Adapting+Curriculum

Ideas for adapting Curriculum in an Inclusive Classroom:
We live in a day and age where our classrooms can contain students from many backgrounds and these students are all unique. Each with individual learning needs. It's hard to find a way to write curriculum that will suit every learning style and allow everyone to participate in the lesson fully, gaining the same knowledge and achieving the same learning outcomes. Not all students will be able to reach the same level of education, this could be due to intellectual disabilities, cultural differences or many different affecting situations students may be in. Peter Westwood (2007) suggests that when writing curriculum for this modern day classroom, we start with 3 phrases: //All students will...// //Some students will...// //A few students will...// As in, from this activity ALL students will learn basic communication skills, some students will learn basic communication skills and leadership skills and a few students will learn basic communication skills and leadership skills as well as grasping the basic concepts behind blah... In this way we have a curriculum where all students are learning, but each are learning to their own level of ability.

Methods like this help adjust curriculum to suit all students needs in the classroom.

Interactive Whole Class Teaching
Interactive Whole Class Teaching (IWCT) is one of the many methods of teaching that Peter Westwood discusses in Commonsense Methods for Children with Special Educational Needs. This type of teaching allows the whole class to become involved in not only the learning, but the teaching. As well as creating a dynamic and socially active classroom.

IWCT is a whole class discussion, where the teacher brings in new ideas and questions, which the students discuss, answer and ponder together. This method of teaching is fast paced and insures high levels of participation. In IWCT the teacher engages the students in a class wide discussion where each student is free to express their own opinions and ideas. This method of teaching allows the teacher to grasp where each student is up to, without singling a student out of the class. This method of teaching works only if the teacher is able to control students in a busy environment, and to allow the students to bring their own thoughts to the lesson.

Peter Westwood (2007). //Commonsense Methods for Children with Special Educational Needs.// Routledge: New York

**__Integration of student’s interests into curriculum__**
Dempsey & Arthur-Kelly (2007) outline a powerful strategy that incorporates both students’ interests and classroom activities to make learning relevant, enjoyable, and engaging. This particular strategy is quite broad and therefore very flexible when considering who it must appeal to. 4 vital steps were outlined by Seitz (2006) that should be used to ensure curriculum remains relevant whilst being adapted to students’ interests. They are:

- Triggers: //through children’s conversations, ideas and common themes are identified and recorded.// - Exchanges: //communication between parent/school/teacher is undertaken. Identify experiences that reflect ideas and common themes// - Opportunities: //to further investigate experiences// - Possibilities: //Reflect on the experiences that have been considered and discuss whether they are possible/realistic for future curriculum// These four points allow teachers and schools to ensure they are building a relevant curriculum that incorporates as much of the student’s interests as possible, but also takes into account collaboration between parents, schools and children and is appropriate for a wide spectrum of ages. This strategy is particularly inclusive when you consider all children in the class and the endless possibility of what they may be interested in. In fact, a correlation between students’ motivation to take part in activities, and their learning has been established in educational psychology, with an emphasis placed on understanding children’s needs and interests, and how to appropriately develop curricular using this information (Hoyt-Oukada, 2003). When employing such a strategy, to ensure it is inclusive of children with a learning disability, it is important to recognise and focus their interests as much as any other students. Particularly useful is when they share an interest with another/other students in which case the opportunity for bonding and acceptance opens. This creates a collaborative environment with positive attitudes in which learning outcomes can and are more likely to improve.

Dempsey, I., & Arthur-Kelly, M. (2007). //Maximising learning outcomes in diverse classrooms.// Melbourne: Thompson Hoyt-Oukada, K. (2003). Considering students needs and interests in curriculum construction. //The French Review,// 76(4), pp 721 Seitz, H.J. (2006). The plan: building on children’s interests. //Young Children, 61,// 2, 36-41