Inclusion in the classroom is something that I am very interested in and want to continue learning more about. I want to be able to make all of my students feel included and that they are contributing to the class. Last year, I had a field experience class where I was in a kindergarten classroom once a week for about three months. We then had to do a project at the end of the term, and mine was connected to inclusion. There were multiple students in the class that had learning challenges, including one who was on the autism spectrum. This is why I chose to research how to support students with autism in the classroom for the project, and I learned a lot about support and inclusion for all students, not just ones on the spectrum. One resource I used for my project was a video from Shelley Moore talking about moving towards more inclusive education (Moore, 2016). This video discusses how we need to change our aim as educators in order to successfully teach all students, including the ones who need more help and those who need more challenge. The video used bowling as an analogy for inclusion. In the video, it showed that in order to best succeed, you cannot roll the ball (the lesson) straight down the middle, but you must bowl at a curve to knock down more of the pins (the students). Instead of aiming for the middle and teaching the majority of the students, we need to find a way to teach all of them, and not leave the others behind. Aiming for the pins that are the hardest to hit (the ones on the outside) is the best way to include and teach all students. I also learned, from the video and from this class (EDCI 335), that resources and supports used to help these students on the outsides are actually beneficial for all learners in the class (Moore, 2016; “Universal design”). I enjoyed the video so much and learned a lot, so I decided to watch some more of her videos, where I learned more, including about the model of inclusion using the dots and how the model is incorrect because every learner is different (Moore, 2019).

Another part of my field experience that really stuck with me was a conversation I had with my mentor teacher while the students were out for recess one day. We discussed one student in the class who did not listen very well but was extremely smart. She explained to me that the student knew all of the letters, how to read, and somewhat how to write, so when the rest of the class was still learning their letters, this one student got bored because they already knew it. This caused them to not focus and to find distractions around the classroom. She then told me that whenever they can, the teachers included this student by having them read something to the class instead of the teacher reading it. I thought this was amazing because it draws attention to the student’s strengths and allows them to use their level of knowledge in the classroom. I want to be the type of teacher that is able to recognize and draw on my students’ strengths in the classroom in order to help them all succeed.

Inclusive classrooms support the abilities and recognize the possibilities of all students.

Nicole Eredics

For my group’s Blueprint, one of the learning activities we planned involves taking the students outside and having them use their five senses (sight, smell, touch, sound, and taste) and to write down their observations about the scenery around them. This will help them improve their descriptive language writing skills by helping them explore ways to describe different objects or areas they come across. One barrier for student success may be if a student is unable to use one of their senses, for example, if they are deaf. They would not be able to hear anything when outside, and therefore would not be able to write down their own observations for that sense. One way this activity could be adjusted to reduce this barrier is to have students work in pairs or small groups for this activity, which would be cooperative learning (“Cooperative learning”; Zook, 2018). This way, the other students could make the observations for hearing, and the deaf student would help with the other four senses. It is also important to make sure all of the students know that it is all right if they cannot fill in all of the senses. They just need to do their best and do as much and as best as they can. They will also be sharing answers with other classmates at the end to combine and fill in the lists, so if it is not fully completed, there is nothing to worry about. Another example of a potential barrier for a student could be if they are injured or physically disabled, resulting in them being in a wheelchair. In this case, they would not be able to easily move around the area outside if the class was working in a grass field. An easy way to solve this would be to take the class to a space with concrete areas, or a field with a concrete path through it, so the student could access the area more easily in order to make their own observations. It is extremely important to adjust activities, so all students are able to feel comfortable participating, and feel included in the class lessons.

References:

Brookes Publishing (2018, April 10). Inclusion in action: Q&A with author Nicole Eredics. The Inclusion Lab. https://blog.brookespublishing.com/inclusion-in-action-qa-with-author-nicole-eredics/.

James, H. (2021). Cooperative learning. Educational Technology. https://edtechuvic.ca/edci335/cooperative-learning/

James, H. (2021). Universal design. Educational Technology. https://edtechuvic.ca/edci335/universal-design/

Moore, S. [Five Moore Minutes]. (2019, January 7). Inclusion 2.0: Teaching to diversity [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rO3_UYaz1HE&t=2s

Moore, S. [SSHRC-CRSH]. (2016, April 4). Shelley Moore: Transforming inclusive education [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYtUlU8MjlY

Zook, C. (2018, October 18). What is cooperative learning and how does it work? Applied Educational Systems. https://www.aeseducation.com/blog/what-is-cooperative-learning-and-how-does-it-work.

Photo from: https://blog.advancementcourses.com/articles/designing-an-inclusive-classroom/