Distance learning resources for teachers and parents of students with disabilities
Spring Break hiatus edition
Written by: Matthew Schuelka
There will be a delay in getting you the next EdPop newsletters as promised in the previous edition. Unfortunately there are just too many projects happening and they are all intensifying at the same time.
I would like to use this week’s newsletter to highlight the excellent work of the TIES Center1, which is located at the Institute on Community of Integration, University of Minnesota. They have developed a helpful set of resources for teachers and parents of students with disabilities to support distance learning. While many children are beginning to return to in-person schooling, there are still a significant portion who are still learning at home either by choice or by the policy. Most school districts, particularly in the United States, are still operating in at least a hybrid format.
Distance Learning Resources for Teachers
The TIES Center has provided a framework for teachers to support all students, including those with disabilities. This framework promotes student interaction, engagement, learning, routines, and transitions. The resources include strategies in morning meetings, promoting collaboration, effective and embedded instruction, time management, communication, and many more areas.
Parent Resource Videos
https://tiescenter.org/about/stakeholders/parents-and-families/parent-resource-videos
The TIES Center has produced a series of video resources to support parents of children with disabilities at home. Each video focuses on three key questions: Why is it important to focus on this with my child at home? How can I do this at home? What support can I ask for from my child’s school? Topics include helping children with routines, supporting communication, and supporting reading and mathematics learning.
The Next Newsletter…
EdPop will be taking a hiatus so that I can work on some outstanding projects with looming deadlines. We will be back with our next newsletter on the 12th of April. At that time we will begin a two-part series on teaching and learning in different contexts. The first part will feature a conversation with a group of American and Bhutanese teachers in Bhutan. The second part will feature the work of Professor Fran Vavrus (University of Minnesota) and a conversation about her thirty years of research and teaching in Tanzania.
So here is what my Spring Break should look like…
But instead it will look more like this…
May we all find a secluded beach in the sunshine someday…
TIES stands for Increasing (T)ime, (I)nstructional Effectiveness, (E)ngagement, and State and District (S)upport for Inclusive Practices.