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Accessible Learning for All

Grade Level: Primary School, Middle School, and High School
Discipline: Humanities, Math, and Science
Language: English

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The diversity in today’s classrooms is enormous. Students represent a wide array of prior experience and knowledge, with a wide spectrum of learning needs and abilities, cultures, and languages. This project started several years ago with Galileo Educational Network and the Alberta Commission on Learning, both believing in a common thread – that each child brings his or her unique gifts, abilities and dreams to the classroom and every child has a chance to succeed.

This website highlights findings from two extensive research initiatives funded by Alberta Education and completed by Dr. Sharon Friesen of the Galileo Educational Network.
Inside an Accessible Classroom examines ways in which the learning environment – from curriculum, learning tasks, assessment, and learning tools – work towards increasing accessibility for all students, including non-traditional learners. Universal Design for Learning Principles are applied to a Grade 5 and a Grade 8 classroom in Southern Alberta.

Learning Mathematics in an Accessible Classroom examines the need for educators to go beyond the traditionally procedural approach to teaching math, to creating richly layered tasks that increase all students’ conceptual understanding of the subject. The study determines whether the principles behind Universal Design for Learning results in increased mathematical proficiency for all students in a typical Grade 7 classroom, including those with identified learning needs.

To learn more click here to visit the Accessible Learning for All  website.

The full reports are below: