Blog Prompts addressed 

  1. How will your interactive learning resource specifically ensure that the needs of all learners can be met?
  2. Choose one (or more) of your planned learning activities from your Blueprint and identify any barriers for student success. How can you alter or adjust your current plan to reduce those barriers?

For our Interactive Learning Resource, we decided to follow a “Learning Station Method” in order for students to learn the water cycle. This approach to learning helps all students learn based on their individual needs and strengths. As such it fosters a student-cerntered approach whereby the student is able to apply their skills through experiential learning. Our various activities will allow all students to explore and discover elements about the water cycle. The hands-on approach assists students to be engaged and learn by doing. However, it also supports all other senses as well as there are a variety of activities. The following resource (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/292054960_Learning_station_method_in_special_education_programs_for_students_with_learning_disabilities) supports how the learning station model is beneficial for students with exceptionalities and as said in the readings this is extended to the entire classroom as everyone has individual needs. Some of our activities include:

” Activity 1 – Solar Still: water, bowls, heat, lamp, plastic wrap, rock/weight

Activity 2 – Vocabulary: Vocabulary cards

Activity 3 -Evaporation: Thick paintbrush, water dropper, lamp, timer, buddha board, ruler, pencil,

Activity 4 – Condensation: Teacher Made model, Water,  Student graphic organizer, Zip-Lock baggies, Sharpie markers

Activity 5 – Precipitation: Glass Jar, Water, Eye dropper, Shaving Cream, Blue food coloring, Student graphic organizer

Activity 6 – Collection: Plastic bottle, Water, Rocks, Sand, Clay, Bin/bucket

Activity 7 – Water cycle model: Tea kettle, piece of cardboard, beaker, oven mitts, pencil, recording sheet,

Activity 8 – Water molecule game: Water cycle environment signs, 6-8 premade die, Water cycle record sheet

Activity 9 – Water wheel: Pre-Cut blank water wheels, Pre Cut water wheel covers, Colour pencils, Brass fasteners.”

Therefore, if we evaluate some of the barriers this could include reading difficulty, writing difficulty as such providing various levels within one activity could be beneficial in order to support all student’s needs. For example, in the vocabulary activity, there could be an online version. This online version could make it easier for children as it may have the ability to read the terms for the student.  As such scaffolding and providing options within all activities will allow more students to succeed. Notably another key example is the use of this site https://water.usgs.gov/edu/watercycle-kids-adv.html as it allows students to work at their own level. This approach of providing various levels and resources to all students also promotes engagement and desire to learn more.

All in all, I believe in providing all students with resources in order to support their needs. Whether that is providing activities with multiple levels and scaffolding tasks or having options for flexible seating and educational tools (noise canceling headphones or bike). Accordingly, we need to “teach to identity and to the difference” in order to support diversity as Shelley Moore would say. The following video describes uses a metaphor of bowling to describe how we as educators can shift our mindset to be more inclusive and how supports are useful for all students.