EDUC 605- Inclusion of Students with Special Needs

Artifact Description
The artifact linked below is the Inclusion Action Plan that I created while taking
EDUC 605. I begin by describing the current situation in my school, in terms of
inclusion practices. My school currently embraces inclusion and works hard to
make it work. While our severe EBD population is in a self-contained room, the
SLD students are all in the regular education classrooms throughout the day. In the
plan, I go onto to address the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats
(SWOT analysis). Looking at the SWOT, our school has more strengths and
opportunities that weaknesses and threats. So, I wrote goals for an even more
inclusive model that includes having 30% of the EBD population spending a portion
of their academic day in the regular education setting with the assistance of a
paraprofessional. Finally, in the inclusion action plan, I reflect on how the plan can
work with our schools current reality.
Professional Growth
Before taking this class I had not actually analyzed the inclusion model at my school
and the strengths and weaknesses of the program we have here. It really made me
think and to have professional conversations about how we can include more of our
EBD students into our regular education classrooms. Also, before taking this course,
I had very little knowledge of the history of special education. It was enlightening to
see how far we have come in a short time. Though we still have a ways to go in
some schools, it seems that more and more educators and legislators realize that
special education needs to be individualized to fit the needs of the learner.
Understanding & Application of Standards
Standard #2- Teachers know how children grow.
The Inclusion of Students with Special Needs course was essential in fostering my
understanding of how students grow academically, socially, and emotionally. I was
able to dig into different styles and approaches to learning that reaffirmed how
important differentiation is for all students but especially for those with special
needs.
Standard #3- Teachers understand that children learn differently.
Taking this course continued to make me realize that all students have differing
strengths and weaknesses, and that by addressing them through a wide variety of
approaches, they can all be successful in their learning.
Standard #10- Teachers are connected with other teachers and the community.

This class guided me to have impactful conversations with the administrator,

regular education teachers, special education teachers, and parents to decide what
is in the best interest of some of our EBD students. The teams worked together to
create a less- restrictive environment for these students to learn in.
Impact on Student Learning
This class had a strong impact on students learning because I was able to have
collaborative conversations with regular education and special education teacher
teams around exposing our EBD population to the regular education setting. Since
these meetings, several of our EBD students are spending blocks of time in the
regular education classroom with peers. This has had a very positive impact the
behavior of these students, as well.