August 23-25, 2021
Teaching To Diversity: Creating Compassionate Classroom Communities – 3 days
Dr. Jennifer Katz
Today’s classrooms reflect the diversity of a global world. This diversity means that students vary in what they already know, what they are ready to learn, the pace at which they are able to proceed through curriculum, and the level of adult support they require for success. Building inclusive learning communities requires that students see school as a place where they belong, are valued, and have something to contribute. The Three Block Model of Universal Design for Learning is an effective approach to classroom management, planning, instruction, and assessment that creates a compassionate learning community from K-12. It has been implemented in elementary, middle, and high schools across three provinces, and has been shown to increase student engagement, academic achievement, self-concept, respect for diverse others, prosocial behavior, and teacher satisfaction and self-efficacy.
This workshop will focus on the practical “how to,” of starting the year, building climate, and planning units in a way that facilitates differentiated instruction, inquiry, and multi-modal/outcomes based assessment. Sample units, lessons, video, and student work K-12 will be shared!