After an unplanned, two-year hiatus, I'm starting to make my way back to thinking about the larger educational community and about implementing Universal Design for Learning (UDL) again. I used professional development funds from my district to take a self-directed course from Novak Education. The course, with videos featuring Dr. Novak's father, focuses on UDL… Continue reading Engagement in Virtual Education
Tag: Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
“Lessons Learned”
I live in a economically and racially diverse community in North Central Massachusetts. My teaching career in the US began just as the Department of Education, now DESE, began to take over schools in the Commonwealth. As I have moved districts, grade levels, content, and setting, MCAS has remained a constant, a lurking boogeyman. I… Continue reading “Lessons Learned”
On my (many!) bookshelves…
Reimagining Special Education: Using Inclusion as a Framework to Build Equity and Support All Students by Jenna Mancini Rufo and Julie Causton Brain Injury Survival Kit by Cheryle Sullivan Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande Principles to Actions: Ensuring Mathematical Success for all by the National Council of Teachers… Continue reading On my (many!) bookshelves…
Thanks to Haley, again
I've written before about how much I owe my speech therapist for figuring out some strategies to help my brain relearn how to track and how to accurately work with numbers. Very specifically, I needed her help to relearn how to manage my checkbook, since tracking all of those values accurately has proven to be… Continue reading Thanks to Haley, again
Inspirations, IV
Things I'm thinking about Jack C's Chalk Talk with Jack CzajkowskiNaomi Osaka's opinion piece on mental healthOpinion piece: What Disability Pride Month Means to Me as Someone with an Invisible Disability by Amelia BlackwaterOpinion piece: Too Stupid to Live News: From lockup to to landslideAn article about toxic positivityThe hidden cost of code-switchingHow Jingle Dresses… Continue reading Inspirations, IV
Belief and confidence
A few years ago, I had a student with severe math anxiety. She had generalized anxiety, but math was a particular trigger. At the start of the year, she had unlimited time on all math tests, which resulted in her redoing the first problem that she encountered on any given test, over and over and… Continue reading Belief and confidence
Jamboards for Brainstorming
My colleague and thought partner, Jack Czajkowski, set my brain spinning when he shared a Jamboard with me a few months ago.. He had written a Jamboard for students to begin brainstorming their ideas to a series of prompts, all designed to introduce students to the engineering design process. I'm not any kind of science… Continue reading Jamboards for Brainstorming
From the Other Side
As a teacher, even as a General Education teacher, my job has always included trying to support all of my students. I have gotten better at it as I've learned more Universal Design for Learning (UDL), as I've tried to stay focused on identifying and removing barriers rather than just blindly doing things the way… Continue reading From the Other Side
Being Mortal
I have been blessed to find The Healing Garden, a non-profit center for cancer patients in Central Massachusetts. Of course, in our COVID world, distance matters less than it used to, as all offerings are available virtually at this time, but various staff members at the Healing Garden have supported me in this crazy reality… Continue reading Being Mortal
Exoskeleton for my 6th graders
Exoskeleton: a rigid external covering for the body in some invertebrate animals, especially arthropods, providing both support and protection We are a few weeks into the school year, which means that we’ve reached a point where some of my students have settled into a good rhythm and are doing well...and some of my students have… Continue reading Exoskeleton for my 6th graders
Universal Design for Learning 