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Teaching

What are inclusive teaching strategies?

Inclusive teaching strategies are those teaching techniques that enable all students to learn and engage with the curriculum in the classroom. Teachers will use a variety of teaching strategies across all curriculum areas. In any classroom there is a wide range of learners and a wide range of learner needs that teachers take into account in their planning, teaching and assessing.

Giangreco (1992) believes that the following teaching innovations are congruent with inclusive education: cooperative learning, whole language, multilevel instruction, curriculum overlapping, peer tutoring, and creative problem-solving. However, these teaching strategies alone will not ensure inclusive education. The teaching strategies need to be matched with individual classroom and building conditions and the teacher's goals.

Multiple intelligences asserts that intelligence is more than the linguistic and visual intelligence measured by the traditional intelligence assessments. Teachers can use multiple intelligences to enable them to plan for a range of talents and skills.

Education Adjustment Program

The Department of Education and Training (DET) recognises its responsibility to make adjustments for students with disabilities to enable them to access the curriculum, achieve curriculum outcomes and participate in the life of the school.

The Education Adjustment Program (EAP) is a process for identifying and responding to the educational needs of students with disabilities.

Inclusive teaching practices: Enabling all students to access the curriculum

First of all, know your students!

Knowledge of students' strengths provide a positive starting point. Look for those students who demonstrate leadership, who are nurturing, who are inquisitive, who are observers, who learn actively, or who are knowledgeable about a specialty.

Tools such as questionnaires based around multiple intelligences and personality preferences can provide useful information, as can teacher-generated surveys. Explore the information and reports provided by previous schools and teachers, from parents and peers.

DVC Online website identifies four learning styles (visual/verbal, visual/nonverbal, tactile/kinaesthetic and auditory/verbal) and ways to adapt learning experiences to suit.

Quality teaching practices for all students

The following could be used as a reflective tool. This list is not exhaustive, nor would it be possible or practical to implement all of these at once. It may also be useful to look at the Professional Standards for Teachers. (new window) 43k

Quality teaching practices include:

arranging multiple opportunities for students to take in the core information or concepts;
using a variety of ways to make sense of ideas (presenting in different formats or styles);
using a range of opportunities to demonstrate what has been learnt;
providing quality learning experiences for all students regardless of their starting points;
using the P-12 Curriculum Framework documents to plan learning experiences;
preparing for the future;
adapting for different skill levels;
adjusting the amount of 'output' required;
using peer and team work;
link learning to real-world purposes;
direct teaching of routines and organisational strategies;
accessing technology;
engaging in team work - using AVTs, teacher aides, year or subject area teaching teams in all stages of the curriculum cycles.

For more ideas, visit the adjustments page.

Contemporary Education Practices include:

Productive Pedagogies

The productive pedagogies cover four broad areas of teaching and learning: intellectual quality, supportive classroom environment, recognition of difference, and connectedness. The productive pedagogies are a teacher reflection tool. They are designed for teachers to reflect on their teaching practices to ensure that 'all students regardless of background are engaged in intellectually challenging and relevant curriculum in a supportive environment' (Curriculum Implementation Unit 2001).

Universal Design for Learning

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an approach to teaching and learning that focuses on providing maximum flexibility in all aspects of teaching and learning to cater to the wide range of student needs and interests. Providing flexible pathways for learning at each step in the learning process can be supportive of all learners in all curriculum areas and across all phases of learning.

Differentiated Instruction

Differentiated instruction refers to teaching that is adapted to take into account the range of individual differences and needs of students in any one classroom. It comprises modifications to the curriculum, teaching structures, and teaching practices in combination to ensure that instruction is relevant, flexible, and responsive, leading to successful achievement, and the development of students as self-regulated learners alongside their peers (van Kraayenoord 1997).

This approach is sometimes referred to as multilevel instruction. Differentiation involves adaptations to one or more of the three components of curriculum, that is content, process, product (Heacox 2002).

The intent of providing differentiation in teaching practices is to have all students participating in respectful work - work that is challenging, meaningful and engaging.

References

Giangreco, M. 1992, 'Curriculum in inclusion oriented schools', Stainback, S. and Stainback, W., Curriculum considerations in inclusive classrooms, Paul H. Brookes, Baltimore.

Heacox, D 2002, Differentiating instruction in the regular classroom, Free Spirit Publishing, Minneapolis.

van Kraayenoord, C E 1997, 'Differentiated instruction', Embracing diversity: proceedings of the 21st national conference of the Australian association of Special Education Inc held at Brisbane 20-28 September 1997 Australian Association of Special Education, Brisbane.

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