Imagine you’re an elementary school teacher and you need to teach a classroom of 4th, 5th, and 6th graders. Each student is either on the autism spectrum, has ADHD, or has an anxiety disorder.
How would you teach differently from a neurotypical classroom?
If you were Casey Conaway, a Cascade classroom teacher at Franklin Academy, you would teach a neurotypical and a neurodivergent classroom in much the same way.
“I would say my approach to teaching isn’t a whole lot different here at Franklin than at other schools I’ve taught in,” said Casey. “I hold my kids to a high standard and expect a lot while accommodating their needs. But the content that I teach is similar.”
While the content and standards are similar, the approach and the environment are noticeably different.
Regulation Makes Education Possible
One difference at Franklin Academy: the number of students. Part of the approach to tailored teaching is to have fewer students in each classroom (the ratio is typically 1 teacher to 4 students in the Lower School).
“While we do blend grades, similar to some other academic models,” says Franklin Academy principal Kim Strandemo, “we’re able to meet each student at their current level and help them reach their potential. Given the various academic backgrounds of each student, we find blended grades are an advantage.”
Another huge difference, grounded in the belief that no one can absorb information if they’re dysregulated (and this applies to everyone, at all stages of life!), is having behavior therapists from Franklin Therapy right in the classroom.
“Because all of our classrooms have a full-time behavior therapist, more learning and academics are able to happen because that therapist is able to support students with emotional regulation and help with executive functioning,” said Casey. “That means I can focus on my teaching.
For example if someone’s struggling during independent work time while I’m teaching other students, the therapist can go over to them and support them. That makes a world of difference compared to other situations where a lot of time is spent on behavior management and then not getting to the academic work.”
Whole Person Approach, Whole Body Learning
Franklin Center embraces a holistic throughout all five of their integrated programs. In the classroom, that whole person approach also plays out in active learning, versus learning only by reading, seeing, or hearing.
“Instead of just watching a video or following along with the worksheet or teaching, I fully immerse them in the topic,” said Casey. “For example, the other day we were learning about physics and the different kinds of forces. I asked for a volunteer to get up on a chair, and I pushed them around the room so they could see pushes, pulls, friction and other forces in real life.”
For another project she had the students do an egg drop. They each built their own contraption to test gravity, experimenting with how to slow down the motion, or how to speed it up.
Play to Learn
Research shows the benefits of integrating “play time” into school go beyond just taking a break. Creative play has been shown to improve problem-solving and critical thinking, as well as creativity itself.
Casey applies those concepts to her students, too. After all, who wants to sit in a chair and work on workbooks for six hours a day?
“I blend play into each day,” said Casey. “Math is a great one for that. Using dice or dominos or pattern blocks or Legos to physically work out a problem. I call those builder rotations. We incorporate play and the builder rotations because those teach students to independently entertain themselves, without a screen, and build good habits, like self-sufficiency and creativity. Plus, they’re learning how to practice an activity that helps them feel regulated.”
Three Ways to Translate Learning from School to Home
If all of this sounds great, how can a parent take some of these ideas about learning into their homes?
As a foundation, know that it’s ok to let your child work through a problem that’s frustrating. “Even when it’s really hard to watch a student struggle with academics, let them work through it on their own before jumping in. It’s going to benefit you both in the long run,” said Casey.
But no one wants every homework assignment or home chore to be a struggle, so here are some ways to help your child make progress.
- Choice.
“Choice is really important,” said Casey. “Suppose they need to finish an assignment and they don’t want to. Instead of a ‘must do’ give them a degree of choice. ‘I understand you don’t want to read that chapter right now. Do you want to take a 5-minute break before you read it, or do you want to read it first and then take a break?’ It’s validating how they feel – which we all need – and then giving them choice within a framework.”
- Breaks.
Another approach that works for all ages and situations is addressing emotional regulation. Think of the last time you were mad about bad customer service from your Internet provider. Would you have been able to sit down and write a strategic plan or balance a budget when you were upset?
“It’s ok to take a pause,” said Casey. “No one can learn when you’re upset.”
- Validate and explain
“This is a bit of a generalization, but many neurodivergent students want to know the reasoning behind things, not a generic ‘reading through the example on how to do a problem is good for you because it’ll help you learn.’ When they’re frustrated, try acknowledging that, and then take the next step of saying ‘you’re feeling really frustrated right now, right? Yes. Okay, well, when we read through this you’ll have more information, and that will help the rest of the assignment make more sense.’
If they don’t feel that they are heard, it’s not going to get better. You’re not going to be able to work through that problem or get what you want accomplished.”
Tailored Teaching AND Best Practices
“What I’m doing here is following best practices. Many, if not almost everything that you’re going to do for students with disabilities or neurodiverse students will also help neurotypical students, too. Because in the end they’re all kids and some of those needs are still the same.”
If you’d like to schedule a tour of Franklin Academy and see the difference for yourself, you can reach out to us here.
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