Innovate Inside the Box by George Couros & Katie Novak

Author:George Couros & Katie Novak [Couros, George]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 978-1-948334-13-6
Publisher: Impress, LP

Provide Multiple Means of Engagement

UDL reminds us to create a safe space for all learners. Individual variability is influenced by numerous factors, including lived experiences, culture, neurology, and background knowledge, to name a few. Being empathetic is critical to understanding different perspectives and embracing every learner. When we provide multiple means of engagement for learners, we can tap into their strengths, as well as help them see those of others. To do this, teachers need to reduce potential threats and distractions in the learning environment. One way to do this is to empower students to speak out.

Help Students Speak Out. Oftentimes, students feel empathy but they don’t take action. It is our responsibility to teach kids to speak out regardless of the fear of social consequences. Research suggests that when kids intervene in bullying situations, for example, more than half the time, bullying stops in ten seconds.7 So why don’t more kids speak out? It is possible they believe it wouldn’t change anything, or they feel it would make things worse for them. Or they haven’t learned how to speak out. Like Sit With Us creator Natalie Hampton, my second-grade daughter, Aylin, knows how to take action. When she was in first grade, a group of girls surrounded a boy with autism who was flapping his hands and mimicked him. She ran right over and announced, “Hey, ladies! If you want to mess with someone, you’re gonna mess with me.” A recess aide told me the story, and I wanted to buy her a pony. Not every student carries that same dose of diva, so we have to empower them with moral courage so when they feel empathy, they act on it. To instill or develop this empathy-courage muscle, we have to provide students with opportunities to stand up for or take action regarding something they believe in.

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