"If we are to achieve a richer culture, rich in contrasting values, we must recognize the whole gamut of human potentialities, and so weave a less arbitrary social fabric, one in which each diverse gift will find a fitting place."
-- Margaret Mead
"If we are to achieve a richer culture, rich in contrasting values, we must recognize the whole gamut of human potentialities, and so weave a less arbitrary social fabric, one in which each diverse gift will find a fitting place."
-- Margaret Mead
"If we are to achieve a richer culture, rich in contrasting values, we must recognize the whole gamut of human potentialities, and so weave a less arbitrary social fabric, one in which each diverse gift will find a fitting place."
-- Margaret Mead
"If we are to achieve a richer culture, rich in contrasting values, we must recognize the whole gamut of human potentialities, and so weave a less arbitrary social fabric, one in which each diverse gift will find a fitting place."
-- Margaret Mead
By Teachers for Teachers
Sharing the wisdom of practice
Working Successfully with Learning Different Students
Kelly Harris, Lead Learning Advocate at the Winchendon School, spent several days with me working on this section. She created two videos to help teachers create helpful accommodations and modifications for students, assembled a host of helpful resources and offered herself as a resource to anyone needing help learning to work successfully with learning different students. She can be reached via email.
Accommodations & Modifications
In this video, Kelly explains the difference between classroom accommodations and modifications and provides helpful examples for teachers on ways to adjust their classroom practices to best serve students.
Books & Articles
ADHD & Executive Functioning
Late, Lost and Unprepared: A Parents' Guide to Helping Children with Executive Functioning by Joyce Cooper-Kahn and Laurie Dietzel
Promoting Executive Function in the Classroom by Lynn Meltzer
Smart but Scattered Teens: The "Executive Skills" Program for Helping Teens Reach Their Potential by Richard Guare, Peg Dawson, and Colin Guare
Assessment
Checking for Understanding: Formative Assessment Techniques for Your Classroom by Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey
Teach like a Champion 2.0: 62 Techniques That Put Students on the Path to College by Doug Lemov
Differentiation
Differentiation and the Brain: How Neuroscience Supports the Learner-friendly Classroom by Carol Ann Tomlinson and David A. Sousa
Mindsets in the Classroom: Building a Culture of Success and Student Achievement in Schools by Mary Cay Ricci
Learning Differences
How Did You Get Here?: Students with Disabilities and Their Journeys to Harvard by Thomas Hehir and Laura A. Shifter
Language-Based Learning Disabilities by Patricia Newhall
Study Skills: Research-based Teaching Strategies by Patricia Newhall
The Dyslexia Empowerment Plan: A Blueprint for Renewing Your Child's Confidence and Love of Learning by Ben Foss
The Owner's Manual for the Brain: The Ultimate Guide to Peak Mental Performance at All Ages by Pierce Howard
Reading Strategy Instruction
Close Reading and Writing from Sources by Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey
Teaching How to Learn in a What-to-Learn Culture by Kathleen R. Hopkins
Text-Dependent Questions, Grades 6-12: Pathways to Close and Critical Reading by Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, Heather L. Anderson and Marisol C. Thayre
Class Time & Evaluation
In this video, Kelly discusses how teachers can structure class time to facilitate student learning and offers a variety of options for assessing learning - both formative and summative.
Websites & Other Resources
Universal Design for Learning is an educational framework based on research in the learning sciences, including cognitive neuroscience, that guides the development of flexible learningenvironments that can accommodate individual learning differences. CAST (Center for Applied Special Technology), CAST Professional Learning and National Center on Universal Design for Learning are well-known and well-regarded organizations that research learning and develop resources for classroom teachers.
CAST (Center for Applied Special Technology)
National Center on Universal Design for Learning
Self-Reflection Checklist for Teachers - created by Kelly Harris
Universal Design for Learning Guidelines