Some Woodward teachers were noticing;Ìý
Our classrooms present a healthy array of interestsÌýandÌýback groundÌýknowledge.Ìý The skills, interestsÌýand abilities of the students are diverse, and theÌýneed for diverse supports to help them grow asÌýlearners is essential.Ìý Allowing students voice in whatÌýthey learn and how they learn it has shown to be aÌýsuccess in the past.Ìý It is important to recognize thatÌýsupporting students uncover their passions andÌýchallenge their thinking is difficult and challengingÌýto navigate at times.ÌýÌý
So they posed the following inquiry question:
How do we design for the needs of all learners andÌýcreate universal supports that allow them variousÌýaccess points to their learning?
Because,Ìý
Our school focus on SEL has allowed us to take a deeperÌýdive into understanding the social, emotional andÌýacademic needs of our students.Ìý Building student voice,Ìýcollaboration and developing community is vital toÌýstudent success.Ìý By uncovering what students can use toÌýsupport themselves in their interactions with each other,Ìýand their learning, will go a long way in helping themÌýbecome advocates for their own learning needs andÌýultimately support theÌýcommunity as a whole.
Students indicated where they need support:
- Students are showing that they want to focus more onÌýnumeracy and literacy.Ìý Students can see theÌýprevalence and need for these skills in society.ÌýÌý​
- ​Focusing the next few weeks on story writing andÌýdaily quick writes will be a good diagnostic to uncoverÌýwhat specific supports they need in their writing.​
- ​Our school will be spending ourÌýJanuary Pro-DÌýuncovering our school story in relation to literacy;Ìýdiagnostics, assessment and supports at all gradeÌýlevels.
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