My other source is an Elementary school teacher who is as interested as she is tentative of the 360 Degree methods developed by the licenced Speech Pathologist and Clinical Competence of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Sarah Ward. Interviewed to provide insight as a generalist teacher, her personal experience teaching students with brain based learning disabilities in a northern school district in British Columbia has led her to seek methods of executive functioning training. Furthermore, the scarce number of School Psychiatrists in her school district has limited her support for students in need of assessment. Therefore this northern teacher is obligated to search for new resources to support the language, social skills, cognitive, and executive function skills of her students struggling with cognitive implications. Her hesitation towards the UDL regarded the inclusivity of the UDL for all students in her classroom, the preparation time that the “Done, Doing, Need” method requires, and the accessibility of the workshops, in terms of the cost and location. After informing the elementary teacher that the UDL methods do not segregate the level of proficiency in the classroom, nor take great amounts of time to prepare for, and are accessible online as well, the concept of 360 Degree Thinking methods appealed to her.
November 21, 2019