Critical to understand … Big difference between providing meaningful curriculum access … …and creating the illusion of access

Critical to understand … Access to Gen. Ed. Curriculum does not necessarily mean same curriculum All standards comprised of Skills / processes / strategies HOW Abstract concepts & related facts WHAT & WHY Rules WHEN

Critical to understand … Access to Gen. Ed. Curriculum does not necessarily mean same curriculum * Appropriate access of content is developmentally appropriate

Critical to understand … Basic law of learning: Skills / processes & strategies are comprised of a developmental scope and sequence that cannot be violated G.E. curriculum = K-12, not a specific class or subject

Critical to understand … Basic law of learning: Success in content-area subjects depends on three things: * clarity of to-be-learned information * background knowledge * degree of student elaboration

Critical to understand … Some strategies designed for typical learners crash & burn when applied to students with cognitive disabilities (and vice versa) Some strategies designed for exceptional learners crash & burn when applied to typical learner (and vice versa) Some strategies provide big bang for the buck for both populations

Critical to understand … There are a number of solidly scientific-research-based techniques that produce powerful outcomes for both kinds of students This CAN be done

Why do we water-down the curriculum? #1 Reason: Create an illusion of success (e.g., so students make “good grades”) … to protect students’ self-esteem and motivation … to please parents because they feel their kids are more successful.

#2 Reason: Assumption that students can’t learn Poor students lack background knowledge …which is usually true! Poor students lack the learning ability … which is usually true! Poor students lack learning strategies … which is usually true! Poor students lack motivation … which is usually true! Why do we water-down the curriculum? But NONE of these factors = poor students can’t learn sophisticated topics

#3 Reason: Assumption that it’s a learning problem, not a teaching problem (it’s the kid’s fault the material wasn’t learned) Why do we water-down the curriculum?

Two basic strategies for watering down the curriculum Content reduction Content simplification

Content reduction For example … Typical achieving students are required to learn 20 vocabulary terms As an accommodation, Special Eddie only has to learn 10 terms This approach reduces opportunities to learn before learning can even take place!

Content simplification Avoid teaching abstract concepts Tends to focus on teaching the bare minimum facts

Content reduction Content simplification Both approaches undermine the integrity of the curriculum

Watering-down the curriculum as an accommodation strategy for less-capable learners What tends to happen to the content … * Compromises the integrity of the content Content gets reduced to little bits and pieces of often unrelated information Less is learned, and what is learned is often not worth knowing

Watering-down the curriculum as an accommodation strategy for less-capable learners What tends to happen to learning … * Reduces opportunities to learn * Becomes more piecemeal (memorizing bare-bone facts) * Tends to reduce opportunities for authentic learning experiences

Watering-down the curriculum as an accommodation strategy for less-capable learners What tends to happen to students … Students fail to acquire basic knowledge that future learning is built upon Creates downward cycle of lowered expectations & lowered self-esteem –If you lower the bar, students will adjust accordingly and come in under the bar * Learning is less meaningful, so authentic motivation disappears * Negative motivation: Learning for fear of what happens if you don’t

Watering-down the curriculum as an accommodation strategy for less-capable learners What tends to happen to some teachers … The Bail & Blame syndrome Bail out emotionally Teaching is not fun, so commitment is lessoned, and resentment increases Bail out from responsibility for teaching Try to get the student into special education Blaming the victim / search for pathology Allows teachers to shed responsibility Blaming the system & society If we had better leadership… more support… smaller classes … Why do we have these… stupid laws …tests… kids… anyway?

Watering-down the curriculum as an accommodation strategy for less-capable learners What also tends to happen to most teachers … Expected to use tactics & strategies that, given the reality of the classroom, are often totally unrealistic

So what do you do, given the pressures of teaching in the age of high-stakes testing & diverse ability classrooms? 3 basic strategies for addressing the challenge Differentiate the curriculum –Identify big ideas and essential details ALL students will learn –Eliminate non-essential trivia Enhance the learn-ability of the subject Employ brain-based instructional methods