Personal Philosophy - Concepts, Practical Strategies & Research - Capacity & Experience
Who is involved when it comes to Inclusive Education? 29/02/16There are many people who can potentially be involved when dealing with the educational rights of a student with additional needs. As a classroom teacher, I have such responsibility for the education, wellbeing and success of children, yet there are so many external stakeholders than can have both negative and/or positive effects on making this possible.
This is a mind map of stakeholders below. Stakeholder Perspectives 15/03/16The Student Perspective - Abby
General Consensus: Students don't acknowledge disability the same way as we do. When conducting my interview for the Stakeholder Perspective, I had the pleasure of interviewing the most incredible 12-year-old girl Abby. Myself being naive went into the interview thinking I will have lots to discuss with Abby regarding Inclusive Education. Well to be fair, she is living the life as a person with a physical disability. I presumed she must frequently experience the 'lows' of being labelled disabled and the negative connotations that come with this label because in my experience I have seen the community act in this way. Well in Abby's case- wasn't I wrong! Abby has faced multiple triumphs in her life she is double amputee (from birth) and is experiencing her first year of High School at an Independent, mainstream school. Her story is nothing short of amazing and her confidence is infectious. I think the thing that stood out to me about Abby is how confident she is in her disability, she is very self-assured and has a "like me for who I am" kind of attitude which is endearing. It makes you question why her disability would be a hindrance in the first place. During the interview a couple of poignant things were said by Abby which helped shape my current beliefs on Inclusive Education:
Engaged parents leads to better outcomes Her interactive and nurturing home-life has everything to do with her independence. Her parents are hard working and extremely encouraging when it comes to her disability. Abby's mother Leah expressed, "Abby needs to be able to function in society, yes she has no hands, but we need to focus on the things she can do and give her the same experiences as we would for our son." I believe that this is a profound statement. This highlights the fact that engaged, involved and receptive parents result in better outcomes for the child. Abby never feels as though she is missing out which is most important, there is always an adaptation that will allow her to be included. Abby is a fond basketball player, skier, surfer and horse rider (against all able-bodied children), she may not be the best at her sports but she gives it a go. She is the poster-girl for young amputees striving for success. The sky is the limit. Yes, Abby will face many more difficult situations as she grows, but she has a growth mindset and does not lower her expectations because she is physically different. Temple Grandin This same approach was taken by Temple Grandin's mother. Grandin was diagnosed as a High Functioning Autistic at a young age, yet her mother never held back and limited her, she adapted. Grandin's mother was an engaged parent who gave her daughter life experience to grow, ultimately giving her a much better outcome. What Grandin says helped her:
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The work of Integration Aids 09/05/16I used to think...
Who are they with?
DISS Article After reading the Deployment and Impact of Support Staff Project (DISS) I was interested to see the results as they were quite different to the views I held prior. I was particularly shocked by the statement, "there was a consistent negative relationship between the amount of support a pupil received and the progress they made." (Blatchford, Bassett, Brown, Martin, Russell & Webster, 2009, p. 2) This is completely opposite to what I thought would be the case, especially after being placed in many classrooms with support staff, I would have thought the results would be a lot different given the amount of time spent with those children. In saying this, I was intrigued to see the reasons behind this evidence. That being, majority of support staff have little to no qualification in this field and have little to no communication time with the classroom teacher. To me, if I was a support staff this would make my job extremely difficult to say the least. It is disappointing to see that support staff aren't valued or used to their potential, (in some cases) they are merely the teacher's assistant, a companion and someone for students to "have more active and sustained interactions with" in the classroom. (Blatchford, Bassett, Brown, Martin, Russell & Webster, 2009, p. 6) We need to work out what help teachers actually need and find out what help support staff need rather than presuming what we are doing currently is working. It is said that support staff tend to be more "reactive rather than proactive" in the classroom. (Blatchford, Bassett, Brown, Martin, Russell & Webster, 2009, p. 6) They are more concerned with students finishing the task than they are with them attaining the knowledge. I cannot see the value in this. We want students to be empowered and take ownership of their ability, are we to a certain extent limiting them and ultimately causing a child deficit? This to me looks like ineffective and unsuccessful educating. I raise the question, why do we put students with additional needs in the hands of someone with less qualifications rather than with the classroom teacher? How can we move forward and use the potential of all? Now I think...
What I still wonder...
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AITSL Standards and their relation to inclusive education 20/05/16The Government as a stakeholder
So many of the VIT Standards relate to Inclusive Education. It is very hard to find many that do not relate. This shows that a holistic approach needs to be taken towards Inclusive Education. It is about considering the needs of all students, it also shows the responsibility of the teacher as a stakeholder. 1. Know students and how they learn 1.1 Physical, social and intellectual development and characteristics of students 1.2 Understand how students learn 1.3 Students with diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds 1.4 Strategies for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students 1.5 Differentiate teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities 1.6 Strategies to support full participation of students with disability 2. Know the content and how to teach it 2.1 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area 2.2 Content selection and organisation 2.3 Curriculum, assessment and reporting 2.4 Understand and respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to promote reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians 2.5 Literacy and numeracy strategies 2.6 Information and Communication Technology (ICT) 3. Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning 3.1 Establish challenging learning goals 3.2 Plan, structure and sequence learning programs 3.3 Use teaching strategies 3.4 Select and use resources 3.5 Use effective classroom communication 3.6 Evaluate and improve teaching programs 3.7 Engage parents/ carers in the educative process 4. Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments 4.1 Support student participation 4.2 Manage classroom activities 4.3 Manage challenging behaviour 4.4 Maintain student safety 4.5 Use ICT safely, responsibly and ethically 5. Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning 5.1 Assess student learning 5.2 Provide feedback to students on their learning 5.3 Make consistent and comparable judgements 5.4 Interpret student data 5.5 Report on student achievement 6. Engage in professional learning 6.1 Identify and plan professional learning needs 6.2 Engage in professional learning and improve practice 6.3 Engage with colleagues and improve practice 6.4 Apply professional learning and improve student learning 7.Engage professionally with colleagues, parents/carers and the community 7.1 Meet professional ethics and responsibilities 7.2 Comply with legislative, administrative and organisational requirements 7.3 Engage with the parents/carers 7.4 Engage with professional teaching networks and broader communities 8. Personal attributes 8.1 Listening 8.2 Empathy 8.3 Respect 8.4 Trust 8.5 Patience 8.6 Emotional Intelligence |