Cross-Pollination of Practices in Inclusive Settings Helps Young Learners Grow
Early childhood educators are feeling the pressure of two larger trends that are forcing them to examine the way they teach. In the first, demands for greater accountability at the K–12 level are focusing a spotlight on school readiness, which has created an unprecedented degree of expectation at the prekindergarten level.
In the second trend, ever-increasing numbers of teachers are working in settings that include children with disabilities. From 1998 to 2003, for example, the number of U.S. children ages 3 to 5 years who received all of their special education services in inclusive settings rose from 185,000 to 227,000. That trend is only likely to continue.
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Inclusive Early Childhood Settings (public and private) Percentage of U.S. children ages 3 to 5 years who received 100% of their special education services in educational programs designed primarily for children without disabilities in 2003*
*The last year for which figures are available Source: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, Data Analysis System |
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Blended Teacher Certification States that offer certification for teachers who have completed a blended ECE/ECSE course of study include:
To find out whether a specific state offers blended licensure, contact the state Department of Education. Programs vary by title and may include words such as “blended,” “united,” “interdisciplinary,” or “integrated.” |
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For Teacher Educators Teacher training programs that focus on both general and special education may be formally recognized as blended early childhood professional preparation programs if they meet the standards of both the National Association for the Education of Young Children and the Council for Exceptional Children.
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Free Download! Blended Practices walks new and student teachers through specific steps, complete with examples and tools, that have been shown to be effective. It will help them
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As a result, teachers traditionally trained in either general early childhood education (ECE) or early childhood special education (ECSE) are crossing the aisle to borrow methods from their early childhood counterparts.
"Blended" practices
In the field, veteran inclusive educators have been implementing best practices from both sides for decades and have plenty of practical knowledge to share. Jennifer Grisham-Brown, Mary Louise Hemmeter, and Kristie Pretti-Frontczak have years of experience testing what works and what doesn't when teaching learners with diverse abilities. The three early childhood educators have pulled together the results of their experience into a single volume, Blended Practices for Teaching Young Children in Inclusive Settings, for the benefit of those new to the inclusive classroom and teachers in training.
These educators learned that techniques traditionally used in either ECE or ECSE classrooms could be combined and applied effectively for all children.
The lessons of a "reverse mainstream" classroom
Early in her career, Dr. Grisham-Brown, now the director of an inclusive early childhood program and a professor of special education at the University of Kentucky, worked in a "reverse mainstream" preschool, where children without disabilities were included in a classroom primarily designed for children with disabilities.
While creating individualized plans for the children with disabilities—a routine procedure in special education—it occurred to Dr. Grisham-Brown that each family of the typically developing child had the same goals for their child: they wanted a program designed for their child’s individual needs that would minimize her weaknesses and optimize her strengths so that when the time came for the child to move on to elementary school, she would be in the best position to achieve success. After considering the benefits, the preschool began writing IEPs for all of the children in the program. This procedure is now common in many early childhood programs.
At this point in her career, Dr. Grisham-Brown discovered that "what we do for children with disabilities is so appropriate for all children. The variables that increase the success of children in reaching state and federal standards are the same things that we’ve talked about for children with disabilities for years."
Dr. Grisham-Brown recommends that general education teachers take a page from special educators' books by individualizing instruction to the needs of each child (rather than teaching to a general developmental stage). The vital first step to understanding the child, she stresses, is involving the family. Families can provide critical information about the child’s likes and dislikes; the child’s behavior outside the classroom; and the family’s values, cultural practices, and goals for the child—all of which form a picture the teacher can work from to individualize instruction.
Following the child's lead
At the same time, Dr. Grisham-Brown suggests that special educators can learn from general education teachers' approach to instruction. Whereas the traditional ECSE approach tends to be more direct and focused on the attainment of specific skills, general education teachers embed opportunities for learning through play. "Learning should be fun," Dr. Grisham-Brown points out, adding, "Teachers should consider the child's whole educational experience."
To enhance color recognition skills, for example, a special education teacher might sit down with a set of blocks and ask her student to "give me the yellow block." If the child is uninterested at the time, he may be perceived as being incompliant or incapable.
The general education teacher's approach, however, would likely be less direct and center around what is interesting or motivating to the child. Rather than stopping everything to teach a lesson, an ECE teacher may observe the child engaged in play in the block area and join him, allowing him to become aware of her presence and then asking if she could play with the yellow block. If the child has trouble identifying the yellow block, the teacher then has an opportunity to teach; if the child hands her the block, the teacher is able to ascertain that he knows the color yellow.
"Intentional," not incidental, learning
By deliberately designing the environment, Dr. Grisham-Brown notes, teachers also are positioning themselves to monitor and assess a child's progress through the course of activities (as when the child handed the teacher the yellow block).
Showing measurable progress is becoming increasingly incumbent on teachers as education enters an "enormous era of accountability," according to Dr. Grisham-Brown, spurred on by state and federal regulations.
Traditionally, early childhood education has not had the same pressure as at the K–12 level to demonstrate results; it was thought to be adequate to provide a nurturing environment and then assume developmentally appropriate learning was taking place.
But no more. For programs to continue to exist, they will have to demonstrate positive outcomes for students of all abilities.
A new blended reality
A number of states and universities are recognizing the reality of inclusive classrooms and the need for highly trained early childhood professionals. A handful already offer blended licensure or teacher training programs, and even more have begun development.
For effective teacher training programs, Dr. Grisham-Brown advises that courses be taught by faculty with expertise in ECE and ECSE: "It could be one person or it could be two, but [broad faculty expertise] should be an aspect of all courses." She recommends that student teachers receive a blending of content and teaching strategies, along with a practicum in an inclusive setting.
Even in states that do not yet have a formal program, the reality on the ground is that early childhood teachers are "being innovative, working together, [and] really trying to create great blended programs. It’s not impossible," insists Dr. Grisham-Brown.
To assist this new breed of early childhood educators, the authors of Blended Practices offer a set of practices that will help teachers think intentionally and design programs that will provide positive outcomes for children of all abilities.
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