Professional development continued from page 53
conditions), as well as techniques to remediate skills (e.g. reading, writing, science, math), and training on how to use assistive technology as part of the curriculum. However, the assessment process typically reveals a deeper set of issues and concerns. For example, one of the most commonly-requested topics we hear about deals with transitions, typically from high school to college, school to work, or work to school. Supporting students in transition is a challenge for many institutions as they wrestle with inadequacies in our current “pipeline� model of education. Students advance from one grade or institution to the next without adequate preparation for success. Professional development in this area covers topics that emphasize the development of effective “habits of mind� as well as the implementation of educational strategies. Preparing students for transition re-
quires them to be aware of the “hidden curriculum,� which encompasses all of the skills and strategies that students are expected to learn, but are not explicitly taught. For example, employers, colleges, and other institutions that “receive� students from earlier grade levels express concern that students lack the ability to work well in groups. When teachers assign group assignments, they often don’t include direct instruction in how to act as a group member. As a result, group assignments are often dominated by one or two “leaders� who are more concerned about their grades than the learning process, while others engage in “social loafing� and let the rest of the group do all the work. Other common topics associated with the hidden curriculum include managing time and resources, demonstrating a strong work ethic, applying skills to a new domain, and the communicating in appropriate ways to different types of audiences. Another common request is for professional development on effective
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541 Long Beach Rd. St. James, NY 11780
A Coeducational Independent Boarding and Day School for Grades Six-Post Graduate
54
SPRING 2011 Â&#x2122; SouthEast Education Network
instruction, especially how instructors can teach diverse, struggling students in the same classroom environment.This topic includes techniques teachers can use to help students master specific skills, understand strategies that can help learning and memory, and identify when to implement different multimodal methods. It is important to note that a challenge for teachers often involves engaging each student without creating conditions in which some students are bored because they readily understand the content, while others are overwhelmed, and yet others feel excluded. Our approach to effective instruction is one that embraces universal design in education: intentionally developing activities and curricula in anticipation of a broad range of learners who will struggle with different aspects of the lesson. Instead of developing different approaches, materials, and interactions for different kinds of learners, universal design is about creating a unified approach in which all learners are able to participate and benefit.