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Announcing the June 2021 Book for SpedSafari Book Club!

Updated: Sep 2, 2023

Note: This post may contain affiliate links where I receive advertising fees if you make a purchase. For more information, read this disclaimer.


I hope you all enjoyed the first ever installment of the SpedSafari Book Club that went live yesterday!  If you missed it, check it out- we’re discussing The Four O’Clock Faculty by Rich Czyz!

We are just getting started with the book club, and now is the perfect time to start planning ahead for the next book we’ll be reading…drumroll please…


Students become attentive, curious, and passionate about learning when they can see its relevance to their lives and when they’re empowered to use that learning to solve problems that matter. Regardless of the subject or grade level you teach, you can infuse your instruction with the meaning students crave by implementing design thinking. Design thinking prompts students to consider: “I’ve learned it. Now what am I going to do with it?” 


In Designed to Learn, cognitive scientist and educator Lindsay Portnoy shares the amazing teaching and learning that take place in design thinking classrooms. To set the stage, she provides easy-to-implement strategies, classroom examples, and clear tools to scaffold the processes of inquiry, discovery, design, and reflection. Because formative assessment is crucial to the process, Portnoy includes sample assessments that measure student learning and ensure that learners take the lead in their own learning. 


As the author guides you through the five elements of design thinking (understand and empathize, identify and research, communicate to ideate, prototype and test, and iterate and reflect), you’ll learn how to support students as they:  – Use the content you teach to solve a problem in their community or in the world around them. 

 – Isolate a concern for their designed solution to address. 

 – Communicate ideas and provide valid reasoning for potential solutions. 

 – Prototype a solution and test it. 

 – Revise their design for maximum impact and reflect on the process. 


Equipped with the strategies and supports in Designed to Learn, teachers will be able to ensure that learning in their classrooms is visible, student-centered, and measurable—by design.


I personally cannot wait to get started! Check out the links in this post to snag a copy for yourself, and while you’re reading, check out Lindsay Portnoy’s website, which includes study guides, templates, and resources for the book!


When will the book club post go live?


Great question! Mark your calendars, because we will be launching the post about this book on Thursday, June 3, 2021. I’m looking forward to reading what everyone thinks of the book!  Watch the Special Ed Safari Facebook page for updates about the book club, the Special Ed Safari store, and more!


Are you in for book club and for learning and growing together! Sound off in the comments below!


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