The Educator's Handbook for Inclusive School Practices

Julie Causton, Chelsea Tracy-Bronson

• Publisher: Brookes Publishing
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781681250151
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Inclusive Education

As more K-12 schools move toward inclusion, how can general and special educators work together to create warm, welcoming classrooms where all students learn and belong? Discover practical answers in this friendly, down-to-earth teacher's guide. Filled with ready-to-use teaching tips, insights from inclusive educators, and examples that relate directly to everyday classroom experiences, this book will help general and special educators collaborate effectively and build a great "toolbox" of strategies to support all learners within inclusive classrooms. With this highly motivating guidebook close at hand, new and seasoned educators will create engaging, exciting, and joyful inclusive classrooms that support social and academic success for all.

STRATEGIES THAT HELP TEACHERS:

• ensure that all students have access to the general education curriculum in the least restrictive environment
• presume competence and recognize every student's unique strengths
• meet students' individual learning needs with differentiated lessons and innovative academic supports
• team up and collaborate with other educators and professionals to make the most of everyone's expertise
• distinguish an IEP from a 504 plan, and develop and implement both appropriately
• support students who have behavior challenges with a classroom-wide positive behavior support system
• promote academic and social inclusion in the classroom and in recreational spaces, from the playground to the lunchroom
• supervise the important work of paraprofessionals
• avoid burnout with self-care strategies and stress-busters

PRACTICAL RESOURCES: Planning tools and checklists to help you identify student strengths, develop IEPs, plan lessons, strengthen co-teaching, choose modifications and accommodations, and more.

1

The General and Special Educator

“Marsha and I worked in separate rooms last year. She was down the hall where she worked with special education students. I taught fourth grade. We really only saw each other at faculty meetings, though sometimes we would run into each other in the copy room. But now we spend nearly half of every school day teaching together. And we plan together a lot! There are so many benefits to co-teaching . . . mostly for our students with special needs, but really to all the students. . . . I know Marsha has definitely made me a better teacher, and I would like to think I have taught her a thing or two.”

—Lisa (general education teacher)

Like Lisa and Marsha, many general and special education teachers now find themselves co-teaching, collaborating, and working closely together as schools embrace an inclusive service provision model in order to better educate all students, especially students with disabilities. This co-construction of curriculum planning and implementation of instruction leads to enhanced inclusive educational, social, and recreational opportunities. Many believe that this co-teaching arrangement is mutually beneficial and that the inclusive educational model is better for all students.

Our goal for this book is to help you, the general or special educator, to negotiate these new roles and to offer tools and strategies. This will contribute to your transformation into an incredible inclusive educator. This book is intended to build your teaching toolbox in order to purposefully include students. We start with how we came to know the previously mentioned teachers, Marsha and Lisa, and a student named Matthew.

THE LAST ROOM ON THE LEFT

As we signed into the school’s main office and received visitor stickers, we asked where we could find Room 33. We were headed there to observe a fourth-grade student named Matthew. The woman seated at the desk took a deep breath. She said, “Okay, you have to walk down the first hallway on your left, all the way to the end. Then, take a right and walk down to the very end of that hallway. You will pass a few classrooms and the custodial closet. It will be there, 33, the last room on your left.”

We nodded and walked down several hallways, past the custodial closet, and into Marsha’s room before meeting Matthew. He was slumped way down on a beanbag chair in a classroom for students with autism. A clipboard rested on his lap. It appeared he was supposed to be doing a math worksheet using TouchMath. TouchMath is a system of numbers with dots on them intended to help students visualize the value of each number. It is a strategy to represent the abstract concepts of numbers in concrete form (Bullock, 1992). It was apparent that the room was well cared for, as its supplies were neat, tidy, and organized. Colorful, decorative posters with themes of “working hard” and “trying your best” lined the perimeter. All of the students were engaged in different activities. Three adults were present, each attending to students staggered throughout.

One student listened with headphones. Another had her face pressed close to the air conditioning vent, seeming to enjoy the breeze. Two students played a math fact game on the computer. One boy, who appeared younger than the rest, sat in a corner, crying and shouting the word stuck repeatedly. He was quite loud. There was a large visual timer ticking next to him. “Only 4 more minutes, Jacob,” a paraprofessional reminded the boy in a friendly voice as she pointed to his timer.

As we navigated through the room, approaching Matthew, we greeted him and sat on the floor next to his beanbag. He was supposed to be adding two-digit numbers. Instead, his pencil lead became dull and deteriorated as he continuously wrote light lines across the top of his paper.

“What are you doing, Matthew?”

“Jacob sad,” he responded quietly.

We nodded and attempted to help him with his TouchMath, but he continued to focus on Jacob, the small boy crying in the corner.

“Jacob sad,” Matthew said again.

We reassured Matthew that Jacob was okay and tried to refocus him. He seemed unable to focus long enough to complete his math. Marsha, the special education teacher, noticed us and walked over. “Matthew,” she said, “can you say ‘Hi’?”

“Say ‘Hi,’” she repeated as she smiled, but Matthew remained silent. “Say it. Look at me.” She cupped his chin in her hand, attempting to get Matthew to look at her. “Can you say it?”

Matthew pushed Marsha’s hand from his face and mumbled “Hi.” He got up, ran to the window, and began to bang his head with his hand.

THE FIRST ROOM ON THE RIGHT

Four months later, we observed Matthew in an inclusive fourth-grade classroom. This was now his full-time educational placement. He sat at a table group with other fourth-grade students. They chatted to each other about the problem they were solving. Matthew participated in the conversation by typing on his iPad. We watched as a peer seated to Matthew’s right read something that Matthew had just typed.

The general education teacher, Lisa, gained the class’s attention and posed a question. Matthew busied himself, typing something. The paraprofessional, who was circulating the room, raised her hand to indicate that Matthew had typed a response. When Lisa nodded, the paraprofessional walked over to his table to read his answer from the iPad aloud. “It depends if the integer is negative.”

Lisa smiled. “It does depend if the integer is negative, Matthew. That will determine if the answer is a positive or a negative.”

Matthew looked pleased and continued to participate throughout most of the math lesson. He answered three other questions correctly, which either the paraprofessional or one of his peers shared out loud. Matthew had become a confident, engaged, social learner who successfully participated in a general education classroom. The Matthew we met in Room 33 was not the same Matthew in this inclusive fourth-grade class. His engagement with peers, teachers, and the academic curriculum had changed dramatically. What had happened between the first and second observation? Why was Matthew so different during each observation? What were the elements that transformed Matthew as a learner?

A number of factors went into supporting Matthew and his transition to general education. We had been brought in by Matthew’s family to consult; they were involved in a due process hearing to get Matthew included in general education. Training was provided directly to Marsha and Lisa on how to provide social, academic, communication, and behavioral support. We discussed how to create successful adaptations and accommodations and utilize various methods of communication. All of the staff working with Matthew received training about how to include Matthew and how to support his communication. Combined, the implementation of these training elements resulted in the drastic changes we saw in Matthew’s participation and engagement during the school day.

Although Matthew is remarkable and his teachers are very skilled, this is not a particularly unusual story. Repeatedly, we find that when students move from segregated settings to inclusive contexts, and when teachers learn to support students in inclusive ways, fundamental changes occur. As we have witnessed schools transforming to implement inclusive special education provision, we have learned substantial lessons from the educators who are the critical foundations for this book, along with research supporting the implementation of these lessons learned. In the subsequent sections of this chapter, we outline the lessons we have learned as an introduction to the major themes and content of this book.

RECOGNIZE THAT EDUCATORS HAVE BEEN WRONG

It is hard for us to admit, as special educators ourselves, but the field of education has been wrong about segregating students. In this case, the school district was completely wrong about Matthew. Administrators and teachers thought they understood his cognitive levels, his label, and his IQ scores. The idea was that the self-contained classroom would develop his skills. The thinking and educational placements for students were based on readiness and developmental models. Matthew was given work at “his level.” However, when he learned to communicate and his teachers learned to support him more effectively, a shift occurred. It became clear that the district was wrong about what he could accomplish. In fact, it was wrong about, well, essentially everything when it came to educating Matthew. When given appropriate grade-level work with purposeful adaptations and supports, Matthew began to soar academically. Evidence of his competence became apparent. He was able to do grade-level work with the appropriate communication supports.

Students are much more capable than educators previously thought, when provided with opportunities and proper supports. Chapters 2 and 3 explore the topic of inclusive special education and the importance of presuming competence, fostering belonging, and recognizing the indicators of inclusive classrooms.

Shifting Our Thinking

Incremental realization that Matthew was a highly intelligent student was an essential shift for everyone: Marsha, Lisa, classmates, the paraprofessional, therapists, and even his family. It took a lot of mental work to change how the team thought of Matthew, his potential, and the best contexts and strategies to educate him. By shifting our thinking, we began to see him as a learner with multiple strengths, intelligences, and capabilities. Chapter 4 provides new ideas about shifting the ways educators think and talk about students, as these beliefs ultimately affect the approach to educating them. However, let us be clear: Demonstration of high levels of intelligence is not a prerequisite for including a student with a disability within general education classrooms.

Collaborative Teachers Have Increased Creativity

As Marsha and Lisa took on new roles in the inclusive classroom, they created an exciting, engaging classroom for the entire class. This happened through their collective problem solving and collaboration. In the inclusive classroom, educational professionals join forces, and each offers unique skills that benefit all of the students. Chapter 5 explores working on a collaborative inclusive team, negotiating roles and responsibilities, and strategies for collaborative instruction.

Design Purposeful Academic Learning Experiences

When Matthew is in an inclusive classroom, the planning and differentiation of curriculum and lessons is different. There, the content is co-planned and often co-taught by a general and a special education teacher. Related service providers implement inclusive service provision and contribute their expertise to the development and generalization of therapy skills across the school day. Inclusive educators need to be familiar with the concepts of universal design for instruction, differentiation, and creating inclusive lessons so that all learners can be successful. Chapter 6 focuses on those important topics to enable you to design purposeful academic learning experiences for all students.

Engage in Humanistic Behavioral Supports

We have seen great shifts in behavior as students move from segregated settings to inclusive educational contexts. Challenging behaviors tend to decrease in inclusive classrooms, as students are surrounded by peers who are positive behavioral models. This was the case for Matthew. His frustration, head banging behavior, and other negative behavior decreased. However, he still required extensive behavioral supports; the inclusive educators implemented positive behavior support (PBS), focused on his sense of belonging, developed a strong relationship with him, and provided him with what he needed. Chapter 7 presents the concept of humanistic behavioral supports and provides many new strategies and ideas about how to successfully support student behavior.

Facilitate Genuine Social Relationships

Separate special education classrooms create separate lives. When students are removed from general education environments, they live academic and social lives separate from those of their community of peers. In Matthew’s case, when he was in the special education classroom, he never had a play date with a student who did not also have a disability. After moving to a general education classroom, his social calendar became quite full. Matthew is not planning a segregated life for himself after completion of high school; the best way to learn to live in an inclusive society is in an inclusive classroom. Chapter 8 describes many strategies for providing social supports and facilitating close-knit connections to classmates.

Develop Purposeful Support Systems

It is commonplace to see students with disabilities with a paraprofessional seated directly next to them. This is not the most effective way to support students. We closely examined the type of supports that Matthew received, and one of the major changes that he requested was more independence. Chapter 9 focuses on being thoughtful about support and how to effectively utilize and guide paraprofessionals who may be supporting students in inclusive classrooms.

Implementation of Inclusive Education Is a Challenge

It takes creativity, problem solving, and hard work to successfully provide inclusive education. There must be a willingness to try, fail, and try again to make inclusive education effective. More important, this work toward cultivating inclusive educational opportunities for students is critical. It literally changes the lives of students with disabilities. It makes a difference. The classroom for students with autism, located down the hall and next to the custodial closet, is brimming with potential. It is full of students like Matthew who deeply deserve and desire friendship, connection, and belonging, as well as access to rich academic content. Such students cannot wait. Chapter 10, the last chapter of this book, is dedicated to ways for maintaining momentum as you do the challenging and important work of creating more inclusive classroom...