Classroom+Strategies+to+support+the+inclusion+of+a+Student+with+Special+Needs

On practicum this year all the classrooms I entered had rules around the room that outlined good classroom etiquette for the students. Rules included ‘Raise your hand when you want to say something’, ‘don’t put others down’ and ‘if you don’t wish to answer a question say pass.’ I thought that this system of constantly having a reminder of what is acceptable in the classroom was very clever. It meant that the students and the teacher were consistent and always had the rules to go back to if there ever was an issue. For that reason for this post I am going to outline some strategies that support the inclusionof a student with special needs into the classroom. A teacher can always refer back to this list and ensure that they are being consistent and doing all they can to support inclusion in their classroom. The following list has been takenfrom a handout at a professional development day held in 2011 in Canberra. All of these strategies could be used to help students with special needs to feel included in the classroom, regardless of age and the individuals additional requirements. As a tecaher your behaviour is on show and in some cases repeated by the studnets. If they see the teacher doing all they can to make a student with additional needs feel welcome in the class, they will be more likely to do the same in and outside of the classroom. Feeling welcome can help to increase a students self essteem making them more likely to want to participate and succeed. I feel that the most important strategy listed is the first one... “Prepare yourself by becoming familiar with the students history and current needs” By preparing this way a teacher can do some extra research before class to better understand the student’s needs and be ready for some of the issues that may arise. I would keep a list similar to this one on my desk at all times as a reminder of what I, as a teacher should be doing to support inclusion of students with special needs into the classroom.
 * Prepare yourself by becoming familiar with the students history and current needs
 * Recognize the limitations of the student
 * Establish high and realistic expectations for the student
 * Observe the student and respond to learning cues/sometimes allowing the students to “lead” the way
 * Determine small steps needed to reach larger goals
 * Fade the amount of assistance provided as students learn new skills
 * Help make learning meaningful, successful and enjoyable
 * Be fair and consistent
 * Use humour to deflect tensions or confrontations
 * Allow time for the students to respond
 * Be willing to adapt teaching practices when something is not working
 * Make sure the learning environment contributes to maximising student attention on the learning tasks. You can do this by minimizing distractions, maintaining eye contact, periodically checking (or asking questions) to find out if the material is being understood
 * When presenting new information, always provide some information regarding why the information is important and what the student will be expect to do. It is also a good idea to demonstrate or explain what a complete product of new skill should look like
 * Try to relate material to previously learned information
 * Have prepared responses for when a student makes a mistake that may help them to succeed at the same task again. Including modelling the correct way, simplifying the problem and providing physical assistance

References: //‘Classroom strategiesto support the inclusion of a student with special needs’// ProfessionalDevelopment Day for assistant teachers, Catholic Education Office, 2011