Learning for All K-12 Professional Learning Facilitator's Guide Deepening educator thinking about supporting students with special education needs to enhance equitable practice for all learners LD@school May 19, 2020 Usha James , Executive Director, 2017 The Critical Thinking Consortium (TC 2 ) usha.james@mail.utoronto.ca @UshaJames Learning for All www.tc2.ca K –12 PROFESSIONAL LEARNING FACIL ITATOR’S G UID E @tc2thinks The Critical Thinking Consortium
A brief overview of our journey thus far
Background A Study of “Essen/al for Some, Good for All” • By leading from the middle, school board leaders can drive system-wide change. • Special educa>on reform can provoke posi>ve change across the en>re system. Hargreaves & Braun (2012)
Background (Cont.) The development and implementa>on of Learning for All, A Guide to Effec/ve Assessment and Instruc/on for All Students Kindergarten to Grade 12
We wondered… • How might strong gains in capacity and understanding at the district school board level transfer to the prac8ce of all educators? • How might professional learning opportuni8es offered thus far be enhanced and extended to move beyond compliance and awareness to support deep educator thinking and reflec8on about their prac8ce? • How do we expand and deepen a successful but long running ini8a8ve? A thinking approach to professional learning
2017 Learning for All K –12 PROFESSIONAL LEARNING FACI LI TATO R’ S G UI DE A thinking approach to professional learning
Rate the complexity of teaching ONen Very Very Fairly complex simple complex straighLorward What factors contribute most to the level of complexity?
“Teaching students with learning disabilities is like... because...”. B A D C
How might a robust learner � profile help? B A D C
� Module One: Knowing the Learner The learning challenge: Create or contribute to a robust learner profile for students with learning disabili8es
How robust is this learner profile? Dan is a grade 5 student with learning disabilities. He enjoys school, gets along well with his classmates and loves class discussions. • What would you add? Change? • What is needed for a robust learner profile?
Reflecting on a thinking approach to professional learning • What did you notice about the 2017 approach we took to professional Learning learning? All r o f –12 PROFESSIONAL LEARNING K FAC IL ITATO R ’S G UIDE • What are some of the hurdles encountered when nurturing teacher thinking and practice about teaching students with learning disabilities? • What are some of the goals for school and system change around meeting all students’ needs?
2017 Learning for All K –12 PROFESSIONAL LEARNING FACI LI TATO R’ S G UI DE A thinking approach to professional learning
Promo>ng thinking schools and systems
Module One Overview Knowing the Learner: Sessions 1.0 Learning Launch (Introduction) 1.1 Understanding Learning Differences 1.2 Examining Sources That Inform a Learner Profile 1.3 Recognizing and Capturing Patterns 1.4 Consolidating Our Learning
Module One Overview Knowing the Learner: Sessions 1.0 Learning Launch (Introduction) 1.1 Understanding Learning Differences 1.2 Examining Sources That Inform a Learner Profile 1.3 Recognizing and Capturing Patterns 1.4 Consolidating Our Learning
Understanding Learning Differences � Challenge: By the end of this session, educators will… DraN a script they might use to Each session has an ar>culate their understanding of authen>c challenge that educators face. learning disabili>es to a student They start the session by sharing their ini>al teacher so he/she might beVer thoughts. At the end, understand. they will revisit the challenge and refine their response based on what they learned
Understanding Learning Differences � Goals Recognize that all individuals have a unique paVern of 1. strengths and needs that form a key part of a robust learning profile Understand the nature of learning disabili>es in the 2. context of school and curriculum. For example: Each session We all learn differently • has clearly We have various strategies to help us learn • ar>culated Students with learning disabili>es process informa>on goals for the • facilitator to differently share with Learning disabili>es vary in severity • par>cipants Become aware of (or review) and consider the implica>ons 3. of the cogni>ve processing skills involved in learning Review the defini>on of Learning Disabili>es in PPM8 4.
How might you explain learning disabilities to a new teacher or an occasional teacher? • What would you say? • What would be difficult about this task? • What questions might you need answered to support your own understanding first?
Task: How did you get here? • On a blank piece of paper, record how you got from your home to this conference so that someone Each session has an a variety of interac>ve else could follow your route. and engaging ac>vi>es that help build par>cipants’ background knowledge about the topic.
Learning, Learning Variation, Learning Disability Consider the following quesFons: If you were being assessed on your ability communicate • your travel route from home to an unfamiliar loca>on (i.e. if it was a “curriculum requirement”), how successful would you be? If you would find this task challenging: • would you need specific support/accommoda>ons? • would you have other strengths to compensate? • would this skill be considered disabling if it were • deemed to be essen>al?
Reflection • If you were required to only draw a map for this task, how successful would you have been? What feelings might have surfaced for you? Or conversely, if you were restricted to wri>ng direc>ons. What might be the experience of students when • tasks demand weaker skillsets? What is the rela>onship between the demands of a • task and how students will perform? How do task requirements affect strategies students • may use?
2017 Key points: Make explicit the connec>ons between success and Learning feeling successful and between student success and for All well-being. Emphasize or paraphrase par>cipant K –12 PROFESSIONAL LEARNING FAC ILITATOR ’S GUID E answers that point to the teacher’s role in selec>ng tasks for students and to using knowledge of students’ strengths and needs to inform task development. Key points are suggested throughout to help the facilitator point out and explain crucial informa>on that illustrates the connec>on between the ac>vi>es and the topic.
2017 Learning for All K –12 PROFESSIONAL LEARNING FACILITATOR’ S GU ID E Brainstorm what might be common misconcep>ons about learning disabili>es that they may have to dispel in their explana>on to their student teacher. Once they have had some >me to talk to a partner, share the Ministry’s descrip>on of what a learning disability is not : o A learning disability “is not the result of a lack of acuity in hearing and/or vision that has not been corrected; intellectual disabili>es; socio-economic factors; cultural differences; lack of proficiency in the language of instruc>on; lack of mo>va>on or effort; gaps in school aVendance or inadequate opportunity to benefit from instruc>on” (PPM8)
2017 Learning for All K –12 PROFESSIONAL LEARNING FACILITATOR’ S GU ID E A learning disability “is not the result of a lack of acuity in Par>cipants are hearing and/or vision that has not been corrected; constantly invited intellectual disabili>es; socio-economic factors; cultural to think about differences; lack of proficiency in the language of instruc>on; the informa>on lack of mo>va>on or effort; gaps in school aVendance or being presented inadequate opportunity to benefit from instruc>on” (PPM8) to help them engage with it and make What might be confusing about that statement? meaning. What might need clarifica>on? • • • • •
2017 Learning for All K –12 PROFESSIONAL LEARNING FACI LI TATOR’ S G UI D E
Which processes do Dan and Elisa explicitly or implicitly refer to? Prac>cal resources like videos from LD@school are linked in the facilitators’ notes.
Understanding Learning Differences � Challenge: By the end of this session, educators will… DraN a script they might use to At the end of ar>culate their understanding of each session, learning disabili>es to a student par>cipants return to the teacher so he/she might beVer challenge and revise their ini>al understand. thinking based on what they’ve learned.
Module One Overview Knowing the Learner: Sessions 1.0 Learning Launch (Introduction) 1.1 Understanding Learning Differences 1.2 Examining Sources That Inform a Learner Profile 1.3 Recognizing and Capturing Patterns 1.4 Consolidating Our Learning
Module One Overview Knowing the Learner: Sessions 1.0 Learning Launch (Introduction) 1.1 Understanding Learning Differences 1.2 Examining Sources That Inform a Learner Profile 1.3 Recognizing and Capturing Patterns 1.4 Consolidating Our Learning
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