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Making Learning Accessible is Important, but how can This be Accomplished?

In this week’s reading, I had many moments where I felt like I was finishing the thought of the authors before I finished reading their sentences. This usually happens when I am in most, if not full agreement with the author/s. The article that elicited this reaction was “A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO RTI: EMBEDDING UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING AND TECHNOLOGY” which spoke about providing effective and accessible classroom instructional practices by using the epistemology of Response to Intervention, (RTI) along with Universal Design Learning (UDL) to form what is described as an “ecological framework,” which can be defined as the multi-layer approach for addressing effective and accessible learning. Before discussing how the ecological framework will be created, the authors define RTI and UDL since they help to form the central assertion of their study. RTI can be defined as a proactive approach to creating personalized strategies for students to help in their learning and development. ...
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The Importance of Motivation in Learning

       This week’s readings were captivating and touched on a topic I have always been passionate about, which is, “motivation.” Starting with Chapter 6 of How people learn II: Learners, Contexts, and Cultures, the text discusses the importance of educators understanding the impact motivation has on student learning. Within this discussion, the chapter discusses three main categories, which are, “beliefs and values, importance of goals, and social cultural influence on motivation. These three main pillars had sub-themes that played a role in exploring the central topic of motivation, and the ones I focused on are “Intrinsic Motivation, Values, and Interest.” In Intrinsic Motivation, it discusses a specific type of motivation in learning that is developed through an interest in the topic being discussed, and how this interest motivates students to stay engaged in the topic. In the discussion of values, it focuses on a student’s perspective of what they learn, and how...
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Critical Thinking is Critical!

In this week's blog, I will begin by discussing chapters 1 and 2 of the book Authentic Instruction and Assessment by Fred M. Newmann, M. Bruce King, and Dana L. Carmichael. In the opening chapter, the authors provide a definition for the term "Authentic Intelectual Work," (AIW), one of the key concepts the authors introduce. AIW is a framework developed to redefine the approach of conventional instruction and assessment. Specifically, the goal is to provide instruction for students to apply what they have learned in a meaningful way that can benefit them beyond the classroom rather than learning in a surface-level manner to meet the traditional requirements that "...call for specific memorized information, retrieval of given information, or application of routine computational procedures" (Newmann et al., 2007).  The main components of AIW involve using past skills and knowledge and critical thinking to analyze and solve complex problems. Additionally, another c...
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Utilizing Technology in Tutoring

Greetings, my name is Mario Richards, and I received my Bachelor's degree in English Literature at Westfield State University in Massachusetts. I am currently working on my Master's in Curriculum and Instruction, with a focus on English Education. Presently for work, I serve as an Area Coordinator at a private university in Connecticut. After working in the Division of Student Affairs for the past three years, I decided to switch divisions and work in Academic Affairs. I began working in Academic Affairs as a professional tutor for four years at multiple universities. I tutored subjects from the Humanities, but my main focus was Literature courses. I enjoyed working as a tutor and found passion in supporting students. My current goal is to work in Academic Support at the collegiate level as the Director of Tutoring.  One element that I will incorporate in my future role as a Director of Tutoring is Data Analysis. For example, I will collect data from student feedback and use it...
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