Holiday bonus: Get your teacher tips on inclusion!
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Download these free tips from Quick-Guides: Be the Teacher for All Your Students and Become Aware of Your Own Cultural Assumptions |
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The editors of the Quick-Guides to Inclusion know educators are pressed for time. As Michael Giangreco and Mary Beth Doyle wrote in their introduction, "So many of the teachers we encounter are anxious to get relevant information, but find that they don't have enough time to read long articles and books." That's why they broke down the essentials of successful inclusion into one-page tips that teachers can easily photocopy and share among themselves.
In the spirit of the Quick-Guides, we're going to keep today's newsletter short and provide selected guidelines that you can download and use for free. These two tips may be most appropriate for general educators who are learning to incorporate the principles of inclusion in their classrooms. Rest assured, these tips are brought to you by top experts and represent the best evidence-based practices in the field today!
We'll let Dr. Giangreco's letter from the opening of the section on "Including Students with Disabilities in the Classroom" serve as your introduction to these two free downloads (and to the Quick-Guides themselves). May they help you in your efforts, and may you enjoy a wonderful holiday season.
Dear Teacher:
You just found out that a student with disabilities is being placed in your classroom. For some of you, this is an experience you've had before—although maybe this new student presents unique challenges and opportunities. For others, this may be a first-time experience. Regardless, I understand that you have lots of questions about what is expected of you, what to do, and how to do it. Hopefully, some of your questions will be answered in the following pages.
As you already know, there are countless resources to choose from to learn more about teaching a student with disabilities, but rumor has it you simply don't have time to read them all. Don't worry! My guess is that you probably already know much of what you need to for this to be a successful experience for you and your class. A big part of successful inclusion is a matter of applying the knowledge and skills you already possess to a new situation. Other teachers have done this successfully, and you can do it too! Most of what you need to do requires common sense—this isn't rocket science, but it is important!
This Quick-Guide is designed to give you succinct information about some of the most important guidelines for successfully including students with disabilities in your classroom. These guidelines are, of course, most effective when individualized in a thoughtful manner to match your own situation. I've listed 10 guidelines, each of which is followed by a brief explanation. Obviously, there is much more to learn than is presented in this short resource, so at the end of the Quick-Guide, you'll find a list of "Selected References." In the meantime, this Quick-Guide will help you get started.
Good luck!
Michael
Adapted from Quick-Guides to Inclusion: Ideas for Educating Students with Disabilities, Second Edition edited by Michael F. Giangreco and Mary Beth Doyle.
