Stories for Educators on Reaching Every Learner
Welcome to the latest edition of the Stories that Inspired Us newsletter, where we take a look back at some stories that had a strong impact on us and our readers.
As we learn more about the brain and how learning happens, it has become increasingly clear that every learner is remarkably unique — from the supports they need to thrive to the conditions that motivate them to learn.
This month, we’re taking a look back at a few stories that explore how educators can reach all of their students.
How to Support Neurodivergent Students
“Neurodivergence is both a concept and a movement. As a concept, neurodivergence is simply the idea that brain function exists on a spectrum, no two brains are exactly alike, and brain function varies naturally across individuals. As a movement, neurodivergence helps us understand that the variations in brain function we see in people with conditions like ADHD, OCD, autism, and dyslexia aren’t inherently a deficit or abnormality. There’s an ongoing discussion within the neurodivergent community about how to balance celebrating and normalizing neurodiversity with acknowledging the suffering that neurodiverse people experience.”
Read How to Support Neurodivergent Students here.
What Is Mastery-Based Learning?
“Mastery-based learning, while there is no single, universally agreed upon definition, is an instructional model where students progress through curriculum only when they master skills and content. Students move at their own pace and their learning path is determined by their growth rather than by the time they spend on a topic. Grades are different in a mastery-based learning framework, too. Students may have many opportunities to take an exam, or teachers may not use traditional rubrics at all.”
Read What is Mastery-Based Learning? here.
How to Motivate Your Students to Learn with Self-Determination Theory
“Extrinsic motivation comes from an externally imposed need. These are the tasks that we do simply because we must. While it’s important for students to experience intrinsic motivation in learning, it’s also critical that they have the skills to accomplish a task when the primary motivation is extrinsic. After all, adulthood is certainly filled with tasks that are necessary, but not particularly interesting!”
Read How to Motivate Your Students to Learn with Self-Determination Theory here.
Teaching Executive Functioning Skills to Increase Student Agency
By Stephanie Howell and Tara Ruckman, Educators
“Do you feel like you care more about your students’ work than they do?…
Many teachers feel this way and are excited to give over control to their students but struggle with the weight of pulling the load. Picture a camel with the weight of a person and the sacks thrown over top, carrying all of it on their back as they travel through the desert. No offense to camels — they are very hard-working animals! But do you want to be the sole person to carry all that weight? Many teachers were experiencing this growing pain and started to go back to the ways of the traditional classroom. We were experiencing this same pain, but moving back to the traditional classroom is just not an option. The teacher’s role has become not the lead instructor (not the camel pulling the weight) but the guide on a path to creativity and independent learning (the horse and buggy).”
Read Teaching Executive Functioning Skills to Increase Student Agency here.
