Inclusive Schools and Classrooms: Moving from Good to Great
Picture this — Your neighbor, who is known to throw the best parties, has volunteered to host your birthday party this year. When the day comes, you walk into the party and are very confused. It’s almost as if she planned it with everything you hate in mind.
Your least favorite music genre is playing, your least favorite restaurant has catered, and to make matters worse, your closest friends weren’t even invited! And now she keeps asking you if you’re having fun!
But it’s the thought that counts, right?
Admittedly, this is an extreme situation, but it’s very similar to the experience of some of our kids in schools. Far too often we plan and teach with good intentions .. but it’s still not landing and we don’t understand why students aren’t catching on. Instead of meeting students where they are, we are often forcing them to learn in the way that we were taught … even if it is proving futile. Inclusive schools and classrooms take into consideration a student’s culture, preferences, interests, abilities, and other components, so that students feel both belonging and acceptance for the support they need to be academically successful.
Inclusive Practices is an all encompassing term that includes teaching strategies, relationship-building techniques, and more. While some practices might be a habit to you, I hope to share additional practices to increase your inclusiveness in your school and community. Read below for 8 easy inclusive practices that you can put into practice tomorrow!
The Universal Design Framework (UDL) helps educators strengthen their tier 1 instruction to benefit all students. This framework encompasses three domains of engagement, representation, and action and expression. Embedding strategies from all three domains can significantly increase a student’s access to the material, show what they know, and maintain their motivation to try their best.
Checking in with students is an easy way to begin to build an inclusive school and classroom. At the root of everything education is relationship building. (If you think otherwise … exit left.) But seriously, knowing your students, what they love, what they hate, and how they spend their time outside of school can give you ideas of how to pique their interest during class. It also shows them that you care about them as a person and that they matter. Sometimes as teachers we are consistent in the positive attention we give to some students, and the negative attention we give others. The truth is, there are also some students that actually sometimes fall through the cracks, as they are well-behaved and average learners. Implementing inclusive practices prevents this.
Finding ways to intentionally infuse opportunities for students to establish and build connections with one another is important. Not only are they developing their social skills, but it also provides them with an opportunity to develop conflict resolution strategies, learn different perspectives, and feel more accepted and included in class and school opportunities. Sometimes all you need is a friend.
Setting classroom norms and commitments are important for all classrooms, regardless of the age of the students. This is important as different people, cultures, and backgrounds sometimes have different ways of doing things. However, contrary to what you may think, the students SHOULD be included in the creation of these norms and commitments. By collaboratively establishing norms and commitments, students can express themselves and what is important to them – often rooted in what respect means to them. It also naturally builds buy-in for the set of agreements, which saves time in attempting to convince students to oblige. Consider how much easier it is to leave your house in the cold when it is YOUR idea, verses when someone else is trying to convince you.
As both a teacher and administrator, I prioritized building relationships with my students. I wanted to know who their favorite cousin was, what their favorite food was, how they spent their weekends, what was their favorite game to play, and who their best friends were. Why? Because it showed that I cared. By showing an interest in their lives, and sharing commonalities in my life, it made it easier for me to push them academically and behaviorally. I was able to de-escalate students by playing the Miles Spiderman song on youtube, to calm them and start a discussion. I was able to remind them that Pop-Pop said that they were going to the movies this weekend if they worked hard. I was able to leverage their desire to play iPad games when they completed their work and earned a break. It definitely made the battle a little easier.
I find that often we over-communicate to parents when it comes to student behavior, but under-communicate on issues related to academics. I always pushed my staff to send notes of praise to families ESPECIALLY when students were working hard, showing perseverance, and overcoming a personal challenge. This allowed me to build collaborative and inclusive relationships with families as we all work together to support their students. While many parents consider us to be experts, it is important that we include them in the HIGHS and LOWS, especially when we know we may have a long road ahead.
Differentiation or differentiated instruction is a teaching approach that tailors instruction to students’ unique learning needs, honoring the notion that different students have different needs, strengths, and interests. Hearing the word “differentiation” is often received as this scary, all-encompassing word that educators often feel intimidated by. Educators often believe that they need to be explicitly taught how to differentiate, not realizing that many best teaching practices have components of differentiation embedded within. So, in short, they are probably already differentiating.
Providing students accommodations during class and assessments can really shift their access to instructional content and learning! Accommodations can include preferential seating, extended time, breaks, and more so that students are able to thrive academically. By allowing accommodations in your classroom, not only are you making it more inclusive for all learners, but you are also helping students identify the supports that work for them so that they can start to advocate for themselves.
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