Benefits of Inclusion Dominick Repole
Articles Included in Presentation1.) Inclusion for Students with
High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders: Definitions and
Decision Making, by Jenine M. Sansosti and Frank J. Sansosti
2.) Exploring Childrens Perceptions of Two School-Based Social
Inclusion Programs: A Pilot Study, by Sally Lindsay, Amy C.
McPherson, Henna Aslam, Patricia McKeever and Virginia Wright.
3.) Comparing Inclusion in the Secondary Vocational and Academic
Classrooms: Strengths, Needs, and Recommendations by Diane
Casale-Giannola.
Summary for Article #1 -Research Question: For this study,
Sansosti & Sansosti focus primarily on the students with
High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders (HFASDs) and the
teachers attitudes, experiences and decision-making processes that
go along with teaching students with these kinds of disorders.
-Research Methodology: 15 educators from the same school
district in Florida with varying years of experience (average of 12
years) participated in a series of individual interviews and focus
groups in which they discussed what kind of strategies and
resources they use for teaching students with HFASDs. They were
also able to give their candid opinions about inclusion. From the
information collected, Sasosti & Sansosti were able to come up
numerous different themes and conclusions about inclusion.
Findings from Article #1 -Consensus of what Inclusion actually
means:> Students with HFASDs need more support than other GE
students with disabilities. > Should be defined in a
case-by-case basis. > Does not include the help of an adult
aide.
- Inclusion accelerates the students (with HFASD)
development.
- Class-wide strategies benefit all the students in the
classroom, not just the ones with HFASDs.
- According to the teachers, trial and error work is heavily
used when trying to create an effective inclusive classroom.
- Also according to the teachers, a teachers own ignorance about
certain disorders is the reason for ineffective inclusive
classrooms.
Information from the article that can be used to create an
effective inclusive classroom:
-Knowing that class-wide strategies used to help students with
HFASDs actually benefit all other students as well, it would be
useful for me to create all my lessons with the assumption that I
have a student with a HFASD or another disability even I dont. This
way my lessons will maximize all of the students learning and if I
happen to have a student that has an undiagnosed disability they
will not fall behind.
-Lack of knowledge should never be the reason why an inclusive
classroom failed. Knowing this, as a future teacher it is important
for me to continue to educate myself on different disorders that my
students may have so that my class is a positive experience for all
of my students.
Summary for Article #2 -Research Question: For this article, the
authors wanted to the focus to be on how children perceive
inclusion. They based their findings on two school programs that
focus on social inclusion.
-Research Methodology: The two social inclusion programs in this
article are a board game run by a trained facilitator and a puppet
show. The participants were 165 4th and 5th graders from Toronto
(87 students for the board game and 78 for the puppet show). All
students completed a short survey and then participated in a class
discussion. From there, the authors formulated a pattern of themes
they noticed from the surveys and the discussion.
Findings from Article #2- The students responded extremely
positively to both programs and seemed to learn a lot about
treating others with respect. This shows that when given a proper
outlet, students can grow in the way the think about people who are
different than themselves.
-These programs were helpful in the aiding of teachers for
teaching their students. In the event schools cannot afford
programs like this, teachers can integrate similar ideas into their
own lesson plans.
-Students who participated in these programs benefited immensely
because it improved their treatment of others and helped them
empathize with the victims of social exclusion.
Information from the article that can be used to create an
effective inclusive classroom:
-Implementing tactics similar to these programs into the
classroom, students will improve their treatment of others which
will be a huge benefit to the overall classroom atmosphere.
-The main thing I got from this article that I can use to create
an inclusive classroom is that students, even as young as 4th and
5th grade, can comprehend inclusion and even help the teacher in
promoting. Instead of creating a you vs them scenario, the teacher
should open up discussion about inclusion and its benefits. That
way the students will be able to mature in their view of people
that are different from them. Being a secondary education major,
finding a way to make these activities more age appropriate without
losing the message behind it can be a goal I have that will
probably have a huge benefit to me and my students.
Summary for Article #3Research Question: In this article, Diane
Casale-Gianolla explored the differences and similarities of
inclusion in vocational and traditional academic classes. The end
goal was to identify the strengths and weaknesses of both academic
and vocational classrooms when it comes to inclusion.
Research Methodology: 55 teachers, including content area,
special education and vocational teachers, from two different
vocational high schools acted as participants. Open ended surveys
were provided for the teachers. Also, Casale-Gianolla acted as an
inclusion consultant which entailed having consultation meetings
with the teachers.
Findings from Article #3 Academic Classrooms-Strengths:
Meaningful student-teacher relationships, real life connections to
lessons, active and multi-learning strategies, and good
collaboration between co-teachers. -Weaknesses: Teachers lack of
necessary strategies, students with disabilities lack necessary
skills, lack of co-teaching collaboration and co-teaching models,
teachers lack necessary awareness about special education, uneven
scheduling of students and limited student assessment.
Vocational Classrooms-Strengths: Real-life connections, active
learning opportunities, repetition, meaningful teacher-student
relationships, and teacher passion and expertise. -Weaknesses: Weak
student basic skills, lack of understanding, and difficulty of
supervising the classroom.
Vocational classrooms in general provide more hands on learning
using many forms of differentiated learning and provide a more
career readiness education which is extremely beneficial to
students with disabilities.
Information from the article that can be used to create an
effective inclusive classroom:
-Although I do not plan on teaching in a vocational high school,
the benefits that students with disabilities experience in this
style of education can some how be adapted into my academic
classroom. For example, since hands on learning based activities
were seen as a benefit that vocational schools provided I as a
teacher should try and implement hands on activities into my
lessons. As a teacher, changing the pace of lessons from time to
time will keep the students engaged into your classroom and will
allow students to use the variety of skills they might possess they
otherwise would not be able to.
Discussion Questions
-As a teacher, what will you do in your classroom in order to
promote the benefits of inclusion?
-One of the main concerns I got from the articles is that
teachers sometimes lack the knowledge to properly facilitate an
inclusive classroom. What will you do in order to prevent this from
happening in your classrooms?
-For the most part, we have discussed the benefits of inclusion
on the individual student. Do you think there are any benefits for
the teacher or the school as a whole?
Works Cited Page Sansosti, J., Sansosti, F. (2012). Inclusion
for Students with High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders:
Definitions and Decision Making. Retrieved from
http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.webdb.plattsburgh.edu:2048/ehost/detail?vid=3&sid=a1aed78e-b31b-4281-926c-11cb3734b4d5%40sessionmgr114&hid=115&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=eric&AN=EJ990322
Lindsay, S., McPherson, A., Aslam, H., McKeever, P., &,
Wright, V. (2013). ExploringChildrens Perceptions of Two
School-Based Social Inclusion Programs: A Pilot Study. Retrieved
fromhttp://eds.a.ebscohost.com.webdb.plattsburgh.edu:2048/ehost/detail?vid=3&sid=1731b4ca-6e0a-422d-9535-9d282000ebad%40sessionmgr4004&hid=4210&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=eric&AN=EJ994804
Casale-Gianallo, D. (2012). Comparing Inclusion in the Secondary
Vocational and Academic Classrooms: Strengths, Needs, and
Recommendations. Retrieved from
http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.webdb.plattsburgh.edu:2048/ehost/resultsadvanced?sid=1731b4ca-6e0a-422d-9535-9d282000ebad%40sessionmgr4004&vid=4&hid=4210&bquery=Comparing+AND+Inclusion+AND+%22in%22+AND+the+AND+Secondary+AND+Vocational+AND+Academic+AND+Classrooms%3a+AND+Strengths%2c+AND+Needs%2c+AND+Recommendations&bdata=JmRiPWVyaWMmdHlwZT0xJnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d
