Saving Your Sanity: A Planning Process for Inclusion

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Saving Your SanityA Planning Process for
Inclusion

• New Jersey Coalition for Inclusive Education,
  Inc.
• Michelle Lockwood, MS
• Presenter

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Todays Objectives

• Silently reflect on our personal beliefs
  regarding inclusion
• Investigate schoolwide elements of quality
  inclusive education
• Review a 5 step process for planning successful
  inclusion of an individual student

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Personal Reflections About Students With
Disabilities

• Several statements will follow.
• Think about whether you agree, sort of agree, or
  disagree with the statements.
• Please do not share your answers out loud.
• This is a personal temperature check meant to
  help individuals think about the level of
  inclusive education that they are personally
  comfortable with.

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Personal Reflections About Students With
Disabilities

• Do you
• Agree, Sort of Agree, or Disagree?
• Students with disabilities should be educated in
  their home schools.
• Students with disabilities should be educated in
  general education classrooms.
• Student with disruptive and aggressive behaviors
  should be educated in their home schools.
• Students with learning disabilities should be
  educated in their home schools.
• Students with autism should be educated in their
  home schools.

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The Inclusive School Culture

• Inclusion is part of the culture of a school,
  defining how students, teachers, administrators,
  parents, and others view the potential of all
  children
• -National Association of State Boards of
  Education, 1990

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Beginning the JourneyWhere Do We Start?

• a neighborhood schools general education program
  is the starting point
• models for successful inclusion always begin with
  whats going on in general education
• Curriculum Adaptations Project, Udvari-Solner,
  1994 Team Planning Curriculum, Gee, 2000
  Integrated Curriculum Process, Iowa Academic
  Lesson Plans, Fisher, D.

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Beginning the Journey

• IF, through a comprehensive planning process, the
  team cannot identify/design the supports and
  services to meet IEP goals in the general
  education class, THEN the team identifies where
  services can be provided
• The need for modifications to the curriculum
  alone is an insufficient and illegal reason for
  exclusion
• From Journey to Inclusion Strategies in K-12
  classrooms Quirk, C.

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So, Inclusion is

• a philosophy
• an instructional approach
• an attitude
• a planning approach
• not a place

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Elements of Quality Inclusive Education

• Tips for developing an inclusive school culture
  to foster successful inclusive experiences for
  ALL students
• -Adapted from Journey to Inclusion Strategies in
  K-12 classrooms Quirk, C.

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Quality Inclusive Education is

• PLACEMENT
• All students are welcomed as members of a school
  community

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Quality Inclusive Education is

• INSTRUCTION
• Provided to students with and without
  disabilities by general and special educators
• Based on the general education curriculum
• Includes differentiated lessons, assignments
• Effective, proactive classroom management
  strategies implemented by general and special
  educators

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Quality Inclusive Education is

• COLLABORATION
• Among all team members--administrators, general
  educators, special educators, parents, related
  service providers, and other support staff
• Regularly scheduled time for general and special
  educators to collaborate/plan
• Supervision of support staff/paraprofessionals is
  shared by general and special educators

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Quality Inclusive Education is

• PLANNING
• Ongoing collaboration between general and special
  educators
• Modifications/accommodations discussed by both
• Collaborative brainstorming and problem solving
  if individual issues arise

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An Individual Planning Process

• 5 steps for planning the details of successful
  inclusion for the individual student

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Step 1 Create a Student Profile

• Individual student profile includes
• strengths
• interests
• challenges/needs (academic, functional,
  behavioral)
• learning preferences/style
• supports to address needs
• IEP goals

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Step 2 Create a Schedule of Daily Activities for
the Class

• general education teacher describes what happens
  in the classroom during a typical day from
  arrival to dismissal
• teacher describes typical activities used to
  teach content to students

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Step 3 Identify Classwide Supports/Adaptations

• Before modifying curriculum for individual
  students, brainstorm ways to keep the same
  content, but change the delivery
• Learning strategies and instructional
  arrangements that support ALL students also
  support students with disabilities

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Examples of Classwide Adaptations

• Learning strategies
• written schedules, day planners, graphic
  organizers hands on activities, break down new
  skills highlight important words/phrases give
  choices
• Instructional arrangements
• flexible grouping, learning centers with
  cooperative groups

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Step 4 Conduct Problem Solving Discussions

• Discuss the individual childs ability to access
  the curriculum
• as it is written?
• with accommodations?
• with modifications?

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Accommodations vs. Modifications

• Accommodations
• Change how a student gets information and
  demonstrates learning
• Provide access to learning and level the playing
  field
• Do NOT fundamentally change instructional level,
  content, or performance criteria during the
  instruction or assessment phase

• Modifications
• Change what a student is expected to learn or
  demonstrate
• Offer different standards within the same
  curriculum
• Do NOT fundamentally alter the instructional
  level, content (standards) or performance criteria

note--many use adaptations/accommodations to
mean all of these
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Step 5 Brainstorm Adaptations for the Individual
Student

• Base on individual challenges/needs identified in
  student profile and/or uncovered in problem
  solving discussions
• Reflect students learning preferences/style
• No more special than needed

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Examples

• Accommodations
• Schedule (build in frequent breaks)
• Setting/Environment (quiet corner for student,
  special furniture, lighting, acoustics)
• Equipment/Materials (portable word processor,
  locker w/ adapted lock, duplicate set of books
  for home)
• Presentation (large print, extra space, repeated
  directions, copies of notes, taped lecture,
  Braille)
• Response (write directly on test, word processor
  for writing, dictated oral responses)

• Modifications
• Assign alternative assignments (outline,
  projects) instead of written reports
• Shorten assignments based on mastery of key
  concepts
• Shorten spelling tests based on mastering most
  functional words
• Picture symbol choices on tests
• Alternative books/materials on same theme/topic
• Questions reworded using simpler language
• Word bank of choices for answers to test
  questions
• Base grade on IEP objectives

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• Time for
• Audience Questions Comments
• Additional Questions?
• Contact Michelle Lockwood at NJCIE
• 732-613-0400
• Thank You!