Module 3: Bridges to Inclusion - What did I begin to understand?

Since I already knew about the difference between adaptations and modifications, I was more interested in differentiated instruction as a way of adapting lessons for students. As mentioned in "Module 3: What do I already know?" post, I explained that I already differentiate the learning environment. 

Differentiation in the learning environment might look like:

Chart created by me.

Check out this video for an example of a differentiated learning environment: "How We Do School Finland"

There are four different areas of differentiation: content (what the student will learn), process (how the student will learn), product (how the student will show what they know), and the learning environment (how the classroom is set up and feels). Because differentiating the environment is explored above, content, process, and product will be shared below.

Content	Process	Product
-range of leveled reading materials -audiobooks/content -multimodal lessons -reading buddies	-tiered activities -interest centres -more time to complete work -use of manipulatives	-choice in how students share their learning (drama, writing assignment, art, song, etc.) -the choice to work independently, with a buddy, or in a group -use rubrics that match students level and extend their skills

(Tomlinson, n.d.)

I learned that response to intervention (RTI) has connections to DI because in Tier 1, teachers are supposed to try various adaptations for struggling students before bringing them to SBT.

Learning about RTI was very timely! RTI has come up at a great time for me because I just submitted a form pre-referral for intervention strategies (PRIS) to seek help for a student that just joined my class in the beginning of February and in grade 2 can recognize maybe a handful of letters at best. This gave me the perfect opportunity to ask questions about how my school and district work from my admin. 

Although the Vancouver School Board does have a systematic method for RTI, I learned that it looks different in practice at each school. At my school the classroom teacher is responsible for working with the family to try to meet the needs of the student in class through differentiation and changing and implementing strategies and may consult with the resource teacher for strategies to use to help meet the child’s needs. Some of the differentiated instructional strategies include:

• Adapt curriculum (difficulty, amount)

• Adapt materials (literacy, numeracy) 

• Adapt teaching strategies (groups, pairing) 

• Provide extra time

• Provide preferential seating

• Adjust classroom layout/environment

• Use of movement breaks

• Use visuals to support program/outlines

• Use positive reinforcement

• Implement Positive Behaviour Supports (PBIS)

                                                          (Vancouver School Board, n.d.)

If these implementations are not enough, the teacher collects information from the family, observations, and student’s work and submits a PRIS form to bring the child to the school-based team (SBT) with the approval of the parent. 

Once in Tier 2, the SBT meets with the teacher and a case manager is assigned. The SBT works with the teacher to collect information more rigorously used to collaboratively come up with new strategies to implement. If after about a month these strategies have not yielded results, the student is brought up again, more data is collected, and new strategies are implemented. If a month later no strategies have not been helpful, the administrator, teacher, and SBT can ask for help from the District Learning Services staff and move on to Tier 3. 

In Tier 3  the district learning services staff work with teachers to come up with strategies and help teachers implement them. The SBT also enlist the help of specialists to help assess the student such to collect more information that will be used to build a case for a possible ministry designation. The whole process could take months to a year.

I created a chart for a discussion post that may I think is a helpful graphic.

Image created by me.

References

Hertz, C., & Mraz, K. (2018). Kids 1st from day 1: A teacher's guide to today's classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Lien Foundation (Director). (2018, November 2). How we do school finland ep3: A school designed for all [Video file]. Retrieved April 27, 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceWeIKLfgv8&t=1s

Tomlinson, C. (n.d.). What Is Differentiated Instruction? Retrieved from https://www.readingrockets.org/article/what-differentiated-instruction

Vancouver School Board. (2018). Levels of Intervention [PDF]. Vancouver School board.

Vancouver school Board (n.d.). Pre-referral intervention form. Vancouver School Board.