How will students share their learning journey?
Students will document and share their learning in differentiated approaches that best meet individual preferences and needs. Each learner will create a journal/portfolio throughout the project, using the platform or tool that best suits them. Whether digital or manually written/drawn, journaling provides an ongoing, formative assessment tool where students can reflect and evaluate their learning journey. “Learning journals are powerful tools for learning. More than being mere collections of required tasks and assignments, they can be used to empower learners to take charge of their own learning process by reflecting upon it on a regular basis and by assessing their own progress over time.” (Trejos, 2008, p. 1).
Additionally, journal/portfolio creation is an inclusive approach as it is individual in nature and allows for each learner to document, share and reflect on their learning in ways that can be tailored to meet specific needs. Where written communication is limiting, journals and portfolios can stray from the traditional notebook, and encompass digital and visual arts platforms as well. Fulwiler (1982) explains that "Journal writing works because every time a person writes an entry, instruction is individualized. The significance of journals as records of thought cannot be under-estimated by teachers who value independent thinking. The journal records the student's individual travel through the academic world" (p. 16).
To facilitate differentiation, digital applications such as ShowMe, Explain Everything, Google Docs, iMovie, VideoScribe and animation apps, allow students to document and share their learning individually, ecologically and efficiently.These digital options also promote sharing with the outside community and parents via classroom blogs, Twitter, YouTube and other social media. More tactile artifacts of learning, such as posters, publicity announcements, pamphlets, booklets and dramatic plays, can also be shared with the greater community across online platforms through digital documentation. Finally, learning showcases provide students with the opportunity to share their learning in person with parents and the community experts who helped inform their learning journey.
Accessible Learning: Make It For Everyone
In keeping with a universal design for access to learning, we have elected to create an Assistive Technology Lab. Resources will be hosted in the Learning Commons, with a priority for those who have an higher need. By hosting the tools ad resources in a central location, we will integrate the access to information in the school culture. All students will be given the opportunity to learn how to use tools such as word prediction, visual organizers and writing resources, and all educators will understand how to incorporate the tools into their designs for learning. The universal access to the resources in the lab will foster an inclusive environment in which the stigma that can be associated with compensatory supports and accommodations is decreased. Learners and teachers will become leaders in the school community as they develop familiarity and receive training in the various tools available. We have designed a communication form to be used by teachers to request access to assistive technologies. This communication will help inform what tools are being used, requested, and by whom for what type of learning. To ensure we are differentiating for student learning needs, learners will be encouraged to select the most appropriate tools, resources and platforms to access and demonstrate their understanding of the learner outcomes and competencies. With this design, we will support learners in developing an understanding of how they can meet their learning and foster engagement in learning by keeping it interesting and meaningful.
Students will document and share their learning in differentiated approaches that best meet individual preferences and needs. Each learner will create a journal/portfolio throughout the project, using the platform or tool that best suits them. Whether digital or manually written/drawn, journaling provides an ongoing, formative assessment tool where students can reflect and evaluate their learning journey. “Learning journals are powerful tools for learning. More than being mere collections of required tasks and assignments, they can be used to empower learners to take charge of their own learning process by reflecting upon it on a regular basis and by assessing their own progress over time.” (Trejos, 2008, p. 1).
Additionally, journal/portfolio creation is an inclusive approach as it is individual in nature and allows for each learner to document, share and reflect on their learning in ways that can be tailored to meet specific needs. Where written communication is limiting, journals and portfolios can stray from the traditional notebook, and encompass digital and visual arts platforms as well. Fulwiler (1982) explains that "Journal writing works because every time a person writes an entry, instruction is individualized. The significance of journals as records of thought cannot be under-estimated by teachers who value independent thinking. The journal records the student's individual travel through the academic world" (p. 16).
To facilitate differentiation, digital applications such as ShowMe, Explain Everything, Google Docs, iMovie, VideoScribe and animation apps, allow students to document and share their learning individually, ecologically and efficiently.These digital options also promote sharing with the outside community and parents via classroom blogs, Twitter, YouTube and other social media. More tactile artifacts of learning, such as posters, publicity announcements, pamphlets, booklets and dramatic plays, can also be shared with the greater community across online platforms through digital documentation. Finally, learning showcases provide students with the opportunity to share their learning in person with parents and the community experts who helped inform their learning journey.
Accessible Learning: Make It For Everyone
In keeping with a universal design for access to learning, we have elected to create an Assistive Technology Lab. Resources will be hosted in the Learning Commons, with a priority for those who have an higher need. By hosting the tools ad resources in a central location, we will integrate the access to information in the school culture. All students will be given the opportunity to learn how to use tools such as word prediction, visual organizers and writing resources, and all educators will understand how to incorporate the tools into their designs for learning. The universal access to the resources in the lab will foster an inclusive environment in which the stigma that can be associated with compensatory supports and accommodations is decreased. Learners and teachers will become leaders in the school community as they develop familiarity and receive training in the various tools available. We have designed a communication form to be used by teachers to request access to assistive technologies. This communication will help inform what tools are being used, requested, and by whom for what type of learning. To ensure we are differentiating for student learning needs, learners will be encouraged to select the most appropriate tools, resources and platforms to access and demonstrate their understanding of the learner outcomes and competencies. With this design, we will support learners in developing an understanding of how they can meet their learning and foster engagement in learning by keeping it interesting and meaningful.
References:
Crawford, K. (2015). Resources selected to support learner success and engagement. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/Aid-P3a57fI.
Crawford, K. (2015). Resources selected to support learner success and engagement. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/Aid-P3a57fI.
What choices do students have to represent their learning?
“At the end of the inquiry process, there is generally some kind of product or performance that provides an opportunity for students to share their learning [...] The summative tasks can be varied and differentiated; however, the criteria will remain constant and directly aligned with the outcomes and indicators” (Saskatchewan School Library Association, n.d).
The promotion of greater access to learning requires differentiation across instruction, facilitation and cumulative representation of learning. Davies (2014) contends that “teachers need to collect the products students create, observe them as they engage in the processes to be learned, and have conversations with them (through words spoken, written, or recorded) to better understand the meaning students are making as they learn. As students learn, teachers collect evidence from multiple sources over time to inform their professional judgement regarding student learning.” Thus, representation of skill and understandings will present in various ways.
Final project proposals might take the form of:
“At the end of the inquiry process, there is generally some kind of product or performance that provides an opportunity for students to share their learning [...] The summative tasks can be varied and differentiated; however, the criteria will remain constant and directly aligned with the outcomes and indicators” (Saskatchewan School Library Association, n.d).
The promotion of greater access to learning requires differentiation across instruction, facilitation and cumulative representation of learning. Davies (2014) contends that “teachers need to collect the products students create, observe them as they engage in the processes to be learned, and have conversations with them (through words spoken, written, or recorded) to better understand the meaning students are making as they learn. As students learn, teachers collect evidence from multiple sources over time to inform their professional judgement regarding student learning.” Thus, representation of skill and understandings will present in various ways.
Final project proposals might take the form of:
- a digital composition
- visual, musical or dramatic arts
- written artifact
- oral presentation
contributing author: Emily Van Eyk
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