Alixandra

Cozart
Final Reflection on Inclusion
EDUC 3361
Due: December 7th, 2017

You have your dream job and can’t believe it! But reality is starting to set in. Of the 25
students in your class, 3 are diagnosed with a learning disability, 1 student has severe FASD
with significant academic and behavioural issues, 1 student is on the autism spectrum, 3
students are English Language Learners (ELL/ESL), and 1 student has just been diagnosed
as gifted. You know that those are just the students with “labels” but your class will also
have students with anxiety issues, challenging behaviours or who are at-risk. You have
been provided one part time educational assistant in addition to consultation and support
from the district support staff. There is a learning coach at the school as well as a school
based learning team that can provide you with ongoing supports and resources. How will
you meet the learning needs of such a diverse group? Consider and discuss your current
understanding and beliefs of inclusion, the supports and/or learning you may need to do,
the challenges or barriers you may face, as well as the strengths you bring to the classroom.

In my initial reflection I remarked on how this type of class would make me feel

anxious, even though it’s very possible to have a diverse class like that. This feeling has not

gone away, although it has subsided a little bit. I believe that I would still feel overwhelmed,

but I also feel much more equipped to handle it now. I would still research each

exceptionality, although I would now go into that research with a plethora of background

information and strategies. My first step would be to look through my own notes from class

lecture, the lecture slides, my notes from our presentations, and the websites that we

learned about in class.

I would look through any ISP’s and behavioural support plans before classes started

to get an understanding of each individual child. That being said, I would take the time over

the next few weeks to make my own observations of each student, because things can

change substantially with a new teacher and new routines. During the first few weeks I
would also make connections with every child in my room. I believe that creating positive

relationships with your students is the foundation for the rest of the year, and if you can

create and grow a relationship, you can basically do anything together. As I mentioned

briefly in my first reflection, as I am building these relationships I would use that time to

understand what makes each student react or act out in any way, and I would take note of

this and try to understand the ‘why’ behind it. I would also try and identify and students

who do not have ISP’s, but who may need some supports and strategies as well. As we

learned this semester, not every child who might need a code is necessarily coded; and just

because they are coded does not mean that they are any less than the rest of the class.

I believe that having an EA can also be a lifesaver. In my practicum right now we

have an amazing EA who has been working in this job for 25 years, whereas my mentor

(who is still amazing) has only been teaching for 10 years. We often refer back to our EA for

any questions or strategies for struggling students because she seems to always have an

idea that is perfect that we would not have thought of. I believe that creating a strong bond

with your EA can really assist you in the future when you may need help.

I talked a lot about different types of lesson differentiation in my last reflection, and

I believe that this is still relevant. Using programs like Raz Kids allows for every student to

be doing the same thing, but they can each do it at their own level. Raz Kids also allows for

both auditory and visual learning at the same time, and requires the students to answer

comprehension questions after the books. Doing centers is still something that I focus on; I

think its great to mix in independent centers and teacher-based centers. It also allows for
the students to get up and move in between centers, giving them that extra bit of

movement if they need it.

Another item that I did not discuss in my first reflection, but that I now believe is

one of the KEY factors in any classroom, but especially such a diverse classroom like the

one in the prompt, is classroom environment. You need to have safe spaces that students

can go to if they’re feeling overwhelmed to calm down. For example, the child in our case

study had a calm down tent in the back of the room that he could go to whenever he

needed. If you aren’t able to have this in your own room, then hopefully your school has

calm down and sensory rooms that you can utilize. I also believe that using things like

standing desks, scribes, readers, visual schedules, dim lights or light covers, less

overwhelming room décor, etc. can impact your students productivity in a HUGE way. You

need to identify strategies and ideas for each student and actually implement them. Trial

and error is the only way to figure out a system that will work, and as a teacher you need to

give these kids your best effort. This profession is about helping them achieve what you

know they can achieve, and if you have to change something about the way you teach or

your classroom design for the kids, then you just have to do it.

You do these things to your classroom environment so that these students are able

to stay integrated in your classroom as much as possible. They need, and deserve, to be

with the rest of the students in the classroom. It is up to the teacher and all of the other

supporting adults to figure out a way to make this happen. As I mentioned in my first

reflection, there may be times when they need to leave the room to talk to the counselor, go

to sensory, see a speech specialist, etc. BUT the rest of the time, they should be in the
classroom doing work that will challenge them in a good way. Every child is different, and

you should have different expectations for what each of them can do, but each of them

should be getting challenged and doing work that is hand in hand with their ability. As I

said in my first reflection, being fair is not giving everyone the same things, being fair is

giving everyone what he or she needs in order to succeed.

I believe that my strengths are building relationships, my perseverance to not give

up on challenges, and my creativity. I think that all of these strengths will help me in a

diverse classroom like this. The relationship building will help me create bonds will the

students that will allow for us to start our journey together, and to bounce back whenever

there is a problem or struggle between us. My perseverance will also assist me in working

hard to find the strategies and lessons that my students deserve. My creativity will assist

me in finding the best ways to differentiate for each student, and to implement the

strategies that they may need.