Foreword by Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey
Modify your curriculum using streamlined assignments, targeted assessments, and student engagement strategies for different learning styles.
This practical guide expands upon the adapting element of the Unstoppable Learning model: (1) planning, (2) launching, (3) consolidating, (4) assessing, (5) adapting, (6) managing, and (7) leading to explore accessible learning for all students. Through specific curriculum and environmental accommodations and modifications, as well as personal and technology supports, K-12 teachers will discover how to provide differentiated instruction to students. Forms, tools, and diagrams designed to aid instructional planning give readers a clear path for supporting students with varying needs, from physical disabilities to twice-exceptionality.
How will this book help you?
- Learn how to adjust curriculum in ways that maintain appropriate levels of rigor for different learning styles.
- Consider real school vignettes and examples that illustrate successful Unstoppable Learning adaptations for inclusive classrooms.
- Study the four guiding principles of systems thinking: relationships, communications, responsiveness, and sustainability.
- Consider the importance of collaboration and communication in learning adaptations.
- Study helpful and informative tools and diagrams intended to aid in planning instruction for different learning styles.
Contents:
Introduction: About Adapting Learning
Chapter 1: Creating an Adaptation-Friendly Systems Thinking Classroom
Chapter 2: Making Accommodations and Modifications While Ensuring Rigor
Chapter 3: Determining Personal Supports
Chapter 4: Communicating With Key Collaborators
Epilogue: Changing a Belief System
Dr. Yazmin Pineda Zapata is a program specialist and teacher leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College in San Diego, California. Her expertise in delivering special education services has allowed her to advocate for students with varying learning differences in grades K-12. Dr. Pineda Zapata is credentialed as an administrator, a teacher in multiple subjects, and an education specialist for students with mild/moderate and moderate/severe disabilities. She also has a bachelor's degree in English literature and language, a master's degree in special education with an emphasis in curriculum, and a doctoral degree in educational leadership.
Dr. Pineda Zapata mentors teacher candidates completing credentials in special education as a cooperating teacher and also supports school districts and nonprofit organizations across the nation to implement appropriate curricular adaptations that provide equitable access to all learners. She actively presents and consults in the areas of best practices for accessible curriculum, co-teaching, collaborative planning, and inclusive education.
Dr. Rebecca Brooks is an assistant professor in the special education teacher preparation and graduate program in the School of Education at California State University San Marcos. She teaches courses in the education specialist teaching credential program. Prior to joining the university faculty, Dr. Brooks was a public school special educator for grades K-12, serving the role of inclusion support teacher. She has worked with individuals with developmental disabilities in educational, recreational, vocational, and residential settings for more than 25 years.
She is a nationwide presenter and consultant in the areas of best practices for inclusive education and peer tutoring support systems. She has written journal articles on inclusive education and peer tutoring and co-authored the book Peer Tutoring and Support: Making Inclusive Education Work. She has multiple subjects and education specialist teaching credentials. She is also a leading-edge certified (LEC) online and blended learning teacher. She earned an associate's degree in developmental disabilities, a bachelor's degree in communicative disorders, a master's degree in education with an emphasis in special education, and a doctoral degree in education with a focus on social justice.
