By Karen S. Voytecki, Ph.D.
2001 CEC Clarissa Hug Teacher of the Year
Assistant Professor, East Carolina University
One issue that is of concern to both general and special educators is the need for providing appropriate services and supports to students with exceptionalities in inclusive classroom environments. Today, now more than ever before, students with exceptionalities are increasingly being served in fully inclusive classrooms. Being in the Least Restrictive Environment with "typical" peers is mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act; while using research-based, best practice instructional approaches is demanded by No Child Left Behind. So… How can teachers, including beginning teachers, implement high quality instruction to meet the academic and social needs of children with exceptionalities who are being served full-time in a general education setting?
I am currently working with general and special educators, Title 1 specialists, reading instructors, and paraprofessionals in a K-8 school in North Carolina for a program I developed and facilitate titled "Teaching ALL Students" (TAS). I meet monthly with a cohort group of 12 teachers. In the morning I observe in the classrooms to gain insights and provide ideas for developing a classroom culture that is conducive to effective and successful inclusive practices. I focus on the student-student interactions, teacher-student interactions, and teacher-teacher interactions. In the afternoon the cohort gets together and we concentrate on inclusive strategies, differentiated instruction, and questions/concerns. We discuss what is going well, what needs to change, etc.
Although now, in year two of TAS, all cohort teachers view inclusion as a promising approach for instructing ALL students… In the beginning of the program they were initially confused as to how to implement inclusion effectively. They didn't know what the role was of the general educator (teach everything? share the teaching with the special educator? discipline? not discipline?), special educator (discipline general ed students, when needed? make photocopies for general ed teacher? add input to lesson while general educator is teaching, or not? co-teach? co-plan? who does the grading?), Title I teacher (which students to assist? work with them in the general education classroom or in a resource room?). So… Not knowing what was expected of themselves was the first concern. Then, added to the complexity of the issue, the question of "what is the role of the other individuals in the classroom?" became the next item of concern (i.e. general educators didn't know what to ask of, or expect from, special educators and vice versa).
Communication is the first key component of successful inclusion. Work with your colleagues to determine answers to the above questions, as they will all depend on the individual circumstances in which you are involved. Please know that while you will have many of these same questions, so does the person(s) with whom you are working! Opening the lines of communication will allow you to work as a team to determine how you can make inclusion work to the optimum advantage of all students.
Here are some resources for implementing effective inclusive practices:
Inclusion Strategies That Work!
by Toby J. Karten
Summary: Whether you are a general or a special education teacher, this guide helps you understand and implement hands-on strategies for successful classroom inclusion of students with disabilities. Students identified for special education services pose a variety of challenges, but this practical resource gives you research-based tools that make differentiating instruction for all students much easier. Designed to be taken off your shelf again and again, this book includes an array of lists, charts, curriculum suggestions, tips for working with parents, strategies for preparing Individual Educational Plans (IEPs), including a mock IEP, reproducible activities and applications, and sample inclusion dilemmas. (2004) 400 pages.
Price: $34.95
Available at the online CEC Store:
http://www.cec.sped.org/ScriptContent/Orders/ProductDetail.cfm?section=CEC_Store&pc=S5697
Helpful websites, including research-based instructional approaches for inclusion:
Circle of Inclusion
http://circleofinclusion.org/
The Circle of Inclusion website is for early childhood service providers and families of young children. This web site offers demonstrations of and information about the effective practices of inclusive educational programs for children from birth through age eight.
Funded by: the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education.
OSEP Ideas that Work
http://www.osepideasthatwork.org/index.asp
Funded by: the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education.
This website is designed to provide easy access to information from research to practice initiatives funded by OSEP that address the provisions of IDEA and NCLB. This website includes resources, links, and other important information that supports OSEP’s research to practice efforts.
Inclusive Education Website
http://www.uni.edu/coe/inclusion/index.html
This website is designed for general education teachers, special education teachers, parents, and school staff to help provide some answers about how inclusive education can be accomplished. Resources for making accommodations are included as well as links to other websites and resource lists for learning more about inclusive education.