Markus' EDCI 336 Journey

Wow, the final inquiry post! It is truly hard to believe that I am already done. What an enriching process this has been. I have learned so much not only about inclusive education, but about the inquiry process. It was like I was inquiring about inquiry (how meta is that…)

One thing that I would say did not go so well was my inquiry planning document. Every week I would start out with great intentions: I would find some nice links, make a few notes… And then by the time Thursday rolled around, I would forget about it and my spreadsheet remained mostly empty. Now, this is not to say that I did not do my share of research. Rather, I would find information, make some bullet points on WordPress, and flesh it out from there. Is that necessarily a bad thing? Maybe not, but if I were to do this again, I think I could have gotten more out of it had I been a bit more rigorous with my planning document.

Another thing I noticed throughout the research itself was just how fluffy so many sources of information can be. Most sources I looked at from academics or professionals were full of vague language like “engage in culturally-competent, research-based practice grounded in an individual’s lived experience”, with no indication as to what this would actually look like. I understand that big-picture thinking like that is important… But I would be lying if I said I did not just want them to give actual tips as opposed to platitudes. That is why I tried to keep my blogs concise and practical. I wanted it to be useful, whereas many information sources I found seemed more keen on making the author seem important and intellectual (this is turning into another rant, so I will end it there!)

Now, what I loved about this process was the flexibility. I made a draft schedule for myself about which topics I wanted to cover, but sometimes, inspiration would hit and I would change it. And that was totally fine! I loved being able to deep dive into a particular topic each week without the pressure of it being graded or having to adhere to grading guidelines. I could just read and learn and share — and really, that is what inquiry is all about. Some weeks I went a bit more in depth, and others I scaled down, but I did not feel better or worse about it — they were just different processes.

Below, as one last goodbye to this inquiry blog, I have attached a screencast scrolling through my inquiry posts.

What a journey this has been! I would love it if all of my readers could share their favourite inquiry moments from their own blogs in the comments below. Please also let me know if you are interested in doing my PLN.

And with that, my EDCI 336 blog is complete. Thank you for all the support, and keep an eye on this space in the future!

YIT,

Markus

I am sure that it is a bit Ironic that in an inquiry blog dedicated to “inclusive education” that I am going to talk about Life Skills classrooms, which are more of a traditional Special Education model where students spend more time in isolated classrooms. I think it is important that teachers have an understanding of these spaces, and so I thought I would make a post with some quick tips for an effective Life Skills classroom.

What is a Life Skills classroom?

A Life Skills classroom is a classroom setting outside of “mainstream” classrooms that teaches functional skills such as learning how to do laundry, create a budget, and navigate the community. Life Skills classrooms are generally separate from traditional classrooms and have their own spaces within a school.

Some key tips…

Keep your space clean and organized: Students in Life Skills rooms tend to be especially sensitive to being overwhelmed by visual stimulus and so these classrooms should pay extra attention to being clean and distraction-free.

Make relationships with your EAs: Education assistants will often be placed in Life Skills classrooms and will have important relationships with their students. Teachers should ensure they are using their EAs as a resource and getting their input on programming.

Use your community: Community-based programming can be a great way to teach important life skills. You can teach financial literacy with a trip to the grocery store, teach how to get around the community through walks and bus trips, and social skills by interacting with service workers.

Divide up your space: A Life Skills classroom should have distinct work spaces set aside within it. For instance, you may want to have separate spaces for small group work, one-to-one support, and individual work. You might also want spaces like a “messy space” or a “quiet space” for specific purposes.

Morning Meetings: Here is a video on how Morning Meetings might work in a Life Skills classroom:

This of course just scratches the surface, but I hope these tips can be useful if you end up working in a Life Skills setting. In the comments, let me know if you have any experience with Life Skills classrooms and if you have any thoughts of your own.

YIT,

Markus

Content warning: This post will contain discussion of suicide and suicidal ideation.

According to the McCreary Centre Society, 18% of students aged 12-to-18 considered suicide in 2023. A 2019 report by the BC Coroners Service showed that suicide is the leading injury-related cause of death for youth. As elementary educators, we are going to be working with young people and need to be aware of the risk factors associated with suicide and think about the ways that it impacts young people.

One interesting consideration that I came across in my inquiry was that suicide rates are often underreported for kids under the age of 12. Why is this? Often, it’s because death under age 12 that may have been by suicide are often reported as accidents. Even with this underreporting, it is still thought that approximately 1.3 in every 100,000 Canadian children die by suicide each year, making it fourth highest cause of death among this age group. It’s not just a teenager issue! It is also significant because a suicide attempt in childhood is one of the greatest predictors of a suicide attempt into adolescence.

In terms of specific treatments, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) are seen as the best therapeutic approaches for reducing the risks of suicidal behaviour. To effectively develop a care plan for youth experiencing suicidal thoughts, a family-based approach is also key, as parents of children experiencing these thoughts often feel guilt and shame.

I am curious if anyone has anyone has experience in this particular field, and thank you for reading a heavy post this week.

Markus

One of the most intimidating aspects of any human services work — including teaching — is dealing with intense conflict and emotions. In teaching, we will undoubtedly encounter students with emotional regulation challenges, and this blog is designed to give you some tips on how to handle “big emotions” and conflicts.

Use simple language

When a child is escalated, language should be concise and straightforward. We should avoid figurative and judgemental language. For example, instead of saying, “Stop yelling, you aren’t supposed to be doing that!”, you could say “I understand you are upset, I am going to step back until you want me to come back”. The simpler (and frankly, the fewer words) the better.

Use open body language

When a student is escalated, it is best not to cross your arms or otherwise close off your body language. Of course, if you are in physical danger, it would be a good idea to put yourself in a defensive posture, but in general, facing the child and taking an open posture will help to calm them down. Other good tips are to get down to eye-level and to have your arms by your sides. Relatedly, speaking with a calm voice is always better.

Paraphrasing

When a child expresses what they are angry or upset, it is a good idea to paraphrase back to them what they are saying. Don’t necessarily repeat back exactly what they shared back to them, but put a bit of a twist on it and make sure they agree with the paraphrase. For example, if a child says “No one ever lets me go outside!”, you could responds with, “So you are upset because you want to go outside but someone is saying you can’t. Is that right?” Taking this step will let the student know you hear them and that they are with someone they can trust and confide in.

Here are a few DON’Ts as well:

• Do not raise your voice — this can trigger the child’s nervous system and will likely escalate the situation.
• Do not threaten them. Threatening some sort of punishment in the midst of an escalation will likely make things worse. It is usually better to wait until they are de-escalated and then follow up with a conversation about behaviours and consequences (ideally, consequences will have already been established by a teacher or administrator ahead of time and will not come as a total surprise).
• Do not use “don’t” (i.e. “don’t run over there”). Reframe as something like, “Could you come over here please?”

Now, of course, this post all comes with the caveat that every child is different, and a student with an IEP may already have a specific de-escalation plan that works for them. Fantastic! But these are some good, general principles to follow and are hopefully useful in the classroom for everyone!

Thanks for reading!

Markus

When I worked as an EA and in my undergraduate practicum with a school-based behaviour worker, I often encountered diagnoses for something called “Global Developmental Delay” (GDD). While I understand generally what GDD is, I wanted to hone in on the finer details, given how prevalent it seems to be in the Inclusive/Special Education worlds. So, this week, I have done some research to prevent a bit of an overview of the condition.

What is GDD?

GDD is a diagnosis that occurs when a child (under the age of five) shows significant delays across multiple areas of development. According to the Canadian Paediatric Society, a GDD diagnosis requires delays in at least two of the following domains: Gross/fine motor skills, speech/language, social/personal, cognition, activities of daily living.

Children with GDD may demonstrate some or all for the following challenges:

• Late in learning how to sit up, sitting up, crawl, and/or walk
• Limited reasoning and conceptual abilities
• Motor challenges (fine or gross)
• Poor social skills, frequent ggression, and/or poor communication skills

For the purposes of assessment, “significant delays” refers to being at least two standard deviations below the mean.

What causes GDD?

There is not one definitive cause of GDD, however, some of the most common causes of GDD include:

• Genetics
• Prenatal conditions, such as using teratogens during pregnancy
• Complications during birth, such as being born early
• Child abuse or neglect
• Abnormalities in development of the brain and/or spinal cord

Can GDD be treated?

Whether GDD can be treated or not is an interesting question, since it is not necessarily a “condition” but rather an indication that certain developmental benchmarks are not being met. As such, there is no sort of medication or biomedical intervention that would be effective in treating GDD. However, to support a child with GDD, a team-based approach would be crucial. Some professionals that would be involved would be:

• Speech-Language Pathologists to support speech development
• Occupational Therapists to support motor skill development
• Behaviour Interventionists to support social development such as refraining from aggressive behaviours

Ultimately, the most important part of supporting a child with GDD is to start early. The earlier the intervention, the better!

ASD and GDD

It is a common misconception that children with GDD also have autism spectrum disorder (ASD), or that these are the same diagnoses. This is not the case. While it is frequently the case that a child will have GDD and ASD concurrently, they are not the same and can be diagnosed separate from one another. Additionally, children with GDD generally have fewer learning and social challenges than children with ASD.

I would love to hear if any of my readers have ever met or supported a child with GDD, and what their experience was like! Have a great week everyone!

Markus