{"id":1184,"date":"2017-11-08T06:49:55","date_gmt":"2017-11-08T12:49:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/teachersfirst.com\/blog\/?p=1184"},"modified":"2019-04-05T14:18:38","modified_gmt":"2019-04-05T18:18:38","slug":"creating-an-inclusive-learning-environment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/2017\/11\/creating-an-inclusive-learning-environment\/","title":{"rendered":"Creating an Inclusive Learning Environment"},"content":{"rendered":"

et\u2019s get personal!\u00a0 Don\u2019t worry, I\u2019ll spare you the details of my ever-so-fun mom and professional life.\u00a0 Instead, let\u2019s take a look at \u201cpersonal\u201dized learning as a means by which to create an inclusive learning environment.\u00a0 In very simple terms, I like to think of personalized learning as providing students with what they need, when they need it. \u00a0Honestly, it\u2019s also like giving each of our students an IEP, regardless of their eligibility status.\u00a0 Doesn\u2019t that sound like an easy task to achieve?!\u00a0 I mean, on average, a secondary teacher teaches about 150 students\u2014what\u2019s the problem?\u00a0 Elementary school students probably have an equal number of needs per day, right?!<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve been following my series on the social learning theory, I can\u2019t stress enough that small steps in the right direction are key.\u00a0 Testing the waters is okay; diving deep is okay too.\u00a0 We need to personalize our<\/em> learning after all and practice what we preach.\u00a0 I think all educators would agree that we want our students to develop skills that assist in moving toward taking ownership of their learning and creating an intrinsic motivation for knowledge. (What alternate universe am I living in, you ask?<\/em>)\u00a0 Let\u2019s shoot for the stars and raise the proverbial bar. \u00a0Here are some practical tips for all levels on working toward creating an inclusive learning environment:<\/p>\n

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  1. Connections before content.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Get to know your students, I mean really know<\/em> them.\u00a0 Learn about their likes, dislikes, interests, how they learn best, how they communicate, strengths and weaknesses.\u00a0 Be a sponge and soak up all you can.\u00a0 Relationships, relationships, relationships.\u00a0 Get past the surface and do this every day.\u00a0 Classroom circles can be a great way to facilitate this. Get creative!<\/p>\n

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    1. Utilize collaborative teaching techniques. <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Social learning is essential in creating an inclusive learning environment.\u00a0 If you differentiate groupings and stations, it works great.\u00a0 How about differentiating the assignments, too, or even giving students the power to choose their learning path- wow!<\/p>\n

      3.\u00a0 Equal is not equitable.<\/strong> Perhaps one of my favorite educational graphics is below and says it all.<\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

      Approach your teaching in the same way\u2014 incorporate personalized learning to give students what they need, when they need it.\u00a0 Students learn at different rates and in different ways.\u00a0 Once this is embraced in both planning and assessing, it will truly transform your teaching.<\/p>\n

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      1. \n
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          1. Take risks!<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Go for it\u2014I\u2019ll be here cheering you on every step of the way.\u00a0 Test the waters, or dive in.\u00a0 Make mistakes and learn from them.\u00a0 We owe it to our students to create an inclusive environment and model behaviors we want them to eventually mimic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            et\u2019s get personal!\u00a0 Don\u2019t worry, I\u2019ll spare you the details of my ever-so-fun mom and professional life.\u00a0 Instead, let\u2019s take a look at \u201cpersonal\u201dized learning as a means by which to create an inclusive learning environment.\u00a0 In very simple terms, I like to think of personalized learning as providing students with what they need, when … read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[91,90,92,176],"class_list":["post-1184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-classroom-application","tag-inclusive-practices","tag-inlcusion","tag-personalized-learning","tag-social-learning"],"modified_by":"Karen Streeter","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1184"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1184\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2557,"href":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1184\/revisions\/2557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}