The Myth of the Average
April 2019 | Issue #07
Reaching all students is every educators’ desire! Thanks to advances in cognitive neuroscience, we now have insight on how we can do just that – reach and teach ALL students. Traditional education is something of the past. Todd Rose, professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, captivatingly illustrates how traditional education is something of the past by sharing a lesson from the Air Force. From high school dropout to Harvard, Todd Rose’s experience speaks to the need for change.
Designing our learning environments to meet the variable dimensions of all learners is where we should start. What exactly does this mean? Abandoning the idea of a “one size fits all” starts in our classrooms and with our mindsets. Researchers and educators from the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) dispelled the myth of the average learner, recognizing that all learners had the same brain make up, but what activated brains varied from individual to individual. Hence, the development of
Universal Design for Learning (UDL). In order to meet the needs of all learners, three things are needed:
- Multiple Means of Engagement.
- Multiple Means of Representation
- Multiple Means of Action and Expression
Take a look and see how you can get started using UDL in your classrooms.
Click here for the Video Transcripts