The ultimate goal of inclusion is to eliminate segregation and isolation, according to Richard Villa and Jacqueline Thousand authors of Creating an Inclusive School, 2nd Edition (2005). By providing inclusive services to special education students, schools comply with federal laws, and serve as models of a culture of acceptance and tolerance. Schools and teachers need strategies for how to implement inclusive modifications and adaptations.

This course provides valuable information about creating and working in an inclusive school environment. Discover strategies for handling the logistics of the classroom environment, aids and supports, and curriculum modification. Learn the difference between accommodation and adaptation. Consider learning and teaching styles, while developing differentiated activities that meet the array of student needs in your classroom. Finally, become informed about your state’s laws and mandates affecting how to monitor progress and measure achievement of all students in your inclusive classroom.

Course Objectives

• Analyze the roles of key personnel at the district, administrative, and school levels.
• Determine physical accommodations for students with special needs.
• Evaluate the classroom and surrounding environment for supportive inclusion.
• Evaluate assumptions about teaching students with special needs/disabilities and approaches to inclusion.
• Implement strategies to create an inclusive classroom culture.
• Determine adaptations to curriculum that are best suited to students’ needs.
• Implement effective strategies that foster compatibility between learning styles and teaching style.
• Examine instructional strategies that support inclusion.
• Implement strategies for differentiation into your instructional plans.
• Determine performance goals using data from the Individualized Education Program (IEP).
• Develop adaptations for grading that support inclusion.
• Explain ways to adapt state and national standardized tests for students with special needs that are acceptable within the laws.
• Determine effective alternative assessments for students with disabilities.