One size does not fit all in a classroom. Processing time, performance and preferences drive instruction and lesson design for teachers and students each day.  Creating inclusive learning environments personalized to each student while also meeting learning goals and standards is not an easy task.

Many teachers lean on educational technology (“edtech”) to help meet students where they are by utilizing everyday tools that can have a huge impact on neurodivergent learners; such as timers, accessible calculators, customizable fonts and spacing, color contrast, and/or translation tools.

With 20% of the total population considered neurodivergent, edtech tools can give students autonomy to accommodate for their personalized learning preferences and help teachers streamline support for every student.

The dream classroom would be one that supports diverse learning preferences, normalizes assistive technology for all learners, and empowers students to collaborate together to bring new ideas and discoveries to life.

SMART Technologies and the University of Melbourne came together alongside the students themselves to prove that educational technology transforms learning,  supports neurodivergent learners and, therefore, amplifies the voices of all learners.

Inclusive learning strategies

Inclusive learning strategies are the foundation of sound pedagogical practices and make integrating educational technology tools easy for educators without increasing planning time or workloads.

Scaffolding and Chunking of Information: Help students grasp new concepts and information by gradually decreasing assistance as they successfully meet learning goals; break down large amounts of information into more manageable groups or “bite-sized” chunks of information creating more processing time for retention.

Collaborative and Cooperative Learning: Create experiences for students to collaboratively learn, create, question and reflect; students will make progress individually in tandem with others.

Multimodal Instruction: Offer lessons utilizing visual, auditory, kinesthetic and textual information; additionally, encourage student choice for students to show their learning.

Prioritizing Student Voice and Agency: Provide opportunities for students to give their feedback and preferences on classroom technology, fostering a sense of ownership and motivation.

What you can do now

70% of students with disabilities are below basic on this year's National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) testing, suggesting a potential lack of access to appropriate accommodations and an urgency to utilize instructional strategies and accessibility tools in classroom learning environments.

The following recommendations are based on the research mentioned above and were implemented in real classrooms side by side with students who utilized both SMART Technologies and collaborative web-based software, Lumio by SMART:

• Reduce Cognitive Overload: Utilize graphic organizers, individual digital student handouts, audio and video lesson delivery, notetaking options
• Gradually Release Responsibility: Use goal setting ready-made templates, game-based learning activities, collaborative brainstorming
• Allow Anonymous Participation: Anonymous contributions and ideation, random selection tools, individual whiteboards (digital or physical)
• Teach Access and Use of Accessibility Features: Microsoft Immersive Reader tools, connected student devices, annotation tools, captions, video/audio playback speeds, keyboard shortcuts

You can find all 36 recommendations from the SMART Technologies and Melbourne research here.

About the Author:

With over two decades of service in the education and instructional design fields, Tisha Poncio’s energy and enthusiasm have fueled her success as a teacher, digital learning coach, learner and leader. Poncio has guided students on subjects including web design, graphic design, business computers, programming, English, broadcast journalism and entrepreneurship. She has also served as an innovative digital learning specialist, leading and inspiring educators and administrators with meaningful technology integration and instructional design that supports all learners. Poncio was a finalist for the Texas Computer Education Association’s (TCEA) 2018 Instructional Technology Specialist of the Year award. She holds a master’s in learning technologies from the University of North Texas.