Jonah Secreti Sophia Thraya Allie Yeats Nicole Rathgeber Hoda Zeineddine
INTERDISCIPLINARY LEARNING STRATEGIES AND SUPPORTS
DIFFERENTIATION
This unit of study design allows for students of diverse learning needs and exceptionalities to engage in the material and showcase their learning in multimodal formats such as having group discussions and creating letters. All students have access to the key learning activities as accommodations will be used to remove any boundaries.
In every classroom, there will be students with diverse learning needs that would benefit from scaffolding, accommodations, and direct instruction. Diverse students will also benefit from authentic interdisciplinary learning experiences such as developed in this unit. In this unit, students can confidently explore and grow their understanding and learning in a low-stakes, safe, and multimodal environment. The lessons created within the unit push students of all learning levels to analyze, evaluate and create by employing higher level teaching and learning. Opportunities for both independent work and group work are exercised in this unit, providing students chances for collaboration, peer support and overall growth.
UNDERSTANDING BY DESIGN
This design is student-centred as it incorporates independent group work to discuss, research and present on the different factors of shark preservation. In this design students are not only agents of their own learning, but they are responsible for educating others through multi-modal presentations and persuasive argumentation based on research.
Our unit plan supports students’ strengths through class discussions, presentations, brainstorming, and writing, as well as recreating scenes of the ecosystem. Such activities improve student’s skills such as communication, writing, listening, and collaboration with others. Additionally, students are developing these skills both within their groups among peers and externally as a collaborative unit when conducting presentations.
