One thing is for sure and that is this forced me to look at units in a whole new light. Perhaps it is the complexity of the thought involved but it sure makes me feel like I'm in the wrong line of work. Actually, its more of a recognition of forces I always knew existed but had not seen before. The main frustration is the constant revisiting of the Unit Plan. It fails every time another layer of attention is given to it. Newer teachers probably have this under control since it is closer to their recent training.
The main thing is all the tricks that are useful to help students become self-directed learners. Most of the information used in the articles and text did not exist when I was last in a class on the subject. The forms for supporting self-direction made sense. However, my own instincts seemed totally irrelevant at every turn. This is all new. Nice, but scary in some small way. Probably this shall pass as I try more of them out.
The parts adapting to all learners made more sense and wasn't totally new. SAD21 has been working on differentiation for two years now so the verbiage is familiar. Before that, recognition of differing learners goes back to my initial training. Combining all of these varied pieces so that I can use them not so bad. We are a bit lucky with the support we get from the Special Ed. staff. There are plenty of people to work with for most accommodations. The rest of the trick is to design something that is varied sufficiently for challenge and interest for all. Something we can all get close to but never achieve 100% of the time.
The "tools" for activity 2 & 3 seem useful enough but a bit contrived as is. I suspect that they will be heavily modified with actual use. The "form" was frustrating to build. I know how to do that with Access but never tried one elsewhere. I built a template for students to use daily, but it was taking too much time to change it over to something for a wiki. It will have to be a half-measure for now.
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