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Diversity inside the classroom examples
Example of diversity in education
How to create an inclusive learning environment
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The introduction of policies and legislations in regards to inclusion within the classroom demands teachers to reassess their learning environments in order to cater to the diverse range of students within our classrooms. As a teacher it is our responsibility to set up our learning environment to maximise student learning and teaching providing varying strategies to cater to our students’ differences.
As educators I believe it is important to create a learning climate within and surrounding your classroom. An environment where students feel their opinions are considered and valued (Chapman & King, 2005). By creating an open, caring environment students are more likely to take risks, and to develop the understanding that it is ok to fail and try again. This ability to learn from mistakes and move on is a vital skill in life, and one which students will find valuable both inside and out of the classroom.
Building upon the learning climate within the classroom, it is vital for teachers to take the time to build relationships with their students, to develop a rappel and level of respect whilst getting to know students strengths and weaknesses as well as their interests. By taking the time to get to know students, teachers are able to cater to students likes and dislikes and levels of abilities through adaption of classroom materials and procedures (Campbell, Gilmore & Cuskelly, 2003) thus creating a more enjoyable and successful learning outcome.
Extending on relationships, the partnership between teachers and parents/carers and teachers and teachers can be a rich source of information and play an important role within the development of an inclusive school nature. By creating a sense of community these support netw...
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Works Cited
Ashman, A., & Elkins, John. (2009). Education for inclusion and diversity. Malaysia:
Pearson Education Australia.
Campbell, J., Gilmore, K., & Cuskelly, M. (2003). Changing student teachers’ attitudes
towards disability and inclusion [Electronic Version]. Journal of Intellectual &
Developmental Disability, 28, 3690379. Retrieved March 8, 2010, from Learning at
Griffith.
Chapman, C., & King, R. (2005). 11 practical ways to guide teachers towards differentiation
(and an evaluation tool) [Electronic Version]. ProQuest Education Journals, 26, 4.
Retrieved March 27, 2010, from Learning at Griffith.
Pisha, B., & Coyne, P. (2001). Smart from the start. The promise of universal design for
learning. [Electronic Version]. Remedial and Special Education, 22, 4. Retrieved
March 26, 2010, from Learning at Griffith.
The movement for inclusion in education has advanced since the years of special schools for children with disabilities. Although there have been significant changes to the laws protecting the rights of children with disabilities there remains an underlying debate as to whether these children should be in main stream classes. Most states and territories in Australia practice inclusive education, however this remains a contentious topic with differing attitudes. It is evident whilst many challenges remain, schools should implement and deliver quality programs that reflect best practice policies. Positive teacher attitudes, promoting diversity, modelling inclusion in the classroom and developing a sense of community by working in partnerships
Carol Gerber Allred (Allred, 2008) describes strategies for improving classroom climate related to learning for the students, while enforcing a set of classroom expectations, informing students of their positive actions, infusing intrinsic motivation, encouraging positive behavior, connecting with students’ families and community, and being positive yourself (Allred, 2008). These strategies align with the attributes described in indicator 1a to foster respect for diversity, establish rapport, promote risk-taking and establish high
Educators can have strong feelings on the subject because having special needs students in a regular classroom can have a large impact on the classroom community. Those who believe in inclusive classrooms realize that, to be successful, it requires allot of classroom management and differentiated instruction, but feel the benefits are worth the work involved. Those who do not believe in inclusion feel that it leads to “l...
Slee (2001) argues that inclusive schooling demands schools to recognise all types of difference from disabilities, ethnicity, gender, class and sexuality. Furthermore, he challenges schools to accept difference, to encourage and promote flexibility thus benefiting not only the curriculum and pedagogy, but the community and students themselves (Slee, 2001).
I believe every student is entitled to a safe learning environment where they can reach their full potential academically and behaviorally. Students will reach their full potential in a positive learning environment. The positive learning environment will be established from the beginning of the year providing a lasting impact on the students academic, and behavior performance throughout the entire year. The positive learning environment will be a classroom setting, which allows students to feel welcomed, safe, and important on daily basis allowing learning to occur to its fullest potential. To ensure my students are in a positive learning environment there must be a behavior management plan clearly explaining the expectations I have for my students. Throughout my behavior management plan I will explain how I plan to implement expectations so students act accordingly. My behavior management plan will be individually tailored to my students allowing me to push them to their fullest potential to by taking into consideration each student’s behavior and personal needs.
My future classroom will be an environment that is welcoming and engaging with activities that will enhance and encourage each child’s development and learning. Inclusion is difficult, even for adults. Yet without the implementation of inclusion, students are deprived of the opportunity to interact with a variety of people and learn acceptance and respect. It means to make everyone feel loved and accepted just the way they are. Having an inclusion environment will help children grow up to be better adults and citizens of tomorrow.
Classrooms of today are full of students with varying learning abilities and styles, therefore teachers are put in a position to involve each of their students equally so that everyone has the greatest chance of success in their learning. There are many different ways teachers are able to set up the learning environment in order to maximise teaching and learning and cater for the diverse needs of their students. I will attempt to discuss in detail some of these strategies and unpack the potential advantages and difficulties that follow.
Teachers and all stakeholders in the students’ academic career must believe that all students can learn equally. The climate of our classroom and the teaching strategies we employ must provide an equitable opportunity for all students. In doing so, we must “value and respect the experiences that students bring from their background, articulate students’ background knowledge with disciplinary knowledge, and offer sufficient school resources to support student learning.
Inclusion in classrooms is defined as combining students with disabilities and students without disabilities together in an educational environment. It provides all students with a better sense of belonging. They will enable friendships and evolve feelings of being a member of a diverse community (Bronson, 1999). Inclusion benefits students without disabilities by developing a sense of helping others and respecting other diverse people. By this, the students will build up an appreciation that everyone has unique yet wonderful abilities and personalities (Bronson, 1999). This will enhance their communication skills later in life. Inclusive classrooms provide students with disabilities a better education on the same level as their peers. Since all students would be in the same educational environment, they would follow the same curriculum and not separate ones based on their disability. The main element to a successful inclusive classroom, is the teachers effort to plan the curriculum to fit all students needs. Teachers must make sure that they are making the material challenging enough for students without special needs and understandable to students with special needs. Inclusive classrooms are beneficial to students with and without special needs.
Inclusion is not a new idea, but has been rapidly gaining momentum within many disciplines internationally. Inclusive education is a term often associated with special education, and children with additional needs. However, inclusive education is about ensuring that educational settings allow for meaningful participation by all learners. Each child has their own unique identity, ways of doing things, strengths and weaknesses. Ministry of Education [MoE] (1998) states that teachers “should recognise that as all students are individuals, their learning may call for different approaches, different resourcing, and different goals” (p. 39, emphasis added).
Inclusion of all students in classrooms has been an ongoing issue for the past twenty-five years (Noll, 2013). The controversy is should special education students be placed in an inclusion setting or should they be placed in a special education classroom? If the answer is yes to all special education students being placed in inclusion, then how should the inclusion model look? Every students is to receive a free an appropriate education. According to the Individual Education Act (IDEA), all students should be placed in the Least Restrictive Learning Environment (Noll, 2013).
In this essay I will reflect upon the inclusive learning environment, i intend on reflecting this by researching, reading, extending my own knowledge and a recent exemplar visit. The main issues i have chosen to cover throughout this essay are inclusion, children’s learning and the environment. Issues i will also cover are Special Educational Needs (SEN), Every Child Matters (EMC), Diversity and legislations. I intend on doing this by arguing, analyzing and discussing the inclusive learning environment. Inclusive learning environments can be varied from the school environment to the home environment. Both having a significant impact to a child’s learning. The environment within schools needs to be stimulating, creative and enjoyable for all children to learn in. Effective classroom organization, interaction between both staff and children are essential to the inclusive learning environment.
The job of a teacher is never easy but we have seen how cooperative discipline and enabling students to feel capable, connected and contributing can improve classroom management and maybe even our own moods. If we create an environment of mutual respect and give our students legitimate power of voice and choice in the classroom we will see positive results in improved student behavior and student achievement. Because when our students believe that they can succeed, they will.
Inclusion is a basic human right for all students and differences are what make us unique. These differences should be embraced, not shunned. A student with extra educational needs may very well be capable of great things, but only if we, the educators, allow them the chance to be. Inclusion is the way forward