Universal Design for Learning: Creating a Learning Environment that Challenges and Engages All Students

Creating a Welcoming Classroom for Students with Special Needs Listen to my interview with Jam Gamble, or read a full transcript here. Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:25 — 76.5MB) Subscribe: iTunes | Android | I can remember the first time I taught students with special needs. I was teaching sixth grade, and twelve students with IEPs had been placed in a single class period with me. Despite the fact that I’d had one whole 3-credit college course devoted entirely to special education, I was absolutely clueless. And needless to say, that year was an absolute train wreck. I can only imagine how different things could have been if I’d known someone like Jam Gamble. Ms. When discussing possible topics for our interview, Jam and I talked about how many regular ed teachers feel inadequately prepared to serve the needs of students with special needs. When we think about making our classrooms more accessible, we tend to think primarily in terms of the physical space. And who are those people? This section contains Amazon Affiliate links.

10 Strategies and Practices That Can Help All Students Overcome Barriers Educators today are faced with the daunting task of teaching students that face personal and social emotional challenges on a broad scale unlike any other generation. We now have in our schools what we refer to as the recession babies, a generation of children whose parents experienced hardships, loss of jobs, addiction and other tragedies during very trying economic times. Many of whom have yet to recover. Caught in the middle of this social, moral and ethical dilemma is the teacher who is faced with ensuring the delivery of content and skills necessary to “close the gap” and ensure proficiency on standardized assessments. In order to do this there have been a number of “practices” or genre’s if you will, of instructional themes and curriculums developed to address the individual issues. So let’s keep it simple. Build relationships Relationships and the importance of them in the classroom never goes away. Be intentional with your lesson planning Use a balanced data approach

Eligibility for Special Education Services: Articles, Resouces and Decisions from Wrightslaw Eligibility FAQs | Articles | Legal Resources | Caselaw Print this page Note: We have a YouTube video about the use of RTI to delay an evaluation to determine eligibility. For that and other Wrightslaw YouTube videos, go to the "Wrightslaw YouTube Channel" at: www.youtube.com/user/wrightslaw When Congress reauthorized IDEA, they strengthened the role of parents: "Decisions about special education eligibility must be made by a team that includes the child's parent. These changes were maintained when the IDEA was reauthorized in 2004. Who is Eligible for Special Education Services? To be eligible for special education, a child must have a disability and must need special education services and related services. These issues are confusing. FAQs FAQs: Your Child's Eligibility. To Top Articles Eligibility Issues & Learning Disabilities. Are Children with ADD/ADHD Eligible for Special Education Services Under IDEA? School Says Child is Not Eligible for Special Ed - What Can I Do? . Caselaw

Determining Special Education Eligibility Special education eligibility is bound by IDEA but there are no definite rules for determining who is eligible for special education. This is a VERY important concept to understand. It means that under the law, the IEP team has the flexibility to determine if a child qualifies for services. Criteria states that to qualify for special education services, a child must have one of the 13 disabilities as defined by IDEA AND the impact of the disability must create a need for services. Examples of adverse impacts include: A discrepancy between performance and ability Limited progress, or deficiency in cognitive areas Evidence of emotional or behavioral disturbances Problems with fine or gross motor skills. For example, if a child is developmentally and chronologically ten years old but continues to read at a first grade level, the adverse effect would be a limited progression in reading. Consequently, determining if a child is eligible is not cut and dry. STEP 4 of the IEP Process is

Understanding the 13 Categories of Special Education Special education is a broad term used to by the law (IDEA) to describe specially designed instruction that meets the unique needs of a child who has a disability. These services are provided by the public school system and are free of charge. Services can include instruction in the classroom, at home, in hospitals and institutions. Learning disabilities cover a wide spectrum of disorders ranging from mild to severe. They can include mental, physical, behavioral and emotional disabilities.  There are 13 categories of special education as defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). AutismBlindnessDeafnessEmotional DisturbanceHearing ImpairmentIntellectual DisabilityMultiple DisabilitiesOrthopedic ImpairmentOther Health ImpairedSpecific Learning Disability Speech or Language ImpairmentTraumatic Brain InjuryVisual Impairment WHAT IS THE GOAL of SPECIAL EDUCATION? A specific program or class for your child.  What is an SST? What is a 504 Plan?

Microsoft's Radical Bet On A New Type Of Design Thinking On one otherwise unremarkable day in May 2013, August de los Reyes fell out of bed and hurt his back. Forty-two years old at the time, he was just six months into his dream job at Microsoft: running design for Xbox and righting a franchise that was drifting due to mission creep. At first, de los Reyes was worried that the fall was serious; he went to the ER and was assured that he was fine. De los Reyes has the reassuring smile and steady calm of a high-school guidance counselor, and an almost-spiritual attachment to video games. The return was bracing, but not in the way de los Reyes expected. To de los Reyes, these myriad frustrations shared one thing: They didn’t actually speak to his own limitations. A Brief History Of Design For All The Rise Of Industrial Empathy Perhaps you’re sitting here, reading this on your phone, absently checking your email whenever your attention drifts, tapping text messages to the friend you’re meeting tonight for dinner. In fact, they did. The Bigger Idea

4 Things You Don't Know About the Jigsaw Method Say “Jigsaw” in some teaching circles and no one will bat an eyelash. It’s one of those techniques that has been with us so long, it is no longer seen as new. When considering methods to share in my collection of instructional strategies, I ignored it for a long time because I assumed most people already knew how to use it. When I finally sat down to review the steps of Jigsaw, I came across a few surprises. Although Jigsaw is typically presented as just one in a number of cooperative learning strategies, its origin story has little to do with academics. Rather than take a crisis management approach to the situation, which they believed would only put a band-aid on the problem, Aronson and his colleagues wanted a solution that was more organic, something built into the structure of students’ everyday learning. For a more thorough understanding of the strategy and its history, read the Jigsaw Classroom’s Jigsaw Basics white paper. Anyway, here’s a video overview of the steps. Jiggy

Using Playlists to Differentiate Instruction Listen to my interview with Tracy Enos or read the transcript here. Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 44:52 — 62.0MB) Subscribe: iTunes | Android | In our never-ending quest to find better ways to differentiate and personalize instruction for students, we have plenty of options. I covered a lot of the basics in my Differentiation Starter Kit. Then last year we learned how math teacher Natalie McCutchen manages a self-paced classroom. Now, Rhode Island teacher Tracy Enos shares her system for customizing instruction to meet the needs of every student. First, consider what we usually do: When planning a typical unit of instruction, teachers map out a series of lessons to deliver, assignments for students to complete, and some kind of final assessment at the end. With playlists, the responsibility for executing the learning plan shifts: Students are given the unit plan, including access to all the lessons (in text or video form), ahead of time. Tracy Enos Book Club Playlist

UDL Versus Traditional Classrooms Tutorial Download PDF In this tutorial, we'll take a look at some of the differences between the traditional classroom environment and the environment in a classroom that embraces universal design for learning. We'll focus on four areas of differences-- student learning needs, student learning styles, classroom instruction, and assessment. Let's get started. First, how are differences in student learning needs addressed in the two different types of classrooms? Next, how are student learning styles addressed in the more traditional classroom environment? Next, let's look at the instructional differences in a traditional classroom versus the UDL classroom. Finally, what might assessment look like in each of these classrooms? In this tutorial, we looked at four ways in which a traditional classroom environment differs from a UDL classroom environment. Now, it's your turn to stop and reflect. Thanks for joining me today.

What is Mindset Every so often a truly groundbreaking idea comes along. This is one. Mindset explains: Why brains and talent don’t bring success How they can stand in the way of it Why praising brains and talent doesn’t foster self-esteem and accomplishment, but jeopardizes them How teaching a simple idea about the brain raises grades and productivity What all great CEOs, parents, teachers, athletes know Mindset is a simple idea discovered by world-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck in decades of research on achievement and success—a simple idea that makes all the difference. In a fixed mindset, people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. Teaching a growth mindset creates motivation and productivity in the worlds of business, education, and sports.

Creating accessible materials How to make documents, presentations and online materials accessible. Introduction to alternative formats The University has a legal and moral responsibility under the Equality Act 2010 to provide any of its documents, leaflets, electronic resources etc in an alternative format if requested by a disabled user. Examples of alternative formats are providing a document in large print, Braille, printed on coloured paper, a paper copy of an electronic resource or vice versa or an electronic resource in an alternative way eg: Word document instead of a PDF.The following information explains how to offer this service and what it involves, points to keep in mind are: Word documents A few simple steps to help make your Word documents more accessible. PDFs It is possible to create PDFs that are accessible to most users. Audio CDs Requests for documentation on audio CD are rare, but they can be time consuming. Emails Advice and tips on how to make your emails accessible. PowerPoint presentations