Implications for your teaching practice
Dweck (2014) suggests that when we praise children for their talent and for their intelligence it makes them vulnerable. Instead, by rewarding them for the processes they engage in, their hard work, their strategies, their focus and their perseverance, they will become more accepting of new challenges and much more resilient (Dweck 2014). This is important to remember when working with a diverse range of students. Not all students will have the same goals. For some of our disabled learners, this might be to learn what we think of as basic social practices, that will enable them to function in the world beyond high school. For other it might be advanced algebra. Each student faces their own individual challenges and each student has their own individual needs. Neuroplasticity has proven that despite these challenges that our diverse range of students face, everybody can learn. What can you do to help get those neurons fired up?
Think again about the needs of your students...
Before your next class seriously consider how you are going to provide differentiated instruction to these diverse individuals? Consider what might be difficult for students? How can you better support learners who might struggle? The information provided in this resource is in no way exhaustive. You may wish to do some further research to learn more about particular disorders or disabilities that are present within your classroom. Perhaps consider creating and individual learning plan for each student. What are their learning goals? What goals would you like to see them achieve? Develop an awareness of their personal interests. It might even be interesting to gain their input regarding these questions.
Attempt to set yourself some daily or weekly goals too. Perhaps consider sharing these in our discussion forum. Be sure to tell us your success stories along the way too.
Once again, good luck!