Barrier Moving Mindset: A Simple Process
Step #1: Identify a Barrier
Barrier-Moving Educators develop meaningful relationships* with all learners, which enables them to recognize the presence of an academic, social, or behavioral barrier* -a student’s need- in their classroom. Because all classrooms are different, barriers may be present in one setting while not in others, so all educators should possess this skill set. Once educators recognize the presence of a barrier, we should work with all stakeholders, including the student,* to eliminate it.
Step #2: Work the Learner Through Their Need
By working creatively with all stakeholders, educators eliminate a need by facilitating a process that improves the learner’s skills and strategies in areas where they struggle. We do this with well-developed goals* that guide explicit need-based instruction and create unique opportunities to refine and rehearse barrier-related skills and strategies in inclusive environments. However, building skills takes time, so a more efficient way to overcome the barrier is also necessary.
Step #3: Support the Learner Around Their Need
This is where accommodations that empower the learner around their need are so important. Just-right accommodations* allow educators to make their unique environment*, including their class, instruction, and assessments, accessible to all learners*. Accomods by Action Driven Education helps educators find, understand, and implement accommodations that fit their unique instructional environment, align with the learner’s needs, and leverage their strengths. Just-right accommodations provide the support that’s necessary to reduce behavioral manifestations* by engaging the learner in a rigorous education*.
Step #4: Monitor “Through” Efforts with Instructional Data
Barrier Moving Educators recognize the importance of validating the impact of our efforts by collecting instructional data that shows steady progress toward clearly stated outcomes. When a learner’s skills are lagging, we must be creative to take full advantage of every opportunity to provide explicit instruction directly aligned with their need. To avoid a loss of valuable instructional time, our laser-focused efforts to improve a student’s need-related skills must be verified with data!
Step #5: Verify the Effectiveness of “Around” Efforts
The impact of just-right accommodations should be seen quickly and monitored to verify their ongoing effectiveness. As the learner grows and their skills improve, the variables that define just-right also change. This adaptability ensures that our support is always tailored to the student’s current needs. Besides, teachers are busy, so the best way to save the time it takes to provide support is by ensuring it’s not being wasted, and data provides that proof!
Developing a Barrier-Moving Mindset
The Barrier-Moving Mindset is a process used by parents and teachers to address academic, social, emotional, and behavioral barriers students demonstrate in an instructional setting. The Barrier-Moving Mindset logo contains 13 gears, each representing one of the competencies a Barrier-Moving Educator possesses. The gears are connected by two colored cables representing the well-known elements of effective special education programs. Explore the elements below.
13 Competencies Demonstrated by Barrier-Moving Educators
Competency #1: Recognize that all instruction is validated with data. The educator will collect data that verifies the effectiveness of their efforts and revise as appropriate.
Competency #2: Establish a relationship with a child that seeks to understand their perspective.
Competency #3: Able to recognize the presence of a child’s barrier and predict when it will present an issue.
Competency #4: Able to recognize behavioral manifestations that may result from the barrier.
