You’d think with the great weather, Monday’s PD Day would be at a patio, or park, or lakeside retreat, but minds were aglow in the sunny confines of the library and the fragrant accommodations of room 11 on April 19th.
Teachers explored concepts of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), personalisation, and Understanding by Design, through the subject area of mathematics. Reviewing concepts of open, parallel, and tiered questioning, teachers continued to explore instructional strategies, designed to personalise learning for all students. Using the premise of “what is needed for the few has the potential to benefit the all,” (author unknown but now attributed to Barkley, T., 2010), teachers examined ways to plan for multiple abilities, learning styles, and interests within common, everyday learning experiences.
This work was then supplemented with a refresher session on use of our SMART Board, as one of many tools to facilitate personalisation and UDL. Like many “tools” (i.e. cell phones, GPS units, the human brain, etc.), technology hides many untapped potentials. This “refresher” exposed teachers to some of the hidden potentials of the SMART Board, in support “benefitting the all.”
With a mere 10 weeks of school left, thoughts are on the “potential” remaining in the school year. Many of the learning activities (and specifically math problems) will look markedly different from what we are used to as learners, so do not be too concerned if your child comes home with an open, parallel, or tiered question to which you may not know the answer. A SMART (and smart) approach to the learning will promote learning that students will use for a lifetime.
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