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Inclusion in Classrooms
An Overview:
What is exceptionality and what is inclusion? In Ontario (Regulation 181/98) exceptionality is defined as "a student whose behavioral communicational intellectual physical or multiple exceptionalities are such that he or she is considered to need placement in a special education program...Students are identified according to the categories and definitions of exceptionalities." The Canadian Human Rights Act of 1977 stated that no one should be discriminated against for reasons of physical or mental disability. Canada became the first country to guarantee rights to people with disabilities in its constitution.
Inclusion: Goal, Barriers, and Success: A survey done in 2004 says that more than 80% Canadians believe that there has been some progress in including people with disabilities in Canadian society over the past decade. But statistics reveal that there is still a lot to be done and there is a difference in the achievement/inclusion of the able and disable people. Why is this so? What are the barriers? The policies and procedures on inclusion in Canada says," Most students can have their needs met in regular diverse classroom environment and whenever possible, supports and services should be provided in these settings. Students may however access special learning environments and or community based learning." No jurisdiction uses the expression "full inclusion". Canadian classrooms include exceptional learners but how successful have we been in this approach? It is a challenge for the educators sometimes to provide programs that presents all children with opportunities to flourish. Teachers are not always well equipped or trained to face and solve the challenges in an inclusive classroom. It is important to identify the needs of the exceptional children and adapt teaching and provide services to those students to meet their needs. Are there enough opportunities provided for the teachers for their professional learning? There are some workshops conducted for teachers on special needs children but how many teachers get the opportunity to attend them if they are teaching a regular classroom (time, funding issues) ? What are the criteria set to teach in an inclusive classroom? Mostly the identified students are taken out of the classroom for intensive support by the special education teacher who is trained but it remains a challenge for a classroom teacher to program for an exceptional child in a regular classroom.
My Personal Experience: My first year teaching in a regular classroom in Canada was not easy and I had very little knowledge and experience of how to meet with the exceptional children's needs in a regular classroom. It was through experience and colleagues' help that I discovered what an IEP is and how it looks, why is it used etc. As a new teacher, in-school (as colleagues talked among themselves), IPRC, and IEP were new terms for me. What is being done for an internationally trained teacher? Do they go through an orientation or any workshops to know a Canadian classroom? It is mainly hands on experience that an internationally trained teacher learns from and through the AQ courses which are quite expensive.
Every classroom has exceptional students but is every teacher trained to meet with the needs of an exceptional student? It takes a while for the student to be identified and put in a special program if the need be and child remains in a regular classroom until then. The student's program is modified by the classroom teacher and later the student may be recommended to go for an intensive support. Are educational assistants made available for the classroom teachers? Not always and not so often. I must admit that volunteers in classrooms are great help. So the question remains, how well is the teacher prepared to meet with the needs of such exceptional students, especially when there are 30 students in a classroom? In my opinion there should be enough opportunities given to a teacher for professional development. This year I have a mentor in my school. This 'mentor program' is a boon for the new teachers. It gave me an opportunity to learn from an experienced teacher and to go to some demonstration classrooms to watch and learn. Opportunity for workshops and additional courses should be provided for a teacher to help develop professionally. At least a week to two week of orientation program for internationally trained teachers where they could be given an opportunity to visit a typical classroom and attend sessions with useful workshops should be considered before placing them in real classrooms. We all need to remember that all children are special and inclusive education gives every child a chance to learn and live together. It is important that the teacher uses practical and useful strategies to include all the students in her classroom for effective learning.
Strategies Instruction:
The strategies discussed below to create a positive and inclusive classroom are mostly from my experience and the research/study I did for this assignment. These are the instructional strategies I use/would use in my classroom.
The primary purpose of instruction is to motivate, engage and support all students in their learning.
The strategies discussed below create a positive learning atmosphere in the classroom
-Learning environment: Every child must feel included and respected in the classroom including children with disability, cast, creed or religion. When students feel included and valued, learning takes place. Students should be willing to take risk and should feel safe. I have learned from my experience never to criticize a child for his mistakes.The child should be made aware of the mistakes and the next steps to be taken for improvement. They must feel appreciated and valued. They should know the rules of the classroom and the consequences, should respect each other. I attended the Restorative approach workshops which tell not to ask any child 'why questions' and not to punish children but make the child realize why he did what he did and how he does not do it again. During instructional time, students should know to take turns and group discussions should be meaningful and independent practice times should be quiet. Students should show respect and contribute positively to the learning environment.
-Physical Environment: All the materials, manipulative should be accessible to the student. The classroom should have proper furniture giving room for any wheel chairs to move. Seating plan should be appropriate accommodating all the students including students with special needs. The students should be able to see instructions/rubrics clearly in the classroom which should be posted on the walls. Students work should also be displayed on the walls/bulletin boards so that they can feel proud and motivated. the child should have the sense of belonging.
-Know the child: I make sure that I go through the OSR and any other important file/document of every child before I actually start teaching, In my teaching practice, before I start teaching I interview every child and try to know about him first. Knowing the strengths and needs of the child guides the teacher to program and plan his/her instruction.
- Differentiated Instruction: All students can learn but not at the same time, in the same way or on the same day. Every child is different and every child learns differently. One of the non negotiable is differentiated instruction. To accommodate every child's need, the instruction should be differentiated and multi level teaching strategy should be adopted. In my ESL classroom, I have to apply differentiation strategies as every child is at a different stage. It is also important to keep the different learning styles and multiple intelligence of students in mind while programing for the class.
- Gradual release of responsibility: explicit teaching: The teacher must teach explicitly in a stepwise manner and be clear with his/her instructional goals. Modeling, followed by guided instruction, pair work, independent practice, and finally reflection along with ongoing assessment (checking for understanding) allows the students to learn meaningfully. I use think aloud strategy in my class a lot which allows me to see how the child is applying the learning strategies and gives me a chance to guide the child.
- Define expectations clearly: It is important that communication about curriculum, instruction, and student progress is ongoing, clear and meaningful. The students must know what is expected from them and how will they be assessed. We were told this year by the administration to post rubrics on the walls
- Appropriate assessment/evaluation practices: Assessment guides instruction: Students should be actively involved. Expectations should be clear. Assessment should be ongoing and regular feedback is necessary. The students should be able to analyze and monitor their own learning and identify where they need to improve. They should also be able to provide feedback to their peers.
-Parental/community involvement: Teachers should increase parent knowledge of instructional methods and strategies by regularly communicating them to the parents and explaining why are they used. Inviting parents/community members to share their expertise with the students is a good way to involve the parents/community. A variety of methods can be used to communicate with parents like newsletter, web sites, agendas, class presentations, open house events etc. I have seen that agenda works the best to communicate with the parents. We should make telephone calls not just to show our concerns but also to convey what the child has done good in the class or school.
-Programing/Planning: Teachers should implementing the Ontario curriculum with a thorough knowledge of the curriculum policy and program documents. They should select and use a variety of learning opportunities and resource materials, including technology. While planning a unit, design down approach must be followed where first desired results are identified, then acceptable evidence is determined and finally learning experiences and instruction are planned.
-Use of Technology (regular, assistive and adaptive): Students should be exposed to technology (Internet, camera, video, computer etc.) to enhance their learning. Students with special needs may need assistive technology and the teacher should be familiar with the technology.
- Guide students to become self directed learners who are actively engaged in their learning.
-Instructional practices should be constantly reviewed and refined. Students contribute to this practice by asking questions and asking for clarification during instruction, providing teachers with feedback regarding the effectiveness of their assessment methods. Teachers should adapt and modify their instructional and assessment methods according to student feedback. Teachers must reflect on and revise past lessons. After every lesson/unit I keep a record of how students did and sticky notes to guide me for the next year. e.g.. while I was doing procedural writing this year, I reflected on my lesson and figured out that it was too rushed. Next year I would like to do it differently.
Ref:
guidelines for Instruction (a curriculum support document YRDSB),
guidelines for Assessment and evaluation (a curriculum support document YRDSB
inclusion of exceptional learners in canadian schools- a practical handbook of teachers (Nancy L. Hutchinson)