On the Road Again and Breaking Down "Barriers"

With inclusion in the classroom setting now being seen in all classrooms, it is the teacher’s job to break down any barriers that are in the way of each student learning to the best of their ability. The Curriculum Barriers Tool helps you analyze barriers for your students in your curriculum materials and methods. http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/tools/curriculumbarrierstool.cfm I used this tool to help manage the barriers of one of my students. If you have problems with barriers in your classroom I suggest all teachers take a look at this tool and try it out for yourself.

Here is an example I used to help with one of my students who has barriers in her learning.

Student: David
David is a student who struggles with social skills among his peers. He has a hard time relating to others, and using social cues to curb his behavioral outbursts during class. His long-term struggle with academics has dampened his enthusiasm and energy for schoolwork. By the second grade, his attention span for schoolwork and on task time has shown to decrease. When asked to do school work David gets antsy in his chair, and has limited time being on task with completing his school work. He completes work on a reward system. His discomfort extends to most classroom assignments; overall, David appears disengaged from learning. David’s focus on drawing and the construction of Lego's, contrasts with his lack of engagement in the classroom. He practices and completes his drawings and constructions diligently and enthusiastically, showing an ability to persist and to understand the need for hard work in the service of something he loves to do.

Curriculum Barriers Tool:

Curriculum Barriers                                            Model Template

Grade: 2                               Teacher: Miss T.                               Subject: Reading              Standard: 1.3.2.B: Recognize and identify different types of genres such as poetry, drama, and fiction.

Goal: To read stories, and identify characteristics of Fiction and Non-Fiction Stories.

Materials and Methods	Student Qualities	Potential Barriers/missed opportunities
Subject Matter	Enjoys reading about animal characters.	David would be more engaged if he was able to have stories about his interests.
Lecture	Has difficulty staying focused.	Missed Opportunity-David would stay focus longer if more visual needs and movement are met.
Discussion	Participates in giving opinions and feedback to class.	None
Seat Work in Workbook	Limited attention span to complete work.	Amount of seat work is at grade level, David would need modifications to attention span meet needs.
Text and Reference Books	Struggles to follow along with reading.	Missed Opportunity: Allowing listening of the reading would

 Using this tool, has helped me organize barriers of my students and assess ways to make changes to help break down these barriers.

http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/tools/curriculumbarrierstool.cfm