Ricardo Martinez

Assistant Head IV Form, Careers-related Programme Coordinator, Teacher of Humanities, Germany

Workshop Information:

I'm a basketball coach. 

I need to communicate objectives to my players that account for the strengths and weaknesses of all my players in order to facilitate successful outcomes. 

I have transferred this technique to the classroom. 

Most teachers “teach to the top third” and scaffold down to meet the needs of lower achieving students and SENs. 

I believe in a “bottoms up!” approach to keep expectations high and promote inclusion: plan/write objectives specifically for high need and/or SEN students by starting with the desired product, provide the resources necessary for those students to meet the objective, then take away resources for more academically able students whilst keeping the desired product the same for all students. 

It is easier to take away resources than it is to add them (e.g. traditional scaffolding), and this provides teachers with a tangible method of making daily adaptations that go beyond “I sit my SEN next to a high-level learner.” 

On the flip side, as I take away resources from the higher-level learners, they are naturally prompted to incorporate more ATL skills into their learners (e.g. research, organisation, etc)

For instance:

To create X

SEN needs a text, extended vocab list, and a given website

Mid-level learner needs the text and web search

High level learner web searches

Write clearly communicated objectives that are relevant for all learners. 

Plan specifically for SEN students in a targeted manner that does not treat them as afterthoughts or burdens. 

Promote sociocultural learning theory by maximizing learning outcomes for all students. 

Provide a framework for clear communication with students, parents, colleagues, and administrators.