I teach grade 4/5 in an elementary school setting. Like many other elementary school teachers, I teach all subjects to a class of 22 – 28 students. Each new year has brought a variety of students with differing needs and abilities. Over the last half of my career, I have had at least one student with autism each year, as well as students with learning difficulties and disabilities. I have also had students with visual and physical impairments. Students with advanced abilities in certain areas of the curriculum have also posed challenges. Having students with differing abilities and challenges in my class has transformed my classroom into one that aligns with the principles of Universal Design for Teaching.
When teaching a new concept, I ensure that I have multiple means of representation. I vary how I present the material, and allow students to experience the concept from different points of view, and in different ways. For instance, learning place value in Math may involve weighing objects with balance scales, rolling tens dice, measuring objects, using manipulatives, watching videos, drawing pictures or counting money. I plan to be able to reach all of my students through representing the concept in as many different ways as I can. I find that representing concepts in different ways encourages engagement from every student.
For students to demonstrate their learning, I often give multiple choices for projects. Students will often choose a project that they find most interesting and challenging. The same idea works for testing. Some students do not test well in a traditional pencil and paper test and would more accurately represent their abilities through completing a task.
gjohnson
February 6, 2022 — 8:23 pm
When planning a new unit, I usually think of the varying needs of the students, and design my teaching approach to be able to reach all of them. I do not plan to teach to the average student, but rather the highest and lowest. In many subject areas, we call this approach “low floor, high ceiling”.