Inclusive Strategies For Jane's

Cooperative learning has been researched frequently in education. Cooperative learning is a learning situation in which two or more students are working together to complete a common task (Siegel, 2005). A more complex definition of cooperative learning is detailed by the Office of Education Research Consumer Guide (1992): Cooperative learning is a successful teaching strategy in which small teams, each with students of different levels of ability, use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject. Each member of a team is responsible not only for learning what is taught but also for helping teammates learn, thus creating an atmosphere of achievement (p. 1).

Even if they were wrong or needed more information to come to the correct conclusion. Her lesson used cooperative learning with indirect instruction. She asked a lot of probing questions and then would build on students’ response. She gave plenty of think time for the students to process what they were trying express to the class. If students didn’t give the correct response she would allow other students to help come up with the correct answer. The correct answer came from the students building on each others knowledge. Mrs. Soglin facilitated the discussion and added new information as needed. After the class discussion the students worked on their activity in pairs or groups and were engaged in self directing during this time.

I approach collaboration as a team player, and I believe students need more than one person to guide them to their full educational potential. Also, active and prepared participation of weekly PLC meetings with the teachers of my special education students to plan collaborative curriculum have increased results in math and reading substantially. Participating in co-teaching furthers my repertoire of knowledge to assist my students. I have learned a vast amount from sharing and consulting with colleagues regarding students, observing mentoring teachers, and planning activities to ensure growth in students.

In Cooperative Learning there are six major elements that take part. The six are intentional group formation, continuity of group interaction, interdependence among group members, explicit attention to the development of social skills, and instructor as facilitator. These six elements form under the model and gives cooperative

The evidence-based teaching strategy that was implemented in the video was cooperative learning. Cooperative learning provided the students with the opportunity to practice their problem through discussion and building upon one another to create a solid foundation of understanding and maximize learning.

Before coming into this class, I didn’t have a clear understanding of what inclusion was, what inclusive practices were, and I didn’t quite understand the point of inclusion. “IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) ensures students with disabilities have access to a free and appropriate public education (FAPE), just like all other children. Schools are required to provide special education in the least restrictive environment. That means schools must teach students with disabilities in general education classroom whenever possible.” According to the Overview of Inclusive Practices webinar power point, “inclusive practices are academic and behavioral supports and strategies provided to students with disabilities in general education settings.” Also according to the power point, the goal of inclusive practices is to,

The competencies that I will focus on throughout this paper are developmentally appropriate practice, special needs strategies, and modeling fairness and respect. Several of the examples that I observed fell under the same practice. The content of the video presented a classroom teacher who actively participated with his classroom of students. I am beyond amazed at how interactive the teacher remained throughout the entire video. While watching the video, I learned there several aspects of learning that can be built into one center.

Working collaboratively also fosters a culture of community in the classroom” (Equity for English Language Learners). When teaching in an elementary school, like Glencairn, it is critical to understand that not everything you say will be understood and you have to be flexible with your lesson plans.

I agree there are several elements that Kagan recommends educators should use ahead of achieving cooperative learning during instructions. Moreover, these strategies will encourage students to interact in classroom activities. Additionally, important each students participates in group activities and is held accountable prior to receiving an appropriate grade after completing diverse tasks.

Legislators have passed into law the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). These require that all children, with no regard to disability, be exposed to the same core curriculum as other children. It also requires progress to be made in said curriculum. (Flynn, n.d.) This is being accomplished through the use of inclusive classrooms. To understand this, one must understand the tiers of the response to intervention model (RtI). The tiers are numbered from one to three and as the number increases so does the level of assistance a child needs. Tier three consists of a child being in special education classes only and is considered non-inclusive for the most part. Today, tier one and two children are being placed in most classrooms along with children without disabilities. (Kirk, et al, 2015) This provides many unique challenges for educators that their predecessors did not have to face. Educators must find a balance between children with and without disabilities in their classrooms. Many children diagnosed with ASD require differing levels of attention, and this can be quite distracting to the other students as well. One of the most vital practices that a teacher can enact in their classroom is creating an atmosphere of acceptance within their class. If the other students understand the needs of the student with

Carter and colleagues (2015) discussed why inclusion is important as well as ways to help benefit students with disabilities in inclusion classrooms. The authors discussed the jobs of paraprofessionals, as well as how peer support can go a long way in helping students, especially those with severe disabilities. By focusing on both academic and social skills, this plan will help students with disabilities learn how to socialize with fellow classmates and help them figure out about their own preferred learning style.

It helps students to share their knowledge with each other for a better understanding of a specific concept. One of the important principles that the cooperative learning theory proposes is heterogeneous grouping, which means that the students within the group vary in their gender, skills, class social, religion and age (Jacobs 4). Another important principle is maximum peer interactions that occur when specifying the number of students working together (Jacobs 4). Collaborative skills is an additional principle that is proposed by this theory, which means that students who work with each other are capable of explaining and giving reasons (Jacobs 4). Also, one of the essential principles is individual accountability, which ensures that every one is and working trying to share their knowledge (Jacobs 5). This theory is applied to the physics worksheet because it is a model for enhancing the cooperative learning

Common planning is a time for teachers to come together create lessons that are extremely beneficial to the students. Teachers get time to place students’ needs and progress

In today’s educational environment, the need to evaluate an educator’s approach to methods and techniques of teaching has reached a critical level. The collaborative culture in the schools allows for sharing of expertise and ideas which make for a strong learning environment (Grand Canyon University, 2012). While various collaborative approaches to education have, according to recent surveys, found favor by many, resistance still abounds. The effectiveness of collaborative approaches varies based upon leadership, time constraints, budget restraints, willingness of the participants, and personal observation in the learning environment. In spite of its limitations, one can argue that a collaborative approach to classroom education is an effective method of increasing the learning opportunities for all students.

Cooperative learning will be a method I use in my classroom. I believe that in a cooperative learning group a student can learn socialization skills and how to work with others. This goes along with the pragmatic/progressive philosophy that children learn by doing. The progressivism teaching style also includes the incorporation of problem-solving and critical thinking techniques. I want my students to learn to think for themselves and be able to function in society. At the same time, I will be a fellow learner myself and