Identifying Effective Teaching Strategies

Assessing the Effectiveness of the Inclusive Classroom

Identifying Effective Teaching Strategies

Goals and objectives for Using Inclusive Teaching Strategies

2 overall goals for using carefully selected inclusive teaching strategies:

• Successful learners: to help all children experience success in learning

• Independent learners: to assist children in gaining independence as learners

The major goal of inclusive education in early childhood is to promote the success of all children in their early learning experiences. There are several objectives teachers in inclusive classroom seek to accomplish through careful and deliberate use of learning enhancement strategies to:

• Encourage children’s engagement• Improve the quality of play and learning

opportunities• Streamline learning process of children• Activate children’s prior knowledge• Facilitate children’s social and learning

interactions

Selecting Inclusive Teaching Strategies and Practices

There is abundant evidence indicating that ‘how’ children are taught is just as critical as ‘what’ they are taught. Teachers tend to spend time planning the curricular activities that present children with the curriculum content or ‘what’ is to be learned.

Insight from Brain ResearchNature and nurture

• Through neurobiological research, we learn that brain development is a dynamic process that involves a unique interplay between nature and nurture.

• A long-standing assumption of scientists has been that nature, the biological and genetic characteristics of individuals, affects how a child’s brain grows and develops.

Scientists are finding evidence that several complex environmental variables that constitute what is commonly referred to as nurture also exert a profound influence on the growth and development of the human brain. The type of stimulation children receive, the adequacy of their nourishment, the kind of care they are given, and the social interactions children experience are among the types of environmental conditions identified as influential in the development of the amazing organ that we call the brain.

Critical Period

Scientist have determined that the brains of infants and toddlers are far more active compared to the brains of adults.

Researched suggested that environmental contexts in which a child grows and develops can exert either a positive or negative influence on brain development and learning. We also know that warm, responsive care giving is essential for optimizing brain development, especially during critical periods for specific types of learning.

Implications for parents and teachers

Interactions, such as those that occur as a result of efforts to teach children, can have extra ordinarily powerful affects on the brain development of the children. The type and number of different strategies and practices teachers and parents use may affect the quality of interactions and experiences of children during periods of growth that are prime for the development of the brain and the acquisition of knowledge and skills.

Early is best

It makes sense for early childhood teachers to be especially conscientious in planning their roles in facilitating children’s learning in the classroom.

It is important to plan beyond the activities and materials that will be offered to children daily

Implications for teaching children with special needs

It is most efficient to ensure proper brain development through attention to adequate nutrition, care, health, and safety for all children.

When trauma and negative influences on children’s brain development have not been averted, it is critical to focus on providing these children access to prompt and intensive intervention during the early years when the brain is most likely to recover.

Implications for inclusion

Howard Gardner and others have long contended that “one size fits all” teaching fails to reach all children.

Effective teachers adjust their teaching strategies to the learning styles of individual children in their classrooms, which is particularly true of inclusive early childhood settings.

Guiding preparation and practice

Professional standards and guidelines serve a dual purpose in early childhood education:

1. These documents provide a solid research basis for guiding practice in early childhood settings.

2. Professional guidelines provide a framework for personnel preparation.

Staying informed

Early childhood teachers in inclusive classrooms are obligated to stay apprised of accepted strategies and practices across disciplines and fields of study.

Teachers in inclusive classrooms should check for relevant information in multicultural, special education, giftedness, and bilingual education literature to name a few.

NATURALISTIC STRATEGIES

What are Naturalistic Strategies?Naturalistic strategies are implicit teaching

strategies and practices that naturally occur within the typical contexts of early childhood settings.

Incidental or milieu teaching > a type of naturalistic strategy where teachers embed strategies as incidents occur to enhance learning within the usual milieu of the classroom activities and functions.

NATURALISTIC STRATEGIES

• Respect a child’s way of learning• Value play as a natural catalyst for learning• Maximize transitions and routines• Are unobtrusive• Foster learning in a relevant context

The Importance of Naturalistic Strategies

Helps maximize learning through daily routines and activities at home and school.

Permits teachers to significantly increase the chances for children to learn without adding undue pressure.

Play-based strategies

• Children’s play activities offer a variety of opportunities for teachers to enhance children’s learning.

• Play linked to culture and is present in every society across the globe.

• Play appears to serve a cultural function of creating a cohesive bond between children and their society.

Naturalistic strategies in Preschool

Washing hands• Sensory awareness: “Feel the water running

over your hands? Is it cool or warm? How does the soap make your hands feel? How does the soap smell? Tell me how the water sounds.”

• Vocabulary: “Water is…wet, cool, warm. It splashes, sprinkles, drops.

• Mathematics: “How much water do you think you will use to wash your hands?”

Walking to playground• Motor: “Can you walk tall? Walk small? Can

you be quiet as a mouse?”• Finding Bug Outdoors: “what is this bug

doing? Walking, running?”

SOCIOCONTEXTUAL STRATEGIES

What are Sociocontextual Strategies?Sociocontextual strategies are a type of

naturalistic strategy that involves children with others in authentic situations or contexts.

SOCIOCONTEXTUAL STRATEGIES

• Help children acquire collaborative interaction skills

• Foster group thinking to learn• Enhance social interaction• Provide opportunities for practicing expressive

language and communication skills

KEY SOCIOCONTEXTUAL STRATEGIES

• Select games and activities that promote interaction.• Encourage children to work and play in pairs or small

groups.• Reduce materials for some activities to foster sharing

and cooperation• Assist children in delineating roles for group activities or

play.• Scaffold children’s interactions.• Interact with children frequently during their activities.• Stimulate peer mediated play and learning.

Assessing the Effectiveness of the Inclusive Classroom

USES OF ASSESSMENT AND RELATED ISSUESWhat is the Difference between Testing and Assessment?Assessment > a term that is usually more broadly

defined than testing. It is the ongoing process of gathering data and artifacts over a span of time and analysis of the collected information. The goal of assessment is to provide an accurate view of the child’s progress, allowing teachers to make informed decisions about instruction or strategies to stimulate a child’s learning.

• Testing > is generally defined more narrowly as a method of checking for skill mastery, content knowledge, or determining performance of a task.

ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT TECHNIQUES

Child Performance AssessmentsMonitoring children’s progress by evaluating

their performance on specific learning task is widely accepted as an alternative assessment method in early childhood and early childhood special education.

Portfolio and Work Sample Systems Teachers using this method find it is a versatile system for

assessing children’s progress and keeping tangible records documenting their work samples. In an inclusive classroom, portfolios represent a strength-based system that highlights a child’s abilities rather than disabilities.

Role of Collaboration in the Assessment Process When teachers use collaborative methods that bring others

into the assessment process, the resulting information will likely be more comprehensive and accurate.

Personal profile > it is similar to a case study; however, it is a greatly abbreviated form with bulleted categories of information.

CULTURE-FAIR AND GENDER-FAIR PRACTICES

Selecting Assessment Techniques and Instruments

Living in poverty can impede a child’s chances for success in school. An ongoing scheme of cultural-fair assessments to guide instruction may help close the academic gaps precipitated by poverty, lack of preschool experience, or other factors.

Collaborative Approaches with ProfessionalsTIPS:• Establish contact with professionals already

involved with the children in your inclusive classroom.

• Identify professionals not yet in your network who can contribute ways to assess the child’s skills and abilities.

PROGRAM EVALUATIONOngoing Evaluation of Program EffectivenessInformal evaluation 3 key program indicators have proven reliable as

barometers for estimating the overall quality of an early childhood programs:

• The education attainment of teachers is associated with high-quality programs.

• Low child-to-staff ratios are likely to signal effective programs.

• Low class size has been reported to have a high correlation with quality programs.

Involving families in evaluation

Ask families to comment the following major programs areas:•Communication•Satisfaction with programs strategies•Child’s satisfaction with the programChild’s progress in learning new skills.

End !!Thank you!