I had a wonderful feedback session with Amy Henry on Friday 31st May 2024. We discussed at length the nature of our interventions. Amy wonderfully highlighted that it might be a good idea for me to narrow the focus of my intervention reflection to the second session.
She also provided me with some really useful resources around Universal Design for Learning Spaces, the Three Block Model of Universal Design as well as the work of Lev Vygotsky (Russian psychologist and theorist who touches on the idea of scaffolding within education). I particularly needed some help and support with contextual and theoretical frameworks around my intervention. Amy was kind enough to help me with this.
I also found Amy’s intervention idea to be very insightful. We’re both looking at the nature of spaces in some way. Amy focusses more on a corner of her classroom and its relationship to student engagement – seeing it as an opportunity for community and quiet reflection. I thought the idea to host a brief around the bean bags was really playful and engaging. I think these are great ways to communicate and introduce complex topics.
We also had a nice conversation around integrity being a key element with which we (as staff members) need to approach these conversations. Perhaps it’s not always about bringing intersectional social justice in its totality but through certain strands of it (during sessions/interventions) that can make it more approachable. We could then use the cumulative effect of those kinds of sessions/interventions to help students (and ourselves) gain a more comprehensive understanding of these topics.
Resources:
Katz, J. (2013) The three block model of universal design for learning (UDL): Engaging students in inclusive education. Canadian Journal of Education, 36(1), 153-194.
Merry, K. L. (2024) Delivering inclusive and impactful instruction: universal design for learning in higher education. (No Title).