With Every Student, Always Presume Competence.

One of the great pleasures of teaching is the daily exposure to the great diversity of minds. No two minds are ever the same and it only makes sense that educators need to know as much as they possible can about how students learn and how to provide the most conducive environments for learning possible.

By understanding the concept of neurodiversity, and shifting our perspective as teachers away from the notions of disability and deficits to the notions of ability and presumed competence, we pave the way for all students to learn.

One of the great proponents of neurodiversity is Steve Silberman whose book, Neurotribes ought to be required reading for all educators. It is rich, it is informative, and it is profound. Silberman is a staunch supporter of neurodiversity. Please enjoy his recent TED talk The Forgotten History of Autism:



Recently, the TED-Ed Blog featured a Q&A with Silberman.  In it, Silberman provides insights that will be beneficial to any educator who has Autistic and/or Neurodiverse children in their care. You can access it here.

For me, Silberman's most important statement is that as educators, we must always presume competence. A child is hardwired to learn. Finding out how that child learns is of course the challenge, but in this day and age where we are beginning to realize just how much disability is societally constructed, it is perhaps even more important that we enable our teachers to be as creative and flexible in their practice as possible. Educators also need to be optimists. They have to believe, in their bones, that progress is always possible and that there is always a way. Finally, they need to have empathy. Out of empathy, arises a desire to do the best they can.

But empathy can only come from knowing. Here are two talks that do not dismiss the difficulties neurdiversity can bring into a person's life, but, at the same time, celebrate the fact that human life in only possible because of difference.

First, Faith Jegende Cole's talk about her brothers:




And lastly, a humourous and honest talk by Alix Generous:




It is never my intent to dismiss just how difficult teaching can be. Neurodiversity presents many, many challenges and a neurodivergent child's LearnAbilities aren't always immediately manifest. But if we focus first upon what a child can do before focusing upon all the things they struggle with, maybe, just maybe, we can begin to create a world where everyone gets the education they deserve.

Universal Design for Learning: Changing the Context, not the Child

Rather than focusing on "fixing" students, DES (Disability Studies in Education) places an emphasis upon things that are actually within teachers' spheres of influence by placing the focus on changing classroom structures and practices to supporting a full range of student learning needs within diverse and inclusive classrooms.

-Kathleen Collins & Beth Ferri "Literacy Education and Disability Studies: Reenvisioning Struggling Students

What if we looked around our classrooms and  asked the question "What constraints are standing in the way of ALL my students mastering the curriculum I teach?" and then went about mindfully removing those barriers? What would I have to change for equitable learning to take place? 

This post is a provocation.
It's a provocation asking educators to do better in ensuring that the classroom environment they design with their students is universally accessible to all of their students regardless of their preferred learning mode.

This provocation came from two places. Kathleen Collins' and Beth Ferri's excellent article in this month's Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy (Collins Kathleen & Ferri Beth. (2016). Literacy Education and Disability Studies: Reenvisioning Struggling Students. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 60(1), 7–12. doi: 10.1002/jaal.552) which you can read in its entirety here, and Elise Roy's splendid TEDxMidAtlantic Talk "When we design for disability, we all benefit" which I've included below.




In response to the provocation to design better, more equitable learning environments for my students, I wrote a TED-Ed lesson based upon Elise Roy's TED Talk that explores how design thinking plus universal design for learning could solve much of the difficulty that marginalized and/or struggling students often encounter in school.  You can access that lesson here. By no means exhaustive, the lesson does provide video definitions of both design thinking and universal design for learning and a few resources that should enable any educator to begin to design a more inclusive learning experiences for all students. Feel free to use it, share it or customize it.  

Finally, I've included  two more useful resources. The first one is a TED playlist about designing for disabilities that is sure to provoke you, inspire you, and make you want to rush out and embrace universal design.   The second one is a superb resource available to educators from IDEO a design organization that pioneered design thinking. You can download their free toolkit for educators here.     

One last note. I opened this post with a quote from Collins & Ferri's article.  I'd like to close with one more as it speaks to the heart of what LearnAbilities is all about: 

Intentional inclusive classrooms foster a sense of belonging by providing a challenging and supportive curriculum and creating a positive classroom and school culture where every student is valued, respected (Shogren et al., 2015), and represented.
-Kathleen Collins & Beth Ferri "Literacy Education and Disability Studies: Reenvisioning Struggling Students.

Everyone has LearnAbilities and inclusive education is, at its heart, democracy and equity of opportunity. Let's continue to work together and make learning possible for every student.  

Universal Design for Learning: Changing the Context, not the Child

Rather than focusing on "fixing" students, DES (Disability Studies in Education) places an emphasis upon things that are actually within teachers' spheres of influence by placing the focus on changing classroom structures and practices to supporting a full range of student learning needs within diverse and inclusive classrooms.

-Kathleen Collins & Beth Ferri "Literacy Education and Disability Studies: Reenvisioning Struggling Students

What if we looked around our classrooms and  asked the question "What constraints are standing in the way of ALL my students mastering the curriculum I teach?" and then went about mindfully removing those barriers? What would I have to change for equitable learning to take place? 

This post is a provocation.
It's a provocation asking educators to do better in ensuring that the classroom environment they design with their students is universally accessible to all of their students regardless of their prefered learning mode.

This provocation came from two places. Kathleen Collins' and Beth Ferri's excellent article in this month's Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy (Collins Kathleen & Ferri Beth. (2016). Literacy Education and Disability Studies: Reenvisioning Struggling Students. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 60(1), 7–12. doi: 10.1002/jaal.552) which you can read in its entirety here, and Elise Roy's splendid TEDxMidAtlantic Talk "When we design for disability, we all benefit" which I've included below.




In response to the provocation to design better, more equitable learning environments for my students, I wrote a TED-Ed lesson based upon Elise Roy's TED Talk that explores how design thinking plus universal design for learning could solve much of the difficulty that marginalized and/or struggling students often encounter in school.  You can access that lesson here. By no means exhaustive, the lesson does provide video definitions of both design thinking and universal design for learning and a few resources that should enable any educator to begin to design a more inclusive learning experiences for all students. Feel free to use it, share it or customize it.  

Finally, I've included  two more useful resources. The first one is a TED playlist about designing for disabilities that is sure to provoke you, inspire you, and make you want to rush out and embrace universal design.   The second one is a superb resource available to educators from 
IDEO a design organization that pioneered design thinking. You can download their free toolkit for educators here.     

One last note. I opened this post with a quote from Collins & Ferri's article.  I'd like to close with one more as it speaks to the heart of what LearnAbilities is all about: 

Intentional inclusive classrooms foster a sense of belonging by providing a challenging and supportive curriculum and creating a positive classroom and school culture where every student is valued, respected (Shogren et al., 2015), and represented. 

-Kathleen Collins & Beth Ferri "Literacy Education and Disability Studies: Reenvisioning Struggling Students.

Everyone has LearnAbilities and inclusive education is, at its heart, democracy and equity of opportunity. Let's continue to work together and make learning possible for every student.