I've been thinking about how valuable of an experience going into role is and how it connects to building social and emotional skills among children in our classrooms today. From what I can see, when a group of students and their teacher go into role it creates an environment where students are able to deepen their self awareness and in doing so strengthen relationships among themselves.
McLeod (1988) refers to a definition of role creates that creates a more defined understanding of how valuable role playing is as a means to "see the world from another perspective". I believe that there are more and more of my students who have difficulty seeing things from another person's point of view.
Dorothy Heathcote shows how collective drama works so well in classroom settings. It is an incredible way to meet many of the social emotional deficiencies that we see in our students today.
I've been working hard to model this for my students and I've been trying to create opportunities for my students to engage in acts of gratitude.
We began the day on Monday by gathering in a circle.
The students gently held hands with one another and I asked them to, without talking, look carefully at one another and acknowledge how fortunate there were to be part of this group of students.
I asked them to show their appreciation for one another by smiling at one another and continuing to hold hands in a gentle and caring way.
Later that morning we made banana bread together and before we ate it we thought about what we had all done to contribute to the making of the bread.
The children started thanking one another for the delicious banana bread!
So beautiful.
We wrote a letter to the substitute teacher thanking her for the things that she had taught the students while I was on my educational leave.
Today they decided who they would write a thank you letter to and tomorrow they will write their letters. One little boy asked if he could decorate his letter to make the receiver feel MORE happy!
The plan for Friday is to make things that can be given as a small gift to a friend or family member.
These children are building a strong sense of gratitude and so am I!
Leave a comment and tell me what you are grateful for and who you teach gratitude to your students and or children.
When the student is asked to record a journal in grade primary should they be required to do that on loose leaf lined paper? There needs to be clarification of the task. In this instance the child is being required to pull a lot of skills together. What is the intention of the task? Let's think about all of the skills that the student has to do in completing that task. Perhaps we need to consider, that if we are going to ask our students to complete a task with paper and pencil then shouldn't we provide several options for paper types (wider lines, no lines, horizontal lines, vertical lines) and options for writing tools (standard pencils, short golf pencils, markers, small markers, pens). And should an option for keyboarding be available as well, provided that the task is to record an idea or story and not practice letter formation and printing. If letter formation and printing is the task then options for that could be made available as well (doodle buddy, touch write etc. on the i-Pad).
When students get feedback from the people that they respect that validates the work that they have done. Validation is correlated with motivation and a desire to complete the task. Written work that is done in a keyboarding format is visually appealing and gets a positive response from the audience. The student feels proud of the work that he/she has done and as a result feels more encouraged to try it again and perhaps even improve on it.
Sharing of netbook computers among students doesn't make them accessible. When they aren't accessible it makes getting the job done more challenging. If the tools aren't available why would you want to do the job in the first place? If we value the work that our students are doing, why wouldn't we make sure that the appropriate and necessary tools are available to them?
Itunes U is a way to help students complete their tasks. Students can put their assignments into a format that they are able to use. All of the materials that the student needs to use are available to them. This way students actually get the work done.
A few people talked about how i-Pads were a way to eliminate the backpack. This is huge for students who struggle with organization. Life is so much easier if we have everything we need in one place so that we can access it quickly and easily.
Students need to be able to access technology that they need at any time. Sharing these resources with other students and teachers doesn't always work. What would happen in a dentist office if four dentists were all sharing one drill? They wouldn't be very effective in their dentistry work. Patients would have to sit around waiting quite a bit. If each dentist has his/her own drill then they can see a lot more patients in a given day. If each student has their own device then their individual output increases and so does the learning.
The use of online assessments is power stuff. Students receive immediate feedback which is motivating for the student. The teacher can also quickly see which areas need to be retaught as well as what students already know. It can keep things fast paced so that students are connected to their learning and engaged with the process.
I love the idea of bringing students who are using i-Pads together so that they can learn and share with one another. There is a lot of power in the group. When teachers model using AT for their students they help to eliminate any negative stigmas that may be attached to these resources. Teachers should be willing to engage with AT. I love the idea of creating an ITunesU training course for teachers so that they can see what is available to them and their students.
Someone made the comment that teachers aren't willing to utilize AT in their teaching and are not accommodating in their support for their students who use AT. These teachers need to examine their intentions as teachers. They are paid to support their students. It's about the kids not the teacher. Teachers should, in my opinion be willing to take a 'what ever it takes' approach to creating the best possible learning environment for all of their students.
A shift in what we teach and how we teach needs to happen. Teachers need to look carefully at the language that they use in their teaching and the implications of it. For example, when a teacher asks a child to take out a pen and begin writing they are essentially excluding the student who prefers to use a keyboard for their writing. A language shift would be very powerful in this instance. So the teacher would rather say "take out your writing tool" then all students are included.
Tools should match the task. Students as individuals must be allowed to make their own informed decisions about what works best for them. Students should be empowered. Perhaps some teachers are afraid to let go of their power and that's why they aren't willing to embrace AT and UDL in their teaching practice. Teachers perhaps have to re-examine their role. Perhaps some focus needs to go towards BEd programs and how these programs are preparing our teachers for teaching in 2013. Furthermore, Professional development in the areas of AT and UDL seems essential.
I think that it's perhaps important that when teachers are designing lessons and activities for their students to engage in that they have a very clear understanding of what the intention is. If we take the time to really clarify what it is that we are trying to achieve then I would bet our students would be more successful. Even more so if the students actually knew what the intention behind performing a specific task was!
If our intentions are clear to us, our students and our students parents/caregivers then perhaps our project /assignment designs would be more universal from the get go.
The i-pad seems to be integral when we look at UDL in the classroom. The i-pad should be available to our students just the same way that a pencil is available or a piece of paper or a box of unifix cubes. We shouldn't tell our students which app to use, they should have the freedom to select the app that suits their need the best. Our role is to show students what is available to them and then allow them the space and the time to sort it out and solve the problem/complete the project on their own. In the same way that unifix cubes, calculators, pencils, markers and paper are regarded as tools of the trade that are available to students so that they can complete their tasks. This is how we need to prepare our students for the future. So that they can be successful in meeting their goals an accomplishing great things.
Because really, failure to do so essentially could bring us back to this....
When I read Assistive Technology and UDL Two sides of the same coin which presented some important points about how really you cannot have true UDL without some forms of AT at least in their availability. Both UDL and AT have a common goal as outlined in the article. That goal includes increasing access, participation and progress of students.
When we think about UDL the onus comes back to the teachers, curriculum designers etc. and their responsibility in creating learning environments that appropriately accommodate the individuals to which they are servicing. Perhaps if every educational stakeholder would take the time to view what Sir Ken Robinson (I've posted the video below on this blog) has to say then true shifts in our education system will occur. Maybe that shift is less complex than we may think it is. We may need to look no further than UDL.
According to the authors, learning environments need to be designed in a way to make learning accessible to the widest range of students. A UDL will reduce barriers for any individual and increase opportunities for the widest range of users. The environment is not unique or personal, but universal and inclusive, accommodating diversity.
The question that comes to my mind is are we really acknowledging diversity?
Or do we have a day here or there where we try different foods from other countries and call it a celebration of diversity in our schools?
Perhaps we need to clarify what we mean by a diverse group of learners.
When we start to be conscious of who our learners really are then we can truly and effectively implement
AT and UDL
How will these changes occur?
I have heard a few times in my class discussions that teachers are not willing to learn how to use AT and are unwilling to implement it into their teaching.
REALLY?
Isn't it the teachers RESPONSIBILITY as the paid staff to provide the very best learning environment for all of his/her students?
Aren't the students the ones that come first?
Can a teacher really feel okay about refusing to establish a learning environment that supports
UDL?
Maybe if parents knew more about UDL then they would be empowered to advocate for their children?
The article A Parents Guide to UDL is one that could perhaps be given to all of our student's parents.
The authors discuss the necessity for changes in the way that information and new knowledge is presented to students and the corresponding expectations for showing what was learned. Everyone is different, we know that, to why do we continue to use the one size fits all approach.
The authors identify a need for education to move from focusing on the "student deficit" to a "student success" approach.
Several ways in which learning environments can be established so that all students have
cognitive (intellectual) as well as physical access to learning are identified.
"Multiple means of representation (the what of learning). Within the principles of UDL projects or lessons would be designed in a way to ensure that all students can interact with the content using multiple senses aligned to meet their individual learning preferences".
"Provide multiple means of action and expression (the how of learning)". Students are given choices for ways to express themselves and engage in their own learning in a way that makes sense to them and fits their interests".
"Multiple means of engagement (the why of learning). Students need to be able to connect with their learning, find meaning and purpose in what they are doing".
So what really stood out for me was this:
"Research has shown that dropping out of school is a process of disengagement that begins early".
We don't want our children to drop out of school.
Children who are disengaged are more likely to drop out of school.
Surely, this will capture the attention of parents. The solution is simple. Keep our children engaged.
How do we keep students engaged?
UDL
Clearly there is no alternative for teachers and schools to engage fully in the principles of UDL for the sake of all of our children and students.
