1. Inclusive pedagogy – principles, preconditions and practices
Initially refusing the use of processes of teaching individualization for students with difficulties, the supporters of an inclusive pedagogy consider that the way to answer to differences among students consists in the application of strategies and activities which are usually undertaken in daily life and classroom routine (Florian, 2010; Florian & Black-Hawkins, 2010; Florian & Kershner, 2009), making them available to all the students.
This perspective represents a change in the thinking about the teaching-learning process; a change between an approach that favours what works to the majority of the students and that incorporates something “different” or additional ‘for those
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In this sense, it becomes fundamental to develop practices with different purposes: affective, social and intellectual.
Regarding affective purposes, it matters to strengthen the student’s trust, competence and control. When it comes to social purposes, it is sought to increase acceptance, sense of belonging and of community and, lastly, intellectual purposes concern to assure access and accomplishment of significant and relevant learning to all of the students.
And, since in this perspective learning is achieved as a result of relationships within learning communities, it is fundamental to have in mind the underlying pedagogic practical principles, namely: co-agency / collaboration, everyone, and trust:
• Co-agency / collaboration. Transformability notion and the principle that, regarding pedagogic relation, “nothing is neutral”, demands that the responsibility on learning be shared between teacher and student. The central hypothesis of transformability is that teachers cannot achieve it alone. In fact, without the student’s participation, teachers cannot change nor improve
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Ultimately, UDL has as a purpose the development of pedagogic practices that allow access to the curriculum, participation and progress of all the students, regardless of their capacities (CAST, 2012; Quaglia, 2015).
As King-Sears (2009) synthesizes, UDL is related to teaching practices to develop near the students with and without disabilities, focusing on the pedagogic dimension. Therefore, it is a curricular approach that seeks to reduce the factors of pedagogic nature that might difficult the teaching-learning process, assuring, this way, access, participation and success of all the students. In the perspective of CAST (2011), UDL’s approach is, in addition, related with concepts described by authors as Piaget, Vygotsky, Bruner, and Bloom, who were concerned with the teaching-learning process, being helpful in the way to understand how one learns, the individual differences and the needed pedagogy to face those differences. The need to build “scaffolds” that favour learning, underlines Vygotsky, constitutes, in effect, one of the key-points to consider in UDL’s curricular
Hall, T., Strangman, N., & Meyer, A. (2003). Differentiated instruction and implications for UDL implementation. National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum. Retrieved March 22, 2012, from www.k8accesscenter.org/training_resources/udl/diffinstruction.asp
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).
Instruction. These two strategies are approaches that address classroom diversity in general education settings, and inclusion classroom settings. The idea of UDL is that instructional lessons, strategies, and assessments are planned with supports, which are more likely to be well-suited for students with special needs. The supports minimize the need for adaptations at a later time. Properly designed classrooms require fewer adaptations for students with special needs, is an ass...
Inclusion in the classroom is a topic that I did not fully understand when I first became a special education teacher. Studying inclusion and all the aspect that it encompasses has enlighten me to the complexities of inclusion in the classroom. Inclusion has expanded to every facet of school activities outside the classroom. I am going on my fifth year of being a special education teacher and continuously find the need for additional education and training among the staff and administration. I feel having a comprehensive understanding has made me a better educator and advocate for children with disabilities.
I believe that teaching and learning is both a science and an art, which requires the implementation of already determined rules. I see learning as the result of internal forces within the person student. I know that children differ in the way they learn and grow but I also know that all children can learn. Students’ increased understanding of their own experience is a legitimate form of knowledge. I will present my students with opportunities to develop the ability to meet personal knowledge.
“The universal design for learning involves the conscious and deliberate planning of lessons and outcomes that allow all students access to and participation in the same curricula.” (Ashman & Elkins, 2008, p. 248) When curricula, instruction and assessment are designed using UDL students are offered various approaches of; presentation, expression, and engagement (who, what and why of learning). Using the UDL teachers must allow students to present information and content in different ways, differentiate the ways that students can express what they know, and stimulate interest, engagement and motivation for learning. (Ashman & Elkins, 2...
The main interest in the above definition of SDL is the point the learner acquires 1) the ingenuity to engage in a learning experience, and 2) the accountability for finishing their education. After the learner ha...
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.
That’s the message behind this week’s reading, The Concept of Universal Design. According to the National Center on Universal Design for Learning, UDL is “a set of principles for curriculum development that give
Collaborative learning is a situation where two or more people attempt to learn something together. Dillenbourg, P. (1999). Lev Semenovich Vygotsky, (born in 1986), introduced his theory that, human development—child development as well as the development of all human kind—is the result of interactions between people and their social environments. What this states is that the development of a “higher education” is the product of comparing and contrasting ideas of others ultimately to conclude a solution to a problem as a whole or group. Everyone’s input in a collaborative situation will play a role in final solution.
A teacher today needs to have an ability to relate to and create partnerships not with their students, but also families, administrators and other professionals. This ensures that all persons involved with the education of the student are on the same page. All involved then work in harmony and help each other achieve the common goal of educating the student in the best possible way for the best possible result. (Wesley, 1998, p 80)
In this course I experienced an important change in my beliefs about teaching; I came to understand that there are many different theories and methods that can be tailored to suit the teacher and the needs of the student. The readings, especially those from Lyons, G., Ford, M., & Arthur-Kelly, M. (2011), Groundwater-Smith, S., Ewing, R., & Le Cornu, R. (2007), and Whitton, D., Barker, K., Nosworthy, M., Sinclair, C., Nanlohy, P. (2010), have helped me to understand this in particular. In composing my essay about teaching methods and other themes, my learning was solidified, my knowledge deepened by my research and my writing skills honed.
Inclusion, what does it really mean? Why is it used in the classroom today? How is it used? In this paper, I will discuss my understanding of inclusion, what it might look like in my classroom, and give a few of the positives and negatives that I consider important to know. An important fact to note is that inclusion is rooted in the “Individuals with Disabilities Education Act” (IDEA) where the student with disabilities are to be educated in the least restrictive environment (LRE). Although this Act does not specifically address inclusion, it falls under LRE. To start off let us look at my understanding of inclusion.
Education institutions were eager to adapt to pedagogical approach; it was is teacher-centered. The teacher determined what will be taught, when will it be taught, how it will be taught, and if it was learned the way he/she taught the lesson. (Ozuah) As I reflect back at the time I started teaching, this is how I taught. I was the only resource that my students had. I am happy to say that I have changed. I’m not the only resource at my students’ fingertips anymore. However, I do have to teach them the correct ways to use resources via the
After reading the section “Philosophies of Education,” I believe that learning, learners, and teaching needs to to be interactive, that students learn best when their lessons are active, challenging and relevant in their world and that they learn through experience. Teaching would include less textbooks, more hands-on activities and the use of technology in the classroom. To be an effective teacher, we need to understand how children learn and realize that not all will fit into one mold and we shouldn 't expect them to either, they need to think for themselves and draw their own conclusions. Some teaching strategies may work great for one student in the classroom yet may not work for all. Therefore, our teaching and the curriculum used needs to be flexible to meet the needs of all the