Category: Accessibility (2024)

I'd like to take a look at a few scenarios. Some are things I've heard about in general classrooms and some are things I've done in the past. I want to be clear that I am, in no way, trying to target any particular teacher and, more importantly, that none of us are perfect (I am far from it). Rather, I'd like to bring a different perspective to these practices that are often considered "standard" or even "best" in certain cases.

General Topic.Scenario. My thoughts.​

1. Test Corrections.In this classroom, the teacher does test retakes via corrections. They require students to work on the corrections at home, but allows them to use any materials they already have to make those corrections. This teacher gives up to 3/4 credit: 1/4 for the right answer and 2/4 for the explanation that shows the mistake (1) and the reasoning for the right answer (2).This scenario puts the labor on the students wholly. It also requires a number of things to be true in order for it to work. Firstly, the student would have needed to be present for and take such impeccable notes/keep all previous work with teacher corrections in order to get the "correct" responses that the teacher wants. Secondly, it presumes that the student has (I'm guessing) at least twice the amount of time each question took in order to receive 3/4 possible credit. This means that if the student has after school activities, a job, or responsibilities at home (like watching younger siblings), another aspect of their life must suffer in order to complete this if a deadline is given. Further this scenario denies students full credit for nothing other than time. Students who understand things later, and can explain why, will never receive the same credit as students who get it right immediately (or accidentally) with half the work. ​
2. Peer Tutoring.This classroom requires students to use the honour society to prepare for a retake. The student wanting to retake may attend honour society tutoring on Tuesday mornings or Thursday afternoons at the school for 30 minutes. They must attend no less than 2 sessions in order to qualify for a retake. The retake must be completed within a week of the original exam date.In this scenario, there is almost no way to win. This method favours students who are affluent enough to have their own car or be driven in by someone. It favours students who have rides both ways, before and after school, and places the labor on the student and their peers. The unknown factors here make it almost impossible for a student to meet the requirements and get credit. If the peer tutors are unavailable, or if the student cannot make back to back sessions, if the peer tutor doesn't understand the material, or if the student has so many questions it takes more than 2 sessions, the student will never be able to take the retake.
3. Schedule a retake.This classroom allows students to retake any assessment any time of the grading period. But, students must submit a request to the teacher before or after class, schedule it on the teacher's schedule, and after 2 no shows, the student loses the ability to retake that test.Okay, I admit this one is probably the most common and most free, but... hear me out. Let's consider student A. Student A has ADHD and struggles with executive functioning. They use their phone (an often recommended way to keep track of things) to keep a schedule, but even remembering to put things in when there's a time crunch can be hard. Student A goes to the teacher's room first thing in the morning as their parents dropped them off specifically to schedule the retake. But... the teacher isn't there yet. The student leaves a note on the teacher's door and goes to get breakfast. They forget to come back. The teacher waits for the student to say something in class, but the student, by this point, has completely forgotten. Let's consider Student B. Student B's parents both work jobs throughout the day and cannot bring the student early. The student has basketball practice after school and on Thursdays the team provides a study break for students to get help from teachers. Student B approaches the teacher and asks for a retake on Thursday afternoon. The teacher tells the student they have afternoon duty and cannot make time that day. Since that is the only time the student can meet, they opt to take the low grade and not do the retake. While this may seem like the best option... neither student benefits from the policy.
4. The traditional RRR day.This teacher has implemented RRR days. They print out student grade reports, highlight grades that need to be made up, and either post a list of how to do that or makes packets for kids. Students get 1 day every 2 weeks to do this work in class. Students can take the work home, but if it isn't turned in within a week of the RRR day, the student loses that chance and must wait for the next one.Yes, this is my idea... but we'll talk about that later. Let's consider Student C. Student C is on the football team and has no less than 5 teammates in this class. His teammates all have As. Student C doesn't. Their friends receive their grade reports and decide that since they have As, they are going to play a group video game on their phones. Student C is pressured by their friends to play with them. It's just a little work and there will be another RRR day. Student C decides to not do the work this time and promises themself they'll do it next time. This scenario repeats itself... EVERY TIME. Student D has been sick. They've been out for 2 weeks. They receive a packet that is... thick. Student D works the entire hour, without a break, but they don't finish. They decide to take the packet home over the weekend and finish. Student D also has make up work for all their other classes. At home they work all waking hours and eventually have an anxiety attack. Their parents sit with them and go through the work. They determine to focus on core classes first and electives later. The student dose this and misses the deadline to turn in work, even though they had some complete. Now they must redo it again the next time. Student E has an intellectual disability. They also receive a thick packet. They ask the teacher where to start and the teacher suggests starting with vocabulary. The student starts the work but quickly becomes discouraged at the amount they don't remember/know yet. The student decided that since this was the help the teacher gave, they must be too dumb to do the work and giveup.

These kinds of retakes really only serve a specific type of student:

• neurotypical
• affluent
• lots of free time
• ability to get things right quickly

In other words... it really serves the student who likely already did well on the first assessment.
​So... what can we do?

​There is no one answer. I know that isn't the ideal response, especially as teachers who are responsible for multiple students (I have an average of 150-180). But, hear me out. The simple answer is: flexibility and adaptation... on the teacher's part. I was afraid when I realised this because I wondered how much extra work it would put on me. After a few years of working this way I realise... it doesn't. It isn't something I can put in a single blog post or provide a template for, however. But... let me address each of the students we talked about in our scenarios:

1. The student who works a job outside of school/takes care of siblings. One of the easiest ways I've found to work with these students is usingstandards based gradingand incorporating retakes into our every day work. When I do this, I ensure that the students receive (a) remediation and (b) there is no undue pressure to get things done when they have other responsibilities.Importantly: this is how I largely do retakes now -- I will remediate with the entire class and use creative assignments to get the information I need without putting extra work on any one student or myself.​ This also works really well for:students who have missed a lot, students with processing disorders or who need more time to comprehend topics, students with executive functioning concerns, etc.
2. Student A.I am not going to ask my students to see me outside of class to discuss grades. I am, of course, going to leave it as an option, but I am not going to require it. Having said that, I also don't allow interruptions to discuss grades. Instead I take a note that a student needed me and I wait until we are are doing group/individual work or I ask to see the student after class. I will make a plan with them or I will incorporate it into class.
3. Student B.If student B wants my specific help, I will invite them to my duty station and we'll work together there. Another option would be to switch duties for a week with another teacher. This allows me to be in the room to help that student. If I know that many students have similar struggles I will incorporate small group instruction in class as well.
4. Student C.Unless asked specifically I do not pass out grade reports any more. For many students it is helpful, but it shames students who do not have the grades wanted/needed and still puts the labor on the student to follow up. If I have noticed student C's pattern of working (or not), I will ask to speak with them and find out the core issue. If it is simple peer pressure, I will make a plan with them specifically to get work made up privately. If it is executive functioning concerns doubled with peer pressure, I will make a daily plan that includes subtle reminders about work (a hand sign, a shoulder tap, etc.). If the student is truly struggling with the material, I will incorporate their specific concerns into class and the entire class will benefit.
5. Student D.Whenever this happens, I try to take as much pressure as possible off the student. I check in with them every few days and ask them to focus on class during class and, if they really want to do something at home, to work on vocabulary only. I will use every opportunity to take a grade (yay SBG). Examples: I will take a speaking grade whenever the student asks a question in the TL or responds to a question. I will take a comic strip from a story for standards about comprehension of a story, comprehension of details of a story, etc. I will take a dictation grade for the dictation and ability to listen to spoken language.
6. Student E.(1) I will sit this student right next to my desk. This allows me to keep an eye on their progress AND their anxiety levels. I will never call them out specifically, but proximity also allows me to check in regularly and quietly. I will also, whenever this student gets frustrated, go back to something I know the student knows and use it as a starting place. (2) I will expand my understanding of how students show progress. I often employ unconventional ways of showing understanding in order to meet the student where they are and allow them to show progress in a way that is meaningful to them. Some ways I've done this are:
   1. using highlighters to highlight answers in a story from oral questions instead of answering multiple choice questions or writing sentences out
   2. giving exams orally and marking their answers myself
   3. usingWikki Sticks, legos, play doh, etc.to let the student manipulate something to show me a picture of a story.
   4. Allowing a student to take a multiple choice test via Gimkit because:
      1. it doesn't require filling in little circles or writing
      2. it is colour blocked allowing an easier time of seeing and processing answers
      3. it allows students to reconsider questions and gives me question specific data.
      4. it breaks up the standard testing procedure which can disrupt testing anxiety

I wish there were a simple answer, but there isn't because we don't teach computers, we teach human beings. Education and testing, in particular, have largely and historically favoured the neurotypical, affluent, and gifted student when they are the students who often succeed without any help or intervention. As educators we should be working to ensure progress for all types of learners.

Today's blog post and resources focus on working with vision students. Like all disabilities and types of learners, there is a wide spectrum to what qualifies as a "vision student". Some students wear glasses, some have varying degrees of vision and legal blindness, and some have temporary or chronic conditions that may require different supports at different times. In my district, various schools have programs that focus on specific disabilities. Our school cluster (elementary, middle, high) houses the vision program for the district. We have dedicated TVIs who work with our students and provide a variety of life skills and classes in things like braille, and mobility.

I am very happy to be personal and professional friends with our TVI and some of the paraprofessionals in this program. We work together closely to support students and I am really glad they are here! You will see references to them in this post as they have shared with me many ideas and resources that I use with my students.​

What can we as teachers do to show our support or prepare ourselves for teaching vision students? Here are some things I've done:

• Learn braille basics. You can learn a lot about braille online for free.UEB Braille Onlineis a great place to start! Thank you to the TVI at my school for introducing this to me.
• When working with vision students always introduce yourself when you begin a conversation: "Hi X. It's Ms. P."
• NEVER guide, touch, etc. students without their consent. If you are walking with a vision student somewhere, you can ask if they'd like a guide, but respect their decision and move at their pace.
• Remove unneeded obstacles from your room. If there is something you know is in someone's way, move it or make it clear where it is.

If you are able to put things into braille, that's great! If you have someone at your school who can do it for you, or if your student has assistive technology that allows them to read documents as if they were in braille, these pointers might help you:

• Remove all formatting. While font, size, etc. can be useful for other types of learners, when putting things into braille they just complicate the issue. Keep all formatting choices out of the document you want to turn into a braille document. You can still use those things, just make sure to have an unformatted copy.
• If you use pictures, make sure to include a picture description. The more detail the better.
• Bear in mind that other languages use other braille symbols and this can mean that turning a document into braille might take a bit longer. If you teach Latin, however, the braille is uncontracted English braille, so it will be fairly easy!
• Give your TVI or paraprofessional ample time to put things into braille. They are likely also teaching students skills and have to make multiple documents for multiple students. The more lead time you can give, usually, the better.
• Special Note for novellas: As an author, I am very careful about copyright. Having said that, be aware that putting a document into braille is NOT a violation of copyright. I would still reach out and ask for a PDF or word copy, but know that (1) you don't need their permission to make a braille copy and that (2) they are not obligated to send you a format that is easy for braille.

Here is a quick list of ways to adapt activities and support vision students in your classroom.

• Offer visual options: large print, large spacing, and braille
• Allow students to use assistive technology: braille sense/braille note, voice to text, audio reader, etc.
• If you do picture talks, movie talks, etc. provide picture descriptions. That way students can participate in your discussions.Here is an example I made. Keep the picture descriptions in the L1. You will use the L2 to discuss, but you need to establish meaning first.
• Provide multiple ways of expression. Some visions students might be able to draw, but others may need alternatives. While translation or answering questions is an alternative, it doesn't allow the same creative output that drawing might. Some other ways to allow creativity include:
  • creating a playlist that tells the story through song
  • writing a poem or creative story in L1
  • UsingWikki Stix, clay, etc. to create 3D pictures.

1. Notability App for iPad
2. Apple Pencil (ish, it's off brand)
3. Google Docs
4. Zamzar converter
5. Apple Bluetooth keyboard (ish, it's also off brand)

Right now I am teaching in person and digitally, so I needed a way to see all my students AND take these notes. So, I pulled out my iPad and wrote notes while they spoke and typed at me. I used the Notability app which I've talked about before when discussingannotated stories. I love this app for taking notes professionally and creating resources for students, but I still don't know everything about it. For example, today I learned that I can take my handwriting on the app and quickly convert it to digital type (which can be read by an text to voice system).

After I had all the notes written, I used the Notability app to convert them into typed text. It wasn't perfect and there were a few mistakes, but I quickly fixed those using a keyboard. I then uploaded the document as a PDF. Zamzar was able to take that PDF and turn it into a word doc. I then removed all formatting (making it more accessible to a braille Note).​

As you can see, my handwriting is fun. I use a mix of cursive and print and I colour code things. I don't solely provide one or the other and often use a mix of my own handwriting and digital type. I see value in both (aka, this isn't the place to get into an argument over cursive vs. typing skills).

I am so glad I learned how to do this today and will definitely be employing it in the future as well!