The Deep Dive

Written by Elo?se Engel , Hannah Woodhead & Caitlin Harrison

Quote of the month: If students can’t learn the way we teach, we need to teach the way they learn. – Attributed to Ignacio Estrada

Classrooms are filled with unique individuals, all coming with different needs, interests, backgrounds and skill sets. As educators, we try our best to support all learners and create a learning environment where everyone feels supported and challenged.

This can be a difficult task, especially if teachers feel the pressure of getting through the curriculum or getting students ready for standardised assessments. We sometimes lose focus of what truly matters, developing deep conceptual understandings that students can apply freely in real-life situations.

In this month’s newsletter we will look at how educators can be proactive in predicting barriers to learning that could hinder understanding and growth, and how to remove these barriers and put systems in place that help all learners thrive.

Unlocking Learning: When One Small Change Makes a Big Difference

It’s Monday morning in Grade 1. Students are asked to write a story about their favourite moment of the weekend. The teacher models how to do this by drawing a picture on the board and then writing a few sentences about her favourite weekend moments. All students get to work.

Laura sits in front of her paper. She doesn’t know what to write about. Her teacher comes over and asks her a few questions. Laura answers these excitedly and tells the teacher about the best part of her weekend. The teacher tells Laura to now draw a picture of her weekend and write the sentences. Then, she walks away.

Laura still sits in front of her paper. Her paper is blank. The teacher comes back and asks, “hey Laura, what’s the matter?” Laura said that she forgot what she said. This is when the teacher has an idea. She asks Laura if she would like to record herself when answering the teacher’s questions orally. Laura smiles. “I can do this?” She eagerly gets an iPad and presses record. The teacher asks the same questions. Laura chats away and vividly talks about her favorite moment. Once done, the teacher tells Laura that all she has to do now is listen to her story and draw and write what she said.

Laura puts on headphones. She listens to her story over and over again when drawing her picture adding lots of details. When she starts writing, she listens to every sentence of her recording again and writes down what she said.

At the end of the lesson, Laura has a beautifully written story, with many interesting details. She looks at her paper with a big smile. “I am done!” she says proudly. And she was! She did an amazing job telling others about her weekend.

Laura’s experience highlights a key principle of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) - providing multiple ways for students to engage with, process, and express their learning.

A few things to keep in mind:

• Barriers are not in the student, but in the approach: Laura knew what her favorite moment was all about, but she was challenged to hold onto her ideas long enough to write them down. The traditional method (think → draw → write) created a barrier for her.
• Flexibility unlocks potential: By offering Laura an alternative way to capture her thoughts (audio recording), the teacher provided a scaffold that empowered Laura to complete the task successfully.
• Success builds confidence: Laura was so proud at the end, feeling confident at the same time. When students experience success through accessible strategies, they feel more confident in their abilities and develop a positive mindset toward learning.

The big takeaway of Laura’s story is that when we remove barriers to learning and provide options, all students can succeed - not by doing less, but by finding the way that works for them.

Laura’s is a true story that brought tears to our eyes when we realized how one small change made such a big difference in her overall learning and learning journey.

Breaking down learning barriers to create inclusive classrooms

In order for teachers to break down learning barriers, they first must understand what the barriers are. Learning barriers can prevent students from fully accessing and engaging with lessons.

Here is a list of learning barriers that could be hiding in any lesson:

• Cognitive barriers: difficulty processing information, gaps in prior knowledge, working memory overload, abstract concepts without support, unclear instructions
• Language-based barriers: challenges with reading or understanding instructions because of complex vocabulary, word-heavy instructions, language processing difficulties
• Executive-functioning barriers: Poor organization of a task, multi-step problems without scaffolding, lack of visual support
• Engagement-related barriers: Lack of real-world relevance, low motivation, problems that don’t allow for multiple entry points or strategies.
• Physical/sensory barriers: Small font, cluttered layout, reliance on fine motor skills for writing, limited accessibility for different learning needs.

The question is how can teachers create more inclusive learning experiences for all. A barrier-spotting checklist like the one above can help to evaluate lessons and materials, identify obstacles and adjust instruction to ensure all students can participate meaningfully.

It is important to keep in mind that what supports one student often benefits many. In Laura’s case, providing audio recordings helped her, but it could also benefit students with dyslexia. Flexible seating may assist students with sensory needs while improving focus for others. By proactively removing barriers, we create learning environments where all students can thrive.

The tension of support vs challenge

One question that comes up in many teacher conversations we have had is, what if a student always takes the easy way? This is an interesting question as it addresses the idea of promoting student agency and, at the same time, ensuring that students grow and challenge themselves. Removing barriers is not about making learning easier, it is about making it more accessible.

How do we balance support with accountability? Students should have the tools they need to succeed, but also be guided towards increasing independence. In order to get there, here are a few things teachers can do:

• Encouraging choice with responsibility – Let students select tools that help them but also set goals to stretch their learning.
• Gradually removing scaffolds – Support should adjust over time, helping students build confidence and independence.
• Using reflective questioning – Ask, “What’s your next step?” or “How could you challenge yourself?” to promote deeper thinking.

Educators want to ensure that students have the tools they need to access learning, and at the same time, are also expected to engage, think and grow.

Start small - one tweak at a time

When looking at all the barriers to learning, one can feel overwhelmed. The idea is to start small and do one tweak at a time. Small adjustments can make a big difference in students’ engagement and overall success.

Think of Laura’s story - a simple change in how she captured her ideas transformed her writing experience. One small shift — using an audio recording — turned frustration into confidence.

So, take it one step at a time. It is not about getting it perfect, it’s about getting better. Every barrier we remove, every student we engage, is a step forward.

What’s one small change you can make this week?

Teacher Horizons and Awesomenicity are delighted to invite you to our next Community Connect webinar: Empowering Every Learner: Creative and Fun Strategies to Break Barriers in Primary Maths. In this workshop, we’ll explore practical tools and strategies to support all learners while fostering student agency, choice, and ownership. Together, we’ll discover how to boost engagement, creativity, and inquiry, empowering students to develop a deep, conceptual understanding of maths.?Teachers will take part in creative, hands-on maths challenges they can use in their own classrooms. There will also be opportunities to reflect, share best practices, and connect for inspiration. We are grateful to our partner Awesomenicty for presenting this webinar.?

The event will take place via Zoom on: Date:?March 6th, 2025 Time:?12?pm UK time Duration:?1 hour

Please feel free to forward the invitation to a colleague/friend.?If you’d like to sign up for this event please just?click here.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

We are also hosting a free Demo of our primary maths resource platform today. If you would like to attend, use the link here!