The Montessori Method for Special Needs Kids

From my posts lately, you might be justified in assuming that I think technology will solve every ill in our educational system.  Just to clarify: I don't think it will.  New technologies like e-readers, and the iPad, and the LiveScribe pen *could* change the classroom model, support inclusion and diverse learning styles, and drive a universal design for learning (UDL) approach.  But it will require flexible thinking and a willingness to change the status quo, support from school administrators, and changes to teacher training, both for teachers already on the job and those obtaining their education degrees.

Even without the latest gadgets and toys, however, classrooms can embrace the principles of UDL using a time-honored, well-researched approach - the Montessori Method.  One could almost consider Maria Montessori to be the earliest UDL proponent.  She was an educator, an advocate, and a researcher in children's education, primarily in Italy in the early part of the 20th century.

There are some great on-line resources that explain the Montessori method, which you can check out here and here.  (Which I would recommend you do, because I am not Montessori trained and certainly don't want to misrepresent the program).  Basically, the core idea is respect for the individual child, and her interests, pace of development, and ability to succeed.  A Montessori classroom is organized at the child's level, with appropriately sized worktables and tools (like sinks), and is designed to be a calm, home-like environment.  Montessori materials (or "work") are designed to engage all the senses.  Research has shown that kids who attend Montessori preschools are better prepared, and possibly even ahead of their peers in reading and math skills, for elementary school.

For kids with special needs, though, I think the Montessori approach has particular power.  Here's a non-exhaustive list of attributes of the approach that I think are great for such children:

Apps for Kids: Do they really teach anything?

I've posted a fair amount about how schools can use technology like the iPad to provide services and curriculum support to kids.  Tablet computers will likely replace paper textbooks at some point - and it's really easy to see that coming for graduate schools (maybe even colleges). But, one commentator rightly asked "are these things really suitable for elementary school kids?"  Good question: after all, one of Siobhan's therapists is adamant that we *not* use the iPad as her AAC because of the potential for breakage.

We've seen how young kids - even as young as 3 years old - have an amazingly intuitive ability to use tablet computers to play games and watch videos.  But is there really any learning value?

Cloud Computing and Disabilities, Part Two

As promised (threatened?!), here are the next few thoughts on the Coleman Institute/Silicon Flatirons conference I attended last fall.  Today I'll cover some of the perspectives offered by Michael Wehmeyer, a professor of special education at Kansas University, about cognitive accessibility.

Prof. Wehmeyer provided a brief history of the concept of "disability".  Originally, disability was understood as a medical/health problem - a problem within the individual person.  That person is viewed as "broken" or aberrant, as outside the norm and therefore requiring intervention.  This model casts a negative light on people with disabilities and in fact contributed to the infantilization of people with cognitive disabilities ("You are not "smart" like me; there is something wrong with you; I am going to tell you how you're going to live your life").

Universal Design and Learning

I think a review of the basics of universal design is in order, since I've already put the cart before the horse by talking about iPads in the Classroom.

The concepts of universal design will seem obvious once you know them.  The origin of universal design lies in physical architectures - how can we design structures to be used by anyone?  Well-known examples are curb cuts and wheelchair ramps: designed to enable people in wheelchairs to navigate streets and buildings, they also greatly help parents with strollers, delivery people with carts, or people who otherwise have trouble with stairs and steps.

iPads in the Classroom

The iPad is a great example of the kind of accessible technology that's going to change the world - a mainstream, multi-purpose device that's customizable, has built-in accessibility features, and incorporates the principles of universal design.  In this post, I'll cover some of the ways educators are experimenting with the iPad in the classroom.

I've been following with interest how some school districts and colleges have purchased iPads for their students.  See Apps in the Classroom,  iPads at Reed College, and Schools Embrace the iPad.  I thought each of those articles did a good job highlighting the pros and cons of technology in the classroom, and how both primary and secondary schools found the iPad a more flexible, cost-saving, and multi-purpose device  than other new technology (such as the Kindle).  I'd point to the iPad's embrace of universal design principles as the reason why that tablet is proving more appealing to kids and schools.  Of course, there's also the story of the school district that purchase iPads for its school board so that...they could take more efficient notes during meetings??  I will decline to pass judgment on that one).

Educational publishers are on board with adopting new technology, too.  According to some estimates, the market for educational technology now tops $8 billion each year.  Publishers can't afford to see that money go elsewhere (to, say, Apple and its hordes of app developers).  The Houghton Mifflin Harcourts and Pearsons of the world need to partner with schools to create the textbooks and classroom materials of the future.  And in that scenario, everyone wins: publishers retain their market share, schools obtain educational materials in an efficient channel that makes the most of limited budgets, and students develop technological skills, and access to cool ways of learning educational materials that traditional textbooks can only hope to rival.

I'm excited by the risk that these schools are taking - they are definitely ahead of the curve when it comes to integrating technology into the classroom.  But I do have more questions than answers.  What is the breakage rate of the iPads?  (Seriously - I've heard this as one of the reasons that we should buy a traditional AAC for our daughter vs. an iPad with Proloque2Go).  Who is providing training for the teachers on how to use the iPads effectively?  Are they integrating the iPad into the special education services for kids on IEPs?  Are school districts with disadvantaged students as willing to take this leap over the digital divide?

For one school's answers to some of these questions, check out the Bronx Middle School blog at Bronx Middle School iPad Blog