ALDI Update-June 2020

ALDI’s new coordinator has been in place since February 24th, 2020. Heather Scott has 20 years of teaching experience and has worked as a literacy consultant for two of those years. Some of her passions include pedagogy, inclusive co-teaching models, learning communities and reaching struggling readers through research-based practices.

Since February 24th, the new coordinator has been:

Working collaboratively with consultants, via digital platforms, to build targeted intervention workshops in the area of literacy and numeracy.
Building resources and professional development material to support new-to-resource teachers.
Building professional development material to provide specialized training to resource teachers.
Building resources to collaboratively lead Response to Intervention initiatives.
Adapting professional development to on-line platforms and ensuring that all proposed activities adhere to social distancing guidelines.
Collaborating with LEARN to update the ALDI website in order to improve communication and access to resources.
- Please take a look at the redesigned ALDI homepage. Go to ALDI homepage.
- The topics in the Resource Library are being grouped for convenience, and now include brief descriptions to enable efficient searching. Go to the Resource Library

For all inquiries or to plan professional development at your school board, please contact hscott@swlauriersb.qc.ca

March 2019 — Food for Thought

A podcast about teacher preparation in the area of reading:

https://www.apmreports.org/story/2018/09/10/hard-words-why-american-kids-arent-being-taught-to-read

ALDI update – April 2018

A new coordinator for the Advancing Learning in Differentiation and Inclusion Project (ALDI) has been in place since December 4, 2017. Caroline Erdos, PhD, is a clinical speech-language pathologist with extensive experience as a consultant in the areas of learning disability, French immersion education and multilingualism.

Since December 2017:

Caroline was invited to present an overview of research findings pertaining to neurotypical and at-risk students learning an additional language to staff at Lester B. Pearson School Board, Riverside School Board, Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board and New Frontiers School Board.
Caroline presented workshops on targeted intervention for students who struggle with reading at Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board; follow-up hands on sessions were also offered.
Caroline also provided bilingual workshops on phonological awareness at Riverside School Board and Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board.
Beginning in September 2018, Caroline will colead Resource Teacher Network (RTN) and Work-Oriented Training Path (WOTP) Professional Development and Innovation Grant (PDIG) projects at Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board.
Caroline will be presenting bilingual workshops on Phonological Awareness and Dialogic Reading at the 2018 Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers (QPAT) conference.
Additionally, Caroline is working on assembling a collection of evidence-based intervention materials and teaching video clips for resource teachers (see Caroline’s Top Picks).

For all inquiries or to plan support activities at your school board, please contact cerdos@swlauriersb.qc.ca or (450) 621-5600, extension 1388.

Math Problem-Solving Techniques for Students with Different Learning Needs

In this web event, Kim Desmarais from the Department of Research and Clinical Psychology at Concordia University discusses schema-based instruction. With this technique, students learn to identify three different kinds of word problems-and what strategies to use for each.

Web archive

ALDI/LEARN web event: Math problem-solving techniques for students with different learning needs

Its a new school year and we’re announcing the first web event of the year, in collaboration with LEARN.

Join us September 21st at 3:30 PM for an in-depth look at problem-solving techniques for students with different learning needs. Kim Desmarais will present “Schema Based Instruction – Teaching Children with Different Learning Needs to Successfully Solve Word Problems.” Kim will discuss her ongoing research in the Department of Research and Clinical Psychology at Concordia University, as well as her work with students and resource teachers within our school boards.

Never attended a web event? Its easy and its from the comfort of your own classroom, or anywhere else. Let the learning come to you!

ALDI 2015 keynotes and special strands

We have a great lineup of keynotes and speakers for ALDI 2015-please see our event poster here:

Symposium keynotes

Please check back in mid-June for the full symposium program and information on registration.

Towards an Understanding of Psychoeducational Evaluations

In this web event, Neuropsychologist Elizabeth Shoiry discusses common psychoeducational assessment tools and how results of these assessments can be used for educational planning and academic intervention.

Link to archive

Universal Design for Learning infographic

Here’s a quick infographic of the areas that many of our schools are working in within the UDL framework.

New ALDI “Jumpstart” Assistive Technology Series for 2015

Are you wondering how to begin supporting Universal Design for Learning with assistive technology? Would you like hands-on learning sessions in order to use the assistive technology effectively to support pedagogy in your classroom?

Empower your team in 45 minutes with a hands-on assistive technology jumpstart session. We will discuss the specific AT tool (15 min) and how it can be universally applied in the classroom. Then we will go hands-on to apply the tools (30 min).

Where: At your school.

When: At lunch, during a staff meeting, or after school.

Designed for: School teams (between 2-15 individuals). Administrators, resource teachers, classroom teachers, integration aides, attendants, technicians, and non-teaching professionals all welcome.

Please see the detailed description for more information on sessions and contact information:

ALDI jumpstart AT series

The Multi-Faceted Role of the Resource Teacher-web archive now available

On September 22nd, Tara Wheeler, Project Development Officer for the Work-Oriented Training Path, presented “The Multi-Faceted Role for Resource Teacher.” Tara has just completed her Master’s degree at Bishop’s University and has surveyed resource teachers within our boards in Quebec for her study at Bishop’s University. Hear what Tara and participating teachers had to say about their roles in our schools-and how they develop mentoring relationships, administrative/teacher partnerships, and resource delivery models.

Link to archive