Hoc Pedagogy And Diverse Needs

Pedagogy and Diverse Needs

Susan McKenney

Curriculum Design & Educational Innovation

11 apr 2023Pedagogy and Diverse Needs 2

About today’s session

Positioning the talk

Key concepts

Themes and issues

Thinking about diverse needs

Planning for diverse needs

Teaching for diverse needs



Susan McKenney

Pre-school teacher

Junior secondary remedial teacher

Educational designer

Consultant

Researcher

Themes

Curriculum theory, development & implementation

Teacher professional development

Educational technologies

Special needs


Some thoughts on technology, tools & research

Roots in dissertation

work

Refined through the

years

Still evolving


THESESaccompanying the dissertation

Computer-based support for science education

materials developers in Africa: exploring potentials

Susan McKenney12 October 2001

1. Designers of educational innovations involving new technologies risk failure if they ignore or

downplay the need for trade-off decisions between state-of-the-art possibilities and state-of-practice realities.

2. The coupling of generic design principles with specific, expandable sets of examples offers a powerful combination for culturally and topically portable performance support systems.

3. Development research yields greater mutual benefit to researchers and others participating in the study when both parties collaboratively (re)analyze the relevance and authenticity of their innovations.

4. Those who would promote ICT infrastructure injections in southern Africa without providing for the lengthy process of building local know-how to deploy those facilities underestimate the severity and depth of the digital divide.

5. Poor tools impede and good tools facilitate, but quality creation depends primarily on the expertise of the craftsman.

6. Participatory design is not an approach, but an attitude.

7. It is not without irony that voice recognition software offers an effective route to coping with the physical injuries arising from (over) use of the computer.

8. Perhaps the Dutch are so warm and tolerant in a reactionary protest to their chilly and dampening climate.

9. A journey progresses in the mind, long after the traveler has returned home.



Aims of today’s session

Zoom out and see technologies and pedagogies in a broader

framework

Think individually and collectively about what inclusion and diversity

mean

Recognizing that, as Nicoletta says, ‘technology is but a pen’ and it is

what you do with it that matters:

Focus on ‘what you do with it’ and the factors that influence those

choices (not only on what to do, but also how to do it)

With the ultimate aim of facilitating implementation-oriented design

Key concepts


Key concepts1994 Unesco Salamanca Statement

Every child has a basic right to education

Every child has unique characteristics, interests, abilities and learning needs

Education services should take into account these diverse characteristics

and needs

Those with special educational needs must have access to regular schools

Regular schools with an inclusive ethos are the most effective way to

combat discriminatory attitudes, create welcoming and inclusive

communities and achieve education for all

Such schools provide effective education to the majority of children, improve

efficiency and cost effectiveness


Key conceptsShared understanding & common language needed to:

Ensure that every learner succeeds: set high expectations

Build on what learners already know by carefully structuring and

pacing teaching so children see what is to be learned, how & why

Make subject-area content real and vivid

Stimulate learning through enjoyable and challenging techniques

Develop learning skills, thinking skills & personal qualities

Use assessment to plan learning and to make children partners in

their own learning


Key conceptsPersonalized learning

All learners, whatever their starting point, should be able to realize their potential

Interlinked pre-requisites to facilitate personalized learning include understanding of:

How children and young people learn (pedagogies)

What children learn (content)

When and how to monitor and diagnose learning progress and needs (formative and summative assessment)


Key conceptsDiversity and inclusion

Inclusion is the

Presence,

Participation, and

Achievement of

Children with diverse needs

Inclusive pedagogy means matching teaching approaches to learning needs,

e.g.

Ensuring that difficulties in one area do not hold the learner back in another

Using access strategies (sign, tactile print, wide range of examples and

opportunities to understand and practice)


Key conceptsLet’s talk: What do you think?

What does inclusion mean to you?

What challenges do different learners pose for education?

How could you make your teaching more inclusive?

Issues & themes


Issues & themesWhat’s your attitude?

Positive attitudes linked to inclusive practice and familiarity

Sense of social justice

Personal interest

First reflective, then inclusive

Discourse of inclusion vs. discourse of deviance

Beliefs and practice are closely linked

If this is all true, what can be the influence of training and literature?


Issues and themesEducation’s historical ties with emancipation

Education for the masses

Schooling as essential for progressive society

Education as essential to a knowledge economy

Education for citizenship-building

Education cultivates the rationalities that underpin groups and

disciplines (marginalized or not)


Issues & themesWhose transformation?

Integration: learner is made ready to enter the (unchanged) mainstream

school

Inclusion: the school must change to meet the diverse needs of its learners

Transformation at al levels (macro, meso, micro; maybe even supra & nano)

Transformation toward inclusion is fostered by

Practical guidance

Deep reflection

“No professional development without personal development” (O’Hanlon, 2003)

Valuing different voices (including those of teachers)

Vision about justice and participation


Issues & themesIn a diverse learning community…

Learners challenge educators to be more creative in their teaching

All kinds of learners learn about and support each other

Inclusive refers to more than simply placement

The meanings and ambitions of education go beyond academic

achievement alone

Curricula are revised to include diversity (cultural, social, intellectual, etc)

Group work is enhanced through the sharing of different skills

Also known as: “distributed intelligence” (Goodley, 2009)


Issues & themesPersonalization…for everyone?

“While Julie is appreciative of the diversity and individuality of her

students … she frequently talks about them collectively. She

constantly refers to what ‘everybody’ must have the opportunity to do,

learn and experience … She makes her choices based on what weill

make for better learning for everybody and not just better for ;some

people.” (Hart, 2003, p. 226)

Note the tension between providing for everyone and meeting

individual’s needs


Issues & themesLet’s talk: What do you think?

Can we support a “definition of curriculum which is at once common (for all) and accommodating of human differences”? (Skidmore, 2004)

If everyone participates, everyone is involved, everyone is treated as worthwhile, and everyone has learning potential, then how do we work to personalize and differentiate?

Doesn’t personalization translate into practices which are inequitable?

Thinking about diverse needs


Thinking about diverse needs Overview

Diversity can relate to all kinds of aspects, including:

Gender, class, race, sexuality, culture, religion, intellect, physical

abilities, etc.

Most aspects relate to one or more of these three sectors

Educational sector

Social sector

Medical sector


Thinking about diverse needs Most teachers familiar with own sector supports, e.g.

Remedial teaching

Occupational therapy

Physical therapy

Personal assistant

Special needs coordinator

Can you name some others…?


Thinking about diverse needs What educational professionals often do not see

Medical

Regular evaluations, tests, assessments

Medications, treatments, side effects

Interfacing with multiple players: neurologist, pediatric specialist,

physical therapist, etc.

Social

Depression/stress/physical exhaustion of parents

Full calendars with appointments poorly aligned with ‘extra’ work

Linguistic, cultural, or economic backgrounds may be at odds with

the mainstream


Thinking about diverse needs Let’s talk: What do you encounter?

What kinds of diverse needs are present in your classrooms?

What do you know about those children and families, outside of school?

What do you wonder about those children and families, outside of school?

Shall we take a break? When we get back, let’s think about what all of this means in the classrooms

Planning for diverse needs


PlanningSome starting points

Strategies for reaching diverse needs attuned to many types

Socio-economic (poverty, language, violence, etc.)

Physical (gross, fine motor, illness prone, etc.)

Mental (retardation, perception disorders, learning disabilities, etc.)

Emotional (Autism spectrum, depressive, OCD, etc.)

Where feasible, consider the whole child

Potential remedial overload

Balance

Family abilities


PlanningDiagnostics

Very difficult for most teachers

Most mainstream teachers are not given much training for working with special needs children

The range of special needs can be extremely broad

Getting help for careful assessment is often useful

Abilities may be masked by handicaps

Conventional measures may not work


PlanningSelecting and adjusting curricula

Alternate delivery modes may be needed

Adjustments might be needed in what children are asked to do/produce

Decisions should be linked to curricular goals


Planning Let’s talk: What do you encounter?

It can be easy to over-estimate the abilities of a classroom aid – British example

What supports are available to help you plan?

What supports do you need?

Evidence base for practiceBased on EPPI centre systematic reviews of research literature


Evidence base for practiceNo recipes for success

Shortage of evidence about teaching approaches which effectively meet

the needs of diverse learners

“Generic approaches to special needs teaching does not reflect the

unique demands of the subject-specific content, and are generally not

recognized as advancing the learning of all students” (Palincsar, et al,

2001)

Complexities in diverse mainstream classrooms require teachers to:

Understand their own role

Learn to adapt their curricula and teaching

Be willing and able to encourage participation of all through flexible

grouping and roles


Evidence base for practicePeer group interaction conditions

Student as learner – active in knowledge construction

Academic and social considerations

Organizational and organized support

Holistic views of basic skills; skills development made socially

meaningful

Shared philosophy among teacher team


Evidence base for practiceInteraction and…

The mediating role of the teacher - positive attitude improving quality

of interaction and pupils’ self-concept

Cognitive level and engagement - higher among teachers who saw

themselves as responsible for all learners

The learner’s voice – helping pupils to identify their thoughts and

document them

Knowledge as contextually-grounded - learning for everyday use

Classroom management - Less successful efforts were focused more

on procedures, behaviors and general classroom management


Evidence base for practiceWhole-class, subject-based approaches

Pedagogic community – support is essential

Social engagement – interaction for academic and social inclusion

Modality of activities – visual, verbal, kinesthetic

Scaffolding – understanding the needs of the learner and the

development of their understanding

Authentic tasks – contextualized in real-life or learner-relevant inquiry


Evidence base for practiceLet’s talk: What do you think of this advice to teachers?

(1/2) On outlook: Recognize your central responsibility for all pupils Engage with a teacher community on how children learn See other adults (in the community) as teachers and

learners Develop a shared philosophy around respecting

everyone and all their learning Recognize that social interaction is a means through

which learner knowledge is developed


Evidence base for practiceLet’s talk: What do you think of this advice to teachers?

(2/2) On practice: Understand the aims of curricular programs and associated

characteristics, skills and knowledge Plan to scaffold a subject’s cognitive and social content Carefully plan group work, indicating roles for learners Explore pupil understanding and encourage questioning Work on basic skills in a holistic way – embedded in classroom

activity and subject knowledge Utilize pupils as a resource for learning Use activities which pupils find meaningful Use a range of different modalities

THANK YOU!!!

Hoc Pedagogy And Diverse Needs

Education

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