Given the robust nature of learning sciences research, this website is best viewed on tablets and computers. A small screen experience is coming in the future.
On June 22, 2021, we will launch updated strategies for the Math PK-2 model, as well as additional updates to the Navigator that highlight equity, SEL, and culturally responsive teaching. To learn more, visit our Site Updates (available in the "About" menu at the top of any page).
Hover to see how factors connect to Hearing. Then click connected factors to explore strategies related to multiple factors.
We typically learn many literacy concepts through what we hear, but also what we can touch, see, and manipulate. Students may have hearing loss, Auditory Processing disorder, or difficulty with spoken language as a result of a broader neurological or developmental condition. Students with hearing loss can lack critical early learning experiences and accordingly may have difficulty developing foundational phonological skills.
Hearing is measured as the ability to hear sounds in the typical human range of approximately 20 - 20,000 Hz. Hearing loss typically impacts high frequency speech sounds (e.g., /sh/, /s/, /f/, /th/) more than other frequencies. However, students with auditory processing disorder may not have hearing loss, but still struggle with understanding the content and context of spoken language.
Students with hearing loss may learn sign language as their primary communicative language or as supportive communication access. Because hearing loss and other auditory processing issues sometimes take upwards of 5 years to diagnose, students with hearing loss are vulnerable to missing sensitive windows for development that can make some concepts harder to grasp. Hearing aids and cochlear implants do not always completely restore hearing or support full language comprehension. Approximately 77% of deaf students are learning in general education classrooms, so steps should be taken to ensure that their learning environment accommodates any Hearing-related needs to ensure language skills do not impact other academic skills.
When peers are able to work together to plan, draft, edit, and revise their compositions, their writing quality improves.
Dictation, also referred to as speech-to-text, an assistive communication technology that translates voice dictation to digital text, provides students with transcription difficulties the opportunity to participate in the writing process by allowing them to use their voice to generate and record ideas.
Seeing and using new words repeatedly and in many contexts is critical for Vocabulary acquisition.
Actively and authentically encouraging all students to seek support, ask questions, and advocate for what they believe in creates a safe space for risk-taking and skill development and supports a Sense of Belonging.
Visualizing how ideas fit together helps students construct meaning and strengthens their recall.
Having spaces where students can go supports self-regulation and individual deliberate practice.
Instruction in multiple formats allows students to activate different cognitive skills to understand and remember the steps they are to take in their literacy work.
Multiple display spaces promote collaboration by allowing groups to share information easily as they work.
Visuals help students recognize relationships within words and sentences to develop literacy skills.
Playful activities can support the development of learners' Metacognition and also inspire their narratives and writing.
Project-based learning (PBL) actively engages learners in authentic tasks designed to create products that answer a given question or solve a problem.
Decreasing extra audio input provides a focused learning environment.
Providing ways for students to adjust sound level supports individual auditory needs.
A strengths-based approach is one where educators intentionally identify, communicate, and harness students' assets, across many aspects of the whole child, in order to empower them to flourish.
Bringing students' every day literacy practice of texting into the classroom provides regular, low-stakes practice communicating with authentic audiences.
Translanguaging is a flexible classroom practice enabling students to listen, speak, read, and write across their multiple languages or dialects, even if the teacher does not have formal knowledge of these additional languages.
A word wall helps build Vocabulary for reading fluidity.
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Learner variability is the recognition that each learner is a unique constellation of strengths and challenges that are interconnected across the whole child. Understanding these connections and how they vary according to context is essential for meeting the needs of each learner.
It disrupts the notion of a one-size-fits all education. Understanding learner variability helps educators embrace both students’ struggles and strengths as we connect practice to uplifting the whole learner.
Throughout the site, we talk about "factors" and "strategies." Factors are concepts research suggests have an impact on how people learn. Strategies are the approaches to teaching and learning that can be used to support people in how they learn best.
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On this page, using your heatmap, you will be asked to select factors to further explore, and then select new strategies you might incorporate into upcoming instruction. Once done, click “Show Summary" to view your Design Summary Report.
On this page, using your heatmap, you will be asked to select factors to further explore, and then select new strategies you might incorporate into upcoming instruction. Once done, click “Show Report” to view your Design Summary Report.
By selecting "Show Report" you will be taken to the Assessment Summary Page. Once created, you will not be able to edit your report. If you select cancel below, you can continue to edit your factor and strategy selections.
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Learner variability is the recognition that each learner is a unique constellation of strengths and challenges that are interconnected across the whole child. Understanding these connections and how they vary according to context is essential for meeting the needs of each learner. It embraces both students’ struggles and strengths. It considers the whole child.
Throughout the site, we talk about "factors" and "strategies." Factors are concepts research suggests have an impact on how people learn. Strategies are the approaches to teaching and learning that can be used to support people in how they learn best.
The Learner Variability Navigator is a free, online tool that translates the science of learner variability into factor maps and strategies that highlight connections across the whole learner. This puts the science of learning at teachers' fingertips, empowering them to understand their own practice and support each learner.