The New Modifications: They're Still Here, the Actionable Delivery is Different

Last week my co-teacher and I had a meaningful conversation about modifications- a popular and important topic for the students in our class. Our class is richly diverse with various cultures, abilities, languages, and learning styles that make it unique, yet offer challenges for us as teachers to meet the needs of our learners in this new learning environment we are experiencing this year. 

One of our concerns before school even started was how to deliver instruction that was differentiated, and ensure modifications were in place for all of our students, especially those that require them with IEP and 504 reports. We realized that some modifications are going to be altered such as offering manipulatives. We use virtual manipulatives and allow the students to move them, or to direct us as teachers where/how/when to move them. Some modifications (such as extra time) don't require much of a change, however utilizing breakout rooms in Zoom has been helpful to provide a quiet space for students to complete work and catch up on missing assignments. 

The biggest challenge for modifying work (and differentiating) has been that of providing help to students. We see families frequently readily available to help their children and as teachers we are grateful they are there for assistance, however, we realized... families are not trained in differentiated instruction and how to implement modifications effectively! 

This has sparked our interest in another area of family communication that we haven't had to enter before: applying modifications for students through family members. 

Just like the "Give a Mouse a Cookie" series, I was then inspired to use my blog here as a space to think and plan for this. I'd also love to hear how other teachers have handled this new challenge in their classroom as both general and special education teachers. 

I feel that the first thing that needs to be done is to work as an instructional team to decide which modifications are most vital as a whole class, and for individual students to speak about with families. From there, the team can brainstorm suggestions they can provide to the for working with their child at home and ensuring they do receive a modification in person that the teacher cannot provide in full for them due to distance, without simply telling them answers. It's also important to create simple "think sheets" or "quick tip" guides for families to have with them to remind them of how to implement a modification. These can be made on Canva or in other publishing platforms to share with families both personally and as a class to use. From there, planning a presentation/ discussion session with families

My goal in my next blog is to think through a few specific modifications to focus on, and create a guide sheet we can possibly use.  

I'm excited to brainstorm this and plan for assisting families and plan on using Canva to help me plan. 

Final Thoughts: keep reflecting on student modifications, keep the new learning environment a focus in applying modifications, keep communicating with families always!