Expanding Mindsets and Supports for Exceptional Learners

3 units

Teaching exceptional learners is one of the best growth opportunities for teachers to diversify their strategies and skill sets. Although accommodations and modifications can often feel overwhelming or simply like a mandate where the box must be checked by federal law, it also presents an opportunity for teachers to learn, grow, and serve all learners better. In this course, we will dissect and reflect on the core principles of instruction, high- impact teaching strategies, cognitive learning strategies, and school experiences to put ourselves in the shoes of an exceptional learner in a modern-day inclusive classroom. We will explore and analyze different strategies for creating compelling, engaging, creative, and individualized accommodations and modifications. For each topic addressed, students will be asked to approach assignments from their lens and the lens of an exceptional learner. Through this process, teachers will uncover the power of profoundly understanding individual learning needs and their students' social-emotional relationship with learning to create effective accommodations and modifications that allow them to accelerate student learning.