including special education teachers, general education teachers, behavior specialists, school psychologists, and related service providers.

Prerequisite - Behavior Progress Monitoring: Selecting Target Behaviors, Aligning Tools, and Creating a Plan

Why take this course? Learn how to use behavior data to set goals, make decisions, and adjust interventions to better meet student needs.

Course Description: This 30-minute module focuses on the final two steps of the behavior progress monitoring process. It is designed to support educators in implementing effective, data-driven behavior supports, even with limited prior experience. Participants will:

Set goals, establish baseline performance and decision rules
Collect, graph, and analyze progress monitoring behavior data
Use data to adapt interventions and respond to student needs

This course provides practical tools and guidance to help educators create and implement effective behavior progress monitoring plans that support meaningful student outcomes.

Demystifying the Science of Reading: Understanding the Reading Brain and the Structured Literacy Approach

Audience: Educators

Why take this course? Discover how the science of reading, structured literacy, and the Orton-Gillingham approach work together to create effective, evidence-based reading instruction practices.

Course Description: This course explores the scientific frameworks that help shape the science of reading. Participants will discover how structured literacy applies the science of reading in the classroom. Instructional principles and elements will be outlined and explained in five 2 hour modules which connect the Orton-Gillingham approach to reading instruction.

Modules:

Demystifying the Science of Reading Understanding the Reading Brain and the Structured Literacy Approach
The Science of Reading & Structured Literacy Phonology
The Science of Reading & Structured Literacy Phonics
The Science of Reading & Structured Literacy Orthography
The Science of Reading & Structured Literacy Semantics

Features of Explicit Instruction

Audience: Educators

Why take this course? This course strengthens educators’ understanding of explicit instruction, a high-leverage practice in education supported by a strong evidence base.

Course Description: This 4-part course provides learners with an opportunity to extend their understanding of explicit instruction through in-depth exposure to the explicit instruction model and supporting practices required for effective implementation. It is designed for educators with background knowledge in intensive intervention and data-based individualization (DBI).

Modules:

Modeling and Practicing to Help Students Reach Academic Goals
Supporting Practices: Using Effective Methods to Elicit Frequent Responses
Supporting Practices: Providing Immediate Specific Feedback and Maintaining a Brisk Pace
Evaluating the Use of Explicit Instruction to Support Students' Academic Needs

Graphing and Analyzing Academic Progress Monitoring Data

Audience: Educators

CEU: No

Why take this course? Develop the skills to set goals, collect and analyze data, and use academic progress monitoring to make informed instructional decisions.

Course Overview: This 60-minute online interactive course from the National Center on Intensive Intervention focuses on using academic progress monitoring data to guide instruction. Participants will:

Develop a progress monitoring plan, including a baseline, goal, and data collection schedule
Explore common strategies for setting academic goals
Learn approaches for analyzing progress monitoring data to inform decision-making

Intensive Intervention in Mathematics

Audience: Educators

Why take this course? This course provides educators with the opportunity to extend their understanding of intensive intervention through in-depth exposure to data-based instruction in mathematics.

Course Description: This course includes eight modules focused on intensive mathematics intervention as a data-driven process to support students with the greatest needs. Participants learn to align instruction and assessment, administer and interpret key measures, and use progress monitoring data to inform instructional decisions. Emphasis is placed on evidence-based practices, including explicit instruction, mathematical representations, and academic language, with strategies to support both whole number and rational number content.

Modules:

Developing a Scope and Sequence for Intensive Intervention
Mathematics Progress Monitoring and Determining Response
Selecting and Evaluating Evidence-based Practices in Mathematics
Intensive Mathematics Intervention: Instructional Delivery
Intensive Mathematics Intervention: Instructional Strategies
Whole-Number Content for Intensive Intervention
Rational-Number Content for Intensive Intervention
Data-based Instruction for Intensive Mathematics Intervention

Intensive Intervention in Reading

Audience: Educators

Why take this course? Develop educators’ understanding of intensive reading interventions and strengthen data-based decision-making skills.

Course Description: This course provides learners with an opportunity to extend their understanding of intensive intervention through in-depth exposure to data-based individualization (DBI) in reading, complete with exemplars from actual classroom teachers.

Modules:

Introduction to Intensive Intervention in Reading
Essential Components to Reading - (Resources only)
Intervention Programs for Reading
How Does Progress Monitoring and Instructional Decision Making Work Within Reading?
Diagnostic and Mastery Assessment in Reading
Qualitative Adaptions for Teaching Word Reading
Qualitative Adaptions for Teaching Comprehension

Introduction to Intensive Intervention

Audience: Educators & Administrators

CEU: No

Why take this course? Build an understanding of intensive intervention and how to use the data-based individualization (DBI) process to support students with the most significant learning and behavioral needs.

Course Description: This 30 minute course introduces intensive intervention and how it fits within a tiered system such as MTSS. It focuses on using the DBI process as a systematic, research-based approach to intensifying instruction for students with disabilities and those with persistent learning or behavioral challenges. Participants will:

Define intensive intervention and understand its purpose
Explore how intensive intervention fits within MTSS and special education
Learn the DBI process for intensifying interventions
Understand how DBI supports the delivery of specialized instruction

What is Progress Monitoring?

Audience: Educators

CEU: No

Why take this course? Develop an understanding of progress monitoring as a formative assessment and its role in the data-based individualization (DBI) process.

Course Description: This 30 minute course introduces progress monitoring, including how it differs from other types of assessment and its role within the data-based individualization (DBI) process. Participants will learn how to:

Define progress monitoring and distinguish it from other assessment types
Identify key characteristics of effective progress monitoring measures
Collect and graph data to track student progress over time
Use data to set goals and inform instructional decisions
Understand the role of progress monitoring within the DBI process