CHAPTER TWELVE Inclusive Academic Instruction Part II - Multilevel and Differentiated Learning Activiteis

INCLUSIVENET

Back Pack

The Access Center is a program funded by the U.S. Department of Education whose mission is to provide technical assistance that strengthens State and local capacity to help students with disabilities effectively learn in the general education curriculum. Their website is filled with useful resources related to universal design for learning, multilevel learning and differentiated instruction.

Edutopia Initiative of the George Lukas Foundation that provides information and much quality video regarding innovative teaching techniques including inquiry and problem-based learning.

Project-based Learning Online. A great resource that walks you through the process of designing project-based learning with many videos of classes in action.

Inclusive instructional strategies

Inclusion Tips for Teachers This site has links to resources of information for teaching children with various disabilities.

Inclusive Education, Strategies for Success A collection of practical strategies teachers have used to successfully include students with developmental disabilities in the regular class.

Inclusive instructional strategies: Workshop learning

Active Learning Practices for Schools. Project Zero site that provides many resources to improve instruction based on use of multiple intelligences and authentic learning.

Constructivist Teaching Subtitled "If kids can't learn the way we teach, we must teach the way they learn," this site proposes that educators can no longer merely function as dispensers of information. Educators must become facilitators of learning who show children how and where to access information quickly and efficiently.

Cooperative Learning: Response to Diversity Cooperative learning as a way for teachers to give students an alternative to competition as they take on the responsibility for their own learning as well as helping their peers. The Jigsaw Classroom provides an introduction to this approach to cooperative learning and provides useful resources.

Indicators of Engaged Learning. This is a useful resource for analyzing your teaching to determine how engaged your students are in their own learning.

Learning by Doing. A great site dedicated to hands-on education for students from diverse backgrounds.

The Cooperative Learning Center at the University of Minnesota Links to essays on developments at the Center, information on their purpose and access to past newsletters.

Program for Complex Instruction: Achieving Equity in the Classroom Complex Instruction evolved from over 20 years of research to provide academic access and success for all students in heterogeneous classrooms. This site has links to news, who's who, research, classroom info, and more.

Several websites are available that focus on problem-based learning and provide useful resources. These include the Problem-Based Learning Initiative at Southern Illinois University, the Problem Based Learning program in Birmingham, Problem-based learning special interest group web site, and Problem-based Learning: University of Delaware.

The Innovative Classroom. Site designed to assist teachers in designing and implement authentic teaching and learning.

The Responsive Classroom Developed by the Northeast Foundation for Children (NEFC) site envisions schools as respectful learning communities where educators honor the social context of learning and use knowledge of students' development to inform all decisions.

What is The Collaborative Classroom? Text of 1 of 3 "guidebooks" to elaborate what classroom collaboration means describing characteristics of these classrooms and student and teacher roles, relevant research, issues related to changing instruction, and examples of a variety of teaching methods and practices.

An Introduction to Classwide peer tutoring A useful resource regarding this strategy.

Inclusive instructional strategies: Multilevel learning activities

Achieve 3000. A recently developed, comprehensive literacy program designed to involve students in reading and writing at their own level of ability. The program is web-based. Students ability levels are assessed and they are matched to reading and writing materials at their own level. All students, however, are working on the same topic. Students work on skills and are also involved in authentic, multilevel reading and writing activities. This program is one of the first commercial programs available that support multilevel instruction and is worth a look.

Inclusive instructional strategies: Leveled lessons

Layered Curriculum. Here's a site by Kathie Nunley that promotes an idea of layering the curriculum and expectations for students functioning at different ability levels. There are some useful resources here. Critically evaluate as you review these materials.

Inclusive instructional strategies: Multiple intelligences

Multiple Intelligences and Learning Disabilities. Online article that explores a more positive approach to students with learning disabilities based on multiple intelligences.

Multiple Intelligences: Introduction and links. Site for Thomas Armstrong. Includes several links to his publications on multiple intelligences.

Emotional Intelligences in Schools. Article explores the importance of understanding emotional intelligence in learning.

Active Learning Practices for Schools. Project Zero site that provides many resources to improve instruction based on use of multiple intelligences and authentic learning.

Key Elementary School and Key Renaissance School Two schools in Indianapolis that have organized their instruction around multiple intelligences.

Multiple Intelligences Resources. References, links to websites, videos, and research reviews.

A fun graphic showing the 8 multiple intelligences.

Inclusive instructional strategies: Scaffolding

Scaffolding for Success. A brief, clear article that describes strategies for scaffolding and provides links to example in classroom instruction.

Scaffolding: Children, on-line learning and authentic teaching skills in primary education
Great introductory article with good graphics.

Schools, Skills and Scaffolding on the Web. Article regarding use of the internet as a scaffolding tool for learning. Practical examples. The same author has other strategies and practical classroom examples in A Scaffolding Strategy.

Scaffolding the development of skills in the design process of educational media. Interesting resource with many links regarding use of media and hyperlinks of learning materials as a scaffold in the learning process.

Teaching the American Revolution: Scaffolding to Success. Site that describes how scaffolding was used in teaching about the American revolution. Some excellent links to other resources as well.

Scaffolding Learning: Strategies for Teaching Reading in the Middle Years. Excellent article describing scaffolding strategies for literacy with middle school students.

Individualized differentiation of learning activities

Nine Types of Adaptation Strategies. Describes strategies for curriculum adaptation developed in Indiana.

Curriculum Adaptations from The School as a Caring Community, an online book about inclusive education. Provides a framework and interviews with teachers who hae made curriculum adaptations.

Curriculum Differentiation. Overview of strategies for differentiating and adaptating curriculum and instruction.

Differentiating Instruction for Advanced Learners in the Mixed-Ability Middle School Classroom.ERIC digest of information on differentiated instruction.

Curriculum Modification Ladder. Describes a simple decision-making tool for developing curriculum modifcations and adaptations.

Curriculum Adaptations using assistive technology and augmentative communication devices.

Lesson PLans with Acccommodations. Sample lesson plans K - 12 with accommodations for students with special needs from the Chicago Public Schools.

Accommodation and Modifications: A View of the Relationship between Special Education and Section 504. Article suggests that students who need to receive special education services have more intensive needs than students under 504 plans. Suggests a framework for curriculum accommodation and modifications.

Artwork reprinted by permission of
Martha Perske from PERSKE:
PENCIL PORTRAITS 1971-1990
Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1998.