Katie Nelson
SPED 425
Professor Danneker
Philosophy on Inclusion
Katie Nelson
Sped 425
Katie Nelson
SPED 425
Professor Danneker
I believe inclusion is essential for students to succeed. When I hear the world inclusion,
what comes to mind first is to be included, being just as much part of the group as anyone else, and
fully participating. I believe teachers need to make sure all students feel like they are an important
part of the class and to make all students feel like they belong there. Good teaching involves
teachers and staff going out of their way to meet the needs of each individual student in the class.
My idea of inclusion has greatly changed after reading about what it is and different things
that can make it work. The students with disabilities need to be interacting with different peers at
many different levels. Students with disabilities also need to be given the opportunity to become
independent learners. They do not need a paraprofessional sitting beside them all day or to be
constantly pulled out of the classroom. Inclusion not only works best for the student with
disabilities but the regular education students also learn a lot. If they are working with a student
at a lower level then they are they can work with that student and in helping them learn the
material they themselves can master it. I think creativity plays a big role in the success of
inclusion. Being creative in planning group activities, making adaptations or modifications for
students, figuring out how to break down the material for students, and at the same time having
students with disabilities learning the curriculum alongside their nondisabled peers.
According to Michael Peterson and Mishael Hittie, in Inclusive Teaching, IDEA (2004)
requires that children with disabilities be educated in the least restrictive environment
appropriate to meet their unique needs. The least restrictive environment starts off as the regular
education class. Section 504 also includes, that children need to be placed in the least restrictive
environment. (Peterson) Often students are not given the chance to succeed in the regular
Katie Nelson
SPED 425
Professor Danneker
education class. This is an issue because if students are not being given the opportunity to succeed
by either not being placed in the regular education class or not being taught specifically to their
needs, are they truly being taught in the least restrictive environment? One thing that I think
works very well is having classrooms that include students with disabilities where the regular and
special education teacher are working together in the classroom. This way the special education
teacher has had more training in working with different students who have disabilities and there
are two teachers that can think of different strategies to include differentiated instruction to
benefit all students.
As a future educator it is going to be essential for me to have a good support staff. It’s
important to have a good support staff for full inclusion to work. This way, teachers and other
members of the school are on the same page with the child’s best interests in mind. Everyone can
work together as a team. There won’t be any confusion for the student. It’s important to meet
frequently to discuss what the child’s needs are and how they can work together for the most
effective strategies for the particular students. (Peterson) Some of the things the support staff can
do are to design the curriculum, resources for the student, team teaching, building a community of
learners, developing needed adaptations, addressing behavioral challenges, needs,
communication, technology, and evaluate students. (Peterson) Working with others who have the
same goals for the student can bring new and different ideas to the table and the child will know
there are many people they can go to for help.
When working with all students it’s important to make sure there is authentic instruction.
Especially for students with disabilities, it’s helpful for the curriculum to be connected to real life
problems they are likely to encounter outside of the classroom (family, community, or larger to
society). (Peterson) It works well to figure out what the needs and skills the individual student
Katie Nelson
SPED 425
Professor Danneker
needs to learn. Teachers can then take those skills and needs and incorporate them into the
curriculum, this way students are learning not only the curriculum but different skills as well.
(Peterson) This is really helpful for some of the students I will be working with in the future who
will be learning social, life, or other daily skills that might come naturally for other students. This
way the student will not need to leave the regular classroom to learn them separately because
they will be tied id.
Mary is a second grade student I’ve worked with in my practicum A, she is extremely
compliant and is generally always in a very happy mood. She is included with regular education
students for art, music, physical education, lunch, recess, and occasionally other classroom
activities. The other parts of her day, she goes to the DCD room to work with a paraprofessional
and the special education teacher. Her regular education teacher has stated that she doesn’t want
Mary in the regular class without someone else in there to help her at all times. One day they were
making butterflies and gluing tissue paper on them. Mary’s was not quite as neat as the others but
she was taking her time and really enjoying what she was doing. Her teacher came in and asked if I
would come and do all of the gluing for her because Mary didn’t understand how to do it the right
way. This is an example of how teachers can lose focus on what is important. Mary was proud of
her work, having me come in and do it for her doesn’t’ benefit anyone. Her project may end up
looking a little beat neater if I did it for her but then it isn’t her project at all. The fact that her
teacher doesn’t’ want her in the room unless a paraprofessional or another adult is in there,
demonstrates the fear many teachers have in working with students who have disabilities. Mary is
not a student to cause any disruptions she just really enjoys learning alongside her peers. Having
someone “babysit” her all day will not help her to be independent and is wasting a resource that
another student might benefit from.
Katie Nelson
SPED 425
Professor Danneker
One thing I’ve often worried about is how exactly can I adapt academic instruction without
holding other students back but also not having the student lost with the material. Chapter 9
Adapting Academic Instruction really taught me many key points I will bring to the classroom. One
thing I will need to do is follow the steps for developing adaptations. First I will have to
understand the students’ needs, abilities, interests, fears, resources and supports. Then I will have
to analyze the classroom and school environment, expectations, norms, resources, supports, and
culture. Next, I will look at the discrepancies between the person and the environment and see
what the problem is. Then finally, develop solutions to needs. They need to be manageable
strategies to help the student participate and learn at their own level. (Peterson) This is going to
be challenging but will be well worth it for the students I will be working with. I also believe small
groups are very beneficial for students to learn the material and also social skills. An example I
really liked and found very helpful, in a high school class, they were learning about the
Constitution and had to complete a worksheet with questions on it. The discrepancy or the
problem for the student is that they read at a third grade level and couldn’t read the text and had
difficulty understanding the material and answering questions. The solution was to give the
student material that made the constitution easier to understand at her reading level. Next a
classmate summarized key points for her. Then the student worked with a group sharing key
points. (Peterson) This worked very well because the material was broken down for her so she
understood what the class was talking about at her own level and she was interacting with her
peers.
This philosophy will greatly affect my role as a future educator. I am unsure what type of
view on inclusion the district or districts I end up working for might have. I can bring the ideas
and knowledge I have on how full inclusion can work and bring that to the districts I end up with.
Katie Nelson
SPED 425
Professor Danneker
Sharing my view on why full inclusion works for all students can open the eyes to other educators.
As a future educator working to differentiate instruction to benefit the student with disabilities
can improve my ability to adapt to the needs of all students and all different types of learners.