229: Not Just for Math: A Tiered System of Learning Supports for Any Subject
May 30, 2024
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Learning specialist Sarah Riggs Johnson and math teacher Nate Wolkenhauer share a tiered system of learning supports applicable to all students. They discuss creating no-pressure relationships with students, fostering accountability and trust in math education, supporting students in utilizing accommodations during tests, and enhancing math understanding through verbalization and individualized learning supports. The episode provides valuable insights for educators looking to help struggling students in any subject.
A tiered system of strategies caters to varying student needs, from foundational support to personalized assistance.
Nate's innovative teaching methods include 'stand on your chair' activities, purposeful movement, hand signals, and music-related lessons.
High expectations with flexible support, such as error analysis, personalized accommodations, and open discussions, create a safe learning environment.
Deep dives
Tiered System of Learning Support
Teachers Sarah and Nate have developed a tiered system of strategies to cater to varying student needs in the classroom. They employ a pyramid model where foundational strategies apply to all students, progressing to more targeted support for smaller groups and individual students. The strategies are not limited to math, offering insights applicable across subjects. The collaborative relationship between Sarah and Nate serves as a model for effective co-teaching, emphasizing mutual respect, leveraging individual strengths, and sharing instructional responsibilities.
Innovative Teaching Strategies
Nate implements innovative teaching strategies to engage students, such as 'stand on your chair' activities that encourage unexpected and fun experiences in learning. Incorporating purposeful movement, hand signals for math terms, and music-related activities, Nate ensures students experience math concepts in dynamic and memorable ways. By fostering a classroom atmosphere that embraces novelty and active participation, students are motivated to learn and engage in discussions, connecting real-world experiences to mathematical concepts.
Supporting Diverse Learners
Sarah and Nate exemplify high expectations with flexible means, supporting students like David, who struggles with dyslexia. By maintaining high academic standards while offering personalized support, they ensure that all students are held to rigorous expectations while accommodating individual learning needs. Using error analysis, revising work, and empowering students to leverage accommodations, they create a safe and inclusive learning environment that fosters student confidence and growth. Additionally, they transform testing environments into collaborative learning opportunities where students can openly discuss and explain their problem-solving approaches, enhancing comprehension and critical thinking skills.
Encouraging Verbalization During Tests
Encouraging students to verbalize their thoughts during tests can enhance their understanding and confidence in problem-solving. By allowing students to read questions out loud, analyze and discuss their reasoning, educators like Sarah and Nate create a supportive environment for test-taking. This approach helps students, such as Eli, who need sensory stimulation to focus, to stay on track and process problems effectively. Additionally, prompting students to talk through problems can improve their test performance and build self-advocacy skills for future success.
Individualized Strategies for Test Support
Implementing personalized strategies like test-pulling and utilizing accommodations such as lined paper, color-coding, manipulatives, focused strategies, and calculators can significantly benefit students with diverse learning needs in math. These tailored approaches help students maintain organization, better understand concepts, build fluency, and enhance problem-solving skills. By focusing on individualized support and adapting teaching methods to match students' unique strengths and challenges, educators like Nate and Sarah foster a positive learning environment that promotes student success and confidence in math.
You can never have too many ideas for helping struggling students, right? In this episode, you'll get a few more that you may not have tried. My guests are two teachers — learning specialist Sarah Riggs Johnson and math teacher Nate Wolkenhauer — who share their system of strategies that help all students learn better, a kind of pyramid where the ones at the bottom apply to all students, the middle layers are used with a smaller group, and at the top are strategies that are only needed for a few students. If you teach math or special ed, this one is a must, but even if you don't, you're going to come away with some new ideas for how to help students who struggle — even if they don't have an identified learning disability.
