The Britt Henderson Training Series for Educators

This annual series of workshops provides training for school teams that include both general and special educators. Workshops focus on innovative evidence-based practices to improve the quality of education for students with diverse learning needs. Founded in 1996, the Britt Henderson Training Series is made possible at no cost to participating schools through an endowment from the Robert and Carol Henderson family in memory of their son Britt.

Mary Crnobori, Allison Bruhn, Wendy Oakes, and Emily Morris

Training Workshops for School Teams

Ideally, school teams include a school principal, general and special educators, parents, and students--because implementing a new instructional approach or behavior management strategy requires broad-based support and understanding within a school. General and special educators are able to share knowledge and to support one another during implementation. Public and private schools may participate.

Applying New Research-Based Techniques

Workshops are led by faculty at Vanderbilt's Peabody College of Education and Human Development who are Vanderbilt Kennedy Center researchers. Topics vary by faculty expertise and leadership. The Series Faculty Director is Kathleen Lane, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Special Education and VKC Investigator.

A series of 2-hour workshops are held over the course of the academic year so that participating school teams can receive training and support in implementing the strategy in their own schools. The teams support one another, share ideas, and problem-solve ways to implement the research-based strategies in their own classrooms. These strategies, which include proactive classroom management, behavior contracts, self-monitoring, systematic screening, and functional assessment-based interventions, are designed to address both academic and behavioral concerns. Essentially, The Britt Henderson Training Series provides schools an opportunity to put the current educational research base into practice in a practical and feasible way.