Resource Teachers: A Changing Role in the Three-Block Model of Universal Design for Learning received the Exceptionality Education International Book Prize Award for excellence in publishing in the area of special education for the year 2013.
Based on her years of teaching in the inclusive classroom, Dr. Jennifer Katz, an Associate Professor at the University of Manitoba, developed the Respecting Diversity program which she designed to help establish compassionate learning communities. She later published Teaching to Diversity, a text focusing on the Three Block Model for Universal Design for Learning. This resource helped classroom teachers understand how to make inclusion work for all students, and how to develop a supportive learning community where all students feel like they belong and are valued contributors to the learning process.
Dr. Katz’s book Teaching to Diversity: The Three-Block Model of Universal Design for Learning received much acclaim form researchers and practitioners alike. Educators appreciated this text as it provided practical strategies for implementing universal design in order to ensure that all students can engage with course content, demonstrate their knowledge, and develop a sense of belonging in our increasingly diverse classrooms.
Dr. Katz’s follow-up book Resource Teachers: A Changing Role in the Three-Block Model of Universal Design for Learning was awarded the Exceptionality Education International Book Prize Award as it helps resource teachers understand how support teachers in the inclusive classroom, rather than being seen as an educators whose role is to solely teach those students who have been identified with special education needs. This model of support is needed in order to move towards a truly inclusive schooling environment.