Inclusive Education Toolkit by

Valuable Resource 2: Designing Education for Diversity

mduquett — 2023-10-14 15:19:15 UTC

The conversation with Leyton Schnellert in this podcast includes many gems. It highlights the ways that the BC Curriculum supports radical inclusion. It also highlights the ways that we can make learning accessible to all students (open-ended tasks, low floor-high ceiling, etc.).

Useful Strategy: Designing Interactive Learning with SEL and UDL

mduquett — 2023-10-14 15:20:26 UTC

I chose this document as my useful strategy because it was a good reminder about CASEL's 3 Signature Practices which help to embed social emotional learning and UDL into all classrooms and lessons. The suggested activities within this document also show simple and easy ways to build classroom communities and embed trauma-informed practices (e.g. consistent routines) every day.

Valuable Resource 1: RTI & UDL

mduquett — 2023-10-14 15:23:14 UTC

I have included this resource from Jennifer Katz as a reminder about the links between RTI and UDL.

Summary & Reflection

mduquett — 2023-10-14 16:10:29 UTC

Summary

The essential ideas that I am taking away from Module 1 are reminders about the barriers to inclusion that exist and the strategies (systemic and pedagogical) that have been created to lower those barriers. Some of the biggest barriers to inclusion are funding, Pro D or training, resource shortages, myths and misinformation, resistance, too much time/work, and mental health. The strategies that exist to try to lower those barriers are Universal Design for Learning (UDL), Response to Intervention (RTI) and differentiation.

One of my biggest take-aways was recognizing the ways that the program I work in is structured to minimize the barriers to inclusion. The program is built on a foundation of UDL, differentiation, and RTI.

Summary & Reflection

mduquett — 2023-10-19 23:02:23 UTC

The essential ideas that I am taking away from Module 2 are about the decisions that must be made about using adaptations and modifications in the classroom. I recognize that even when using UDL as a foundation for designing learning, adaptations and modifications are still necessary to meet the needs of ALL students.

Valuable Resource 1: A Framework for Classroom Assessment

mduquett — 2023-10-19 23:06:23 UTC

This document is a good reminder about what we should focus on when assessing students. Having a clear understanding of assessment allows us to design learning tasks that help all students achieve success in our classrooms. Also, focusing on formative assessment allows us to more clearly define what students know and can do while also providing a clear pathway for where to go next.

Valuable Resource 2: Assessment and Student Success in a Differentiated Classroom

mduquett — 2023-10-19 23:08:15 UTC

This resource includes a fantastic chart for scaffolding and extending student work that I intend to come to back to. I also enjoyed reading the description of the CAI (Curriculum-Assessment-Instruction) Connection along with the questions that can be used to help teachers focus their attention on "what's important" to move students forward in their learning.

Useful Strategy: UDL Tips for Assessment

mduquett — 2023-10-19 23:13:27 UTC

I found this tip sheet helpful when considering the links between UDL and assessment. The questions for each of the suggestion are especially helpful and are good reminders about what we should be looking for when designing assessments for ALL students.

Summary & Reflection

mduquett — 2023-10-29 19:45:37 UTC

The essential ideas that I am taking away from Module 3 are about the importance of using technology and visuals in the classroom to allow all students access to curriculum. Specifically, I learned about the purpose of social stories and visual schedules, different types of assistive technologies, and explored both provincial and local resources for inclusive education.

My biggest take-away was just recognizing the sheer volume of resources that are available to teachers, schools and students. Because I am still new to the province, I was not aware of many of the local and provincial resources.

Valuable Resource 1: Social Stories

mduquett — 2023-10-29 19:46:35 UTC

Although I had heard about social stories before, I did not know much about them. The explanations and examples provided on Carol Gray's website provided me with important information about the definition of a social story, their purpose, and their defining characteristics.

Valuable Resource 2: Visual Schedule Tip Sheet

mduquett — 2023-10-29 19:47:24 UTC

Prior to this module, I did not realize that there were specific guidelines that visual schedules should meet. Reading this helped me understand what should be included and why.

Valuable Resource 3: POP Groups

mduquett — 2023-10-29 19:49:14 UTC

I was aware of a few of the POP groups prior to this course and module, but did not realize the volume that existed. I think connecting with these groups, using their resources and taking some of the training they offer would be incredibly helpful for teachers at all stages of their career.

Useful Strategy: TextHelp Read & Write

mduquett — 2023-10-29 19:50:02 UTC

This is an assistive technology that I was already familiar with, but hadn't thought much about since I moved to the province. Taking some time to reacquaint myself with it was a good use of my time. I am hoping to advocate for my school to use it because it is such an amazing program that can be helpful for all students. It is also simple to use and the symbols are familiar to students from other tech and software. The use of images instead of words also makes it accessible to all students.

Summary & Reflection

mduquett — 2023-11-07 01:37:01 UTC

I struggled with this module because (secondary) literacy is what I am trained to teach and I have years of training and experience in it.

However, the essential ideas that I am taking away from Module 4 are the necessity for all literacy teachers to continually be adding strategies to their toolkit. Although programs may offer easy to follow lessons and resources, we need to be adaptable in order to meet the needs of the students in front of us. Ultimately, we don't teach programs, but children, and they each come to us with different funds of knowledge. There are many ways to meet their needs and our literacy programming should be comprehensive.

Another big takeaway for me is that despite my training and experience, including a linguistics course in university, I have little understanding of primary literacy teaching. I am still trying to wrap my head around this and this is why I am currently completing some professional development in the Orton-Gillingham method.

Valuable Resource 1: Working with Struggling Readers

mduquett — 2023-11-07 01:38:40 UTC

I enjoyed watching these videos quite a bit. I found Linda Farrell's insights about what reading teachers need to do a helpful reminder about best practices. In particular, I enjoyed the videos about teachers as diagnosticians and positive error corrections. One thing that particularly stood out to me was her description of the need to be patient.

Useful Strategy: Orton-Gillingham

mduquett — 2023-11-07 01:40:47 UTC

After doing some research, and starting some professional development in OG, I came to really appreciate that OG is a method rather than a program. It provides tools that teachers can use to figure out "where students are" and then use that to guide instruction. It is a flexible and adaptable method that can be used at a variety of ages and grades.

Valuable Resource 2: Resilience and the Power of One

mduquett — 2023-11-10 19:13:57 UTC

I really enjoyed listening to Monique Gray Smith's TED Talk about resilience. Hearing her speak allowed me to make connections to previous learning I have done regarding teaching for reconciliation. Specifically, I found the ideas outlined in the Umbrella of First Nations Resiliency closely linked to Dr. Brooke Madden's framework for using Indigenous counter-stories as a lens which focuses on resilience, resistance, refusal and re-storying/resurgence quite powerful. Using these frameworks allows teachers to move beyond a "single story" of trauma and victimization to one which honours Indigenous ways of knowing, doing, and being.

Madden, B. (March 11, 2019). Indigenous Counter-Stories in Truth and Reconciliation Education. Ed Can Network. https://www.edcan.ca/articles/trc-education/

Valuable Resource 3: Implementation Guide for Anti-Racism and Universal Design for Learning

mduquett — 2023-11-10 19:22:54 UTC

I thought that this guide created by CAST offered some very concrete and practical questions and ideas about how to evaluate where and how racism is showing up within educational organizations. The guide does not stop with just asking for identification, but also asks educators and leaders to consider how universal design for learning can be used to help drive change. At the outset, it does not shy away from recognizing that some policies, practices and protocols may need to be dismantled in order to repair harm.

Summary & Reflection

mduquett — 2023-11-13 00:46:11 UTC

Math is a new teaching area for me. Everything is new! And I am also teaching a group of students with many, many stretches related to math. The essential ideas that I am taking away from Module 5 are that math can be more than just worksheets and the standard algorithm. In fact, for many students, that method actually makes math more difficult. I appreciated that many of the resources provided in this module offered play-based (games!), authentic, culturally connected strategies that would help all students access learning in math.

Valuable Strategy: Math Daily 3

mduquett — 2023-11-13 00:51:44 UTC

Although I was familiar with the literacy Daily 5, I did not realize that there was a similar framework for math. The Math by Myself and Math with Someone seem similar to other variations of math learning stations that I have come across before and use in my own classroom. The one that is new to me is Math Writing. I am interested in researching this more and seeing how it can be used to increase literacy in math. I also think that it might tie in well to the Math Journal article/strategy that was also shared in this module.

Valuable Resource 1: Meet Small Number

mduquett — 2023-11-13 00:55:08 UTC

I love this resource and am already thinking of ways that I can use it in my middle school math class. I think the stories are accessible for all learners (both text based and video). There are also a variety of languages available for some of the lessons and videos. I really appreciate the way that Indigenous ways of knowing, doing and being have been woven with math. This is a culturally responsive resource and would help to Indigenize our math classrooms and meet some of the curricular outcomes. This resource would also help to introduce literacy into the math classroom which provides for cross-curricular learning opportunities.

Valuable Resource 2: INA Assessments

mduquett — 2023-11-13 00:58:46 UTC

I wish I had known about this resource earlier in the school year. It would have allowed me to complete a more comprehensive pre-assessment on my math group before we started our learning together. The website also provides a number of other teacher and student resources that would be helpful to have in the math classroom. However, I think some of the assessments might need to be modified due to the literacy demands.

Valuable Resource 3: Numeracy Tasks

mduquett — 2023-11-13 01:14:46 UTC

I love that Peter Liljedahl's numeracy tasks are authentic tasks that could be used in multiple ways. They provide students with opportunities to use math in more real world scenarios and I can see myself using them with my middle school learners throughout the year.

Summary & Reflection

mduquett — 2023-11-24 00:44:29 UTC

The essential ideas that I am taking away from Module 6 are about the hows and whys of creating replacement goals. I particularly liked Shelley Moore's "formula" for inclusion: PLACE + PURPOSE = Where? + Why?. Two key takeaways from Dr. Moore's replacement goal planner video for me were:

1) the difference between explicit and strategic planning;

2) the process for planning and creating replacement goals (choose grade level/course, determine big idea, determine goal for all, determine access point, determine strategies to meet objective).

I also appreciated Dr. Moore's strategies for identifying access points:

Make it all about me!!!

Comprehension levels

Vocabulary

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Earlier grade levels to help

Prior Knowledge

Valuable Resource 1: Replacement Goal Planner

mduquett — 2023-11-24 00:53:48 UTC

I really appreciated this video about the process for planning replacement goals for students. I think this would have been an excellent resource to know about earlier in the course or in the previous course because it explains how to use Shelley Moore's UDL lesson planning template which includes a section about access points. I believe that this is a resource that I could see myself returning to in the future.

Valuable Resource 2: A Guide to Adaptations & Modifications

mduquett — 2023-11-24 00:55:27 UTC

Although I was already familiar with this document, I have included it here so that I have an easy way to access it on a regular basis. I think it is a foundational document that all teachers should know well.

Valuable Resource 3: I & CB IEP Flow Chart

mduquett — 2023-11-24 00:57:10 UTC

Useful Strategy: Student Summary/Overview Sheets

mduquett — 2023-11-24 01:00:58 UTC

I had never heard of or seen a student overview or summary sheet before this module. I think it would be helpful for teachers to create these types of documents for students with IEPs and make them accessible for TTOCs. I can see myself making up summary sheets for my most challenging students and putting them in my TTOC binder so that a TTOC can easily get an overview of how best to meet certain student's needs without having to read their whole IEP.

Valuable Resource 4: Math for Love

mduquett — 2023-11-29 02:28:43 UTC

This module was my first introduction to Dan Finkel and I really appreciated it. I love his approach to math as both play based and rigorous. I think many of his ideas would help to contribute to a classroom where math is fun, engaging, and authentic. For students who find math challenging, this seems like an excellent way to provide access points.

My Learning Journey

mduquett — 2023-12-01 02:31:32 UTC

This course has provided me with a multitude of strategies that I can use to make my classroom more accessible to all learners. It has also helped me to identify some wonders and areas for growth.

Wonders:

With the move to the proficiency scale and descriptive feedback for grades K-9, are replacement goals going to disappear for students until high school? What about once the proficiency scale moves up to high school? How will we determine who is working towards an Evergreen instead of a Dogwood?

Areas for Growth:

I need to continue my professional learning and build more strategies for teaching some of the fundamental literacy skills taught at the primary level (phonemic awareness, phonological awareness).
I would like more practice with developing replacement goals and the opportunity to see more exemplars.
I need more background knowledge and experience working with students with intellectual disabilities.