Theories of Development
 |
| Guy-Evans, 2023 |
Characteristics of Diverse Learners
A lot of different characteristics can affect how a person learns. Some characteristics were particularly interesting due to their physical implications, such as people with split-brains. Once the brain has been split, one eye may process something without relaying that information "verbally" to the other side of the brain, and yet the information is still being processed. What I learned is that the brain is really elastic and adaptable.
The implications of learners with different characteristics is that learning is not -- and never really has been -- one size fits all. In the past, those with different characteristics could be institutionalized, hidden away, or discarded due to their diverse characteristics. Now, we have a better understanding that is continuously evolving and hopefully we can make adjustments in the classroom to help all learners.
One of my favorite examples of adjusting materials or lessons to include and make stories accessible for a wider range of learners came from one of my annotated bibliography assignments. Huisinga et al. (2018) worked with student volunteers to study how making changes to physical storytime books could help accessibility for students who were otherwise unable to participate during storytime. These changes included adding vocabulary words, making pages easier to handle for those with mobility issues, adding more visual support, and even including textures.
Disability Support at the Library
Something that came out of my studies this semester was an appreciation of how difficult it can be for people with certain disabilities to access services and materials. It is frequently discussed at library conferences and even in informal meetings that many library buildings are outdated and may not be ADA-compliant, although changes are being made. Some concerns include capital for these projects -- and that doesn't even include services that may need continuing capital. Some grants can help offset the budgetary concerns, but other concerns include space, and "when and where". Services may not always be accessible for people with disabilities if they are unable to get to the library through public transportation or other means. Furthermore, the materials and services provided at the library may not be suitable for each individual.
Vermont has a decent support system for helping library users with disabilities access books and different types of media through the ABLE Library. These resources are invaluable and each year we learn about new resources ABLE is getting access to that our community members can use to support different disabilities.
(More information on ABLE Library can be found here: https://able.vermont.gov/)
What Now?
My biggest takeaway this semester is that there is always room to improve. Each weekly reading had me examining the practices at my library to see what could change. Some of these changes -- many of them -- will take a lot of time. Other changes I could implement immediately. One of these was while learning about brain development in young children, and how much textures could help them learn and engage. That very day, we ordered textured squares to use during Baby Time and Storytime to engage different senses for individuals who learn or experience differently.
After meeting with my library director, my hope is that we will continue to improve our services to be more inclusive to our community members with disabilities. While this has been on my director's radar, there were things we hadn't thought of, like reaching out to caregivers we know to make sure they know that our programs are open to all and no matter the suggested age, others are always welcome. I learned that this can sometimes be a barrier to folks with intellectual disabilities as they "age out" of certain programs. However, here at the library they are always welcome!
References
No comments:
Post a Comment