Page 56 - THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 11 AND 12 | Cooperative Education

SOME CONSIDERATIONS FOR PROGRAM PLANNING IN COOPERATIVE EDUCATION
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PLANNING COOPERATIVE EDUCATION PROGRAMS FOR STUDENTS WITH
SPECIAL EDUCATION NEEDS
Classroom teachers are the key educators of students with special education needs. They have a responsibility to help all students learn, and they work collaboratively with special education teachers, where appropriate, to achieve this goal. Classroom teachers commit to assisting every student to prepare for living with the highest degree of independence possible.
Learning for All: A Guide to Effective Assessment and Instruction for All Students, Kindergarten to Grade 12 (2013) describes a set of beliefs, based in research, that should guide program planning for students with special education needs in all disciplines. Teachers planning cooperative education courses need to pay particular attention to these beliefs, which are as follows:
• All students can succeed.
• Each student has their own unique patterns of learning.
• Successful instructional practices are founded on evidence-based research, tempered by experience.
• Universal design19 and differentiated instruction20 are effective and interconnected means of meeting the learning or productivity needs of any group of students.
• Classroom teachers are the key educators for a student’s literacy and numeracy development.
19. The goal of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is to create a learning environment that is open and accessible to all students, regardless of age, skills, or situation. Instruction based on principles of universal design is flexible and supportive, can be adjusted to meet different student needs, and enables all students to access the curriculum as fully as possible.
20. Differentiated instruction (DI) is effective instruction that shapes each student’s learning experience in response to the student’s particular learning preferences, interests, and readiness to learn.